The convert and his relations

Front matter

1 ' E C O N V E

H | Q

, AT IONS

Contents

PAGE

Introduction . . 9

CHAPTER

Introduction

It is a great and precious thing to be a convert.

The convert is no longer an alien from the common¬ wealth of Israel, a stranger from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world ; he is no more a stranger and foreigner, but a fellow-citizen with the saints, and of the household of God, and is built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone. The convert has changed his relations.

Converts need care, encouragement, and instruction. For lack of these 'many who run well for a season never finish the course ; they faint and fall out by the way. For lack of these each year tens of thousands, who without doubt are soundly converted, wander in darkness, fall into temptation, are entrapped in the snares of the devil, and in due time return to the mire of sin. It is high time that we had more books, small, plain, simple, sympathetic, and scriptural, that might be placed in the hands of our young converts. It must never be forgotten that from the helpless and hopeless condition involved in the wreck and ruin of the Fall to the possible thrones of eternity the human soul needs the continuous, gracious, divine, omnipo¬ tent help of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Every true convert sustains very blessed, special, and per¬ sonal relations to each person of the adorable Trinity.

All have sinned and come short of the glory of God, or, in other words, there is no human soul sufficiently intelligent to be responsible that has not sinned against the holy and righteous Governor of the universe. This consensus of human opinion appears to be fully sus¬ tained by widespread and long-continued observation.

There are certain well-defined and almost invariable

IO

IN TROD UC TION.

experiences through which every soul must pass in order to come to the condition of a convert. First of all enlightenment of the mind must take place. Without light, without responsibility. Light comes to every responsible soul through the agency of the Holy Spirit. “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; it is ex¬ pedient for you that I go away ; for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove (convince, convict) the world (the indi¬ vidual) of sin, and of righteousness, and of judg¬ ment.” The Holy Spirit not only enlightens, but he also causes the sinner to see and feel his guilt and peril, and then he invites, persuades, and draws the sinner to the right way. Thus the soul comes into personal relations with the Holy Spirit.

But all this would be of no avail without the re¬ demptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ. No man, however enlightened and drawn, can save himself. No angel, not all angels combined, could save a single human soul. When there was no eye to pity and no arm to save Jesus the Incarnate God tasted death for every man; he satisfied the claims of a just and holy law ; he made it possible to save the sinner without destroying the moral government of the universe.

“He left his Father’s throne above,

So free, so infinite his grace !

Emptied himself of all but love,

And bled for Adam’s helpless race;

’Tis mercy all, immense and free,

For, O my God, it found out me !”

Tt is an unspeakably glorious truth that all souls have been redeemed by the sufferings and death of Jesus.

“His blood atoned for all our race,

And sprinkles now the throne of grace.”

Hence every son and daughter of Adam, and so every

INTRODUCTION.

1 1 convert, holds the relation to Jesus of a redeemed soul. But God the Father sends forth the Spirit to do his work on human minds and hearts and he gives his Son as the supreme sacrifice of infinite love, “That who¬ soever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.’'

All this may be true and yet the soul may perish in its sins, and be lost forever. There is something to be done by the sinner before he can experience converting grace. First of all he must repent of his sins. This involves regret, sorrow, and shame in view of the fact that God’s holy law has been broken and his love and mercy have been spurned. But repentance involves the exercise of the will, that supreme, Divine quality in man. The sinner by the help of God determines, wills that he will break off his sins by righteousness, and his iniquities by turning unto God. With or without feeling he settles in his own soul the question and bows in love and loyalty, and records his solemn vow that from henceforth he will walk in all the ways of God. When this is done it is his right to claim the fulfillment of the Divine promise, and venturing all into the hands of Jesus for time and eternity, he is accepted in the name of the beloved. Now he is a penitent, believing soul. Now, again he is a pardoned, justified, and regenerated soul. This is a new and threefold relation into which the convert comes, for he is now a convert indeed, and it would be well if these three relations could be clearly defined in all discus¬ sions of the experimental spiritual life. True they are coetaneous, but they are not identical. They always go together. They are each and all essential to con¬ version. In this way the sinner becomes a convert and the convert becomes, or is, a son of God. To the reality of this in due time the Holy Spirit will bear witness. “For the Spirit Himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God ; and if

