The Assembly of God Part 7

THOUGHTS

ON

THE CONFIRMATION VOWS

"All that the Lord hath spoken we will do." Such were the memorable words with which the people of Israel virtually abandoned the ground on which the blessed G.o.d had just been setting them, and on which, too, He had dealt with them in bringing them up out of the land of Egypt. "Ye have seen," said He, "what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I bare you on eagles' wings, and brought you unto Myself." All this was grace--pure, perfect, divine grace. He heard the groans and beheld the sorrows of the people amid the darkness and degradation of Egyptian bondage, and in His unmingled mercy He came down to deliver them. He sought not their aid, He looked not for aught from them. "His own arm brought salvation." He acted _for_ them, _with_ them, and _in_ them; and that, too, in the solitariness and sovereignty of His own unfailing grace. He said to Moses at the opening of the book of Exodus, "_I am come down to deliver them_." This was absolute and unqualified grace.

There was no "if," no "but," no condition, no vow, no resolve. It was FREE GRACE, founded upon G.o.d's eternal counsels, and righteously displayed in immediate connection with "the blood of the Lamb." Hence, from first to last, the word to Israel was, "_stand still, and see the salvation of Jehovah_." They were not called to "resolve," or to "vow,"

or to "do." G.o.d was acting for them--He was doing ALL: He placed Himself between them and every enemy, and every evil. He spread forth the shield of His salvation that they might hide themselves behind its impenetrable defences, and abide there in peace.

But, alas, Israel made a vow--a strange, a singular vow indeed. Not satisfied with G.o.d's doings, they would fain talk of their own. They would be doing, as if G.o.d's salvation were incomplete; and in lamentable ignorance of their own weakness and nothingness, they said, "All that the Lord hath spoken we will do." This was taking a bold stand, a high ground. For a poor worm to make such a vow proved how little grace was really understood, or nature's true condition apprehended.

However, Israel having undertaken to "_do_," they were put to the test, and the most cursory view of Ex. xix. will be sufficient to show what a marked change took place the moment they had uttered the words "we will do." The Lord had just reminded them of how He "bare them on eagles'

wings, and brought them unto Himself;" but now He says, "Set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death." This was a very different aspect of things. And let my reader remember, it was the simple result of man's having said, "I will do." There is far more involved in those words than many might imagine. If we take our eyes off from G.o.d's actings, and fix them on our own, the consequences must be disastrous in the extreme. But we shall see this more fully ere we close this paper. Let us now inquire how the house of Israel fulfilled their singular vow. We shall see that it ended like human vows in every age.[VIII.]

Did they do "_all_" that the Lord commanded? Did they "continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them?" Alas, no.

On the contrary, we find that ere the tables of testimony were given, they had broken the very first commandment in the Decalogue, by making a golden calf, and bowing down thereto. This was the earliest fruit of their broken vow; and then, onward they went, from stage to stage, dishonoring the name of the Lord--breaking His laws, despising His judgments, trampling under foot His sacred inst.i.tutions. Then followed the stoning of His messengers whom, in patient grace and long-suffering, He sent unto them. Finally, when the only-begotten Son came forth from the bosom of the Father, they with wicked hearts rejected and with wicked hands crucified Him. Thus we pa.s.s from Sinai to Calvary: at the former we hear man undertaking to do all the Lord's commandments, and at the latter see him crucifying the Lord Himself. So much for man's vows, so much for man's "_I will do_." The fragments of the tables of testimony scattered beneath the fiery mount told the first melancholy tale of the failure of man's audacious resolution: nor was there any real break in the narrative, which has its closing scene around the cross of Calvary. All was failure--gross, unmitigated failure. Thus it must ever be when man presumes to vow or resolve in the presence of G.o.d.

Now there is a very striking resemblance between Israel's vow at the foot of mount Sinai and the Confirmation Vow of the Establishment. We have rapidly glanced at the former; let us now refer to the latter.

