SERMON VIII.
CHRISTIAN CONFIDENCE.

SUNDAY AFTER ASCENSION DAY.

ROM. viii. 33, 34.

"Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? 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."

IT would not perhaps be wrong to suppose that the holy Apostle in these courageous words was thinking particularly of the troubles which he and all Christians were then suffering at the hands of the Roman and other heathen magistrates and people. Wherever S. Paul went, he was bitterly reviled, because he was a Christian, and the most false and impossible stories were spread abroad concerning him. In many towns the people rose against him, and he was in danger of being torn in pieces. His own words are, "We are made as the filth of the world, and are the offscouring of all things, unto this day:" words, which shew how deeply he felt the scorn and censure of men, yet how little he cared for it when in the way of duty. And why did he care little for it? What was the thought that bore him up? It was the hope of being accounted righteous before God: it was the remembrance of all that our merciful Saviour has done for us, and more especially of His Ascension into heaven, and constant appearance before His Father in our behalf. "Who dare lay any thing." asks the Apostle, "to the charge of God's elect?" God Almighty forgives and acquits us: He pronounces us not guilty of these grievous things which our enemies report against us. He justifies: who dare condemn? He accounts us innocent: who dare call us guilty? What signifies how men judge us and treat us, if we have such a friend in heaven? He that alone has power finally to condemn is Jesus Christ; and Jesus Christ is the very Person Who has done and suffered so great things for us. He died; yea rather, let us say, He is risen again. The Apostle speaks so, because His Resurrection was the sign of our forgiveness; we knew by it, that God was willing to accept His Sacrifice. His Death purchased our deliverance; His Resurrection sealed it. But there is something beyond them both to be mentioned, making our condition still more blessed. He "is even at the Right Hand of God; He also maketh intercession for us." The Man Christ Jesus, the very same Who was conceived of the Holy Ghost and born of the Virgin Mary, Who suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, dead and buried, Who rose again the third day from the dead: He is taken up, both soul and body, to the Eight Hand of His Father, where, being still perfect Man as we are, "of a reasonable soul and human flesh subsisting," He reigns over all in heaven and earth: Angels and Authorities and Powers, as well as all the children of men, being made subject unto Him.

Again, He maketh intercession for us; He is not only our King in Heaven, but also our Priest. As King, He sits on the Throne of God: as Priest, He stands at God's Eight Hand, making intercession for us: offering up (so Scripture seems to teach) our prayers and fastings, our doings and sufferings, our sacrifices and self-denials, to be accepted of His Father, as being united to His only precious Sacrifice of Himself on the Cross. And all this He does, not as one who merely pitied us, though he could not exactly enter into our feelings: not as an Angel might be merciful to us, although he could not possibly understand by his own experience what our sufferings were. It is not so with Jesus Christ. He can be touched with a feeling of our infirmities; for He, in all points but sinfulness, has been tried as we are. Now we know what a difference it usually makes in people's compassion and kindness for one another, if they have ever themselves felt the calamity which they are called on to pity and relieve. The Almighty Himself appeals to this feeling repeatedly. E. g., He bids His people remember and leave gleanings in the fields for the stranger, and love him as themselves, and allow him the rest of the Sabbath: "for," saith God, "ye know the heart of a stranger, seeing ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." In like manner He knows our hearts: He feels for us when death parts us from relations and friends; for He wept at the grave of Lazarus. He compassionates the destitute in their hunger and thirst, for He was an hungred after His forty days' fast; He on His Cross felt the thirst that goes before death. And thus, as persons who have been sick themselves, make the most compassionate and thoughtful nurses, so is our Lord the very fountain of all true compassion for every affliction and misery, that man can suffer. He feels for us and with us, being, as He is, one of us, both body and soul. What a reason is here, if we had but faith to consider it, for our bearing calmly and patiently all the pains and frailties of this present life, and whatsoever "the devil or man worketh against us!" If it be sweet and soothing to every sufferer, when he feels the sympathy and kind concern of some affectionate person, on whom he can depend here in this life: how much more, to be certain, as all Christian men may, that Christ Who died and rose again is at the Eight Hand of God, making intercession for us with that unspeakable Love, which caused Him to lay down His life for us!

In this way then the Apostle comforts himself and all his persecuted brethren when they were condemned by the world. "God," he says, "justifieth." He has made you members of Himself: He sees not now your old sins which you committed in your heathen state, but He sees you as you are in Jesus Christ, with His robe thrown over you: your sinful habits dead and cast away, and the righteousness of Christ filling your life and heart and transforming you more and more into the likeness of Him. If so it be with you, little need you care for the suspicions and revilings, the condemnation and persecutions of men.

But further: we may with humble hope and thankfulness apply this same blessed sentence to the assuaging the reproaches of our own hearts, when they are too much cast down by fear and shame at the thought of our many sins and infirmities. Conscience may too reasonably say to most of us, "True, these are great and precious promises; but what have you to do with them, whose life has been blemished, since your baptismal justification, by so many serious faults; whose heart is still so imperfect before God, so far from being throughly renewed after His glorious Image?" And the Evil spirit may taunt us, as it were, and try to reduce us to despair, and make us say with the Jewish sinners before the captivity, "There is no hope; I may as well go after my sins." Nay, my brethren: we, by God's mercy, will never give way to such thoughts as these: we will not cast away our hope in Him, Who justified us by His free grace, making us members of Himself before we could know any thing: "Who died, yea rather Who is risen again, Who is even at the right hand of God, Who also maketh intercession for us." Too surely we have sinned, some of us grievously; and if He should deal strictly with us, we cannot deny that we have broken the covenant, and forfeited His pardon and grace. But He allows repentance, He invites us to confess our sins, to humble and punish ourselves for them: to be watchful and busy in all sorts of welldoing: to seek Absolution in all ways, where He has appointed it to be found: and so doing, He permits us to hope that we are still in communion with Him; that the blessings of our Baptism are not forfeited; that He Who will come to be our Judge has not ceased to make intercession for us. We may still say to our own hearts, "Put thy trust in God, for I will yet thank Him for the help of His countenance;" and to the Evil one we may say, "Away from me; I will keep the commandments of my God."