INTRODUCTION.

children then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ." This is a new and blessed relationship to the Holy Spirit. It comes to every faithful, waiting soul. It may be the manifestation, or witness, will vary greatly in different cases, but the Divine promise will be fulfilled to all who hold on with steadfast faith. Under these circumstances much land yet lies before the convert which he should with restless desire seek to possess. There is the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel, holiness, entire sanctification, heart purity, the uttermost salvation. Every convert ought to understand that the most abundant provision has been made to deliver him from the guilt, the pollution, and the power of sin; that his nature can be cleansed so that inbred sin shall not have dominion over him ; that his spiritual foes can all be cast out of his being, and kept on the outside of the citadel of man-soul ; that he can be cleansed from all sin; that his whole being can be permeated and utterly filled with love ; that he can be made perfect in love in this life ; that he can walk with God, have fellowship with Jesus Christ, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. All these developments of experience imply and involve the unfolding of new and blessed and exalted relationships with the Triune God. And all this is possible to the convert in this life. But beyond the present is the resurrection, the coronation, the glorification of all God’s saints — of all faithful converts. “Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be ; but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall see him as he is.” And then we shall go on and on forever, from glory to glory, every passing cycle of eternity developing new possibilities of relationship to Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. May the reading of this book help all who con its pages to come to the realization of the uttermost possibilities of redemption's most wonderful plan.

THE CONVERT AND HIS

RELATIONS.

CHAPTER I. T he Convert*

“ Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.” — Matt. 18 : 3.

What was he? He was “by nature” a child “of wrath, even as the rest” (Eph. 2:3) ; an enemy of God “by wicked works” (Col. 1:21); condemned by the law (John 3: 18, 19) ; under sentence to eternal death (Ezek. 18:4, 20; Rom. 6:23) ; and utterly unable to make himself righteous (Isa. 64:6), satisfy the law’s demands (Jer. 13:23), or save himself from eternal ruin (Rom. 7 : 24).

What is he? A child “of God by faith in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3: 26) ; at “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5 : 1) ; no longer under con¬ demnation (Rom. 8:1); no longer in danger of the “second death” (Rev. 2:11); and is declared to be righteous before God through faith in Christ, who “is the end of the law unto righteousness to every one that believeth” (Rom. 10:4); a sinner saved by grace (Eph. 2 : 8, 9).

How did he become a convert? Through the

preaching of the Word of God he was made to under-

THE CONVERT.

stand his guilty condition, utter ruin, and awful, im¬ minent peril ; and by the Holy Spirit was convicted “of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.” This con¬ viction produced sorrow for sin and anxiety for help and safety, which led to a resolve to turn from his sin¬ ful ways unto the Lord ; in which resolve was repent¬ ance (metanoia) , a change of mind. Acting upon that resolve, he turned and committed himself “unto the Lord” to “trust also in him” for present and eternal salvation. And this is conversion (epistrepho) , to turn about or upon (Acts 3: 19).

AS GOD.

CHAPTER II. The Convert's Relations to Christ

As God.

“ For this cause therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, be¬ cause he not only brake the sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God.” — John 5 : 18.

The question concerning the Deity of Jesus is of supreme importance. If He be not one with the Fa¬ ther in essence, majesty, authority, and creative energy, then is the Christian religion little or no better than some other religions, and mankind is without hope.

The arguments in proof of His Deity are numerous and convincing. Of course, in a single brief chapter it will not be possible to give all, or to elaborate those that are given. But here are enough to satisfy a can¬ did, unprejudiced, and devout inquirer after the truth in the matter.

First. There are one hundred and fifty-one definite and explicit predictions in the Old Testament concern¬ ing Jesus, His birth, His life, His ministries, His death and resurrection, all of which were minutely fulfilled according to the historic statements of the New Testa¬ ment.

Second. He claimed to be one with the Father. Hear Him : “I and the Father are one” (John 10: 30) ; ‘'Before Abraham was, I am” (John 8: 58) ; “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father” (John 14:9). (Read John 8: 13-59 and 14:6-31.)