In "the ministration of public baptism of infants," after various prayers and the reading of the Gospel, the minister addresses the G.o.dfathers and G.o.dmothers on this wise: "Dearly beloved, ye have brought this child here to be baptized; ye have prayed that our Lord Jesus Christ would vouchsafe to receive him, to release him of his sins, to sanctify him with the Holy Ghost, to give him the kingdom of heaven and everlasting life. Ye have heard also that our Lord Jesus Christ hath promised in His gospel to grant all these things that ye have prayed for: which promise He, for His part, will most surely keep and perform.

Wherefore, after this promise made by Christ, this infant must also faithfully, for his part, promise by you that are his sureties (until he come of age to take it upon himself), that _he will renounce_ the devil and all his works, and constantly believe G.o.d's holy word and _obediently keep His commandments_. I demand, therefore, Dost thou, in the name of this child, renounce the devil and all his works, the vain pomp and glory of the world, with all covetous desires of the same, and the carnal desires of the flesh, so that thou wilt not follow nor be led by them? _Answer_: I RENOUNCE THEM ALL." Again: "Wilt thou obediently keep G.o.d's holy will and commandments, and walk in the same all the days of thy life? _Answer_: I WILL."

Both the above vows the children, when come to years of discretion, deliberately and solemnly take upon themselves, as may be seen by reference to "The Order of Confirmation." Thus we have, in the first place, people vowing and resolving, on behalf of unconscious infants, to "renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil," and to keep all G.o.d's commandments, all the days of their life; and, in the second place, we find those children, in due time, placing themselves under the weight of those awful vows; and all this, moreover, as a necessary condition to the fulfilment of Christ's promise. That is to say, if they allow aught of the world, the flesh or the devil to adhere to them; or if they fail in the faithful keeping of _all_ G.o.d's commandments, then they cannot be saved, but must, so far as they are concerned, inevitably be condemned.

In short, salvation is here made to depend on a covenant to which man makes himself a party. Christ is represented as willing to do His part, provided always that man accomplishes his; but not otherwise. In other words, there is an "_if_" in the matter, and, as a consequence, there never is, and never can be, the certainty of salvation; yea, there can only be the constant terror of eternal condemnation hanging over the soul; that is, if there is any thought about the matter at all.

If the heart is not perfectly a.s.sured of the fact that Christ has in very deed done all; that He has put away our sin; that He has forever canceled our debt; that He has settled, by His perfect sacrifice, every question that could possibly arise, whether it be the charges of conscience, the accusings of Satan, or the claims of divine justice; that He has not left a cloud on the prospect; that all is perfectly done--in a word, that we stand before G.o.d in the power of divine righteousness, and in the same favor with His own Son; if, I say, there be any doubt in the soul as to the eternal truth of all these things--then there cannot be settled peace. And that there is not this settled peace in the case of those who have taken on themselves the above tremendous vows is but too evident from the clouds and darkness which hang around their spirits as they tread the next stage of their ecclesiastical journey.

We could hardly expect that persons who boldly vow to renounce all evil, and perfectly to fulfil all good, could approach the Lord's table with any other acknowledgment than the following, namely: "The burden of our sins is intolerable." It would need an obtuse conscience to be able to shake off the conviction that those vows have been unfulfilled; and then, a.s.suredly, the burden must be intolerable. If I have taken vows upon me, they will, without doubt, prove in the sequel to be dishonored vows; and thus the whole matter of my salvation comes to the ground, and I find myself, according to the terms of my own self-chosen covenant, righteously exposed to the curses of a broken law. I have undertaken to do everything; and yet I have in reality done nothing. Hence I am "cursed;" for the word is, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them."

