Professional Documents
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CI--IAPTER V
SALVATION
BY GRACE
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BY REV. THOMAS
SPURGEON,
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with hounding heart and beaming face, if one had suggested
that ''Grace is God's f ree, unmerited favor, graciously best~1owed upon the unwortl 1y and sinful.' ' And if Mr. Phi llips
himself had been on board, an.cl had preached his Co11gress sermon the ,re, and had declared that ''G race is something in Gold
which is at the heart of all His redeeming activities, . the downv,ard stoop and reach of God, God bending from the heights
of His majesty, to touch and grasp our insignificance and
pover t,y,' ' the weath ,er-beaten face woul d have beamed ,again,
and the converted sailor ....
man would have ,said within himself,
''Oh, to Grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be."
Verily, th ,e world thro ,ugh its wis,do1n ]<nows no t God. The
true meaning of ''Grace'' is hidden from the wise and pntdent, and is revealed to babes. ''Cottage dames'' are often
wiser as to the deep things of God than savants and scientists.
Our learned traveller dwelt in perpett1al sunshine, but he was
11.0 ,t able f'r om experience
to say, ''God hath sl1ined in our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God,
in the face of Jesus Christ.''
.
Dr.. Dale, Jong years ago, lamen,ted that the word '' Grace''
was becoming disu .sed. It has, alas I been use ,d a great deal
less since then. His own defii1ition of ''Grace'' is wortl1 rememberit1g: ''Grace is love which passes beyond all claims
to love. It is love which after fulfilling the obligations imposed by law, bas an unexhausted wealth of kindness.'' And
h.iere is Dr . Maclar ,en's:
''Grace wh ,at is that? The word
means, first, Jove in exerci se to, those who are be1ow the lover,
or who deserve sometl1ing else; stooping love that condescends, . and patient love that forgives . Then it means the
gifts which such love bestows ; and 'then it means the effect
of these gifts in the beauties of character and conduct develloped in the ,rec,eiver .s.''
[)r. Jowett puts the matter strikingly:
''Grace is energy.
Grace is love-energy. Grace is a redeeming love-energy ministering to the unlovely, and endowing the unlovely with its
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so
DEFINABLE?
IS ''GRACE''
Salvation by Grace
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.,.
The Fundanie,itals
salvation, and tl1e way to secure it. It is even possible to entertain some true conception of sin, and of salvation ., without
c.omprel1ending, or, at all events, with .out su.bmitt .ing to Go,d's
method of salvatio n. One may r eali.ze that to be sav,ed f r,om
sin is to o,vercome its po wer a.s w ell as to es.c.ape its penalty,
and yet suppo ,se that this is not impossible to f alien men by
way of profound penitence, radic al ref ormation, and precis1
piety.
.
Nor ca.n these two p,rinciples be combin .ed. They are t,~
tally distinct; nay, more, they are at variance the one with
th e other. A blend of the two is impo,ssible. ''If ,it is by
1
SJ
''Everything
we do we
Cho ,se11 Jew ,s
Must not use
.
sin
,,
in,
What , has the Word of God to say about this all-important matter? It declares most plainly that all hav e sinned, that
sin is exceedi ng sinful, that retribution follows iniq~ity as 'the
cart-wheel follows the footprints . of the ox that draws it, tltat
none can ma ke his hands clean or r,enew his own heart. It
tells us also that God, in His infinite mercy, has devised a
way of s,alvation, and that none b~t Jesus can do helpless sin. ners good. Behold the bleeding victims , and th.e smoking aita .rs
lof the ol 1d 1dispensati 1on ! Th 1ey ,speak of sin thiat neede 1d to
be put. away, and they fo reshadowe :d a sacrifice of nobler n,ame
and richer blood than the,y, th e only Sacrifice whicl1 can mak e
the comers th,ereunto perfe ,ct. Hea rk,en to, David as he cries: ,
''Enter n,ot into ju ,dgm ent with Thy servant, for in 'Thy sight
shall no flesh living be ju stified.''
The
prophets
te11
t'
h
e
sel
f
same
ta1e.
''By
the
knowledge
of Him shall My righteous Servant justify many, for He shall
bear their iniquities'' (Isa. 53.:11 ). Then there is that wonderful word . whic'h broke the fetters that were on Luther's
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The Fundamentals
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soul as he climbed the h.oly Staircase on. his knees: ''"fl1e jiust
shall live by faith.''