Third. He assumed Divine prerogatives. Hear i6

Him : “I am the light of the world : he that followeth me shall not walk in the darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8: 12) ; “I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall not hunger' (John 6:35); “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst ; but the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life" (John 4: 14) ; “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved" (John 10:9); and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life : no one cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6). If He were only a man such assumptions would make Him a blasphemer and the most presumptuous person that ever lived, and far from being even a good man, proper teacher, or exampler.

Fourth. He made good all He claimed for Him¬ self, and verified these claims by the miracles He wrought. These miracles were not performed in secret or under cover of darkness, as in the case of the false teachers who claim to have performed miracles, and were not limited to a few diseases of a nervous char¬ acter. He stilled the raging tempest, calmed the trou¬ bled sea, and raised the dead to life; and demonstrated in many other ways, in the sight of the people, that He was possessed of Almighty powers.

Fifth. The testimony of the Holy Spirit, by the writers of the New Testament, is very explicit and em¬ phatic on this matter. Take this, for instance: “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation ; for by him were all things created that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, as con.

whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principal¬ ities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him: and he is before all things, and by him all things consist” (Col. 1:15-17; see also John 1:1-4; Heb. 1 : 1-4).

Sixth. I once heard a prominent Unitarian min¬ ister say this: “It is impossible to prove by the Bible that Jesus is Deity as the orthodox people claim, ex¬ cept by the testimony of John, which testimony we impeach since it was not given until he was in his dotage.” That the reader may see how utterly untrue is this statement, I submit the following:

“And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself ” (Luke 24 : 27).

Prediction. Fulfillment.

Acts 3:22, 24.

Acts 2 : 29-36.

Luke 2 : io, 11.

Gal. 4 : 4, 5.

Heb. 13 : 20.

Luke 1 : 32, 33.

Matt. 21 : 5-9.

Consider also some additional testimonies :

First.

Of Simeon, -

Second.

Of Anna, - -

Third.

Of John the Baptist, -

Fourth.

Of the Angels,

Fifth.

Of the Holy Ghost, -

Sixth.

Of the Father,

Seventh.

By Himself,

Eighth.

Of Demons, -

Ninth.

Of Death, -

Tenth.

Of Nature, -

Eleventh.

Of the Centurion. -

Twelfth.

Of Peter,

Thirteenth.

Of Paul, -

5:7.

Seventh. The crowning argument as to His Deity

is His resurrection from the dead. Here it is in a sin- 2 i8

HIS RELATION TO CHRIST.

gle sentence : “Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated unto the gospel of God, which he promised afore by his prophets in the holy scrip¬ tures, concerning his Son, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, who was declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection of the dead” (Rom. i : 1-4).

King David predicted it in Psalm 16:8-10. Peter on the Day of Pentecost declared that this predic¬ tion had been fulfilled ; for, after quoting it, he said : “This Jesus did God raise up, whereof we all are wit¬ nesses” (Acts 2:29-32). Jesus Himself predicted it. (See John 2:19, 21.) Paul said: “For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scrip¬ tures ; and that he was buried ; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures; and that he appeared to Cephas; then to the twelve; then he appeared to above five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain until now, but some are fallen asleep; then he appeared to James; then to all the apostles; and last of all, as unto one born out of due time, he appeared to me also” ( 1 Cor. 15: 3-8)-

The Lord appeared to His disciples thirteen times after His resurrection. He was seen by Mary Mag¬ dalene, Peter, John, the two on the way to Emmaus, the ten apostles, the eleven, James, the five hundred at once, the seven by the sea of Galilee, the disciples on the mount of ascension, and by Stephen, Paul, and John.

AS GOD.

The authorities on evidence are uniformly agreed that no fact of history is more clearly proven. Bab¬ bage (Bridgewater Treatises, ix) shows by mathe¬ matical calculation that the concurrent unbiased testi¬ mony of only twenty-five men, who tell the truth ten times as often as they lie, in matters of sufficient conse¬ quence to make them careful, is enough to outweigh antecedent probability of a billion to one against the event to which they testify. Now then, here are more than five hundred men, only one of whom was ever known to lie, and he only on one occasion, who give most explicit and positive testimony to the most im¬ portant event of all history, and their testimony agrees in every particular. Mathematically it is a demonstra¬ tion.

