Chapter 7 – Complement (part 2)

It will be seen from the closing sentences of the above quotation that there were some, in the palmy days of the Puritans who made a “God” of consistency, or rather what they deemed to be consistent, and that they pitted parts of the Truth against their own favorite doctrines, refusing and rejecting anything which they considered to be inharmonious or incongruous therewith. But Owen refused to buckle in to them and preferred to be regarded as inconsistent with himself, a “Yes and Nay” man rather than withhold those aspects of the Gospel which he well knew were equally glorifying to God and profitable for His people. It is striking to note that the particular things singled out by him for mention are the very ones objected to by the hyper-Calvinists today, which show how far astray they are from what Owen taught. Continuing to quote from him:

“So it is here also. The necessity of the communication of spiritual light unto our minds to enable us to understand the Scriptures, and the exercise of our own reason in the use of external means, are looked on as irreconcilable. But as the Apostle says, ‘Do we make void the law by faith? God forbid: yes, we establish it.’ Though he did it not in that place, nor unto those ends that the Jews would have had and used it. So we may say, do we, by asserting the righteousness of Christ make void our own obedience, by the efficacy of grace destroy the liberty of our wills, by the necessity of spiritual illumination take away the use of reason? God forbid: yes, we establish them. We do it not, it may be, in such a way or in such a manner as some would fancy and which would render them all on our part really useless, but in a clear consistency with and proper subservience unto the work of God’s Spirit and grace.”

“The people answered Him, We have heard out of the law that Christ abides forever: and how says You, The Son of man must be lifted up?” (John 12:34). In his comments upon this verse that grand old commentator Matthew Henry said: “They alleged those Scriptures of the Old Testament which speak of the perpetuity of the Messiah, that He should be so far from being cut off in the midst of His days, that He should be a ‘Priest forever’ (Psalm 110:4) and a King ‘forever’ (Psalm 89:29, etc.). That He should have length of days forever and ever, and His years ‘as many generations’ (Psalm 61:6)-from all this they inferred the Messiah should not die. Thus great knowledge in the letter of the Scripture, if the heart be unsanctified, is capable of being abused to serve the cause of infidelity and to fight Christianity with its own weapons. Their perverseness will appear if we consider that when they vouched the Scripture to prove that the Messiah ‘abides forever,’ they took no notice of those texts which speak of the Messiah’s death and sufferings: they had heard out of the law that He ‘abides forever,’ but had they never heard out of the law that Messiah ‘shall be cut off’ (Daniel 9:26), that He shall ‘pour out His soul unto death’ (Isaiah 53:12), and particularly that His ‘hands and feet’ should be pierced? (Psalm 22:16). Why, then, do they make so strange of His being ‘lifted up’?”

The folly of these skeptical Jews was not one whit greater than that of rationalistic Calvinists. The one refused to believe one part of Messianic prophecy because they were unable to harmonize it with another. The latter rejecting the truth of human responsibility because they cannot perceive its consistency with the doctrine of fallen man’s spiritual impotency. Aptly did Matthew Henry follow up the above remarks by immediately adding: “We often run into great mistakes, and then defend them with Scripture arguments, by putting those things asunder which God in His Word has put together, and opposing one truth under the pretense of supporting another. We have heard out of the Gospel that which exalts free grace, we have heard also that which enjoins duty, and we must cordially embrace both, and not separate them, or set them at variance.” Divine grace is not bestowed with the object of freeing men from their obligations but rather for supplying them with a powerful motive to the more ready and grateful discharge of the same. To make God’s favor a ground of exemption from the performance of duty comes perilously near to turning His grace into lasciviousness.

