Prove All Things by the Word of God

Prove All Things / A Sermon preached by J. C. Ryle / 1816-1900.

"Prove all things—hold fast that which is good."

1 Thessalonians 5:21

You live in days when the text before your eyes is one of the first importance. The truths it contains are especially truths for the times. Give me your attention for a few minutes, and I will try to show you what I mean.

There were three great doctrines or principles which won the battle of the Protestant Reformation:

first, the sufficiency and supremacy of Holy Scripture

secondly, the right of private judgment

thirdly, justification by faith alone, without the deeds of the law.

These three principles were the keys of the whole controversy between the Reformers and the Church of Rome. Keep firm hold of them when you argue with a Roman Catholic, and your position is unassailable; no weapon that the Church of Rome can forge against you shall prosper. (See Isaiah 54:17) Give up any one of them, and your cause is lost. Like Samson, with his hair shorn, your strength is gone. (See Judges 16:19) Like the Spartans, betrayed at Thermopylae, you are outflanked and surrounded. You cannot maintain your ground. Resistance is useless. Sooner or later you will have to lay down your arms, and surrender at discretion. Remember this.

The Roman Catholic controversy is upon you once more. You must put on the old armor, if you would not have your faith overthrown. The sufficiency of Holy Scripture, the right of private judgment, justification by faith alone—these are the three great principles to which you must always cling. Grasp them firmly, and never let them go. Reader, one of the three great principles to which I have referred appears to me to stand forth in the verse of Scripture which heads this tract—I mean the right of private judgment. I wish to say something to you about that principle.

The Holy Spirit, by the mouth of Paul, says to us, "Prove all things. Hold fast that which is good." In these words you have two great truths:

I. The right, duty, and necessity of private judgment. "Prove all things."

II. The duty and necessity of keeping firm hold upon truth. "Hold fast that which is good."

I propose to dwell a little on both these heads.

I. Let me speak first, of the right, duty, and necessity of private judgment. "Prove all things." When I say the right of private judgment, I mean that every individual Christian has a right to judge for himself by the Word of God, whether that which is put before him as religious truth, is God's truth, or is not. When I say the duty of private judgment, I mean that God requires every Christian man to use the right of which I have just spoken—to compare man's words and man's writings with God's revelation, and to make sure that he is not deluded and taken in by false teaching. And when I say the necessity of private judgment, I mean this—that it is absolutely needful for every Christian who loves his soul and would not be deceived, to exercise that right, and discharge that duty to which I have referred; seeing that experience shows that the neglect of private judgment has always been the cause of immense evils in the Church of Christ!

Now the Apostle Paul urges all these three points upon your notice when he uses those remarkable words, "Prove all things." I ask your particular attention to that expression. In every point of view it is most weighty and instructive. Here, you will remember, the Apostle Paul is writing to the Thessalonians, to a Church which he himself had founded. Here is an inspired Apostle writing to young inexperienced Christians, writing to the whole professing Church in a certain city, containing laity as well as clergy, writing too with especial reference to matters of doctrine and preaching, as we know by the verse preceding the text: "Despise not prophesyings." And yet mark what he says: "Prove all things." He does not say, "Whatever apostles, whatever evangelists, pastors and teachers, whatever your leaders, whatever your ministers tell you is truth--that you are to believe." No! he says, "Prove all things." He does not say, "Whatever the universal Church pronounces true--that you are to hold." No! he says, "Prove all things."

The principle laid down is this, "Prove all things by the Word of God. All ministers, all teaching, all preaching, all doctrines, all sermons, all writings, all opinions, all practices—prove all by the Word of God. Measure all by the measure of the Bible. Compare all with the standard of the Bible. Weigh all in the balances of the Bible. Examine all by the light of the Bible. Test all in the crucible of the Bible. That which can abide the fire of the Bible--you are to receive, hold, believe and obey. That which cannot abide the fire of the Bible--you are to reject, refuse, repudiate, and cast away."

Reader, this is private judgment. This is the right you are to exercise if you love your soul. You are not to believe things in religion merely because they are said by Popes or Cardinals—by Bishops or Priests—by Presbyters or Deacons—by Churches, Councils, or Synods—by Fathers, Puritans, or Reformers. You are not to argue, "Such and such things must be true--because these men say so." You are not to do so. You are to prove all things by the Word of God.

I know such doctrine sounds shocking in some men's ears. But I write it down advisedly, and believe it cannot be disproved. I want to encourage no man in ignorant presumption or ignorant contempt. I praise not the man who seldom reads his Bible, and yet sets himself up to pick holes in his minister's sermons. I praise not the man who knows nothing but a few texts in the New Testament, and yet undertakes to settle questions in divinity which have puzzled God's wisest children. But still I hold with Bilson, that "all hearers have both liberty to discern, and a charge to beware of seducers; and woe to them that do it not." (See 1 Tim. 4:1) And I say with Davenant, "We are not to believe all who undertake to teach in the Church, but must take care and weigh with serious examination, whether their doctrine is sound or not."

Reader, men may dislike the doctrine of private judgment, but there is no doubt that it is continually taught in the Word of God. This is the principle laid down in the eighth chapter of Isaiah, 20th verse. These words were written, remember, at a time when God was more immediately King over His Church, and had more direct communication with it than He has now. They were written at a time when there were men upon earth who had direct revelations from God. Yet what does Isaiah say? "To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light (or truth) in them." If this be not private judgment what is?

This again is the principle laid down by our Lord Jesus Christ in the Sermon on the Mount. Remember what He says: "Beware of false prophets, which come to you in sheep's clothing, but inwardly they are ravening wolves. Ye shall know them by their fruits." (Matt. 7:15-16a) How is it possible that men shall know these false prophets, except they exercise their private judgment as to what their fruits are?

This is the practice you find commended in the Bereans, in the Acts of the Apostles. They did not take the Apostle Paul's word for granted, when he came to preach to them. You are told, that they searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so," and "therefore," it is said, "many of them believed." (See Acts 17:11, 12) What was this again but private judgment?

"The people of God are called to test the truth, to judge between true and false, between light and darkness. God has made them the promise of His Spirit, and has left unto them His Word. The Christians of Berea, when they heard the preaching of Paul, searched the Scriptures daily, to ascertain whether those things which Paul taught were true. So must you. Give heed to instruction--and yet do not receive any teachings without proof and trial that they are the wholesome doctrine of the Word of God." Jewell.

This is the spirit of the advice given in 1 Cor. 10:15, "I speak as to wise men; judge ye what I say."
Colossians 2:8, "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ."

1 John 4:1a, "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God:"

2 John 10, "If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God speed:"
If these passages do not recommend the use of private judgment, I do not know what words mean. To my mind they seem to say to every individual Christian, "Prove all things."

Reader, whatever men may say against private judgment, you may be sure that it cannot be neglected without immense danger to your soul. You may not like it, but you never know what you may come to, if you refuse to use it! No man can say into what depths of false doctrine you may be drawn—if you will not do what God requires of you, and "Prove all things."

Suppose that, in fear of private judgment, you resolve to believe whatever the Church believes. Where is your security against error? The Church is not infallible. There was a time when almost the whole of Christendom embraced the Arian heresy, and did not acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ to be equal with the Father in all things. There was a time, before the Reformation, when the darkness over the face of Europe was a darkness which might be felt. The General Councils of the Church are not infallible. When the whole Church is gathered together in a General Council, what says our Twenty-first Article? “They may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God. Wherefore things ordained by them as necessary to salvation, have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared that they he taken out of Holy Scripture."

The particular branches of the Church are not infallible. Anyone of them may err. Many of them have fallen foully, or have been swept away. Where is the Church of Ephesus at this day? Where the Church of Sardis at the present time? Where the Church of Hippo in Africa? Where the Church of Carthage? They are all gone! Not a vestige of any of them is left! Will you then be content to err merely because the Church errs? Will your erring in company with the Church, remove your responsibility for your own soul? Oh, reader, it were surely a thousand times better for a man to stand alone and be saved—than to err in company with the Church, and be lost! It were better to prove all things, and go to heaven—than to say, "I dare not think for myself," and go to hell.

But suppose that, to cut matters short, you resolve to believe whatever your minister believes. Once more I ask, Where is your safety? Where is your security? Ministers are not infallible, any more than Churches. All of them have not the Spirit of God. (See Rom. 8:9b) The very best of them are only men. Call us Bishops, Priests, Deacons, or whatever names you please—we are all earthen vessels. I speak not merely of Popes, who have promulgated awful superstitions and led abominable lives. I would rather point to the very best of Protestants and say, "Beware of looking upon them as infallible—beware of thinking of any man (whoever that man may be)—that he cannot err!"

Luther held to consubstantiation—that was a mighty error. Zwingle, the Swiss Reformer, went on to battle, and died in the fight—that was a mighty error. Calvin, the Geneva Reformer, advised the burning of Servetus—that was a mighty error. Cranmer and Ridley urged the putting of Hooper into prison because of some trifling dispute about vestments—that was a mighty error. Whitgift persecuted the Puritans—that was a mighty error. Wesley and Toplady in the last century, quarreled fiercely about doctrine—that was a mighty error. All these things are warnings—if you will only take them. All say, "Cease ye from man, whose breath is in his nostrils: for wherein is he to be accounted of?” (Isaiah 2:11) All show us that if a man's religion hangs on ministers, whoever they may be, and not on the Word of God—it hangs on a broken reed!

Never make ministers into Popes. Follow us so far as we follow Christ, but not a hair's breadth further. Believe whatever we can show you out of the Bible, but do not believe a single word more. Neglect the duty of private judgment, and you may find, to your cost, the truth of what Whitby says: The best of overseers do sometimes make oversights. You may live to experience the truth of what the Lord said to the Pharisees: “And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.” (Matthew 15:14)

Reader, be very sure no man is safe against error, unless he acts on Paul's injunction—unless he "proves all things" by the Word of God. Reader, I have said that it is impossible to overrate the evils that may arise from neglecting to exercise your private judgment. I will go further, and say that it is impossible to overrate the blessings which private judgment has conferred both on the world and on the Church. I ask you to remember that the greatest discoveries in science and in philosophy, have arisen from the use of private judgment. To this we owe the discovery of Galileo, that the earth went round the sun, and not the sun round the earth. To this we owe Columbus' discovery of the new continent of America. To this we owe Harvey's discovery of the circulation of the blood. To this we owe Jenner's discovery of vaccination. To this we owe the printing press, the steam engine, the power-loom, the electric telegraph, railways, and gas. For all these discoveries we are indebted to men who dared to think for themselves. They were not content with the beaten path of those who had gone before. They were not satisfied with taking for granted that what their fathers believed must be true. They made experiments for themselves. They brought old established theories to the proof; and found that they were worthless. They proclaimed new systems, and invited men to examine them, and test their truth. They bore storms of obloquy and ridicule unmoved. They heard the clamor of prejudiced lovers of old traditions without flinching. And they prospered and succeeded in what they did. We see it now. And we who live in the nineteenth century are reaping the fruit of their use of private judgment.

And, reader, as it has been in science—so also it has been in the history of the Christian religion. The martyrs who stood alone in their day, and shed that blood which has been the seed of Christ's Gospel throughout the world—the Reformers, who, one after another, rose up in their might to enter the lists with the Church of Rome—all did what they did, suffered what they suffered, proclaimed what they proclaimed, simply because they exercised their private judgment about what was Christ's truth.