Nor will it at all alter the matter to say that those extraordinary vows are entered into in dependence upon divine grace; for there cannot be such a thing as dependence upon _grace_ when people are placing themselves directly under the _law_. No two things can be more opposite than law and grace. They are put in direct contrast in Paul's epistles to the Romans and Galatians. "Whosoever of you are justified by the law ([Greek: en nomo]),[IX.] ye are fallen from grace" (Gal. v. 4). Hence, to think of depending upon grace when putting myself under law is precisely the same as if I were to look to G.o.d for grace to enable me to subvert the entire gospel of His Son Jesus Christ. "As many as are of works of law ([Greek: ergon nomou])[IX.] are under the curse." Could I depend upon G.o.d's grace to enable me to abide under the curse? The thought is preposterous in the extreme. And be it observed that the apostle, in the last-quoted pa.s.sage, does not merely say, "As many as fail to keep the law are under the curse." This he distinctly teaches, no doubt; but the special point is, that as many as attempt to stand before G.o.d on the ground of "works of law," are of necessity under the curse, for the simplest of all reasons, that they are not able to satisfy His claims.

In order for man to satisfy G.o.d's claims, he must bewhat in himself he cannot be; that is, without sin. The law demands, as its right, perfect obedience; and those who take upon them the Confirmation Vows promise perfect obedience. They promise to renounce all evil, and to fulfil all good, in the most absolute manner; and moreover, they make their salvation to depend upon their fulfilment of those vows; else why make them at all?

This, when looked at in the light of the apostolic teaching in Romans and Galatians, is the most complete denial of all the fundamental truths of the gospel. In the first place, it is a denial of man's total ruin, of his condition as one "dead in trespa.s.ses and sins," "alienated from the life of G.o.d," "without strength," "unG.o.dly," "enmity against G.o.d."

If I can undertake to renounce all evil, and to do all G.o.d's commandments, then, a.s.suredly, I do not know myself to be a lost, ruined, helpless creature; and, as a consequence, I do not need a Saviour. If I can boldly undertake to "_renounce_" and to "_do_," to "keep" and to "walk," I am manifestly not lost, and hence I do not want salvation; I am not dead, and hence I do not want life; I am not "without strength," and hence I do not want the energy of that new, that divine life which is imparted by the Holy Ghost to all who, by His grace, believe in the Son of G.o.d. If I am capable of doing for myself, I do not want another, even the Lord Jesus Christ, to do all for me.

Again, as flowing out of what has already been stated, those vows do entirely set aside the essential glories, divine dignities and sacred virtues of the cross of Christ. If I can get a G.o.dfather and G.o.dmother to take vows on them on my behalf until I am capable of taking them on myself, then it is evident I cannot possibly know the deep blessedness of having all my vows, all my responsibilities and liabilities as a lost sinner, all my sins and shortcomings,--everything, in short,--fully and eternally answered in the Cross. If there is anything in my case which has not been perfectly settled in the Cross, then I must inevitably perish. I may make vows and resolutions, but they are as the morning cloud that pa.s.seth away. I may get a sponsor to renounce the devil on my behalf, and I may in due time talk of renouncing him for myself; but what if the devil all the while has fast hold of both my sponsor and myself? He will not renounce me, unless the chain by which he binds me has been snapped asunder by the Cross.

Again, I may get a sponsor to undertake to keep all G.o.d's commandments for me, and, in due time, I may undertake to keep them for myself; but what if neither my sponsor nor I really understand the true nature or spirituality, the majesty or stringency, of that law? Yea, more. What if both he and I are, by our very vows, made debtors to do the whole law, and thus shut up under its terrible curse? What then becomes of all our vows and resolutions? Is it not plain that I am throwing overboard the cross? Truly so. That cross must either be everything or nothing to me.

If it is anything it must be everything; and if it is not everything it is nothing. Thus it stands, my beloved reader. The gospel of the grace of G.o.d sets forth Christ as the great Sponsor and Surety of His people.

The Confirmation Service sets one sinner to stand sponsor for another, or for himself. The gospel sets forth One, who is possessed of "unsearchable riches," as the security for His people; the Confirmation Service sets one bankrupt to stand security for another or for himself.

What avails such security? Who would accept of it? It is perfectly valueless to G.o.d and man. If I am a bankrupt, I cannot promise to pay anything, and if I could promise, no one would accept of it--yea, it would be justly regarded in the light of an empty formality. The promissory note of a bankrupt is little worth; and truly the vows and resolutions of a poor ruined sinner are not merely an empty formality, but a solemn mockery, in the presence of Almighty G.o.d. No one who knows himself would presume to vow, or resolve, to keep all G.o.d's commandments--such an one would have the full conviction that he could never do anything of the kind.