In his “Precious Remedies against Satan’s devices,” Thomas Brooks (1670) wrote: “The fourth device Satan has to keep souls off from holy exercises is by working them to make false inferences on those blessed and glorious things that Christ has done. As that Jesus Christ has done all for us, therefore there is nothing for us to do but to joy and rejoice. He has perfectly justified us, fulfilled the law, satisfied Divine justice, pacified His Father’s wrath, and is gone to Heaven to prepare a place for us, and in the meantime to intercede for us; and therefore away with praying, mourning, hearing etc. Ah! what a world of professors has Satan drawn in these days from religious services by working them to make such sad, wild and strange inferences from the excellent things the Lord Jesus has done for His beloved ones.” As one remedy against this, the Puritan named:

“To dwell as much on those Scriptures that show you the duties and services that Christ requires of you, as upon those Scriptures that declare to you the precious and glorious things Christ has done for you. It is a sad and dangerous thing to have two eyes to behold our dignity and privileges, and not one to see our duties and services. I should look with one eye upon the choice things Christ has done for me to raise up my heart to love Christ with the purest love and to joy in Him with the strongest joy, and to lift up Christ above all who has made Himself to be my all-and I should look with the other eye upon those services and duties that the Scriptures require of those for whom Christ has done such blessed things, as 1 Corinthians 6:19, 20; 15:58; Galatians 6:9; 1 Thessalonians 5:16, 17; Philippians 2:12; Hebrews 10:24, 25. Now a soul that would not be drawn away by this device of Satan must not look with a squint eye upon these blessed Scriptures, and many more of like import, but he must dwell upon them, make them to be his chief and choicest companions, and this will be a happy means to keep him close to Christ.”

Our principal design in writing one more article on this aspect of our subject that the complementary doctrine of man’s spiritual impotency is his moral responsibility, is to make plainly manifest the tremendous importance of preserving the balance of Truth which is mainly a matter of setting forth each element of it in its Scriptural proportions. Almost all theological and religious error consists of Truth perverted, Truth wrongly divided, Truth misapplied, Truth overemphasized, or Truth view in a wrong perspective. The fairest face on earth, possessed of the most lovely features, would soon become ugly and unsightly if one feature continued growing while the others remained undeveloped. Physical beauty is mainly a thing of due proportion. And thus it is with the Word of God. Its beauty and blessedness is best perceived when presented in it true proportions. Here is where so many have failed in the past-some favorite doctrine has been concentrated upon and others of equal importance neglected.

It is freely granted that in these degenerate days, the servant of God is often called upon to give special emphasis to those verities of Holy Writ which are now so generally ignored and denied. Yet even here much wisdom is needed lest our zeal run away with us. The requirements of that word, “meat in due season” must ever be borne in mind. When laboring among Arminians we should not altogether omit the human-responsibility side of the Truth, yet the main emphasis ought to be placed upon the Divine sovereignty and those corollaries thereof which are so sadly perverted if not blankly denied by Free-willers. Contrariwise when ministering to Calvinists our chief endeavor should be to bring before them not those things they most like to hear, but those which they most need-those aspects of Truth they are least familiar with. Only thus can we be of the greatest service to either party.

To illustrate what we have just said, take the subject of Prayer. In preaching thereon to Arminians it would be well to define very clearly what this holy exercise is not designed to accomplish and what is its spiritual aim, showing that our praying is not intended for the overcoming of any reluctance in God to bestow the mercies we need, still less are our supplications meant to effect any change in the Divine purpose, for “The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the thoughts of His heart to all generations” (Psalm 33:11). Rather is the purpose of prayer that of subjecting ourselves unto God and asking for those things which are according to His will. In preaching to Calvinists thereon we should warn against that fatalistic attitude which assumes that it will make no difference to the event whether we petition God or no, reminding them that “the effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much” (James 5:16). So, too, the former need rebuking for irreverence and unholy familiarity in addressing the Most High, while the latter should be encouraged to approach the Throne of Grace with holy boldness, with the liberty of children petitioning their Father.