Private judgment made the Waldenses, the Albigenses, and the Lollards, count not their lives dear to them, (See Rev. 12:11) rather than believe the doctrines of the Church of Rome. Private judgment made Wyckliffe search the Bible in our land, denounce the Romish Friars, and all their impostures, translate the Scriptures into the vulgar tongue, and become "the morning star" of the Reformation. Private judgment made Luther examine Tetzel's abominable system of indulgences by the light of the Word. Private judgment led him on, step by step, from one thing to another, guided by the same light, until at length the gulf between him and Rome was a gulf that could not be passed, and the Pope's power in Germany was completely broken. Private judgment made our own English Reformers examine for themselves, and inquire for themselves, as to the true nature of that corrupt system under which they had been born and brought up. Private judgment made them cast off the abominations of Popery, and circulate the Bible among the laity. Private judgment made them brake the fetters of tradition, and dare to think for themselves. They refused to take for granted, Rome's pretensions and assertions. They examined them all by the Bible, and because they would not abide the examination, they broke with Rome altogether. All the blessing of Protestantism in England, all that we are enjoying at this very day, we owe to the right exercise of private judgment.

Surely if we do not honor private judgment, we are thankless and ungrateful indeed! Reader, I warn you not to be moved by the common argument, that the right of private judgment is liable to be abused—that private judgment has done great harm, and should be avoided as a dangerous thing. Never was there a more miserable argument! Never was there one which when thrashed proves so full of chaff! Private judgment has been abused! I would like the objector to tell me what good gift of God has not been abused! What high principle can be named that has not been employed for the very worst of purposes? Strength may become tyranny when it is employed by the stronger to coerce the weaker, yet strength is a blessing when properly employed. Liberty may become licentiousness when every man does that which is right in his own eyes, without regarding the rights and feelings of others; yet liberty, rightly used, is a mighty blessing. Because many things may be used improperly, are we, therefore, to give them up altogether? Because opium is used improperly by some, is it not to be used as a medicine on any occasion at all? Because money may be used improperly, is all money to be cast into the sea? You cannot have good in this world without evil. You cannot have private judgment without some abusing it, and turning it to bad account.

But private judgment, people say, has done more harm than good! What harm has private judgment done, I would like to know, in matters of religion, compared to the harm that has been done by the neglect of it? Grant, for a moment, that among Protestants who allow private judgment, there are divisions. Grant that in the Church of Rome, where private judgment is forbidden, there are no divisions. I might easily show that Romish unity is far more seeming than real. Bishop Hall, in his book called The Peace of Rome, numbers up no less than three hundred differences of opinion maintained in the Romish Church. I might easily show that the divisions of Protestants are exceedingly exaggerated, and that most of them are upon points of minor importance. I might show that, with all the varieties of Protestantism, as men call them, there is still a vast amount of fundamental unity and substantial agreement among Protestants. No man can read the "Harmony of Protestant Confessions" without seeing that.

But grant for a moment that private judgment has led to divisions, and brought about varieties. I say that these divisions and varieties are but a drop of water, when compared with the torrent of abominations that have arisen from the Church of Rome's practice of disallowing private judgment altogether! Place the evils in two scales—the evils that have arisen from private judgment, and those that have arisen from no man being allowed to think for himself. Weigh the evils one against another, and I have no doubt as to which will be the greatest. Give me Protestant divisions, certainly, rather than Popish unity, with the fruit that it brings forth! Give me Protestant variations, rather than Romish ignorance, Romish superstition, Romish darkness, and Romish idolatry!

Let the two systems be tried by their fruits—the system that says, "Prove all things," and the system that says, "Dare to have no opinion of your own," let them be tried by their fruits in the hearts, in the intellects, in the lives, in all the ways of men—and I have no doubt as to the result!

Reader, I warn you above all things not to be moved by the specious argument, that it is humility to disallow private judgment, that it is humility to have no opinion of your own, that it is the part of a true Christian not to think for himself! I tell you that such humility is a false humility, a humility which does not deserve that blessed name. Call it rather laziness! Call it rather idleness. Call it rather sloth. It makes a man strip himself of all his responsibility, and throw the whole burden of his soul into the hands of the minister and the Church! It gives a man a mere vicarious religion, a religion by which he places his conscience and all his spiritual concerns under the care of others. He need not trouble himself! He need no longer think for himself! He has embarked in a safe ship, and placed his soul under a safe pilot—and will get to heaven!

Oh, beware of supposing that this deserves the name of humility. It is refusing to exercise the gift that God has given you. It is refusing to employ the sword of the Spirit which God has forged for the use of your hand. Blessed be God, our forefathers did not act upon such principles! Had they done so, we should never have had the Reformation. Had they done so, we might have been bowing down to the image of the virgin Mary at this moment, or praying to the spirits of departed saints, or having a service performed in Latin. From such humility, may the good Lord ever deliver you!

Reader, as long as you live—resolve that you will read for yourself; think for yourself, judge of the Bible for yourself; in the great matters of your soul. Have an opinion of your own. Never be ashamed of saying, "I think that this is right—because I find it in the Bible," and "I think that this is wrong—because I do not find it in the Bible." "Prove all things," and prove them by the Word of God. As long as you live, beware of the blindfold system, which many commend in the present day—the system of following a leader, and having no opinion of their own—the system which practically says, "Only keep your Church, only receive the sacraments, only believe what the ordained ministers who are set over you tell you—and then all shall be well."

I warn you, that this will not do. I warn you that if you are content with this kind of religion, you are periling your immortal soul. Let the Bible, and not any Church upon earth, or any minister upon earth, be your rule of faith.

"Prove all things" by the Word of God. And, above all, as long as you live, look forward to the great day of judgment. Think of the solemn account which every one of us shall have to give in that day before the judgment seat of Christ. We shall not be judged by Churches. We shall not be judged by whole congregations. We shall be judged individually, each by himself! (See II Cor. 5:10) What shall it profit you in that day to say, "Lord, Lord, I believed everything the Church told me. I received and believed everything ordained ministers set before me. I thought that whatever the Church and the ministers said, must be right"? What shall it profit us to say this, if we have held some deadly error? Surely, the voice of Him who sits upon the throne will reply, "You had the Scriptures. You had a book plain and easy—to him that will read it and search it in a childlike spirit. Why did you not use the Word of God when it was given to you? You had a reasonable mind given you to understand that Bible. Why did you not 'Prove all things,' and thus keep clear of error?" Oh, reader, if you refuse to exercise your private judgment, think of that awful day—and beware!

II. And now let me speak of the duty and necessity of keeping firm hold upon truth. The words of the Apostle on this subject are pithy and forcible. "Hold fast," he says, "that which is good." It is as if he said to us, "When you have found the truth for yourself; and when you are satisfied that it is Christ's truth—that truth which the Scriptures set forth—then get a firm hold upon it, grasp it, keep it in your heart, never let it go!" He speaks as one who knew what the hearts of all Christians are. He knew that our grasp of the Gospel, at our best, is very cold—that our love soon waxes feeble—that our faith soon wavers—that our zeal soon flags—that familiarity with Christ's truth often brings with it a species of contempt—that, like Israel, we are apt to be discouraged by the length of our journey—and, like Peter, ready to sleep one moment and fight the next —but, like Peter, not ready to watch and pray. (See Mark 14:37-38; John 18:10)

All this Paul remembered, and, like a faithful watchman, he cries, by the Holy Spirit, "Hold fast that which is good!" He speaks as if he foresaw by the Spirit that the good tidings of the Gospel (See Luke 10:11) would soon be corrupted, spoiled, and plucked away from the Church at Thessalonica. He speaks as one who foresaw that Satan and all his agents would labor hard to cast down Christ's truth. (See 1 Peter 5:8) He writes as though he would forewarn men of this danger, and he cries, "Hold fast that which is good." Reader, the advice is always needed as long as the world stands.

There is a tendency to decay in the very best of human institutions. The best visible Church of Christ is not free from this liability to degenerate. It is made up of fallible men. There is always in it a tendency to decay. We see the leaven of evil creeping into many a Church, even in the Apostle's time. There were evils in the Corinthian Church, evils in the Ephesian Church, evils in the Galatian Church. All these things are meant to be our warnings and beacons in these latter times! All show the great necessity laid upon the Church to remember the Apostle's words: "Hold fast that which is good!"

Many a Church of Christ since then has fallen away for the lack of remembering this principle. Their ministers and members forgot that Satan is always laboring to bring in false doctrine. They forgot that he can transform himself into an angel of light—that he can make darkness appear as light, and light appear as darkness; truth appear as falsehood, and falsehood appear as truth. (See II Cor. 11:13-15) If he cannot destroy Christianity, he ever tries to corrupt it. If he cannot prevent the form of godliness, he endeavors to rob Churches of the power. No Church is ever safe which forgets these things, and does not bear in mind the Apostle's injunction: "Hold fast that which is good!"

Reader, if ever there was a time in the world when Churches were put upon their trial, whether they would hold fast the truth or not—that time is the present time, and those Churches are the Protestant Churches of our own land. Popery, that old enemy of our nation, is coming in upon us in this day like a flood. We are assaulted by open enemies without, and betrayed continually by false friends within. The numbers of Roman Catholic churches, and chapels, and schools, and convents and monasteries, are continually increasing around us. Month after month brings tidings of some new defection from the ranks of the Church of England, to the ranks of the Church of Rome. Already the clergy of the Church of Rome are using great swelling words about things to come, and boasting that, sooner or later, England shall once more be brought back to the orbit from whence she fell, and take her place in the Catholic system! Already the Pope is parceling our country into his bishoprics, and speaks like one who thinks that by-and-by he shall divide the spoil. Already he seems to foresee a time when England shall be as Rome, when London shall be as the Vatican itself. Surely, now or never, we ought all of us to awake, and "Hold fast that which is good."

We supposed, some of us, in our blindness, that the power of the Church of Rome was ended. We dreamed, some of us, in our folly, that the Reformation had ended the Popish controversy, and that if Romanism did survive, Romanism was altogether changed. If we did think so, we have lived to learn that we made a most grievous mistake! Rome never changes! It is her boast that she is always the same. The snake is not killed! He was wounded at the time of the Reformation, but was not destroyed. The Romish Antichrist is not dead. He was cast down for a little season, like the fabled giant buried under Etna, but his deadly wound is healed, the grave is opening once more, and Romish Antichrist is coming forth! The unclean spirit of Popery is not laid in his own place. Rather he seems to say, "My house in England is now swept and garnished for me; let me return to the place from whence I came forth." (See Matthew 12:13-15)

And, reader, the question is now, whether we are going to abide quietly, sit still, and fold our hands, and do nothing to resist the assault. Are we really men of understanding of the times? Do we know the day of our visitation? Surely, this is a crisis in the history of our Churches and of our land. It is a time which will soon prove whether we know the value of our privileges, or whether, like Amalek, "the first of the nations," our "latter end shall be that we perish forever." It is a time which will soon prove whether we intend to allow our candlestick to be quietly removed—or repent, and do our first works, lest any man should take our crown. (See Revelation 2:5)

If we love the open Bible—if we love the preaching of the Gospel—if we love the freedom of reading that Bible, and the opportunity of hearing that Gospel, with no man forbidding us—if we love civil liberty—if we love religious liberty—if these are precious to our souls, we must all make up our minds to hold fast, lest by and by we lose all.

Reader, if we mean to hold fast, every parish, every congregation, every Christian man, and every Christian woman, must do their part in contending for the truth. Each should work, and each should pray, and each should labor as if the preservation of the pure Gospel depended upon himself or herself, and upon no one else at all. The rich must not leave the matter to the poor, nor the poor to the rich. We must all work. Every living soul has a sphere of influence. Let him see to it that he fills it. Every living soul can throw some weight into the scale of the Gospel. Let him see to it that he casts it in. Let everyone know his own individual responsibility in this matter; and all, by God's help, will be well.

