'My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge.'—Hosea 4:6
Q. Who else indulges their sins?—A. They that choose rather to walk by the imperfect lives of professors than by the holy Word of God: or thus, they that make the miscarriages of some good men an encouragement unto themselves to forbear to be exact in self-denial, these eat up the sins of God's people as men eat bread (Hosea 4:7-9).
Q. Will you now shew me who are like to do this part of God's worship acceptably?—A. Yes, he whose heart is set against sin as sin, is like to deny himself acceptably (Rom 7:13,14).
Q. Who else?—A. He that hath the sense and savour of forgiveness of sins upon his heart (2 Cor 5:14).
Q. Who else is likely to deny himself well?—A. He that hath his affections set upon things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God (Col 3:1-5).
Q. Who else is likely to deny himself well for Christ?—A. He that seeth a greater treasure in self-denial, than in self-seeking (2 Cor 12:9-11; Heb 11:24-26).
Q. Are there no other signs of one who is likely to do this part of God's worship acceptably?—A. Yes, he that takes up his cross daily, and makes Christ's doctrine his example (Luke 6:47,48; John 12:25,26).
Q. But how do you discover a man to be such a one?—A. He keepeth this heart with all diligence, he had rather die than sin; ill carriages of professors break his heart, nothing is so dear to him as the glory of Christ (Prov 4:23; Num 11:15; Phil 3:18; Acts 20:24).
Q. Pray, can you give me some motive to self-denial?—A. Yes; the
Lord Jesus denied himself for thee; what sayest thou to that?
Q. Wherein did Christ deny himself for me?—A. He left his heaven for thee, he denied for thy sake to have so much of this world as hath a fox or a bird, and he spilt his most precious blood for thee (John 6:38; Luke 9:58; 2 Cor 8:9; Rev 1:5).
Q. Can you give another motive to self-denial?—A. Yes, 'What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?' (Mark 8:36).
Q. But why doth God require self-denial of them that will be saved?—A. God doth not require self-denial as the means to obtain salvation, but hath laid it down as a proof of the truth of a man's affections to God and Christ.
Q. How is self-denial a proof of the truth of a man's affections to God?—A. In that for the sake of his service, he leaveth all his enjoyments in this world. Thus he proved Abraham's affections (Gen 22:12). Thus he proved Peter's affections (Matt 4:18-22), and thus he proved their affection that you read of in the gospel (Luke 9:57-73).
Q. What reason else can you produce why God requireth self-denial?—A. Self-denial is one of the distinguishing characters by which true Christians are manifested from the feigned ones: for those that are feigned, flatter God with their mouths, but their hearts seek themselves; but the sincere, for the love that he hath to Christ, forsaketh all that he hath for his sake (Psa 78:36,37; Eze 33:31,32).
Q. Is there yet another reason why God requireth self-denial of them that profess his name?—A. Yes, because by self-denial, the power and goodness of the truths of God are made manifest to the incredulous world. For they cannot see but by the self-denial of God's people, that there is such power, glory, goodness, and desirableness in God's truth as indeed there is (Dan 3:16,28; Phil 1:12,13).
Q. Have you another reason why God requireth self-denial?—A. Yes, because self-denial prepareth a man, though not for the pardon of his sin, yet for that far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, that is laid up only for them that deny all that they have for the Lord Jesus, his name, and cause in this world (2 Cor 4:8-10,17; 2 Thess 1:5,6).
Q. Before you conclude, will you give me a few instances of the severity of God's hand upon some professors, that have not denied themselves when called thereto by him?—A. Yes, willingly; Lot's wife, for looking behind her towards Sodom, when God called her from it, was stricken from heaven, and turned into a pillar of salt; therefore remember Lot's wife (Gen 19:17,26; Luke 17:31,32).
Q. Can you give me another instance?—A. Yes, Esau, for not denying himself of one morsel of meat, was denied a share in the blessing, and could never obtain it after, though he sought it carefully with tears (Gen 25:32-34; Heb 12:16,17).
Q. Have you at hand another instance?—A. Yes, Judas for not denying himself, lost Christ, his soul, and heaven, and is continued the great object of God's wrath among all damned souls (John 12:5,6; Luke 22:3-6; Matt 26:14-16; Acts 1:25).
Q. Will you give me one more instance, and so conclude?—A. Yes, Ananias and Sapphira, his wife, did, for the want of self-denial, pull upon themselves such wrath of God that he slew them, while they stood in the midst before the apostles (Acts 5:1-11).
The Conclusion.
Before I wind up this discourse, I would lay down these few things for you to consider and meditate upon.
I. Consider, that seeing every one by nature are accounted sinners; it is no matter whether thy actual sins be little or great, few or many, thy sinful nature hath already lain thee under the curse of the law.
II. Consider, That therefore thou hast already ground for humiliation, sins to repent of, wrath to fly from, or a soul to be damned.
III. Consider that time stays not for thee, and also that as time goes, sin increaseth; so that at last the end of thy time, and the completing of thy sin, are like to come upon thee in one moment.
IV. Bring thy last day often to thy bedside, and ask thy heart, if this morning thou wast to die, if thou be ready to die or no.
V. Know it is a sad thing to lie a dying, and to be afraid to die; to lie a dying and not to know whither thou art going; to lie a dying, and not to know whether good angels or bad must conduct thee out of this miserable world.
VI. Be often remembering what a blessed thing it is to be saved, to go to heaven, to be made like angels, and to dwell with God and Christ to all eternity.
VII. Consider how sweet the thought of salvation will be to thee when thou seest thyself in heaven, whilst others are roaring in hell.
The Lord Jesus Christ be with thy spirit.