The same course needs to be followed when expounding the great subject of Salvation: discrimination must be used as to which aspects most need to be set before any particular congregation. The manner in which this most blessed theme should be presented calls for much understanding, not only of the subject itself but also of the spiritual intelligence and particular needs of those being addressed. Some aspects of the Truth are more difficult to apprehend than others (2 Peter 3:16) and they need to be approached gradually and given out “here a little, and there a little.” We are well aware that in offering such counsels as these we lay ourselves open to the charge of acting Jesuitically, yet, in reality, we are but advocating the very policy pursued by Christ and His Apostles. Of the Savior it is recorded that, “with many such parables spoke He the Word unto them, as they were able to hear it” (Mark 4:33), and addressing His Apostles, He said, “I have yet many things to say unto you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). (Compare also 1 Corinthians 3:1, 2; 9:19-22).

What we have advocated above is simply adopting our presentation of the Truth according to the state of our congregation. There is a vast difference between presenting the way of salvation to the unconverted and expounding the doctrine of salvation to those who are converted, though too many preachers make little distinction here. Great care needs to be exercised when preaching from one of the Epistles to a general congregation. Lest on the one hand, the children’s bread be cast to the dogs, or on the other, seekers after the Lord be stumbled. While it is true that, in the absolute sense, no sinner can save himself or even contribute anything toward his salvation by any physical or mental act of his own, yet he must be constantly reminded that the Gospel sets before him an external Savior (rather than One who is working secretly and invincibly in him) whom he is responsible to promptly receive on the terms He has offered to him.

It is most important that pulpit and pew alike should have a right conception of the relation of faith to salvation, a full-orbed conception and not a restricted and one-sided view. Believing is not only an evidence of salvation and a mark of regeneration, but it is also necessary in order to salvation. True, the sinner is not saved for his faith, yet is it equally true that he cannot be saved without it. That believing is in one sense a saving act is clearly affirmed in, “But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition, but of them that believe to the saving of the soul” (Hebrews 10:39). Take the case of Cornelius. It is plain from Acts 10:2, 4 that a work of grace has been wrought in his heart before Peter was sent to him, yet Acts 11:14 makes it equally clear that the Apostle must go and speak words “whereby he and his house be saved,” and part of those “words” were “to Him give all the Prophets witness, that through His name whoever believes in Him shall receive remission of sins” (10:43). Let it not be objected that we are hereby making a Savior of faith, for Christ hesitated not to say, “your faith has saved you” (Luke 7:50).

As an example of how blessedly Calvin himself preserved the balance of Truth, we quote the following from his Institutes. “Yet at the same time a pious man will not overlook inferior causes. Nor because he accounts those from whom he has received any benefit, the ministers of the Divine goodness, will he therefore cast them by unnoticed, as though they deserved no thanks for their kindness; but will feel and readily acknowledge his obligation to them, and study to return it as ability and opportunity may permit. Finally, he will reverence and praise God as the principal Author of benefits received, will honor men as His ministers; and will understand, what, indeed, is the fact that the will of God has laid him under obligations to those persons by whose means the Lord has been pleased to communicate His benefits.” While ascribing the supreme honor and glory to the Author of every blessing, we must not despise the instruments He may design to employ in the imparting of them.

The great Reformer went on: “If he suffer any loss either through negligence or through imprudence, he will conclude that it happened according to the Divine will, but will also impute the blame of it to himself. If anyone be removed by disease, whom, while it was his duty to take care of him, he has treated with neglect-though he cannot be ignorant that that person had reached those limits which it was impossible for him to pass, yet he will not make this a plea to extenuate his guilt; but, because he has not faithfully performed his duty towards him, will consider him as having perished through his criminal negligence. Much less, when fraud and preconceived malice appear in the perpetration either of murder or of theft, will he excuse those enormities under the pretext of the Divine Providence: in the same crime he will distinctly contemplate the righteousness of God and the iniquity of man, as they respectively discover themselves” (Book 1, chapter 17, section 9). How far was Calvin from the squint-eyed vision of many who now claim to be his admirers!