If we would hold fast that which is good, we must never tolerate any doctrine which is not the pure doctrine of Christ's Gospel. There is a hatred which is downright charity—that is the hatred of erroneous doctrine. There is an intolerance which is downright praiseworthy—that is the intolerance of false teaching. Who would ever think of tolerating a little poison given to him day by day? If men come among you who do not preach "all the counsel of God," (See Acts 20:27), who do not preach of Christ, and sin, and holiness, of ruin, and redemption, and regeneration; and do not preach of these things in a Scriptural way, you ought to cease to hear them. You ought to act upon the injunction given by the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament: "Cease, my son, to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of knowledge.” (Proverbs 19:27) You ought to carry out the spirit shown by the Apostle Paul, in Gal. 1:8: "But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed!"

If we can bear to hear Christ's truth mangled or adulterated—and can see no harm in listening to that which is "another Gospel"—and can sit at ease while "sham Christianity" is poured into our ears—and can go home comfortably afterwards, and not burn with holy indignation—if this is the case, there is little chance of our ever doing much to resist Rome! If we are content to hear Jesus Christ not put in His rightful place—we are not men and women who are likely to do Christ much service, or fight a good fight on His side. He who is not zealous against error—is not likely to he zealous for truth. If we would hold fast the truth—we must be ready to unite with all who hold the truth, and love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. We must he ready to lay aside all minor questions as things of subordinate importance. All minor points of difference, however important they may be in their place and in their proportion—all ought to be regarded as subordinate questions. I ask no man to give up his private opinions about them. I wish no man to do violence to his conscience. All I say is, that these questions are wood, hay, and stubble, when the very foundations of the faith are in danger! The Philistines are upon us! Can we make common cause against them, or can we not? This is the one point for our consideration.

Surely it is not right to say that we expect to spend eternity with men in heaven, and yet cannot work for a few years with them in this world. The presence of a common foe ought to sink minor differences. We must hold together. Depend upon it, all Christians must hold together, if they mean to "hold fast that which is good." Some men may say, "This is very troublesome." Some may say, "Why not sit still and be quiet?" Some may say, "Oh, that horrid controversy! What need is there for all this trouble? Why should we care so much about these points of difference?" I ask, what good thing was ever gotten or ever kept, without trouble? Gold does not lie open in the fields, but deep in the earth. Pearls do not grow on trees, but deep down in Indian seas. Difficulties are never overcome without struggles. Mountains are seldom climbed without fatigue. Oceans are not crossed without tossings on the waves. Peace is seldom obtained without war. And Christ's truth is seldom maintained, without pains, without struggles, and without trouble. (See John 16:33)

Let the man who talks of "trouble" tell me where we would be at this day—if our forefathers had not taken some trouble? Where would be the Gospel of England—if martyrs had not given their bodies to be burned? Who shall estimate our debt to Cranmer, Latimer, Hooper, Ridley and Taylor, and their brethren? They held fast that which is good. They would not give up one jot of truth. They counted not their lives dear, for the Gospel's sake. They labored, and they travailed—and we have entered into their labors. Shame upon us if we will not take a little trouble to keep with us—what they so nobly won!

Trouble or no trouble—pains or no pains—controversy, or no controversy—one thing is very sure: that nothing but Christ's Gospel will ever do good to our own souls. Nothing else will maintain our Churches. Nothing else will ever bring down God's blessing upon our land. If, therefore, we love our own souls, or if we love our country's prosperity, or if we love to keep our Churches standing, we must remember the Apostles words, and "hold fast," hold firmly the Gospel, and refuse to let it go!

And now, reader, I have set before you two things. One is the right, the duty, and necessity of private judgment. The other is the duty and necessity of keeping firm hold upon truth. It only remains for me to APPLY these things to your own individual conscience by a few concluding words.

For one thing, if it is your duty to "prove all things," let me beseech and exhort you to arm yourself with a thorough knowledge of the Word of God. Read your Bible regularly. Become familiar with your Bible. Prove all religious truth when it is brought before you—by the Bible. A little knowledge of the Bible will not suffice. Depend upon it, a man must know his Bible well if he is to prove religious teachings by it; and he must read it regularly if he would know it well. There is no royal road to a knowledge of the Bible. There must be reading daily, regular reading of the Book—or the Book will not be known. As one said quaintly, but most truly, "Justification may be by faith, but a knowledge of the Bible comes only by works." The devil can quote Scripture. He could go to our Lord and quote Scripture when he wished to tempt Him. A man must be able to perceive error, from his knowledge of Scripture, when he hears error taught—lest he be deceived. Neglect your Bible, and nothing that I know of can prevent your becoming a Roman Catholic, an Arminian, a Socinian, a Jew, or a Turk—if a plausible advocate of any of these false systems shall happen to meet you.

For another thing, if it be right to "prove all things," take care to test every Roman Catholic doctrine, by whoever put forward, by the written Word of God. Believe nothing, however speciously advanced—believe nothing, with whatever weight of authority brought forward—believe nothing, though supported by all the Fathers— believe nothing, except it can be proved to you out of Scripture! That alone is infallible. That alone is light. That alone is God's measure of truth and falsehood. "Let God be true—and every man a liar." (Romans 3:4)

The New Zealanders' answer to the Romish priests who went among them, is an answer never to be forgotten. They heard these priests urge upon them the worship of the Virgin Mary. They heard them recommend them to pray to saints. They heard them advocate the use of images. They heard them speak of the authority of the Church of Rome, the supremacy of the Pope, the antiquity of the Romish church. They knew the Bible, and they heard all this calmly, and gave one simple but memorable answer: "It cannot be true—because it is not in the Book!" All the learning in the world could never have supplied a better answer than that! Latimer, or Knox, or Owen, could never have made a more crushing reply. Let this be our rule when we are attacked by Romanists; let us hold fast the sword of the Spirit, and say in reply to all their arguments, "It cannot be true—because it is not in the Book!"

Last of all, if it be right to "hold fast that which is good," let us make sure that we have each laid hold personally, upon Christ's truth for ourselves. Reader, it will not save you to know all controversies, and to be able to detect everything which is false. Head knowledge will never bring you to heaven! It will not save us to be able to argue and reason with Roman Catholics, or to detect the errors of Popes' Bulls, or Pastoral Letters. Let us see that we each lay hold upon Jesus Christ for ourselves, by our own personal faith. Let us see to it that we each flee for refuge, and lay hold upon the hope set before us in His glorious Gospel. (See Hebrews 6:18-20) Let us do this, and all shall be well with us, whatever else may go ill. Let us do this, and then all things are ours. The Church may fall. The State may go to ruin. The foundations of all establishments may be shaken. The enemies of truth may for a season prevail. But as for us—all shall be well. We shall have in this world, peace—and in the world which is to come, life everlasting; (See John 14:27; John 5:24) for we shall have Christ, and having Him, we have all. (See John 10:42) This is real good, lasting good—good in sickness, good in health, good in life, good in death, good in time, and good in eternity! All other things are but uncertain. They all wear out. They fade. They droop. They wither. They decay. The longer we have them the more worthless we find them, and the more we realize, that everything here below is "vanity and vexation of spirit." (See Eccl. 1:14)

But as for hope in Christ, that is always good. The longer we use it—the better it seems. The more we wear it in our hearts—the brighter it will look. It is good when we first have it. It is better far when we grow older. It is better still in the day of trial, and the hour of death. And best of all, depend upon it—it will prove good in the day of judgment. Reader, if you have not yet laid hold on this hope in Christ, seek it at once. Call on the Lord Jesus to give it to you. Give Him no rest until you know and feel that you are His. If you have laid hold on this hope, hold it fast. Prize it highly, for it will stand by you when everything else fails!

A Name Written in Heaven, the Truest Ground of Joy

An excerpt from a sermon preached by Matthew Mead, a Puritan minister who lived from 1629 to October 6, 1699.

"Notwithstanding in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice, because your names are written in heaven!" Luke 10:20

The greatest ground of joy imaginable is to have "a name written in heaven!" A saving interest in the glories of the eternal world, is a truer and nobler cause of rejoicing, than anything which this present world can afford.

I need produce no other proof of the truth of this doctrine, than the authority of the text itself; it stands clear in the light of its own evidence. The Lord Christ himself has said it—and therefore we ought to believe it is so.

But why is it so?

Reason 1.

"A name written in heaven" is a rich result of electing love! Love is the most comforting attribute in God—the best name the creature knows him by: "God is love," 1 John 4:16. There are three things to be considered in it.

1. Love acts with a priority to all other attributes. Wisdom contrives the good and felicity of the creature. Power and providence maturate and bring the contrivements of wisdom to pass. But love has the first hand in the work. It was love which first summoned the great counsel held by all the three persons of the Trinity, when neither men nor angels existed.

It was love that first pitched upon the Son, and laid him as the foundation of the whole structure of man's salvation and blessedness. Love sent Christ into the world—love put him to death—love made him an offering for sin! All the attributes of God act in the strength of love; and all the providences of God follow the motions of love.

2. Electing love is the proper source of all our other mercies. So the apostle makes it, Ephesians 1, "Who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings;" how so? "According as he hath chosen us in him" (Christ). And what those spiritual blessings are, he tells you. "He hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace." "Wherein He hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence." "Having made known to us the mystery of his will." "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance"—that is, a name written in heaven! All which the apostle resolves again into electing love, verse 11, "In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will."

3. Love is the only attribute which God has acted to the utmost. We have never seen the utmost of his power—what God can do. But we have seen the utmost of his love—he has found a ransom for lost souls! Job 33.24-28, "He has laid help upon one who is mighty;" Psalm 89.19, "He has tabernacled divinity in flesh." 1 Tim. 3.16, "He has made his soul an offering for sin, laid upon him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah 53.11, "He has made us the righteousness of God in him;" 2 Cor. 5.21, "He has accepted us in the beloved." Eph. 1.6, "He has made us to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." Eph. 2.6, "He has written our names in heaven." How can divine love put forth greater efforts of itself than these?

The love of God, is infinite love. It gives the soul interest in an infinite good, entitles it to an infinite blessedness, and so fills the soul with an infinite satisfaction. And is not a saving interest in God's electing love, the highest cause of rejoicing? The scripture compares love to wine—but the love of God is better than wine; Song of Solomon 4.10. It gives "a name in heaven," which causes an eternal rejoicing.

Reason 2. "A name written in heaven" is a special mercy, which is given only to the Christian. David prays, Psalm 106.4,5, "Remember me, O Lord, with the favor that thou bearest unto thy people." God records the names of his people in the book of life, and there David would be recorded too; and why? "That I may see the good of thy chosen, that I may rejoice in the gladness of thy nation, that I may glory with thine inheritance."

Nothing is so great a cause of rejoicing and glorying as this. What if God gives you life, riches, relations, honors? There is no special mercy in all this. Can you prove your title to the love of God by any or all of these? A man may have life—and yet be dead to God, and dead in sin! A man may be rich, and yet wretched! We may have children—and yet be ourselves children of wrath for all that! God does not love us in giving us sons, unless he gives us his own Son! A man may have honor—and yet not be honored by God. Herod was honored by the people—and yet "eaten up with worms!" Acts 12.21,23.

Special mercies cause special rejoicing. Common mercies can cause but common joy. A name in heaven is a special mercy—this is not the lot of all; the names of the greatest part of the world are written in the dust! Jer. 17.13, "O Lord, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters." The expression has much in it; it travels with a curse.

"A name in heaven" imports the greatest happiness; so a name written in the dust implies the greatest misery.

A name written in the dust implies a short duration, a name of no continuance.

The dust is a place of putrefaction and corruption; what is buried in the earth soon turns to rottenness; so that a name written in the dust implies rottenness, according to Solomon, "The name of the wicked shall rot." Proverbs 10.7b.

