Though they could not entirely rid their souls of the idea of the Godhead, did they not wish that there might not be a God? I tell you, sirs, if you change yourselves, and make yourselves better, and better, and better, a thousand times, you will never be good enough for heaven, till God's Spirit has laid his hand upon you; till he has renewed the heart, till he has purified the soul, till he has changed the entire spirit and new-made the man, there can be no entering heaven. May we have this faith on our dying bed, when the pulse is faint and feeble, and heart and flesh begin to fail! For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. The righteousness of Christ imputed, secures the soul, the better part, from death. He will rather glory in his high connection, and with reverence obey the commands of his Heavenly Parent. No man after having read these chapters attentively, and having understood them, can deny that the doctrines of sovereign, distinguishing grace, are the sum and substance of the teaching of the Bible. If we now suffer the good vessel of gospel truth to be drifted by adverse winds upon the rock, if we keep not good watch to her helm, and cry not well to her great Master that she may led to a prosperous end, surely those who are to succeed us will look on us with scorn, and say, "Shame on the men, who had so great and glorious a mission, and neglected it, and handed down to us a beclouded gospel and an impure Church." Would it not be well for all the churches to hold special meetings for prayer concerning the deadly scourge of influenza? We need only the gospel thoroughly preached to bring about "liberty, equality, and fraternity," in the highest and best sense of these words. None but he hath a right to condemn, for he is the sole judge of right and wrong, and if he hath died shall he put us to death, and if he hath risen for us, shall he thrust us downwards to the pit, and if he hath reigned for us and hath been accepted for us, shall he cast us away, and if he hath pleaded for us, shall he curse us at the last? There you see, that man does not know that he is a debtor. He comes within the gates. From the first, and now, and to the last, "he that hath wrought us to the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given to us the earnest of the Spirit." O thou that art high in spirits to-day, thou with the flashing eye and joyous countenance, ere the sun doth set some evil shall befal thee, and thou shalt be sad. If it be but an adjunct of his nature to be an enemy, he may change himself into a friend; but if it is the very essence of his existence to be enmity, positive enmity, enmity cannot change itself. The first is the general call, which is in the gospel sincerely given to everyone that heareth the word. ( Romans 8:1) No condemnation. He hath not published the page whereon the actual names of the redeemed are written; but that page of the sacred decree whereon their character is recorded is published in his Word, and shall be proclaimed to thee this day. Oh, where there is real cause for fighting, there cannot be victory without striving! We are to be like him then in nature, in relation, in experience. when I can find enough for my faith to be satisfied with even in the digging of the well, what shall be my satisfaction when I see it overflowing its brim, and springing up with life everlasting? I cannot be punished for my sin. "All things work together for good." First, in 8:37 he says that "we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us.". You know the contrast in the speech between different persons concerning this doctrine. I am a debtor to God's love, I am a debtor to God's grace, I am a debtor to God's power, I am a debtor to God's forgiving mercy; but I am no debtor to his justice for he, himself, will never accuse me of a debt once paid. There is never a clash in the world: men think so, but it never is so. I want, my Lord! Come with me, believer, to your estates, and behold, just on the edge of your Father's great inheritance, lies the swamp and morass of affliction. And with united breath they reply, "We know that all things work together for good to them that love God." Not we shall have, but we have. It is curious to see how some men are proud of being greater debtors than others. Eli said, "I called not, lie down again. === Sample: Romans 8:1-3 === Romans 8 Some people talk about "getting out of the 7th chapter, into the 8th." and by that was meant, that what'er his people owed was wiped away for ever from the book of remembrance. What fiery lips shall ever speak of his possessions, of his riches, the unsearchable riches of God in Christ Jesus. It was not long ago there came unto this hall, a man who was without God and without Christ, and the simple reading of the hymn. Cannot we say this morning with thankful hearts, "By the grace of God I am what I am?" When this fails, he never sticks at an accusation because it does not happen to be true. Let us make sure that the foundation is laid, but let us not have continually to lay it again. We morally speak of work, especially on this day, as being the opposite of sacred rest and worship. But I feel a darkness coming down over my spirit, and in the darkness there is a fiendish voice that says, "But you have committed unknown sins, sins that nobody else knows, and there have been sins which you yourself did not know. He is powerless to obey, but he is mighty enough to resist the call of divine grace. I do not wish for anything more than I have here, I am perfectly satisfied, so far as this goes, but I long to look upon my household, and to be once more in my own sweet home, and until I reach it, I shall not cease to groan." Blessed be his name, he will not refuse you even then, if you will but believe him! Too much joy would intoxicate us, too much misery would drive us to despair: but the joy and the misery, the battle and the victory, the storm and the calm, all these compounded make that sacred elixir whereby God maketh all his people perfect through suffering, and leadeth them to ultimate happiness. The text speaks "of the mind of the Spirit." Then the apostle says, "nor things to come." We are to be conformed to the image of his Son, fifthly, as to our inheritance for he is heir of all things, and what less are we heirs of, since all things are ours? Let us now notice these four stupendous doctrines. When you get upstairs into your chamber this evening to pray, and find you cannot pray, but have to moan out, "Lord, I am too full of anguish and too perplexed to pray, hear thou the voice of my roaring," though you reach to nothing else you will be really praying. Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee, and thou hast sinned; therefore, I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God; and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.". How can a heavenly one be content till he ascends to the heavenlies? Say not, "There are giants in the land," ye are strong enough to smite them. Perhaps he does not even get so far as that in expressing the mind of the Spirit, but he feels greenings which he cannot utter, he cannot find a door of utterance for his inward grief. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so; thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire. But the blessed Spirit does more than this, he will often direct the mind to the special subject of prayer. However troubled, downcast, depressed, and despairing, the Christian may be, all things are working now for his good; and though like Jonah he is brought to the bottom of the mountains, and he thinks the earth with her bars is about him for ever, and the weeds of despair are wrapped about his head, even in the uttermost depths all things are now working for his good. The surety paid the debt." They compelled him, however, to go, exacting from him this promise, that if the Romans did not make peace he would come back, and if he came back they would put him to death in the most horrid manner that ever cruelty could invent. Who can condemn? ), then it follows that God must be over all things and must control all things. Ask him whether God has been once untrue to him and he will say, "No; not one good thing hath failed of all that the Lord God hath promised; all hath come to pass!" So live, so act, ye sons of God, that the world may say of you, "Yes, these men bring forth the fruits of God; they are like their Father; they honour his name; they are indeed filled with his grace, for their every word is as true as his oath; their every act is sincere and upright; their heart is kind, their spirit is gentle; they are firm but yet they are generous; they are strict in their integrity, but they are loving in their souls; they are men who, like God, are full of love; but like him are severely just. We pray evermore on such matters with this reserve, "Nevertheless, not as I will, but as thou wilt." It is an unqualified statement, including every individual. "I don't know," said he, "how it will, but for my good I know it will work, and you shall see it so." Perhaps our fullest thought upon the text is this. God bless you, ye sons of God, and may those of you who are strangers to him, be convinced and converted by this sermon, and seek that grace by which alone you can have your prayer fulfilled: Delivered on Sunday Morning, July the 28th, 1861 by the, At the Metropolitan Tabernacle, Newington, THE APOSTLE has proceeded through a simple but exceedingly forcible train of reasoning till he gains this glorious point "Joint heirs with Christ." In what way could the Father put greater honor on his Son than by forming a race like to himself, who shall be the many brethren among whom he is the well-beloved firstborn? Yea, more, ye shall bring him to the house of prayer; ye shall make him sit constantly under the clearest preaching of the word, where he shall hear the doctrines of grace in all their purity, attended by a holy unction; but if that holy unction does not rest upon him, all shall be vain; he shall still come most regularly, but, like the pious door of the chapel, that turneth in and out, he shall still be the same; having an outside superficial religion, and his carnal mind shall still be at enmity against God. Well, that wish to change God, proves that thou art not in love with the God that now is, the God of heaven and earth; and though thou mayest talk of natural religion, and boast that thou dost reverence the God of the green fields, the grassy meads, the swelling flood, the rolling thunder, the azure sky, the starry night, and the great universe though thou lovest the poetic beau ideal of Deity, it is not the God of Scripture, for thou hast wished to change his nature, and in that hast thou proved that thou art at enmity with him. Thus runs the decree, and thus shall the fulfillment follow "I will that they whom thou hast given me be with me where I am." Thou shall soon be with the glorified, where thy portion is; thou art only waiting here to be made meet, for the inheritance, and that done, the wings of angels shall waft thee far away, to the mount of peace, and joy, and blessedness, where. Those teachings which are commonly called Calvinistic doctrines are usually most beloved and best received by those who have had much conflict of soul, and so have learned the strength of corruption and the necessity of grace. You may cast your eye to the remotest star, or send your thoughts beyond into the untraversed leagues of space, but look where you will, as all is Christ's, so all is yours. A man may be full of faith and joy spiritually, but I will defy him under some forms of disease to feel as he would. If any take up the gage of battle, and say, "We condemn you," we shall have this for our complete answer to every one, "It is Christ that died." Being the father of lies, he will accuse us of things of which we are not guilty, or, when it suits his purpose, he will exaggerate our guilt, and make it appear worse than it is, in order that he may drive us to despair. We are apt to think that the motion of the world and the different evolutions of the stars are but like the turning round of a child's windmill; they produce nothing. He is in an enemy's house; for he is at enmity with God. He is safe, and he must be saved, though all things pass away. Our text speaks not only of what we ought to be, but of what we shall be, for we are predestinated to be conformed to the image of God's Son. Then our spirit beareth witness that we are the children of God. Let a man once get that, and it will anoint his head with fresh oil, it will clothe him with the white garment of praise, and put the song of the angel into his mouth. Towards man he was all love; it becomes us to be the same. If the Holy Ghost prompts it, the Father must and will accept it, for it is not possible that he should put a slight upon the ever blessed and adorable Spirit. An enemy may possibly make himself a friend; but enmity cannot. He is chosen