But, as a further reply to the statement that those Confirmation Vows are made in entire dependence upon the grace of G.o.d, I would observe that grace can only be known or trusted by those who are His. "They that know Thy name will put their trust in Thee," and none else. Now, the word of G.o.d connects eternal life with the knowledge of Him. "This is life eternal, that they might know Thee, the only true G.o.d, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent" (John xvii. 3). If, therefore, I have eternal life, I need not make vows to get it. If I am eternally saved, I need not make vows to get salvation. If my sins are all canceled by the precious blood of the Lamb, I need not make vows to get them canceled.

Neither baptismal vows, confirmation vows, sacramental vows, nor any other vows are necessary for one who has found life, righteousness, wisdom, sanctification, redemption--yea, all things in Christ.

The comfort and peace of the feeblest believer are based upon the fact that Christ took all his vows, all his liabilities, all his sins, all his iniquities entirely upon Himself, and, by His death upon the cross, gloriously discharged them all. This sets him entirely free. Hence, it follows that if I am not a child of G.o.d, I cannot keep vows; and if I am, I need not make them. In either case, I deny man's fallen condition, and set aside the true glories of the Cross. It may be in ignorance--it may be with the most sincere intention--no doubt; but the most profound ignorance and the purest sincerity cannot alter the real principle which lies at the root of all manner of vows, promises, and resolutions. There is, beyond all question, involved therein a plain denial of the great foundation-truths of the Christian religion. A vow a.s.sumes the competency to fulfil. Well, then, if I vow to keep all G.o.d's commandments perfectly, all the days of my life, I am not lost or without strength. I must have strength, else I could not undertake such a ponderous responsibility.

And, my reader, remark further the strange anomaly involved in this system of vows; that while it denies my lost estate, it robs me of everything approaching to a certainty of ever being saved. If I resolve to keep G.o.d's commandments as a necessary condition of my salvation, I never can be sure of being saved until I have fulfilled the condition; but inasmuch as I never can fulfil it, I, therefore, never can be sure of my salvation; and thus I travel on, from stage to stage, from baptism to confirmation, from confirmation to communion, and from communion to the death-bed, in a state of miserable doubt and torturing uncertainty.

This is not the gospel. It is "a different gospel which is not another."

The immediate effect of the work of Christ, when laid hold of by faith, is to give settled peace to the conscience; the effect of the system of vows, is to keep the heart in constant doubt and heaviness. How many have approached the ordinance of confirmation with trembling hearts, at the thought of having to take upon their own shoulders the solemn vows which, from the period of their baptism, had rested on their G.o.dfathers and G.o.dmothers. How could it be otherwise with an honest mind? If I am really sincere, the thought of having to take on myself those solemn baptismal vows, must fill me with horror. Some, alas! go through these things with thoughtless hearts and frivolous minds; but it is evident the confirmation service was never framed for such. It was designed for thoughtful, serious, earnest spirits; and all such must, a.s.suredly, retire from the ceremony, with troubled hearts and burdened consciences.

With what different feelings we gaze upon the cross of the Son of G.o.d!

There, in good truth, Satan was renounced, and his works destroyed.

There the law of G.o.d was magnified and made honorable, vindicated, and established. There the justice of G.o.d was fully answered. There Satan was vanquished; there conscience gets its full answer; there the cup of G.o.d's unmingled wrath against sin was drained to the dregs by His blessed Son. Where is the proof of all this? Not in the unaccomplished, dishonored vows of poor frail mortals; but in a risen, ascended, glorified Christ, seated at the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens.