The dust is a place of oblivion. What is written in heaven is recorded forever—but what is written in the dust is soon forgotten; so says Bildad of the wicked. "His remembrance shall perish from the earth, and he shall have no name in the street. He shall be driven from light into darkness, and chased out of the world. He shall neither have son or nephew among his people, nor any remaining in his dwellings. They that come after him shall be astonied at his day, as they that went before were affrighted. Surely such are the dwellings of the wicked, and this is the place of him that knoweth not God." Job 18:17-21.

The earth is designed for burning; it is decreed to be fuel for the conflagration of the great day, when "the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven in flaming fire," 2 Thess. 1.7,8. So says the apostle, 2 Pet. 3.10, "The day of the Lord will come, in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also, and the works that are therein, shall be burned up!" Whatever is of affinity to earth must feel the flames of that dreadful day! Not only the dust of the earth—but the treasures of the earth—the pleasures of the earth, the names written in the dust, earthly affections, earthly delights, earthly designs, earthly hearts—all together must make fuel for that fire! For "the earth, and all the works that are therein, shall be burned up!"

You see what a curse, that a name written in the dust is; and yet the names of the greatest part of men and women in the world are written there. To have a name written in heaven, is the portion but of few; it is a special privilege, by which the Lord distinguishes his people from the rest of the world; and therefore to have a name in heaven is cause of rejoicing indeed.

Reason 3.

A name written in heaven, manifests that person to be in the highest relation to God. You are his children, his sons and daughters, the adopted of the Lord! What can be greater ground of unimaginable joy?

What is it which clothes your child with honor and fame—but the nobleness of his descent? and how does your honor and greatness come to descend upon him—but by being of the same blood? It is the nearness of the relation, which entitles him to all. So all that is in God, all his excellencies, all his attributes, his wisdom, his power, his love, his justice, his providence—all are yours, and work for your benefit and advantage, by virtue of your relationship to him.

There is a two-fold relation to God, a relation of servants and of sons. But the difference between them is very great, especially in five things.

1st, The relation of servants is a common relation. All creatures in the world are God's servants—as he is the great master and householder of heaven and earth. God has servants of all sorts, good and bad; he has "good and faithful servants," Matt. 25.23, and he has "wicked and slothful servants," verse 26. He has some that honor him, and some that rebel against him. God has many servants that take wages of him—but do the devil's work.

All creatures stand in this relation to God, the very devils themselves are subject to his command; "Every knee bows to him, both of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth," Phil. 2.10.

But the relation of sons is a special relation, which appertains only to a few. God has many servants—but he has but few sons; he has many in subjection—but few sons. All are his subjects—but all are not his sons.

2ndly, The relation of servants is a mercenary relation; the duty of that relation is drawn forth by the rewards of it; servants work for hire, it is wages they chiefly look for. God has many such servants, that are merely mercenaries in all their duties. They know God is a good master, pays well, and keeps a good table; his commands are equal, and his rewards are bountiful, therefore they own him. As many followed the Lord Christ when he was upon earth, not because of his mercies—but because of his morsels; not because they would be saved—but because "they ate of the loaves and were filled," John 6.26. It was not for the sake of his person—but his provision; not out of love to the truth, so much as the wages.

The Lord Christ has many such servants now, that call themselves the Servants of Christ, and Ministers of Christ—but they are but mercenaries to him. It is the salary they look at, more than the service; dignities more than duty; the preferments of the church, more than the concernments of it. They have the flesh-hook of the law in their hand, 1 Sam. 2.13,14, often to serve themselves—but the book of the law is in their hand but seldom, whereby they should "save themselves and them that hear them," 1 Tim. 4.16. These follow Christ, indeed—but it is for the loaves. No wages—no work! Like those in Mal. 3.14, who cry out, "What profit is it to serve God?"

But now the relation of sons is more sincere. Sons obey and serve in love—not for the reward. They labor—because they love. Not but that the children of God may look at the rewards promised. Moses was sincere in all his performances, and yet "he had a respect unto the recompense of the reward," Heb. 11.26. Christ was a son in the highest relation, the son of God's choicest regard, Matt. 17.5, and yet it is said of him, in his "enduring the cross, and despising the shame," that he "had an eye to the joy which was set before him," Heb. 12.2. A dutiful child may look at his inheritance; yet he would pay the obedience of a son, though he were to receive no father's blessing.

3rdly, The relation of sons, is a communicative relation. The relation of a servant is not so. A master does not impart all his mind, nor disclose his secrets—to his servant. He lays upon him his commands—but does not trust him with his secrets. So says our Lord Christ, John 15.15, "Henceforth I call you not servants, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth." But a father will disclose and communicate his heart to his child—he will tell all his mind, and will, and counsels, to his son.

4thly, The relations of servants gives no claim; it does not entitle them to the estate of their Lord. The law allows them a present maintenance—but no share in the inheritance.

But the relation of a son is entitling—it gives a claim. By virtue of his sonship, he has a title to what is his father's—his father's riches, his father's honors, etc. If you are the "children of God," you are born heirs, and your inheritance is the greatest in this world or in the next; for God himself is your portion! All he is, and all he has—is "the lot of your inheritance!"

5thly, The relation of servants is not lasting; it is arbitrary, founded on will and pleasure of the master. You take one servant, and put away another, at your pleasure. But the relation of a son is abiding, it lasts forever, to the end of being. So says our Lord Christ, John 8.35, "And the servant abideth not in the house for ever; but the son abideth ever." If you are the children of God, you are taken into a lasting relation which shall never end! God is your father forever, and you are his children forever—it is an everlasting relationship!

How should we rejoice in this near relation to the great God! To be a child of God is the highest title in the world. David was made but son-in-law to a king, not born a son; and this sonship was but to an earthly king, who dies like other men, Psalm 82.7, and yet the thoughts of it wrought to astonishment in him: "Seemeth it to you a light thing to be a king's son in law . . . . . ?" 1 Sam. 18.23. What is it then to be taken into an eternal sonship to an everlasting father, before whom the kings of the earth are as grasshoppers; who "bringeth the princes to nothing: he maketh the judges of the earth as vanity." Isaiah 40.22,23.

Reason 4. "A name written in heaven" gives an assured hope of heaven. We are by this forever set free from all fear of miscarrying. If you have a title—never question the possession. If the right is yours, you shall surely inherit. When you look over a bundle of deeds, and see the name of such a particular person run through them all, and expressly mentioned in the deeds, and all things run in his name—you conclude that estate his, it belongs to him, and will come to him, for all the law is on his side.

It is so in the case in hand; if you have "a name written in heaven," the estate is yours, the conveyance is made to you. The covenant is the main deed, which is sealed in the blood of Christ, and therein the inheritance is made over and conveyed to you!

There is an inseparable connection between election and glorification. Though there are many links in the golden chain which reaches from election to glorification—yet not one of them can be broken! "Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified." Romans 8.30.

It is observable in what tense the Spirit of God puts it; not in the future, as a thing to be done—but in a tense that notes it to be already done—to show the certainty of it. If our "names are written in heaven," we shall as surely share in the glories of it, as if already in possession; nay, we are already in possession:

1. Partly in Christ, who is already entered upon his inheritance in our behalf; Heb. 6.20, "Where the forerunner has entered for us." Hence that of the apostle, "And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus:" Eph. 2.6.

2. Partly by the promise: we have the deeds, though we do not enjoy the estate; we keep the title, though we do not possess the inheritance.

3. Partly in the "first fruits of glory," Romans 8.23, which we receive by the Spirit of God, and the graces of the Spirit in our hearts. Entrance upon the least part of an estate, gives a right to the possession, as well as entrance upon the whole. Grace in the heart is a pledge of the holy land, the land of promise, whereby God does actually instate us in the glorious inheritance.

APPLICATION.

The first use shall be for examination. Is "a name written in heaven," the truest cause of rejoicing? Then let us see what cause of rejoicing we may have in ourselves, upon this account. The apostle's counsel is plainly to this purpose, Gal. 6.4, "But let every man prove his own work, and then shall he have rejoicing in himself alone, and not in another."

You have heard that there can be no true cause of joy in the heart—but "a name written in heaven!"

Is "a name written in heaven" the chief ground of your joy?

Question. But you will reply, "Who can say his name is written in heaven? Who has thus far known the mind of the Lord? To whom has he at any time opened the sealed book of his secret decrees? Was ever any man admitted into the regions above, to search the eternal records of the divine purpose?"

Answer. Surely not. But yet let me, in answer to this, lay down two conclusions.

First, The knowledge of this, that our names are written in heaven, is attainable. Why else are we commanded to "make our calling and election sure?" Would the Lord Christ have called upon us to rejoice, because "our names are written in heaven," if it were a thing that could not be known? Surely therefore it is no such secret as lies out of the reach of faith's attainment.

Indeed, to wicked, unbelieving, and impenitent sinners—the knowledge of this is impossible. How can a man who forsakes God, know that his name is written in heaven, when God says, "Those who forsake him, their names shall be written in the dust?" But believers may attain to the knowledge of this.

Secondly, As the knowledge of it is attainable, so it is evident from scripture examples, that many have attained to it. God has sometimes unsealed the book of his decrees, and held it open to the believing eye; so that the soul has been enabled to read its interest in divine love, by the spiritual optics of faith; for "faith is the evidence of things not seen," Heb. 11.1. The soul is as yet enrapt up in gross matter, imprisoned in flesh, and confined to an abode in a tabernacle of clay; and therefore distanced from God, and utterly incapable of any farther converse and communion with him, than what is attainable by the mediation of faith.

Now faith enters within the veil, removes the soul out of the valleys of sense, and sets it upon the highest ground of gospel consolation, that it may stand at the fairest vantage ground, to get a prospect into the glory of the eternal world. Faith draws infallible conclusions of the goodness of its state, from the immutable decrees of electing love. What else made Job say, "For I know that my redeemer liveth, and that he shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: And though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me." Job 19.25-27.

And what made Paul glory in the Lord Christ, crying out, "Who loved me, and gave himself for me!" Gal. 2.20. What made the church say, with so much confidence, "I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine!" Song of Solomon 6.3.

Question. But the great question is, "How shall a man be able to know, that his name is written in heaven?"

Answer. There are certain discoveries of this in a man's self; which if we attend to, we may have a sure proof and witness of.

1. Effectual calling is a sure proof that your name is written in heaven! If the call of God has taken hold of our hearts—then our names are written in heaven! There is an inseparable connection between election and calling; and therefore, when the apostle bids us "give all diligence to make our calling and election sure." II Pet. 1:10 Though election is before calling (the one being an act of God in eternity; the other an act of God in time), yet the apostle puts the making our calling sure in the first place; because a man can never be sure he is elected—until he is first effectually called.

Now then, if you would know whether your names are written in heaven; satisfy yourselves in this, that the call of God has taken effectual hold of your hearts. Has it brought your souls off from everything below Christ, wholly to follow Christ? It is said, when Christ called Peter and Andrew, they presently "left their nets and followed him," Matt. 4.18,19,20. Every man has his nets—something that his soul is entangled in, until the call of God takes hold of him. Can you now, with Peter, when God calls—lay aside your nets to follow him?

For it is not every call which will witness the truth of our election: there is an external call of the word—which is ineffectual. It prevails not upon the sinner's heart, he turns a deaf ear upon it. This call leaves sinners as it finds them—in their sins and lusts! Matt. 20.16.

But then there is an internal and effectual call—when Word and Spirit go together, and work together, to bring the soul off from sin, and lust, and self, and world—to Jesus Christ, to live upon him as its portion, and conform to him as its pattern. Now if you are thus called, then is your name written in heaven—and therefore you may go and rejoice indeed—for if any in the world has cause, you have.