The Apostles bear similar witness. Peter tells of Jesus
of N aza .reth, and declares, ''In none other is there salvat :i.on;
or neither is ther e any other name under heaven, tha t is given
among men, wherein we mu st be saved'' (Acts 4 :12, R. v.).
Paul is in sistent on justification b.Y faith alone. ''By the
d.eeds of the law th .ere s,ha ll no flesh be ,justi .fied in His sight ''
(Rom. 3 :20),. ''By gra ce ye are saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves; it is the ,gift of God; not of workst lest a ny
man should boast'' (Eph. 2 :8 and 9). ''Not by works of
righteou sn-es,s which we have do11.e, but according to His mercy
H 'e, sav ,ed us, b y the washing of r egeneration, and renewing ol
thf! Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundant ty throug r1
Jesus Chris ,t our Saviour; that being justified by His grace,
'We sh ould be ma de h eirs according t 0 the ho pe of eternal
tife'' (Ti ,tus 3:5; , 6, 7). (See .also Gal . .3:11, Ph .ii. 3:8 and
NO THOROUGHF 'ARE
i -- -
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THE
I
'VERDICT OF HISTORY
,
1.
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Sal'vation by Grace
it)" of all. The law was fragmentary a11d rud imental then.
Tl1ere was but one command a solitary test. B.ut it was one
t.oo, ma:n,y for ou.r first par ,ents~ Later, the fl1
ood-sw 1ep,t world
was soon defiled again. Lat -er still, there came a law to
Israel, holy an d ju.st and good. Did t]1ey obey? Let the
carcasses tl1at strew tl1e wilderness bear witness. Is ther ,e a
~lerfect life in all Tin1e's annals? Th ,e Pharisees were p1r~
e111inentas professional religionists, y,et Jesus said, ' 'Except
Your righteo ,u snes,s shall exceed the righteousnes s of the scribes
and Ph .a.r.i.se,es, ye shall in no wis,e enter int ,o the king dom of
heaven." They, as it were, traveled in an express train, and,
of course, fi.rst -class, but i.t was t,/ie iuron,g ,train! Saul of
Tarsus was a Pharisee of the Pharise es, and he was n 0 hypocrite, mind YOU, bu.t he, too, was on the wron .g track, till he
changed trains at Dam ,asctts Jt111ction. Ther ,e, he re1in.quished
a)] con .fidence in tl1e flesh, and thenceforth exclaimed: ''What
things wer e gain to, me, these have I ,count.ed loss for Christ~
Yea, verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency ,of the knowledge o,f Chri st _Jesus. my Lord, for whom
I suffered the loss of all things, a11d do coun t them but dung
that I may ,vin Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine
OWn righteousne ss which is of th e law, but that whi c'h is
througl1 faith in Christ, the righteousness which is of God by
1
fa-itl1..''
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The Fundamentals
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WHAT
SAITH
THE
CROSS?
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Grace and atonement go hand in hand r Dr. Adolph Saphir ,
has well said: ''The world does not know what grace is. Grace
is not pity; grace is not indulgence nor leniency; grace is not
long-suffering. Grace is as infinite an attribute of ' God as is
.Eis power, and as is His wis.dom. Grace manifests itself in
righteoustless, Grace has a righteousness which is based upon
atone .ment or substitution, land through the whole Scriptre
there run the golden thread of grace and tl1e scarlet thread of
ato neme11t,.wl1icl1 t ogether reveal to us, for man, a rig hteousness that comes dow11 from heaven.''
The fact that Christ
has died, a Sacrifice for sin, surely settles the question as to
whether salvation is or is not b,y Grace. ''If righteousness is
througl1 the law, then Christ died for nought."
Yon great
Sacrifice were worse than waste, if man can save himself.
They who think to be saved through works of the flesh make
voi d the gr ace of God. The unspe ,akable gift had never been
donated ; the substitutionary sacrifice had never been o:ffered,
had any other way been possible. Calvary says, more plainly
than anytl1ing else, ''Salvation is of the Lord.'' Away, ye
tnerit-mongers from the Cross, where ''the sword of Justice
i..:scabbarded in the jeweled sheath of Grace.'' Penances, and
pieties, 3ind p,erf ormances are less than vanity in view of the
''unknown sufferings'' of the spotless Lamb of God. It is
impossible for self-righteousness to thrive on the slopes of the
hill cal.led Calvary.
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ALL OF GRACE
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The Fundamental'$
S8
that nothing short of Omni potent lov,e can tift the sinner, magnify the law which he has mutilated~ ancl make him pure
enough to dwell in Lig 'ht. Tl1e thought of s,aving si,nners is
God's, born, in the secret places of His great loving ' heart.