Who that knows aught of the pure and most excellent grace of G.o.d, or that has tasted aught of the true blessedness of divinely-accomplished redemption, could tolerate such language as, "CHRIST FOR HIS PART" and "THIS INFANT FOR HIS PART?" Who that has listened, by faith, to those words, "It is finished," issuing, as they do, from amid the solemn scenes of Calvary, could endure a sinful mortal's "_I do_," or "_I will_?" What a total setting aside of grace! What a tarnishing of the brightness of G.o.d's salvation! What an insult to the righteousness of G.o.d, which is by faith, and without works! What a manifest return to a religion of ordinances and the poor works of man! Christ and an infant, or the infant's sureties, are placed on the same platform to work out salvation. Is it not so? If not, what mean the words, "Christ for His part, and this infant for his part?" Is it not plain that salvation is made to depend upon something or some one besides Christ?

Unquestionably. The vows must be fulfilled, or there is no salvation!

Miserable condition! Christ's accomplished work abandoned for a sinner's unaccomplishable vows and resolutions! Man's "I do" subst.i.tuted for Christ's "I have finished!"

My reader, can you own such a fearful surrender of the truth of G.o.d? Are you content with such a sandy foundation? Whither, think you, will such a system lead you? To heaven, or to Rome? Which? Be honest. Take the New Testament, search it from cover to cover, and see if you can find such a thing as infants making vows by proxy, to renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil, and to keep all G.o.d's commandments, in order to salvation. There is not so much as a shadow of a foundation for such an idea. "By works of law shall no flesh living be justified." "But now the righteousness of G.o.d, without law, is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets." "To him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justified the unG.o.dly, his faith is counted to him for righteousness." "For by grace are ye saved, through faith; and that not of yourselves it is the gift of G.o.d: not of works, lest any man should boast." "Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us." (See Rom. iii. 20-28; iv. 4, 5; Eph. ii. 8, 9; t.i.tus iii. 5-7.)

These are but a very few of the numerous pa.s.sages which might be adduced in proof of the fact that the Confirmation Vows are diametrically opposed to the truth of G.o.d--totally subversive of the grace of G.o.d. If my vows mean anything I must be miserable, because I am in imminent danger of being lost forever, inasmuch as I have _not_ kept them, and never could keep them.

Oh! what sweet relief for the wearied heart and sin-burdened conscience in the atoning blood of Jesus! What full deliverance from my worthless and worse than worthless vows! _Christ has done all._ He has put away sin--made peace--brought in everlasting righteousness--brought life and immortality to light. In Him may you, my beloved reader, find abiding peace, unfading joy, and everlasting glory. To Him and His perfect work I now most affectionately commend you, body, soul, and spirit, fully a.s.suring you my object in this paper is not to attack the prejudices, or wound the feelings of any, but simply to take occasion to show how the perfect work of the Lord Jesus Christ is thrown into full and blessed relief by being looked at in contrast with the "Confirmation Vows."

FOOTNOTES:

[VIII.] There is a pa.s.sage in the book of Deuteronomy which, as it may present a difficulty to some minds, should be noticed here. "And the Lord heard the voice of your words, when ye spake unto me; and the Lord said unto me, I have heard the voice of the words of this people which they have spoken unto thee: _they have well said all that they have spoken_" (Deut. v. 28). From this pa.s.sage, it might seem as though the Lord approved of their making a vow; but if my reader will take the trouble of reading the entire context, from verse 24 to 27, he will see that it has nothing whatever to say to the vow, but that it contains the expression of their terror at the consequences of their vow. They were not able to endure that which was commanded. "If," said they "we hear the voice of the Lord our G.o.d any more, then we shall die. For who is there of all flesh that hath heard the voice of the living G.o.d speaking out of the midst of the fire, as we have, and lived? Go thou near, and hear all that the Lord our G.o.d shall say; and speak thou unto us all that the Lord our G.o.d shall speak unto thee; and we will hear it and do it." It was the confession of their own inability to encounter Jehovah in that awful aspect which their proud legality had led Him to a.s.sume.

It is impossible that the Lord could ever commend an abandonment of free and changeless grace for a sandy foundation of works of law. (See "Notes on the book of Exodus," page 253. Same publishers.)

[IX.] [That is, as many as are on that principle--of "law," "works of law." ED.]