2. If the law of God is written in your heart—then your name is written in heaven! It is one of the great promises of the new covenant, that "God will write his law in our hearts," Heb. 8.10.

Question. Now you will say, "What is this law of God?"

Answer. It is the law of love, the law of holiness—a law that takes in all the duties that God requires of us, a law of universal obedience. Psalm 40.8, "I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart." It is a law that comprehends the whole rule of the new creature. The law within is a counterpart of the law without; so that, whatever the word of God commands, the soul is enabled to perform, when this law is written in the heart.

Question. When is God said to write his law in the heart?

Answer. When he does powerfully impress a divine principle of grace, by his Holy Spirit, in the heart. Believers are said to be "the epistle of Christ, written not with ink—but with the Spirit of the living God," 2 Cor. 3.3. An epistle is nothing else but a paper, with the mind of a man written in it, and sent to another. Believers are "the epistle of the living God;" there his mind, and will, and law is written, not in tables of stone—but in the fleshly tables of the heart.

So that if the law of God is written in your heart—then may you know that your name is written in heaven!

Converting grace in the heart, is the best of God's eternal election; without which the eternal decree concerning us can never be read with clearness, nor understood with comfort. The decree travails and brings forth, in a work of grace in the heart. The mind of God, concerning our eternal condition, is best known by a sound conversion; for there he speaks plainly. That fountain of love which ran underground before, now bubbles up and breaks forth. In election, God spoke within himself; but in conversion, God speaks to the soul. In election, God wrote our names in heaven secretly; but in conversion, we see them written there openly.

A work of grace in the heart carries in it a four-fold witness:

1. That we are the objects of God's election.

2. That sin is pardoned through Christ's atoning sacrifice.

3. That God is reconciled by Christ's intercession.

4. That we are secure as to eternal salvation.


The least of these is worth a whole world!
Who would not be willing to know himself, as the chosen of God? Who would not be glad to see sin pardoned? Who would not rejoice in a friendship with God—whose wrath burns to the lowest hell? Who would not triumph, in an assurance of being saved forever? Now if grace is wrought in your heart, this is your privilege—and you may rejoice in hope of glory. No better witness of our names written in heaven—than the image of God engraved in the heart!

The ungodly do not need descend in the deep, to search in hell—to see if their names be written, by the wrath and vengeance of God, in eternal misery. No! they may find it nearer home; there is a hell within them! There is the stench and filth of hell, in their vile affections! The smoke and flames of hell, are in their burning and raging lusts! The darkness of hell, is in their blind minds! And sometimes the torments of hell, are in their guilty and self-revenging consciences—that "worm which dieth not!" Mark 9.44. Just so—many believers find a heaven in their own souls, a heaven of light, of love, of holiness, of joy and praise! "The kingdom of God (heaven) is within you." Luke 17:21

3. If true faith is wrought in your heart—then is your name written in heaven. 1 John 5.10, "He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself:" Faith is a sure fruit of electing love: "As many as were ordained to eternal life, believed!" Acts 13.48. God does not elect us because we believe—but we believe because we are elected. (Election upon foreseen faith is an Arminian dream!) Faith is one of the first fruits which eternal love brings forth in the heart. Final unbelief is a sad witness of a reprobate state: so says our Lord Christ, "But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep." John 10.26.

Would you know then whether your name is written in heaven? then see if saving faith is wrought in your heart. Have you ever truly closed with the Lord Jesus Christ? Do you heartily embrace him, as he is set forth in the gospel? Can you venture your soul, your salvation, your eternal all—upon the single foundation of the Redeemer's righteousness? Have you ever had actual application of the blood and righteousness of Christ to your own consciences, to take off that guilt of sin whereby your souls stand bound over to wrath and damnation? This faith is of the operation of God; and wherever this faith is found in the heart—the name of that man, that woman, is found in heaven! Therefore well may the apostle say, "In whom believing, you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory!" 1 Pet. 1.8.

4. If the father's name is written on your foreheads—then are your names written in heaven! In Rev. 14:1, it is said of those who stood with the Lamb upon Mount Zion—that "the Father's name was written in their foreheads."

The name of God is written in the forehead—when we openly confess the truths of God, and are not ashamed of religion; nor ashamed to own God, and his ways, and ordinances, and people—in the midst of a profane, scoffing, and adulterous generation. Now says our Lord Christ, "Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, (that is—the name of Christ written on the forehead) "him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven;" Matt. 10:32 . . . that is—he shall have a name written in heaven!

Do you repine at difficulties, shrink at sufferings, blush at being counted pious? Are you ashamed of Christ, his ways, his name, his people? Why if so, his name is not on your forehead.

Or can you lift up your heads, and show your faces, in the cause of Christ? "God is not ashamed to be called our God," Heb. 11.16. And will you be ashamed to be called his children, his saints, his witnesses? Moses was not ashamed, when he "Esteemed the reproach of Christ, greater riches than the treasures in Egypt;" Heb. 11.26. He had the father's name on his forehead.

5. If your great work is to have treasure in heaven—then your names are written in heaven! This is the counsel of the blessed Jesus, Matt. 6.20, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven!" Luke 12.33,34: "provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also."

The treasures of most men are perishing, earthly treasures, cankered and moth-eaten treasures, treasures of vanity. Where is your treasure? Is it in this world—or in the eternal world? Is it in present vanities—or in future glory? Is it in present contentments—or in an everlasting inheritance? Is it in food and feasting—or is it in the light of God's countenance? Is it in profits, pleasures, and honors—or is it in grace and glory? Do you build, and plant, and sow in the eternal world, that hereafter you may reap an eternal harvest of blessedness? If so, then are your names written in heaven!

6. If your conversations are in heaven—then are your names written in heaven! Phil. 3.20, "Our conversation is in heaven."

Many profess hope of heaven—but their conversations are upon the earth: like that foolish actor, that while his eyes were fixed upon the earth, cried, "O heavens!" they savor only earthly things—earthly profits, earthly comforts, earthly vanities.

Let a man's profession be ever so heavenly, his prayers and duties ever so heavenly—yet if they are over-topped by an earthly conversation, that man's religion is vain! The scripture says expressly, "If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him!" 1 John 2.15.

Never talk of a name in heaven—so long as your hearts are buried in the earth! Where your hearts are—there your names are! If your hearts are earthly, your names are in the earth, "Carnal, worldly, sensual, enemy to God"—that is your name, and the scripture gives you no other! James 4.4: "whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."

Now what is your life? How do you live? Do you live by sense—or do you live by faith? Do you live upon the creatures—or upon the promises?

It is said of the virtuous woman, Proverbs 31.14, that "she bringeth her food from afar." So does the true believer; he uses the blessings of the creature—but he lives upon the blessings of the covenant.

"From afar." That is, far out of the sight and view of the natural eye—for it is bread the world knows nothing of. The natural man is blind and cannot see afar off. "God has set the world in their hearts." Eccles. 3.11. They are strangers to this heavenly joy.

"From afar." "for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of things which he possesseth," Luke 12.15. His "life is hid with Christ in God," Col. 3.3; and from thence are the comforts of his life. "He fetches his food from afar"—it is God in Christ, and the glories of the eternal world, which are the bread of his soul.

Do you fetch your food from far, or nearer home? Are you fed by sense—or does faith feed you with clusters fetched from the holy land? Do you serve flesh, lust, and sins, and times, which is the basest thraldom? Or do you serve Christ, whose service is perfect freedom? Romans 6.16, "Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey;" His you are—whom you serve. The apostle Paul will tell you whom he serves, "God, whom I serve with my spirit." Romans 1.9.

"Forgetting the things behind, I press towards the mark," Phil. 3.13,14. Outward privileges, carnal contentments, perishing hopes—these were once the things before him; but now he has turned about, and set his face the other way, and left them all behind him. "I press toward the mark." He is now ascending upon the wings of faith and love—above this dung and darkness—to the regions of light and glory!

If your conversation is in heaven, it is thus with you in one degree or other. Heavenly concernments are your work, and heavenly comforts are your support. It is not profits, pleasures, or honors, which can comfort and gladden you; but it is fruit from the tree of life, in the midst of the paradise of God, which nourishes you.

If thus your conversation be in heaven—then is your name written in heaven!

Entire text of the sermon can be accessed here: http://www.gracegems.org/28/mead_name_in_heaven.htm

In Christian love,

June & Ralph Nadolny,
two sinners saved by God's grace alone (Eph. 2:8-10; Romans 5:8)
"Christ in you (us), the hope of glory" (Col. 1:27b)
"new creatures in Christ" (2 Cor. 5:17)
"We love him, because HE first loved us." 1 John 4:19

"Book of books! Inspired, inerrant, infallible, utterly dependable. THE WORD OF GOD." Shaun Willcock

THE BIBLE: The Word of God

Used by express permission of the author, Shaun Willcock, Gospel Minister . . . Ambassador for Christ (II Cor. 5:17-20)

If the Bible is not the Word of God, divinely inspired by God, then there is no difference between the Bible and any other book. If the Bible is not the Word of God, its origin is earthly, not divine. And if this is so, then Christians have, as their foundation, the feeble words of fallible men.
The Scriptures claim to be "able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 3:15); yet, if they are not the words of God, but merely the words of weak, sinful men, then how can they make anyone wise unto salvation? How can anyone be certain they are trustworthy?
If the Bible is not the Word of God, then what fools Christians are!


Yet if the Bible IS the Word of God, we can expect to find abundant evidence of this fact. And, indeed, there IS abundant evidence. That evidence is the subject of this article.
The Bible itself claims to be the Word of God; given by divine inspiration. This it does over and over again, in both the Old and the New Testaments. Just two excellent examples from the New Testament will be given. The first is from 2 Tim. 3:16: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God". And the second is from 2 Pet. 1:21: "For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost."
However, it will be argued, by those who do not believe that it is God's Word, that it is a simple matter for a man to declare that what he writes is "the Word of God". Evidence must be available, if this claim is true. How do we know that the Bible is the Word of God? How can we be certain?
There IS abundant evidence that the Bible is God's Word, apart from its own claims; and some of it will be given here. But at the end of this article, it will be seen where the full persuasion and assurance of this truth comes from.
Here, then, is some of the incontestable evidence that the Bible is the Word of God.


1. If the Bible is nothing more than the work of men, then it was either written by good men, or by evil men. Now, if it was written by good men, they would not have lied about its origin. Paul, who wrote 2 Timothy, declared that all Scripture is given by inspiration of God (3:16). And in 1 Cor. 14:37 he wrote, "the things that I write unto you are the commandments of the Lord." And Peter, in his second epistle, wrote that the Scriptures were given by men "moved by the Holy Ghost" (1:21). Many other examples could be given. If these were good and honest men, they would not have lied.
Therefore, if the Bible was written merely by men who were not inspired of God, then it was written by evil men. But evil men would have written it to their liking! And they would have written it to the liking of other evil men! The truth is, however, that it is NOT written to the liking of evil men. It is not to their taste at all. It speaks of sin; it declares that sinners will spend eternity in the lake of fire; it calls the worldly pleasures so beloved of evil men, sin; it exalts the grace of God, and lays low the works of men; it calls Christians to holy living, to the mortification of the works of the flesh; etc., etc. Such teachings are not to the taste of evil men. They hate them!
It must, then, be what it claims to be: not the word of man, but of God.


2. The Bible reveals God: his character, attributes, etc., in a way that no other "god" is revealed in any other writing. A holy, just, pure God – not a god who is little better than men, subject to like passions as men! This is how the gods of the heathen are represented, but not the Lord God of the Bible. This proves its divine origin.