Since Jesus is God, it is the convert’s glorious priv¬ ilege to worship Him, and his exalted duty to serve Him. He should cultivate the worshipful spirit by meditating much upon the attributes of God — His omnipotence, omnipresence, and omniscience ; and ac¬ quire the glad, whole-hearted willingness in service that should ever characterize the servants of the Lord, by thinking much upon the love, mercy, and infinite benevolence of God. “For verily the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

HIS DELATION TO CHRIST.

CHAPTER III. The Convert's Relations to Christ* — ( Continued ♦)

As Redeemer.

“ Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us : for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” — Gal. 3 : 13.

God’s "‘law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good” (Rom. 7: 12). God’s laws are inexor¬ able in their demands, and justice knows no element of mercy. “Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Gal. 6:7). “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). “The soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezek. 18:4).

God’s Word declares, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). “For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not” (Eccl. 7:20). And, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10). (See also Gen. 6:5; Psa. 14: 1-3; Rom. 3:9-19; and Eph. 4: 17-19.)

It is also unalterably and solemnly true that man cannot satisfy the demands of the laws he has violated, and is therefore involved in hopeless ruin. (See Jer. 13:23; Mic. 6:5, 6; Phil. 3:3-11; Rom. 7:24; Psa. 49: 7-9; etc.)

Because of these three sublime and awful facts, i. c.f the holy and inexorable character of God’s laws, that “There is none righteous, no, not one” (Rom. 3: 10), and man’s utter helplessness, a Redeemer was an abso-

AS REDEEMER.

lute necessity to the sinner for peace, justification, and heaven.

With the committing of the first sin came a promise of a Redeemer — “The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head” — not the seed of the man: had it been, it would have been incapable and insufficient. “The angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow thee : wherefore also that which is to be born shall be called holy, the Son of God” (Luke 1:35). All along the line of predictive prophecy the promise of a Redeemer was reiterated again and again. The bleeding victims, smoking altars, multitudinous offerings, and magnificent ritual of the old economy illustrated this great predicted truth, and enforced, continually, the same wonderful and glorious lesson. It was further emphasized by the organic law by which the chosen people were governed — of serv¬ ants (Lev. 25:49, 54), of lands (Lev. 25:27), of names (Deut. 25:59), and of beasts (Exod. 13: 13). In yet other ways God kept before the minds of this people the sublime truth of redemption, until, “When the fullness of time came, God sent forth his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons ”(Gal. 4:4, 5).

The Mode of Redemption.

Death is everywhere in the Bible declared to be a pen¬ alty of sin. We have seen that the law is inexorable in its demands. The law imperatively demands life for its infraction. God tells us, “The life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar, to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement by reason of the life (Lev. 17: n) ; “And almost all things are by the law purged with blood : and without shedding of blood is no remission'’ (Heb. 9:22). In accordance with this law Jesus the Christ shed His blood — gave “His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28). “In whom we have redemption through his blood” (Eph. 1:7 and Col. 1 : 14). “Ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver and gold . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb with¬ out blemish and without spot”(i Pet. 1 : 18, 19). “And they sung a new song, saying, Thou are worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof : for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation” (Rev. 5:9). Therefore, when it is said, “And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53 : 6) ; “Who his own self bare our sins in his body upon the tree, that we, having died unto sins, might live unto righteousness : by whose stripes we are healed” ( 1 Pet. 2 : 24) ; “Him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf ; that we might become the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21); and, “Christ also suffered for sins once, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God ; be¬ ing put to death in the flesh, but quickened in the Spirit” (1 Pet. 3: 18) ; it is to be understood that the repentant, believing sinner may go free — “Being justi-

AS REDEEMER.

fied freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God set forth to be a propitia¬ tion, through faith, by his blood, to show his righteous¬ ness, because of the passing over of the sins done afore¬ time, in the forbearance of God; for the showing, I say, of his righteousness at this present season: that he might himself be just, and the justifier of him that hath faith in Jesus. Where then is the glorying? It is excluded. By what manner of law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. We reckon therefore that a man is justified by faith apart from the works of the law” (Rom. 3:24-28).