THOUGHTS

ON

THE LORD'S SUPPER;

DESIGNED FOR THE HELP OF CHRISTIANS IN THIS DAY OF DIFFICULTY.

_NEW EDITION, REVISED._

PREFACE

The inst.i.tution of the Lord's Supper must be regarded, by every spiritual mind, as a peculiarly touching proof of the Lord's gracious care and considerate love for His Church. From the time of its appointment until the present hour, it has been a steady, though silent, witness to a truth which the enemy, by every means in his power, has sought to corrupt and set aside, namely, that redemption is an accomplished fact to be enjoyed by the weakest believer in Jesus.

Eighteen centuries have rolled away since the Lord Jesus appointed "the bread and the cup" in the Eucharist as the significant symbols of His broken body and His blood shed for us; and notwithstanding all the heresy, all the schism, all the controversy and strife, the war of principles and prejudices which the blotted page of ecclesiastical history records, this most expressive inst.i.tution has been observed by the saints of G.o.d in every age. True, the enemy has succeeded, throughout a vast section of the professing Church, in wrapping it up in a shroud of dark superst.i.tion; in presenting it in such a way as actually to hide from the view of the communicant the grand and eternal reality of which it is the memorial; in displacing Christ and His accomplished sacrifice by a powerless ordinance--an ordinance, moreover, which by the very mode of its administration proves its utter worthlessness and opposition to the truth. (See note to page 29.) Yet, notwithstanding Rome's deadly error in reference to the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, it still speaks to every circ.u.mcised ear and every spiritual mind the same deep and precious truth--it "shows the Lord's death till He come." The body has been broken, the blood has been shed ONCE, no more to be repeated; and the breaking of bread is but the memorial of this emanc.i.p.ating truth.

With what profound interest and thankfulness, therefore, should the believer contemplate "the bread and the cup"! Without a word spoken, there is the setting forth of truths at once the most precious and glorious: grace reigning--redemption finished--sin put away--everlasting righteousness brought in--the sting of death gone--eternal glory secured--"grace and glory" revealed as the free gift of G.o.d and the Lamb--the unity of the "one body," as baptized by "one Spirit." What a feast! It carries the soul back, in the twinkling of an eye, over a lapse of eighteen hundred years, and shows us the Master Himself, "in the same night in which He was betrayed," sitting at the supper table, and there inst.i.tuting a feast which, from that solemn moment, that memorable night, until the dawn of the morning, should lead every believing heart at once backward to the cross and forward to the glory.

This feast has ever since, by the very simplicity of its character, and yet the deep significance of its elements, rebuked the superst.i.tion that would deify and worship it, the profanity that would desecrate it, and the infidelity that would set it aside altogether: and furthermore, while it has rebuked all these, it has strengthened, comforted and refreshed the hearts of millions of G.o.d's beloved saints. It is sweet to think of this--sweet to bear in mind, as we a.s.semble on the first day of the week round the supper of the Lord, that apostles, martyrs and saints have gathered round that feast, and found therein, according to their measure, refreshment and blessing. Schools of theology have arisen, flourished, and disappeared; doctors and fathers have acc.u.mulated ponderous tomes of divinity; deadly heresies have darkened the atmosphere, and rent the professing Church from one end to the other; superst.i.tion and fanaticism have put forth their baseless theories and extravagant notions; professing Christians have split into sects innumerable--all these things have taken place; but the Lord's Supper has continued, amid the darkness and confusion, to tell out its simple yet comprehensive tale. "As oft as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do show[X.] the Lord's death till He come" (I Cor. xi. 26).

Precious feast! Thank G.o.d for the great privilege of celebrating it! And yet is it but a sign, the elements of which must, in nature's view, be mean and contemptible. Bread broken, wine poured out--how simple! Faith alone can read, in the sign, the thing signified; and therefore it needs not the advent.i.tious circ.u.mstances which false religion has introduced in order to add dignity, solemnity and awe to that which derives all its value, its power and its impressiveness from its being a memorial of an eternal fact which false religion denies.