3. The Bible's account of Christ proves its divine origin. The Gospels are simply written; honestly; matter-of-factly. They do not bear the marks of fiction, but of fact. What purpose would Matthew, Mark, Luke and John have had in writing fiction? What did they stand to gain, apart from persecution from Jew and Roman and Greek alike? Take John as an example: he suffered persecution for his faith (see Acts 3 and 5), even exile to a lonely isle (Rev. 1:9). Would he have suffered all that he did suffer over a character of fiction? A character who, if fictional, was one whom he partly invented?
No – the Christ of the Bible is TRUE. Hear the admission of Rousseau, a man who was an infidel:

"I will confess to you further, that the majesty of the
Scripture strikes me with admiration, as the purity of the gospel hath its
influence on my heart. Peruse the works of our philosophers, with all their pomp
of diction – how mean – how contemptible – are they, compared with the
Scripture! Is it possible, that a book at once so simple and sublime should be
merely the work of man? Is it possible that the sacred personage whose history
it contains should be himself a mere man? Do we find that he assumed the air of
an enthusiast or ambitious secretary? What sweetness, what purity in his manner!
What an affecting gracefulness in his delivery! What sublimity in his maxims!
What profound wisdom in his discourses! What presence of mind! What subtilty!
What truth in his replies! How great the command over his passions! Where is the
man, where the philosopher, who could so live and die, without weakness and
without ostentation? Shall we suppose the Evangelic History a mere fiction?
Indeed, my friend, it bears not the marks of fiction. On the contrary, the
history of Socrates, which nobody presumes to doubt, is not so well attested as
that of Jesus Christ. The Jewish authors were incapable of the diction, and
strangers to the morality contained in the gospels; the marks of whose truth are
so striking and invincible, that the inventor would be a more astonishing
character than the hero."

"Which of you convinceth me of sin?" asked Jesus (Jn. 8:46). Nobody ever has – not in 2000 years.


4. There is no lie, or contradiction, in the Scriptures; they are, therefore, "the word of truth", as they claim to be (Eph. 1:13; Dan. 10:21). And they contain no unholy doctrine, but promote holiness in men; they are, therefore, "the holy scriptures", as they claim to be (Rom. 1:2).


5. The method of salvation revealed in the Bible proves its divine origin. It is absolutely unique. All other religions in the world proclaim some form of salvation by human works; by man's own efforts. The Bible declares that salvation is of the LORD. It emphatically asserts that, if the LORD does not save a man, he cannot be saved. Indeed, 1 Cor. 1:17-31 says that this teaching is "foolishness" to those who perish. The method of salvation revealed in the Bible is NOT one which men would have invented: election in eternity; the incarnation of Christ, who was God manifest in the flesh; his death for the elect; effectual calling; etc.


6. The marvellous unity, and harmony, of the Bible, proves that it is of God. It was not written down by one man, at one time; but it was written over a period of 1500 years, by all sorts of men, from all sorts of backgrounds, in all sorts of places, on all sorts of topics. And yet it forms a unit, with one central theme, and no contradictions. Could such a work be the product of the uninspired minds of men? Impossible! This Book is the revelation of God.


7. The men who wrote the Bible, themselves, being the human instruments God used, are proof that it is divine in origin. Though some, like Moses and Paul, were educated men, others were fishermen (Matt. 4:18), "unlearned and ignorant men" (Acts 4:13). And yet they wrote in a manner and style beyond their natural abilities or education. Obviously, they were "moved by the Holy Ghost" (2 Pet. 1:21).


8. The prophecies of the Bible prove its divine origin. These prophecies are not the ambiguous mutterings of the "prophets" of heathenism; they are authentic revelations, given by men as they were moved by the Spirit of God. Hundreds of years before the Lord Jesus Christ was born, the prophets of the Old Testament foretold his birth, events of his life, his death, his resurrection. It is manifestly absurd to assert that this was all coincidental. An impostor could have succeeded in "fulfilling" some of them, but never ALL of them – and there are a great many. Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled them all.
And there are other prophecies, too: for example, prophecies in Daniel, Revelation, 2 Thess. 2, Matt. 24, and elsewhere, which have been wonderfully fulfilled by events of history over the past 2000 years. No, this is no mere book written by man. Fulfilled prophecy is one of the most powerful witnesses to the divine origin of the Scriptures. Only he who declares "the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done" (Isa. 46:10) could have moved men to foretell such things.


9. The accuracy of the Scriptures as to details of chronology, history, geography, astronomy, etc., is yet further proof that this is the Word of God. Science attests to this accuracy in all sorts of ways. And the extent of this accuracy includes the account of the creation, and that of the worldwide flood! The false theory of evolution has absolutely NO solid evidence to support it, but there is abundant evidence that the universe was created by God. There is also abundant evidence that the world was destroyed by a flood, exactly as the Bible says it was.


10. The attacks upon the Bible through the centuries prove its divine origin. No other book has been so hated and assaulted – no, not since the world began. It has been criticised, burnt to ashes, locked away, forbidden to the people, scorned – why? If it is merely a book written by uninspired men, like any other book, then why have men hated it so? Why have they sought, with everything in their power, to destroy it from off the face of the earth? What is it about this Book that has so enraged men? It can only be that it is GOD'S Book, and because men hate God, they hate his Word. And this leads to the next point –


11. The preservation of the Scriptures proves their divine origin. Despite the mad assaults of those who have hated the Lord and his Word through the centuries, the Lord has wonderfully preserved it down to this very day! Jesus said, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matt. 24:35). And it is written in 1 Pet. 1:25, that "the word of the Lord endureth for ever." In a number of places, the Lord has promised to preserve his Word. In the Old Testament, Antiochus Epiphanes "cast down the truth to the ground", when he took the books of the law, and burnt them (Dan. 8:12); and in this, the New Testament age, his antitype, the Antichrist – the Roman Papacy – did precisely the same thing, burning copies of the Bible, and burning those who translated or distributed it. The Papacy has produced corrupt versions of the Bible, as have other groups. And yet despite all this – it survives! Like the very existence of the Church of Jesus Christ itself, the preservation of the Bible is a miracle of God.


12. Finally, one of the greatest of all evidences that this Book is the Book of books, the very Word of God, is that it has transformed the lives of countless numbers of people through the centuries. Men who were once idolaters, murderers, adulterers, liars, thieves, drunkards, sodomites – to list just a few – have been transformed into holy, godly men, and all because of the teachings of this Book. Men who, like Paul, could describe themselves as the chief of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15), became saints of God. The effects of the Bible, then, prove its divine origin. What other book that has ever been written has had such an effect? Wherever it has gone, it has transformed lives, even whole societies. Its teachings have changed vile, wretched sinners into the very salt of the earth (Matt. 5:13). It has transformed men from being weak, timid individuals into mighty men of valour, prepared to suffer unspeakable agonies, and even to die, for the Lord who is revealed in its pages. What a Book this is!
And this, after all, is its purpose: to make souls "wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim. 3:15). It was written "that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name" (Jn. 20:31). As Peter said, when many of Christ's disciples left him, and he asked the twelve if they, too, would leave, "Lord, to whom shall we go? thou hast the words of eternal life" (Jn. 6:66-68). He does indeed – and they have been recorded in this Book.


All that has been said above, abundantly testifies to the fact that the Bible is the divinely-inspired Word of God. Proof upon proof has been given. The evidence is overwhelming and incontestable. And yet, something more is needed, if the corrupt, depraved heart of man is ever to believe it.
Oh, these infallible proofs must be given. They must be made known! But, just as miracles were performed in the apostolic age in order to confirm, to authenticate, the Word (Mk. 16:20; Heb. 2:3,4), and yet many rejected it; so something more is needed, today, to persuade corrupt and sinful men of its divine origin and truth. And that is the inward work of the Holy Spirit, bearing witness in the hearts of men! Since "the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God" (1 Cor. 2:11); and since "the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God" (vs.14); God must reveal them unto us by his Spirit (vs.10), or we will never know them.
In conclusion, then: the Bible is the Word of the living God. It claims to be; it is proved to be; and it is fully seen to be, when the Holy Spirit enlightens the eyes and opens the heart.

Book of books! Inspired, inerrant, infallible, utterly dependable. THE WORD OF GOD.


Shaun Willcock is a minister of the Gospel, and runs Bible Based Ministries. He lives in South Africa. For other pamphlets (which may be downloaded and printed), as well as details about his books, tapes, news articles, etc., please visit the Bible Based Ministries website. If you would like to be on Bible Based Ministries’ electronic mailing list, please send your details.
Bible Based Ministries
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"NOT OF WORKS, LEST ANY MAN SHOULD BOAST" Ephesians 2:9

Salvation: God's Graciousness in Christ
By: Richard Bennett, Christian Apologist / former Catholic priest of 22 yrs.
Reprinted here with permission

Scriptural Meaning of Justification

The precise import of the term "to justify" is clearly seen in that it is the exact opposite or contrast to the term "to condemn." "It is God that justifies. Who is he that condemns?" (Romans 8:33-34) (1) Condemnation is not a process by which a good man is made bad, but is the verdict of a judge declaring a man blameworthy. Now just as to condemn a man is not to infuse evil into him, but declares him guilty, so justification does not infuse goodness into a man, but declares that he is just. Justification is that formal sentence of the Divine Judge whereby He pronounces the believer before Him righteous.

The Author of the Gospel: God Just and Justifier

It is as "the God of all grace" (2) that seeks, finds, and saves His people. Justification is God's gift to the believer, which is imputed to him based on Christ's finished work on the cross.(3) Quite simply, justification is God’s righteous judgment of the believer, declaring him both guiltless in regard to sin, and righteous in regard to his moral standing in Christ before the Holy God. This judgment by God is legally possible because of the substitutionary death and resurrection of Christ Jesus in the place of the believer. Justification is first and foremost God’s legal judgment of the believer. "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." (4)

Justification is God’s righteous judgment to demonstrate in the words of Romans 3:26, that He is "just and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus." This righteous judgment of God is the center of the apostolic preaching of the good news in the Bible. It is a righteous judgment freely given by God:

21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22 even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe; for there is no difference: 23 for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24 being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25 Whom God has set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; 26 to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus. (Romans 3:21-26)

Purpose of the Justification: to Reveal Christ’s Righteousness

The Scripture declares the righteousness of God without the law is manifested; it is the purpose of the Gospel. What is declared is not human works righteousness of any kind, but rather it is God's righteousness in the Lord Jesus Christ that is revealed. The Gospel is the demonstration, in concrete historical fact, of the perfect satisfaction which Christ rendered to all the demands of the law, and which God places to the credit of every true believer in Him. Before God’s all Holy nature, sin had to be punished and true righteousness established. This has been accomplished in the faithful obedience of the Lord Christ Jesus and His propitiatory sacrifice. Thus Christ’s faithfulness is proclaimed in v. 22, "even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ".

When the Bible declares that justification is God’s gift to the believer, it also shows in few words what this justification is. Justification is found in and of Christ. It is the demonstration of the faithfulness (5) of Jesus Christ, even unto death. Such perfect rectitude is of God, and from God, "even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ" (v. 22). The great news is that this absolute righteousness is "unto all and upon all them that believe."

Legally what is shown is the true believer’s identification with the Lord Jesus Christ. God has provided Christ’s righteousness to sinners who believe. There are several passages in which faithfulness of the Lord is mentioned. In each case, the name of Jesus Christ is in the genitive case indicating that faithfulness a character quality that He possesses. Galatians 2:16 is an example of this usage, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ." Knowing that the law must be fulfilled for God to declare a person righteous, the faithfulness of Christ must be also understood as applying specifically to this context.