See how the words of the text both encourage us to cherish such good hope, and warn us on what it must depend, on our own part. We must be such as not to have forfeited the title of God's elect: for concerning them only the question is asked, " Who shall lay any thing to their charge?" The}'- only have the promise of justification. And again we must be such as not to have quite lost the gracious Intercession of our crucified and glorified Lord. Now "God's elect" or chosen means of course those whom He has called out of the world to be His own peculiar people: as the Jews were called from among all other nations. So the catechism instructs every baptized child to regard himself as one of the " elect people of God." So S. Paul, in this epistle to the Romans, speaking of the elect among the Jews, plainly means those who had received the Gospel, whom Christ had taken to Himself, and put His mark on them in Baptism. So our Lord Himself in His parables speaks of the elect, as of persons who should, first of all, come to His spiritual feast, and next, should keep their wedding-garment, true holiness, so as not to be cast out. Against such it will be in vain for bad men or bad angels to bring any kind of charge. Until they have cast themselves out of the kingdom, or by staining their robes have made themselves unworthy to abide in it, they are, by God's mercy, safe. . So again, as to Christ's Intercession: the many frailties, negligences and ignorances, with which even the best man's conscience must accuse him, need not utterly cast him down, though they should make him daily more diligent and watchful. For they do not hinder, but that he is still in a state of justification: such a state, that our Lord in heaven is still making intercession for him. But if he be in wilful sin, then his justification so far ceases: then Christ's intercession is not for such as he. So S. John expressly teaches. "elf any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and He shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not unto death." Wilful sin persisted in, and that only, can forfeit God's justifying grace, and our Saviour's Intercession. If you are conscious of it, lose no time, break it off by the ways of true penitence. Nothing else can ruin us. " Neither tribulation nor distress nor persecution nor anguish nor nakedness nor peril nor sword: neither death nor life, nor Angels, nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." None of these can separate us; but sin may. S. Paul, you observe, does not say a word as to the elect being safe from sin in this life. What he does say is, that as long as they continue elect, that is, until by wilful sin they have separated themselves from among God's people, none of these outward things can hurt them.

We see then most plainly, which way all our cares and labours should tend: to keep ourselves from what we know displeases Almighty God, lest we lose our part in Christ Jesus, to which He elected us in our infancy by His free grace. And here, that no man may deceive himself, let it be well understood and always remembered, that nothing displeases God more, and forfeits our part in His Son more entirely, than lukewarmness and indifference in His service. Thousands, at the last day, I fear, will be found, who have cast themselves out of the kingdom of heaven, not by positive sin, but by leaving undone the things which they ought to have done. Do not then say, "I am neither thief nor murderer, I bear no malice to any one, I do not live in adultery nor in fornication, I take no false oaths; why should I be uneasy about myself?" But say rather, "How have I spent my time from my youth upward? How have I attended to my prayers? Which way has my heart turned? How strictly have I denied myself? How anxiously have I kept in order my thoughts, my passions, and my tongue?" And if you permit your conscience to answer these questions truly, it will be a wonder if you do not sentence yourself to be a humble penitent all your life, instead of indulging any kind of boastfulness.

In a word, the token of God's continued election is a man's truly loving God, as S. Paul indeed had intimated a little before. "All things work together for good," he says, "to them who love God: who are the called according to His purpose:" and of these same he speaks afterwards as justified, and as being those for whom Christ died, and arose, and intercedes. If a man love God, he may trust to be still a partaker of these blessings: not else. Now "this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." Where true love is, it is impossible that a man should be easy or careless, and soon satisfied in his duties. Look e. g. at an affectionate mother with her child: can she ever think she has done quite enough for it? Is she not still watching and contriving, how to make her love and service more perfect? So is it with the love of God and of our Saviour Jesus Christ: it is a restless ever-active principle: of all things it never will permit a man to be soon pleased with himself.

I conclude therefore, that although every one who has been baptized into Jesus Christ has been called to a part in these glorious promises, yet those only have a present portion in them, who so unfeignedly love God, as to be habitually endeavouring to keep all His commandments and do all His Will: who love Him as truly and constantly as a dutiful child loves his father or mother, and who shew their love in like manner, by regularly striving to please and obey Him more and more.

Such a person will be the last to say to himself, that he has such love in him: yet in some unknown way God will make him partaker of His peace, that "peace which passeth all understanding." Worldly want, distress, pain and vexation will come lightly in comparison upon him, because he never depended on this world. In doubt and perplexity he may hope for safe guidance: and should his education, or other circumstances, lead him into error, or continue him in it, through no wilful fault of his own, his charity, his true love of God, will cover a multitude of such sins. The Divine goodness will overflow towards him: all things will work together for his good: and in the end he shall see, with joy and for ever, the Face of the Beloved.

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