Notice seven things true of this redemption:

It was timely.

“But when the fullness of time was come, God sent forth his Son born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons” (Gal. 4:4, 5).

It is satisfactory.

“For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth” (Rom. 10:4).

Every demand of every law, the repentant, believing sinner has violated, is as certainly and completely met, judicially, in the redemption “through the blood of his cross” (Col. 1:20), as though that sinner died eternally, as die he must if he refuses to avail himself of the benefits of the passion of our Lord (Acts 4: 12).

It is perfect.

“But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood, he entered in once into the holy place, hav¬ ing obtained eternal redemption for us” (Heb. 9: 11, 12).

The “gifts and sacrifices” of the former times, “could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience/' for the simple reason that the of¬ ferings were inadequate to the demands of the law, be¬ ing only types and figures, and offered by men. But the offering Jesus made of Himself is like everything God has made, absolutely perfect.

It is personal.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3 : 16).

When God “laid upon him the iniquities of us all” He had each individual soul of man in mind ; and Jesus as certainly bore the individual sinner’s sins “in his own body on the tree” -as that He loved all and died for all. He would have done what He did had there been but one sinner on earth ; and it would have been quite as necessary that He should, as that He did die for all.

It is universal.

“But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels because of the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor, that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Heb. 2 : 9).

Redemption and salvation are oftentimes con¬ founded. They do not signify the same thing. They

AS REDEEMER.

are as widely removed from each other as life and death. All men are redeemed, in the sense that atone¬ ment has been provided for all, since Jesus died for all, but all are not saved, since all will not repent and believe. Jesus said, “Ye will not come to me that ye may have life."' “Repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ’ 1 (Acts 20:21), are reck¬ oned as certainly elements in the procuring cause of our salvation, as the redemption accomplished by the merciful Saviour.

It is finished.

“For Christ is not entered into a holy place made with hands, like in pattern to the true, but into heaven itself, now to appear before the face of God for us ; nor yet that he should offer himself often ; as the high priest entereth into the holy place year by year with blood not his own ; else must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world : but now once in the end of the ages hath he been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself ' (Heb. 9 : 24-26).

While on earth “Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work” (John 4:34). “When Jesus therefore had re¬ ceived the vinegar, he said, It is finished, and he bowed his head, and gave up his spirit” (John 19:30). And so there is naught for the sinner to do to propitiate God, for since Jesus bowed his head upon Golgotha's cross “He is the propitiation for our sins ; and not for ours only, but also for the whole world” ( 1 John 2:2).

It is eternal.

“But through his own blood, entered in once for all into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemp¬ tion" (Heb. 9: 1 2). It is called “eternal redemption’’ because its benefits are eternal. “And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption" (Eph. 4:30). A time yet future. “Which is an earnest of our inheritance, unto the re¬ demption of God’s own possession” (Eph. 1:14). “And not only so, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to wit, the re¬ demption of our body" (Rom. 8:23). For “The dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed” (1 Cor. 15:52). We have the sure promises of God to this effect, and the “earnest of the Spirit,” and “Two immutable things, in which it is impossible for God to lie, we may have a strong encouragement, who have fled for refuge to lay hold of the hope set before us; which we have as an anchor of the soul, a hope both sure and steadfast and entering into that which is with¬ in the veil; whither as a forerunner Jesus entered for us.”

Now then, what is the relation of the convert to Jesus the Redeemer? Why, he is to ever remember that Jesus has “purchased him with his own blood” (Acts 20:28) ; and, knowing “Ye are not your own, for ye were bought with a price,” in utter and irre¬ versible abandonment to Jesus, recognize God’s pro¬ prietary right in him, and do his very best to “glorify God” in his body (1 Cor. 7:20, R. V.).

AS SAVIOUR.

CHAPTER IV. The Convert's Relations to Christ* — ( Continued .)

As Saviour.

“ Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”— Heb. 7 : 25.