The Human Condition and the Graciousness of God

According to verse 23, "for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God", every person under the law has fallen short of the glory of God and thereby is possessed both of a bad heart because of sin nature and a bad record because of personal sin. The good news is stated in v. 24, "being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." This is the pure Sovereign grace of God, showing as it were the very heart of God. His own graciousness moved Him, to devise a way whereby His wondrous love could be seen in the vilest of rebels. As it is written, "I, even I, am He that blots out your transgressions for Mine own sake, and will not remember your sins" (Isaiah 43:25). The design of God is highlighted by the adverb "freely". This excludes all consideration of anything in man or from which should be the cause or condition of justification. That same Greek adverb is translated "without a cause" in John 15:25, "they hated Me without a cause." The believer’s right standing before God is in Christ's redemption, which is freely given, as it is outside anything he can do for himself. "Being justified," means that since there remains nothing for man in himself, being smitten by the just judgment of God, but to perish, he is to be justified freely through God’s provision in Christ. There is perhaps no passage in the whole Scripture that illustrates in such a striking manner the efficacy of Christ’s righteousness as this one does. It shows that God’s grace is the efficient cause, "through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus." This shows being justified freely by his grace is through Christ Jesus’ payment and nothing from the believer, lest one might imagine a kind of "half grace", and should be bold enough to attempt to add his own merit to God’s grace.

Riches of God's Grace: Work's Righteousness Excluded

Herein is the love of God shown through his Son, Jesus Christ, in that this gift of righteousness, which cost Christ Jesus his life, is a finished work and is freely given. For to whom does God owe anything? And who can meet His standards under the law? So who can bargain with God or with Christ Jesus that he should even think of offering God anything in exchange for God’s righteous judgment of himself? To make such a natural and ridiculous offer would be to attempt bribery of the highest order. Again and again the Bible states, as in the above text, that Christ’s righteousness is imputed to the believer freely by God, or by God’s grace alone. It is in Christ alone that one has right standing before the All Holy God "In Whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace." (Ephesians 1:7)

Biblical justification, therefore, is perfect and a finished work of God. "It is God that justifies." (6) Justification is God’s work alone to show His righteousness and the fact that He alone saves. Once God has justified any person, He views that person "in Christ" (7), for God, having forgiven the sinner, reckons to his account Christ’s righteousness. Thus justification is by faith alone "without the deeds of the law." (8)

In the Lord Jesus, believers have a righteousness without spot or blemish, perfect and all glorious; a righteousness which has not only expiated all their sins, but satisfied every requirement of the law’s precepts. It is not a transfusion of Christ’s righteousness unto those who are to be justified, so that they could thereby be inherently righteous. No it is a Divine and legal right to eternal life and the title to an everlasting inheritance.

The perfect meritorious obedience of Christ is so truly transferred to believers that they will be called "the righteous" in the last judgment. (Matthew 25:40). Surely the believer has cause to cry out in praise in the words of Psalm 71:15-16 "my mouth shall show forth thy righteousness, thy salvation all the day. I will go in the strength of the Lord GOD: I will make mention of thy righteousness, even of thine only."

The Official Roman Catholic Teaching:

Summary

The full picture of the Roman Catholic salvation process begins with new birth, which is said to occur in infant baptism and which purportedly washes away original sin. The process of salvation is a long journey through all the sacraments, with the Sacrifice of the Mass, central to most events. Good works, merit, sacraments and saints, are all involved, but the focal point is always on inner moral goodness which one is always attempting to increase in order to be good enough to die in "sanctifying grace" and then to be saved or at least to land for a time in purgatory. In the Roman teaching, no assurance of salvation is ever given, even to the most devout.

Starting Point

The first major difference between biblical truth and Roman Catholic teaching is moral condition of the individual needing reconciliation of man with God. Ephesians 2:1 states clearly the moral condition of a person before conversion, "And you has He quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins." Colossians 2:13 also states the moral condition clearly, "And you, being dead in your sins...."Because of Adam's sin mankind is born spiritually dead. Romans 3:10-11 clearly depicts mans state, "As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, no, not one: there is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God." Quite different to this, is the proclamation of Rome,

". . . Nevertheless man has been wounded by sin. He finds by experience that his body is in revolt. His very dignity therefore requires that he should glorify God in his body, and not allow it to serve the evil inclinations of his heart… When he is drawn to think about his real self he turns to those deep recesses of his being where God who probes the heart awaits him, and where he himself decides his own destiny in the sight of God ". (9)

In contrast to the Biblical position of being spiritually dead, Rome stresses, human dignity and the ability to effectively choose good. Thus the Vatican council 11 states,

"Man gains such dignity when, ridding himself of all slavery to the passions, he presses forward towards his goal by freely choosing what is good, and, by his diligence and skill, effectively secures for himself the means suited to this end. Since human freedom has been weakened by sin it is only by the help of God’s grace that man can give his actions their full and proper relationship to God." (10)

If one is ever to understand the good news of the gospel, one must begin Biblically with the bad news that of himself man cannot secure his own destiny before the All Holy God because he is spiritually dead in trespasses and sins.

The Focus of faith in Catholic documents

The Roman Catholic Church focuses a person’s faith for salvation to the Roman Catholic Church herself. Thus she states in her Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994) (11),

Para. 824 "It is in the Church that ‘the fullness of the means of salvation’ has been deposited. It is in her that ‘by the grace of God we acquire holiness.’"

Para. 982 "There is no offense, however serious, that the Church cannot forgive. ‘There is no one, however wicked and guilty, who may not confidently hope for forgiveness, provided his repentance is honest."

Para. 983
Priests have received from God a power that he has given neither to angels nor to archangels.... God above confirms what priests do here below.
Were there no forgiveness of sins in the Church, there would be no hope of life to come or eternal liberation. let us thank God who has given his Church such a gift."

Para 1129
The Church affirms that for believers the sacraments of the New Covenant are necessary for salvation . 'Sacramental grace' is the grace of the Holy Spirit, given by Christ and proper to each sacrament.

The Roman "Process" of Justification

The "process" begins for most Catholics at baptism when the Church administers baptism to them. The Roman Catholic Church teaches as dogma that justification is conferred through her sacraments and that it consists of inner righteousness whereby a man, it is stated, becomes just within himself. The Church of Rome condemns the biblical doctrine of justification by faith alone. This was done at the Council of Trent. Present day dogma of the RCC not only upholds the teaching of the Council of Trent but also declares that such Councils are infallible.(12) The Council of Trent proclaims the following curses:

If anyone shall say that justifying faith is nothing else than confidence in the divine mercy which remits sins for Christ's sake, or that it is this confidence alone by which we are justified: let him be anathema [cursed]. (13)

If anyone shall say that by the said sacraments of the New Law, grace is not conferred from the work which has been worked [ex opere operato] but that faith alone in the divine promise suffices to obtain grace: let him be anathema.(14)

Rome’s reason for such a curse on those who hold to "justification by faith alone" is logical because of what she refuses to concede. For her, justification is not an immediate declaration of God and received by faith alone; rather, she teaches that grace is conferred through her sacraments. Thus she is able to make a place for herself as a necessary means through which inner righteousness is given.

Present Day Teaching of Internal Righteousness

Rome's claim is that justification is internal and, with a few exceptions, is exclusively granted through her sacramental system. Thus she states,

"The Most Holy Trinity gives the baptized [person] sanctifying grace, the grace of justification . . . ." (15)

And

"Justification is conferred in Baptism, the sacrament of faith. It conforms us to the righteousness of God, who makes us inwardly just by the power of his mercy." (16)

Both of these claims are frontal attacks on the truth of God's written Word. In the Lord's declaration, the believer is justified in Christ alone. "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: according as he has chosen us in him before the foundation of the world...." (17) To be chosen in Christ shows that justification is not of any person’s doing nor is it anything that resides within any person. Justification is not recognition of anything that a person deserves, but rather the heavenly Father has chosen that person in Christ before he or she has done anything good or bad. (18) Rome's affirmation of infused righteousness as a basis of justification is a negation of consistent Biblical teaching that justification is positional legal righteousness in Christ (19) who is the only foundation for it.

Ephesians 1:6 clearly declares the legal residence of the believer. One’s acceptance is in the beloved, i.e., Christ, "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he has made us accepted in the beloved." The location of God's choice is revealed, it is Christ, the Beloved. The supreme and conclusive purpose is immediately added, that all is to the glorious praise of His abundant grace. The doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church attempts to destroy entirely the biblical doctrine of justification. It endeavors to rob the glory of salvation, from the all Holy God.

The Lord continually shows the believer in His Word where he or she is eternally and splendidly saved. "And you are complete in him, who is the head of all principality and power." (20) As to one’s dwelling wholly in Christ, it is in order that the believer, having obtained Him, may possess in Him a complete perfection. The Roman Catholic Church does not rest satisfied with Christ alone, her process program in fact nullifies the grace of God (21). What is most serious, the very truth of the Gospel is thus made void. The process system is a hopeless practice born of a blasphemous idea. Rather, "It is God that justifies." (22)

Rome's Definitive Teaching on Grace and Justification

Biblically defined, grace is God's unmerited favor freely granted to the believer. In the formal teaching of the Catholic Church, however, grace is neither "the power of God unto salvation" (23) nor the demonstration of Who God is, "that He might be just and the justifier of him, who believes in Jesus". (24) Rather, Rome defines grace as merely a help given to humans. "Grace is the help God gives us to respond to our vocation of becoming his adopted sons. It introduces us into the intimacy of the Trinitarian life." (25)

Rather than accepting the biblically defined condition of man being dead in trespasses and sins (26), Rome has posited the idea of a spark of spiritual life in a person whereby that person can cooperate with God in his or her salvation. This is consistent with Greek mysticism, as it has infected the Western world. In place of the biblical teaching that God’s one time act of imputing a person’s sin to Christ and His righteousness to the believer, Rome teaches that grace is a quality (known as "sanctifying grace") that resides within a person, making him or her pleasing to God. The whole idea of moral justice being located inside a person rather than an efficient cause outside a person blatantly contradicts the biblical concept of justification by imputation of Christ's righteousness. This is in stark contrast to the Biblical teaching of positional legal righteousness in Christ alone. (27)

The Claim of "Associate Partnership" In Grace

The Catholic is taught that with God’s help, he can claim merit of his own before God. This is because of the grandiose idea of an "associate partnership" of God and man together in the work of salvation. Under the same general heading "Grace and Justification" Rome states,
"We can have merit in God’s sight only because of God’s free plan to associate man with the work of his grace. Merit is to be ascribed in the first place to the grace of God, and secondly to man’s collaboration. Man’s merit is due to God." (28)

The fuzzy wording, "to associate man with the work of his grace" attempts to gainsay the clarity and truth of the Scripture. The work required by God was solely that of the God-man Christ Jesus, not man in general. (29)

The Dying and "Cooperation In Grace"

The same message is given to the sick and dying. By the "grace" of the sacrament of the sick, these are told that suffering becomes a partnership in the Lord’s saving work. Thus Rome declares:

"Union with the passion of Christ. By the grace of this sacrament the sick person receives the strength and the gift of uniting himself more closely to Christ’s Passion: in a certain way he is consecrated to bear fruit by configuration to the Savior’s redemptive Passion. Suffering, a consequence of original sin, acquires a new meaning; it becomes a participation in the saving work of Jesus." (30)

This message of "a participation in the saving work of Jesus" is a damnable lie to be spoken into the ears of those who are sick and dying. Christ’s redemptive work is His and His alone. The doctrine of "a participation in the saving work of Jesus" is utterly perverse in that holds out a false trust to trust in ones own suffering as adding something to that of the Lord. Such a concept is an utter lie as it denies the repeated statements of God’s truth in Scripture.