''G race first contrived the way to s.ave r ebellio,us man.w'' The
accomplishment of the wondrous plan reveals God's Grace
tliroughollt. He sent His Son to be tl1e Saviour o.f the World.
He freely delivered Him up for us all. He acknow]edged Him
in Hi s 11u1niliation as, Hi ,s beloved Son, but fors ,ook Him on
the t.ree, 'because He was made sin f o,r us. Moreover, He
brought . again - f'rom rthe dead our Lord Jesus, that great
Shepl1erd of the s11eep,and enthroned Him at the right hand
Qf the Majesty on high. There followed the shedding forth
of the S,pir it to convict the world of sin, and of r.igh,t ,eou,sness,
_and of ju ,dgment . He re is grace at every turn.
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, ''THROUGH
FAITI1:''
...J
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jn the great co11gregation, '' is every,thing f ,or not,hing,J Christ
free ! Pa rdon free! Heaven free!'' Thanks be to , God for
a gratuitous salvation I
But is faith, also, the gift o.f God ? As,,sur,edly it is, ii enly
because it is one of the most precious faculties of the human
h eart. What have ,ve that we have not ~eceived ? But f aitb in
Christ is, in a very special sense, a Divine gift. ''Not that
something is given us which is different from abs ,olute trust
as exercised in. other ca ses , but that such trust is divinely
guided and fixed upon the right object. Gracious manifesta- .
tio .ns of the soul's need, a11d of tl1e Lord's glory , prevail upon
the will to repose tru st upon . that 1objec.t.'' To trust is natura,Jt
but to trust Christ, rather than self, Or ceremonies, is sup erit is the gift of God ,. More ,over , faith, to be worthy
natural
o f 'the name, must not he dry-ey .ed, and wh ,o can melt tb e hea rt
and turn the flint into , a fountain of water s b11t the God of al)
i)
G1race.
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..
''LEST.ANY
MAN .SHOU{J)
BOAST';
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Tlie Fundamentals
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1n
a11
~th at ,15
II
...
,SaJvatio1i by Grace
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The Fundamentals
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has been snat che d f 'r o1m helplessness and despai :r by un,merited
grace, will never forg et to carry himself as a fo:r ,given man. ''
(Rev ~ T. Phil]ips.) He ,vill not fail to look back to the rock
whence he was hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence he
v;,as digged. Gipsy Smith keeps the hedge row at the fo ,ot
0 f. his Camb rid,ge gard .en that he may enjoy u.ninterrupted
view of the Common on W'hich his, fatl1er's tent was pitched,
and whenc -e he us ed to eally forth as a young timber-merchant.
(He sold clothes -pegs, you remember.)
We love him for this.
Lifted to honor and u sef ulnes s by Grace, he gives God the
praise. Grac e Divine make s graci ,ous men. Good works and
graces are b,y no means . excluded from believ ers.' lives. They
are the produ ct of gratuitous salvation, the ev iden ce of saving
faith, the ac kn owledgment of grateful hearts. Tl1e Grace,saved si.nner W orks ou,t th,e s.alvation th.at has been wr ought
iL him. He i.s his Savio ur's willi,ng bon ,d-slave. He cannot
be c:ointent witl1 trium ,phing in Cl1ris,t's grace; he must grace
His triumph, too. It is, with him as it is with the inhabita~ts
of the city of B.ath, who record their ,appreciation of its healing waters on a tablet inscribed as follows :
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''Thes ,e healing waters have flow ,ed onfr om tim e ,imme ,mor .ial,
Thei r virtu e animpai red, their heat undimini .shed,
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said C. H. Spur ,geon, ''give them the more of it.'' Not what
they wa~t; but what they need we must supp]y. If the age
is pleasure-loving, unbelieving, self-satisfied, the more call for
faithful testimony as to the nature of sin, God's attitude to wards 1t1 and the terms on which He offers salvation. We
must aim the more at heart , and consci ence. We m,ust seek
to ar ,ous,e and evc,n alarm the sinner, while we invite as ,vvooingly as. ever to the one Mediator. A full-orbed Gospel treats
alike of ab~unding sin, and of much more abounding Grace.
Si'urely Dr. Wat ts san ,g truly when he, pictured the ,r,an ...
somed recountin ,g their experie .nces of .G:race:
T'he F undament,aJs
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Salvation by Grace
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