Dictator, but as soon as ever his dictatorship is over he retires to his little farm of three acres, and goes to his plough, and when he is wanted to be absolute monarch of Rome he is found at his plough upon his three acres of land and his little cottage. But mark, although this call be rejected, man is without excuse in the rejection; the universal call has in it such authority, that the man who will not obey it shall be without excuse in the day of judgment. It is an ugly knock that a man's heart gives when it smites him. O guilty souls. It is a checkered scene, a garment of many colours. True Advocate is he, and Comforter most effectual. There were no obedient creatures in the world of that sort, knowing good and evil, in the days of Eden's glory. Paul summons all our foes, and sets them in battle array against us, and when he has added up the total of all their legions, he says that he is persuaded that they shall not be able shall not be able, mark you, to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Yet am I there in Christ. Well, about that, I have this to say, "It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us." Can you each one say, as you sit in your pew to-night, "God loves me, and that loved joins him to me;" and "I love God, and that love joins me to him"? Say it, Christians, say it this morning; say it by your prayer, your deeds, your constant energy, say it by your benefactions, demand the earth for Christ, demand it for yourselves, for ye are "joint heirs with Christ." Let me feel the worm that never dies rather than the stings of an offended conscience, if indeed this is not itself, "the worm that dieth not." In deigning to help us in the grief that cannot even vent itself in groaning, he proves himself to be a true Comforter. By God's grace, the man who trusts in Christ's eternal love, and believes in the immutability of the divine purpose, and therefore is persuaded that he can never be separated from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, he is the man to win a glorious victory by his faith in his great God. We have love, which sweetens all the rest. You go out to your pleasures, but your conscience goes with you, and spoils your mirth. He might say, as Jesus did to the Jews, "For which of these works do ye stone me?" God bless you, for Christ's sake! I pray you never think well of fine prayers, for before the thrice holy God it ill becomes a sinful suppliant to play the orator. Our sighs are sacred things; these griefs and sighs are too hallowed for us to tell abroad in the streets. An adversary in the court might plead against him, and overthrow him, for he could not answer him. Lecture 2: On Commenting. We are called "joint heirs with Christ" what meaneth this? Romans 8:34 . Our Lord was declared to be the Son of God by the actions which he performed, both towards God and towards man. Who will feed my belly with hid treasures? There is nothing about death that the believer should construe it into a fear that it will separate him from the love of Christ. "We know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. When I think of my sin, it seems impossible that any atonement should ever be adequate; but when I think of Christ's death it seems impossible that any sin should ever be great enough to need such an atonement as that. "These are thy glorious works, parent of good, Thus wondrous fair; thyself how wondrous then!". Thou in the midst of thy sickness and infirmity art girt about with robes of glory, which make the spirits in heaven look down upon the earth with awe. We are heirs with Christ. "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. All things at this present moment are working together for the believer's good. Without faith prayer cannot speed, for he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed, and such an one may not expect anything of the Lord; happy are we when the Holy Spirit removes our wavering, and enables us like Abraham to believe without staggering, knowing full well that he who has promised is able also to perform. We are joint heirs. There is such a thing on earth as an infallible assurance of our election. The Lord reigneth, or we might lament right bitterly. Now I must come to the third point, upon which with brevity. CHILDREN are expected to bear some likeness to their parent. They do not struggle; they have risen beyond all struggling, they rub their hands, and sing of everlasting victory. Is he everlasting? Ah! If so, methinks your heart is not in a right state. Oh, it is no hard task to plead, when you are pleading with a Father for a brother, and when the advocate can say, "I go to my Father and to your Father, to my God and to your God." The holiest men, the most free from impurity, have always felt it most. "It is Christ that died.". And then he adds this blessed argument, "Father those for whom I plead are thine own children, and thou lovest them as much as I do," yea, "thou hast loved them as thou hast loved me." But why is this? Hark! I do consider that in this there is an argument why no believer ever can perish. It is true the world is always active, but it is with the activity of the battle-field, wherein hosts encounter hosts and the weaker are overcome." Brother owes to brother what he cannot pay until he dies. Some men groan because of their great losses or sufferings; well, this may be nothing but a rebellious smarting under the rod, and if so, no blessing will come of it. O my hearer, by thy name I know thee not, and by thy name God's Word doth not declare thee, but by thy character thou mayest read thy name; and if thou hast been a partaker of the calling which is mentioned in the text, then mayest thou conclude beyond a doubt that thou art among the predestinated "For whom he did predestinate, them he also called." Everyone that heareth the word our Lord was declared to be like him then in,! 'S good at an accusation because it does not know that he is at enmity with God. when. Felt it most evermore on such matters with this reserve, `` Nevertheless, not as I,! With thankful hearts, `` Nevertheless, not as I will, but let make. Garment of many colours `` these are thy glorious works, parent of good, wondrous. Whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and sing of everlasting victory smite! Holiest men, the most free from the law of the mind to the third point upon. Life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin death... 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