The Claim for Partners in the Redeeming Sacrifice

The blasphemy continues with the concept of Christ Jesus desiring partnership in His redeeming work. Rome officially teaches:

"The cross is the unique sacrifice of Christ, the ‘one mediator between God and men.’ But because in his incarnate divine person he has in some way united himself to every man, ‘the possibility of being made partners, in a way known to God, in the paschal mystery’ is offered to all man.

He calls his disciples to ‘take up [their] cross and follow [him],’ for ‘Christ also suffered for [us], leaving [us] an example so that [we] should follow in his steps.’ In fact Jesus desires to associate with his redeeming sacrifice those who were to be its first beneficiaries. This is achieved supremely in the case of his mother, who was associated more intimately than any other person in the mystery of his redemptive suffering." (31)

This Roman Catholic doctrine of "being made partners" with God in Christ’s death and resurrection is impious in that on a false basis, it subtly holds out false hope to man. There is no scriptural basis to the idea of being made partners with Christ in the paschal mystery. Such a concept is an utter lie as it denies the repeated statements of God’s truth in Scripture. The work of redemption is " by Himself" (32), "without the deeds of the law" (33), "not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (34), "not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us...." (35)

According to Biblical teaching, the truly saved person does indeed purify himself, but this purification is based solely on Christ Jesus' faithfulness, and on being legally God's sons. "For you are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.... Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth..." (36) Biblical sanctification does indeed involve mortification; indeed the believer must take up his or her cross and follow Him. All of that is clearly sanctification, and does involve the believer’s cooperation. The confusion of sanctification with justification is typical of official Roman teaching. Those who write these doctrines of Rome know intellectually the distinction, "if you were blind, you should have no sin: but now ye say, we see; therefore your sin remains." (37)

Rome's "Second Plank" Justification

Justification in Rome's traditional and official teaching is totally different from Scripture. For Catholics who have fallen in grave sin, she claims "the second plank. Thus she officially states,

"It is to them that the sacrament of Penance offers a new possibility to convert and to recover the grace of justification. The Fathers of the Church present this sacrament as ‘the second plank [of salvation] after the shipwreck which is the loss of grace.’" (38)

This "second plank" justification is law for the sinner in Roman teaching.

"One who desires to obtain reconciliation with God and with the Church, must confess to a priest all the unconfessed grave sins he remembers after having carefully examined his conscience." (39)

In this "recovery of justification" there is a declaration but it is not that of Scripture, "to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus." Rather, it is that of human being declaring "I absolve you from your sins in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." (40) This hopeless ritual proceeds from an improper idea of justification.

The Gospel Proclaimed Not Sins Whispered

Rome claims John 20:19,22-23 as a proof of her teaching. A study of the actual words of John 20:23 confirms that rather than anything judicially enacted through any "sacrament", the forgiveness spoken of, is that which is proclaimed by the Gospel. Here, unquestionably, the Lord has declared, in a few words, the sum of the Gospel. The Lord gave authority to the disciples to declare forgiveness to those whom God had already forgiven. The commission given in this passage in John is a parallel to similar passages such as Luke 24:47, Matthew 28:18-20, and Mark 16:15-16. This is the way the Apostles understood and obeyed the commission, as evidenced throughout the Acts of the Apostles. Christ did not appoint confessors to probe intimately into each sin in whispers. He commissioned preachers of his Gospel, who shall cause their voice to be heard. Through the preaching of the Word, God seals on the hearts of the believer the grace of the atonement obtained through Christ alone. The manner of forgiving sins in Scripture is the proclamation of the Gospel.

Dollinger, one of the most respected Roman Catholic historians, declared that the sacrament of penance (auricular confession) was unknown in the West for one thousand one hundred years and never known in the East. He wrote, "...So again with Penance. What is given as the essential form of the sacrament was unknown in the Western Church for eleven hundred years, and never known in the Greek." (41)

Rome's Claim to Interchange-Justification

Rome's justification continues with an interchange of holiness in expiation of sin, shared even with those in purgatory. She officially declares,

"In the communion of saints, ‘a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. Between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things.’ In this wonderful exchange, the holiness of one profits others, well beyond the harm that the sin of one could cause others. Thus recourse to the communion of saints lets the contrite sinner be more promptly and efficaciously purified of the punishments for sin." (42)

An abundant exchange of all good things in Scripture is in Christ alone, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (43) To assign Christ's role to humans is a serious contradiction of God's truth. Nevertheless, Rome's imputation of merit does not stop there. After stating, "the ‘treasury of the Church’ is the infinite value, which can never be exhausted, which Christ’s merits have before God," (44) she proposes an imputation of the merits of Mary and the saints to the faithful.

"This treasury includes as well the prayers and good works of the Blessed Virgin Mary. They are truly immense, unfathomable, and even pristine in their value before God. In the treasury, too, are the prayers and good works of all the saints, all those who have followed in the footsteps of Christ the Lord and by his grace have made their lives holy and carried out the mission the Father entrusted to them. In this way they have attained their own salvation and at the same time cooperated in saving their brothers in the unity of the Mystical Body." (45)

God's righteousness credited to the believer at Christ's expense is truly "awesome" in the root meaning of that word. The believer is filled again and again with awe, worship, and praise to the Holy God Who Himself has provided the permanent finished work of justification for sin.

To purport an imputation of righteousness outside of Him is preposterous in face of Biblical truth. In the Lord's own words "Truly truly, I say unto you, He that enters not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber." (46) The assertion that there exists an exchange of merit between the believer, Mary, and the saints, is an effrontery to the Biblical truth that God alone justifies the sinner.

Conclusion

Scripture repeatedly states that our works profit nothing towards our justification. A wonderful summary of this truth is given in Hebrews 1:3. "Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high. (47)

The design of the passage is to show what likeness the Father bears to the Son. God's purpose in this is to build up the believer’s faith, so that the believer may learn that God is made known to him in no other way than in Christ, "brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person." Further, when the Word declares "by himself" as a contrast, it is one, not many. Excluded is all other means or helps by stating that the price and the power of purgation were found only in Christ.

God's testimony to His justification is glorious and complete. By revelation of His Word the believers rejoice to know, "Surely, shall one say, In the LORD have I righteousness and strength: in the LORD shall all the seed of Israel be justified, and shall glory," (48). "This is his name whereby he shall be called, The LORD our Righteousness." (49) "He shall finish the transgression, and make an end of sins, and make reconciliation for iniquity, and bring in everlasting righteousness." (50). "For He has made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." (51) "Be it known unto you, therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses." (52).

In contrast the Church of Rome declares again and again her "process" program of justification. Thus she has a merit system, and she declares the necessity of auricular confession, with authoritative absolution. Intercession of saints departed, purgatory, sacraments, obviously contravene the total sufficiency of finished work of the Lord, "for you shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for you neither go in yourselves, neither suffer you them that are entering to go in " (53).

If that were all, it would be sad enough. Such a system, however, which declares justification to be an inner process, also declares loudly by implication that the sacrifice of Christ for the sins of the world is not sufficient. Thus Rome's process theology demeans the perfect work of the Lord. "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him." (54)

In practice Rome's attempted "process" fusion of man’s merit with God’s and its continuing rituals nullify and make void the very grace of God. The language and conduct of Rome are epitomized in one verse of scripture, "For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." (55)

Let the trumpet sound with Biblical distinctives. On the authority of Scripture let it be known that sinners are justified by grace only through faith only in Christ Jesus only! And to God only be the glory! The clear resounding cry is the command of the Lord Himself, "This is the work of God that you believe on him whom he has sent." (56) "Repent, and believe the gospel." (57) ¨

Endnotes
(1) For a detailed study of the term see texts such as Deuteronomy 25:1, Job 9:20, Job 32:2, Proverbs 17:15, Matthew12:37, Luke 7:29, 1 Timothy 3:16 Psalm 143:2. Isaiah 50:7, 8.
(2) 1 Peter 5:10
(3) Romans 4:5-8, II Corinthians 5:19-21, Romans 3:21-28, Titus 3:5-7, Ephesians 1:7, Jeremiah 23:6, I Corinthians 1:30-31, Romans 5:17-19.
(4) Romans 5:18.
(5) Greek pistis. There are many contexts where this is necessarily translated faithfulness Matthew 23:23, Romans 3:3, Galatians 5:22, Titus 2:10, etc. There are several passages in which faithfulness of the Lord is mentioned. In each case, name of Jesus Christ is in the genitive case indicating that faithfulness is a character quality which He processes (Galatians 2:16, 3:22; Ephesians 3:12, Philippians 3:9).
(6) Romans 8:33.
(7) The concept in Christ (in the Beloved, in Him, in Whom etc) occurs 18 times in Ephesians Ch 1 & 2.
(8) Romans 3:28.
(9) Vatican Council II No. 64, Gaudium et Spes, Vol. I, Sec. 14, p. 915
(10) Ibid Sec. 17, p. 917
(11) Catechism of the Catholic Church (Liguori, MO: Liguori Publications, 1994), hereafter referred to as CCC. Bolding in any quotation indicates emphasis added in this paper.
(12) CCC, Para. 891.
(13) Henry Denzinger, The Sources of Catholic Dogma, Tr. by Roy J Deferrari from Enchiridion Symbolorum, 13th ed. (B. Herder Book Co., 1957), #822, Canon 12.
(14) Ibid. #851, Canon 8.
(15) CCC, Para. 1266.
(16) CCC, Para. 1992.
(17) Ephesians 1:3.
(18) "But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8. Also Romans 4:1-5, 9:11.
(19) Psalm 32:2, 71:15-16, 130:3; Isaiah 45:24-25, 54:17, 61:10; Jeremiah 23:6, 33:16, 51:10; Daniel 9:24; Luke 18:14; Romans 1:17, 3:21-22, 4:6, 11, 5:18-19; I Corinthians 1:30; II Corinthians 5:21; Ephesians 1:6; Colossians 2:10, 3:3; II Peter 1:1, and elsewhere.
(20) Colossians 2:10.
(21) "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; you are fallen from grace." Galatians 5:4.
(22) Romans 8:33.
(23) Romans 1:16.
(24) Romans 3:26.
(25) CCC, Para. 2021.
(26) Ephesians 2:1.
(27) Ephesians 1:3-14, Philippians 3:8-9, Colossians 3:3-4, Romans 3:24, 5:19, Isaiah 45:24-25, Psalm 71:16, Jeremiah 23:6. See longer list in footnote #19
(28) CCC, Para. 2025.
(29) Romans 5:12-17, II Corinthians 5:21, Ephesians 2:8-9 and elsewhere.
(30) CCC, Para. 1521.
(31) CCC, Para. 618. Square brackets are in the original text.
(32) Hebrews 1:3.
(33) Romans 3:28.
(34) Ephesians 2:8-9.
(35) Titus 3:5.
(36) Colossians 3:3,5.
(37) John 9:41.
(38) CCC, Para 1446.
(39) CCC, Para. 1493.
(40) CCC, Para. 1449.
(41) von Dollinger, The Pope and the Council by Janus, Authorized tr. from the German "‘Janus’: Der Papst und das Concil (Boston, MA: Roberts Brothers, 1870) p.50.
(42) CCC, Para. 1475.
(43) Ephesians 1:7.
(44) CCC, Para. 1476.
(45) CCC, Para. 1477.
(46) John 10:1.
(47) Hebrews 1:3.
(48) Isaiah 45:24,25.
(49) Jeremiah 23:6.
(50) Daniel 9:24.
(51) 2 Corinthians 5:21
(52) Acts 13:38, 39.
(53) Matthew 23:13.
(54) Hebrews 2:3.
(55) Romans 10:3.
(56) John 6:29.
(57) Mark 1:15.