When writing on “the conducting of prayer in a right and proper manner,” Calvin said: “The fourth and last rule is, That thus prostrate with true humility, we should nevertheless be animated to pray by the certain hope of obtaining our requests. It is indeed an apparent contradiction to connect a certain confidence of God’s favor with a sense of His righteous vengeance, though these two things are perfectly consistent if persons oppressed by their own guilt be encouraged solely by the Divine goodness. For as we have before stated that repentance and faith, of which one terrifies and the other exhilarates, are inseparably connected, so their union is necessary in prayer. And this agreement is briefly expressed by David: ‘I will come into Your house in the multitude of Your mercy; and in Your fear will I worship toward Your holy temple’ (Psalm 5:7). Under the goodness of God he comprehends faith, though not to the exclusion of fear, for His majesty not only commands our reverence, but our own unworthiness makes its forget all pride and security and fills us with fear. I do not mean a confidence which delivers the mind from all sense of anxiety, and soothes it into pleasant and perfect tranquility, for such a placid satisfaction belongs to those whose prosperity is equal to their wishes, who are affected by no care, corroded by no anxiety and alarmed by no fear. And the saints have an excellent stimulus to calling upon God when their needs and perplexities harass and disquiets them and they are almost despairing in themselves, until faith opportunely relieves them; because amid such troubles the goodness of God is so glorious in their view, that though they groan under the pressure of present calamities and are likewise tormented with the fear of greater in future, yet a reliance on it alleviates the difficulty of bearing them and encourages a hope of deliverance.”

Here we have brought together two radically different exercises of the mind, which are totally diverse in their springs, their nature and their tendency-fear and confidence, perturbation and tranquility: two spiritual graces which some imagine neutralize each other-humility and assurance. A sight of God’s ineffable holiness fills a renewed heart with awe, and when it is coupled with a sense of His high majesty and inflexible righteousness, the soul-conscious of its excuseless sins, its defilement and its guilt-is made to fear and tremble, feeling utterly unfit and unworthy to address the Most High. Yes, but if the humbled saint is able to also contemplate the goodness of God, view Him as the Father of mercies and consider some of His exceeding great and precious promises which are exactly suited to his dire needs, he is thereby encouraged to hope, and while his humility does not then degenerate into presumption, yet is he now constrained to come boldly unto the Throne of Grace and present his petitions.

“The prayers of a pious man, therefore, must proceed from both these dispositions, and must also contain and discover them both: though he must groan under present evils and is anxiously afraid of new ones, yet at the same time he must resort for refuge to God, not doubting His readiness to extend the assistance of His hand. For God is highly displeased by our distrust if we supplicate Him for blessings which we have no expectation of receiving. There is nothing, therefore, more suitable to the nature of prayers, than that they be conformed to this rule-not to rush forward with temerity, but to follow the steps of faith. ‘If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraids not. But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering’ (James 1:5, 6). Where, by opposing ‘faith’ to ‘wavering’ he very aptly expresses its nature. And equally worthy of attention is what he adds, that they avail nothing who call upon God in unbelief and doubt, and are uncertain in their minds whether they shall be heard or not.”

The charge preferred by God against Israel’s priests of old-“you have not kept My ways, but have been partial in the Law” (Malachi 2:9)-applies to many preachers today. Some have gone to such extremes that they have denied there is any such thing as God chastising His own dear children, arguing that since, “He has not beheld iniquity in Jacob, neither has He seen perverseness in Israel” (Numbers 23:21), and since He has declared of His Bride, “You are all fair My love, there is no spot in you” (Song. 4:7), then there remains no occasion for the rod. It is this dwelling upon favorite portions of Truth to the exclusion of all others which has led many into grievous errors. The non-imputation of sin to believers and the chastising of sin in believers are both plainly taught in the Scriptures (see, for example, 2 Samuel 12:13, 14 where both facts are mentioned side by side), and whether or not they can be reconciled to mere human reason, both must be firmly held by us.

As Matthew Henry tersely expressed it, “In the doctrine of Christ there are paradoxes which to men of corrupt mind are stumbling stones.” It is the two-foldness of Truth which has (in part) furnished occasion for Infidels to declare that, “the Bible is full of contradictions,” for being blind spiritually, they are unable to perceive the perfect harmony of the whole. To what a sorry pass have things come, then, when we find some who wish to be regarded as the very champions of orthodoxy, making the same charge against those who contend for the entire Faith once delivered to the saints. The Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth, is the standard which must be applied to the pulpit equally with the courts of law. One element of Truth must not be pressed to such an extreme that another is denied, but each given its due and distinctive place.

It is a favorite device of Satan’s to drive from one extreme to another. This may be seen by observing the order to the temptations which he set before the Savior. First, he sought to overthrow Christ’s faith, bring Him to doubt the Word of God and His goodness unto Him-He has proclaimed from Heaven that You are His beloved Son, yet He is suffering You to starve to death here in the wilderness-as is clear from Satan’s, “if You be the Son of God” prefacing his, “command that these stones be made bread.” Finding that he had failed to prevail by such an assault, Satan then took the exact opposite course in his next attack, seeking to bring the Lord Jesus to act presumptuously: “If You be the Son of God, cast Yourself down, for it is written, He shall give His angels charge concerning You, and in their hands they shall bear You up, lest any time you dash Your foot against a stone.” The force of which was: since You are so fully assured of the Father’s loving care, demonstrate Your confidence in His protection; since Your faith in His Word is so unshakeable, count upon His promise that no harm shall befall You even though You cast Yourself from the pinnacle of the Temple.

The above has been recorded for our learning, for it makes manifest to us that deceit of the Devil and the cunning tactics which he employs, especially that of swinging from one extreme to another. Let it be steadily borne in mind that as he dealt there with Christ the Head, so Satan continues to act with all His members. If he cannot bring them to one extreme, he will endeavor to drive them to another. If he cannot bring a man to covetousness and miserliness then he will attempt to drive him to prodigality and thriftlessness. If a man be of the sober and somber type, let him beware lest the Devil in condemning him for this leads him into levity and irreverence. The Devil cannot endure one who turns not either to the right hand or to the left (Isaiah 30:21), nevertheless, we must labor to keep the golden mean, neither doubting on the one hand, or presuming on the other, neither giving way to despair nor to recklessness.

Let us not forget that Truth itself may be misused (2 Peter 3:16), and the very grace of God turned into lasciviousness (Jude 4). Solemn warnings are these! “Commit your way unto the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass” (Psalm 37:5)-that is a blessed promise, yet I altogether pervert the same if I use it to the neglect of duty and sit down and do nothing. “Stand fast therefore in the liberty with which Christ has made us free” (Galatians 5:1)-that is an important precept, yet I put it to a wrong use if I so stand up for my own rights that I exercise no love unto the brethren. “Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time” (1 Peter 1:5) that, too, is a blessed promise, yet it does not exempt me from using all proper means for my preservation. The Christian farmer knows that unless God is pleased to bless his labors, he will reap no harvest, but that does not hinder him from plowing and harrowing.

Let us close these remarks by a helpful quotation from one who showed the perfect consistency between Romans 8:38, 39 and 1 Corinthians 9:27-“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” “The reckless and listless Corinthians thought they could safely indulge themselves to the very verge of sin, while this devoted Apostle considered himself as engaged in a life-struggle for his salvation. The same Apostle, however, who evidently acted on the principle that the righteous scarcely are saved and that the kingdom of Heaven suffers violence, at other times breaks out in the most joyous assurance of salvation, and says that he was persuaded that nothing in Heaven, earth or Hell could ever separate him from the love of God. The one state of mind is the necessary condition of the other. It is only those who are conscious of this constant and deadly struggle with sin to whom this assurance is given. In the very same breath Paul says, ‘O wretched man that I am,’ and, ‘thanks be to God who gives us the victory’ (Romans 7:24, 25). It is the indolent and self-indulgent Christian who is always in doubt,” to which we may add, as it is the empty professor who is filled with a carnal confidence (Charles Hodge on First Corinthians).