AN EXHORTATION TO PRESERVE IN GODLINESS
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Those who wear the mantle of godliness—and in the judgment of others are looked upon as godly—let me exhort you to persevere: "Let us hold fast the profession of our faith" (Heb. 10:23). This is a seasonable exhortation in these times—when the devil's agents are abroad, whose whole work is to unsettle people and make them fall away from that former strictness in piety which they have professed.
1. It is much to be lamented—to see professing Christians wavering in religion. How many we see unresolved and unsteady, like Reuben, "unstable as water" (Gen. 49:4). These the apostle rightly compares to "waves of the sea . . . and wandering stars" (Jude 13). They are not fixed in the principles of godliness. Beza writes of one Bolsechus, that "his religion changed like the moon." Such were the Ebionites, who kept both the Jewish and the Christian Sabbath. Many professors are like the river Euripus, ebbing and flowing in matters of piety. They are like reeds bending every way, either to the Mass or to the Koran. They are like the planet Mercury, which constantly varies, and is seldom constant in its motion. When men think of heaven and the recompense of reward, then they want to be godly—but when they think of persecution, then they are like the Jews who deserted Christ and "walked no more with him" (John 6:66). If men's faces altered as fast as their opinions—we would not recognize them! To be thus vacillating and wavering in religion, argues lightness of thought. Feathers are blown in every direction, and so are feathery professors.
2. It is much to be lamented—to see professing Christians falling from that godliness which once they seemed to have. They have turned to worldliness and wantonness. The very mantle of their profession has fallen off; and indeed, if they were not fixed stars—it is no wonder to see them as falling stars. This spiritual epilepsy, or falling sickness, was never more rife.
It is a dreadful sin for men to fall from that godliness, which they once seemed to have. Chrysostom says, "Apostates are worse than those who are openly wicked. They give godliness a bad name." "The apostate", says Tertullian, "Seems to put God and Satan in the balance, and having weighed both their services, prefers the devil's service, and proclaims him to be the best master!" In that respect the apostate is said to put Christ to open shame (Heb. 6:6).
This will be bitter in the end (Heb. 10:38). What a worm, the apostate Spira felt in his conscience! In what horror of mind did the apostate Stephen Gardiner cry out upon his deathbed—that with Peter, he had denied his Master! But he had not repented with Peter!
That we may be steadfast in godliness and persevere, let us do two things:
1. Let us TAKE HEED of those things which will make us by degrees fall away from our profession. Let us:
(1) Beware of COVETOUSNESS. "Men shall be covetous . . . having a form of godliness—but denying the power" (2 Tim. 3:2,5). One of Christ's own apostles was caught with this silver bait! Covetousness will make a man betray a good cause, and make shipwreck of a good conscience. I have read of some in the time of the Emperor Valens, who denied the Christian faith to prevent the confiscation of their goods.
(2) Beware of UNBELIEF. "Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God" (Heb. 3:12). There is no evil like an evil heart; no evil heart like an unbelieving heart. Why so? It makes men depart from the blessed God. He who does not believe God's mercy—will not dread his justice. Unbelief is the nurse of apostasy; therefore unbelieving and unstable go together: "they believed not in God . . . they turned back and tempted God" (Psalm 78:22,41).
(3) Take heed of COWARDICE. He who is afraid to be godly, must surely be evil: "The fear of man brings a snare" (Proverbs 29:25). They who fear danger more than sin—will commit sin to avoid danger! Origen, out of fear of persecution, offered incense to the idol. Aristotle says, "The reason why the chameleon turns so many colors, is through excessive fear." Fear will make men change their religion, as often as the chameleon does her color! Christian, you who have made a profession of godliness so long, and others have noted you for a saint in their calendar, why do you fear and begin to shrink back? The cause which you have embarked on is good; you are fighting against sin; you have a good Captain who is marching before you: Christ, "the captain of your salvation" (Heb. 2:10).
What is it, that you fear? Is it loss of liberty? What is liberty worth, when conscience is in bonds? It is better to lose your liberty and keep your peace—than to lose your peace and keep your liberty. Is it loss of estate? Do you say, like Amaziah, "What should I do about the silver I paid?" (2 Chron. 25:9) I would answer with the prophet, "The Lord can give you much more than this" (v. 10). He has promised you "an hundredfold" in this life—and if that is nothing, he will give you life everlasting (Matt. 19:29).
2. Let us use all MEANS for perseverance
(1) Strive for a real work of grace in your soul. Grace is the best fortification: "it is a good thing that the heart be established with grace" (Heb. 13:9).
Question: What is this real work of grace?
Answer: It consists in two things:
1. Grace lies in a heart-humbling work. The thorn of sin pricked Paul's conscience: "Sin revived, and I died" (Romans 7:9). Though some are less humbled than others—as some bring forth children with less pangs—yet all have pangs.
2. Grace lies in a heart-changing work. "But you are washed—but you are sanctified" (1 Cor. 6:11). A man is so changed as if another soul lived in the same body! If ever you would hold out in the ways of God, get this vital principle of grace. Why do men change their religion—but because their hearts were never changed? They do not fall away from grace—but for lack of grace.
(2) Be deliberate and judicious. Weigh things well in the balance: "Who of you, wanting to build a tower, doesn't first sit down and calculate the cost to see if he has enough to complete it?" (Luke 14:28). Think to yourselves, what it will cost you to be godly. You must expect the hatred of the world (John 15:19). The wicked hate the godly for their piety. It is strange that they should do so. Do we hate a flower because it is sweet? The godly are hated for the perfume of their graces. Is a virgin hated for her beauty? The wicked hate the godly for the beauty of holiness which shines in them. Secret hatred will break forth into open violence (2 Tim. 3:12). Christians must count the cost before they build. Why are people so hasty in abandoning religion—if not because they were so hasty in taking it up?
(3) Get a clear, distinct knowledge of God. Know the love of the Father, the merit of the Son, the efficacy of the Holy Spirit. Those who do not know God aright, will by degrees renounce their profession. The Samaritans sometimes sided with the Jews, when they were in favor. Afterwards they disclaimed all kindred with the Jews, when they were persecuted by Antiochus. And no wonder they shuffled so in their religion, if you consider what Christ said of the Samaritans, "You Samaritans worship what you do not know!" (John 4:22). They were enveloped by ignorance. Blind men are apt to fall, and so are those who are blinded in their minds.
(4) Enter on it purely out of choice. "I have chosen the way of truth" (Psalm 119:30). Espouse godliness for its own worth. Whoever wishes to persevere must rather choose godliness with reproach—than sin with all its worldly pomp. Whoever takes up religion for fear—will lay it down again for fear. Whoever embraces godliness for gain—will desert it when the jewels of promotion are pulled off. Do not be godly from worldly design—but from pious choice.
(5) Strive for sincerity. This will be a golden pillar to support you. A tree that is hollow, must of necessity be blown down. The hypocrite sets up in the trade of religion—but he will soon break: "their heart was not right with him, neither were they steadfast" (Psalm 78:37). Judas was first a sly hypocrite and then a traitor. If a piece of copper is gilded, the gilding will wash off. Nothing will hold out but sincerity: "May integrity and honesty protect me, for I put my hope in you" (Psalm 25:21). How many storms was Job in! Not only Satan—but God himself set on him (Job 7:20), which was enough to have made him desist from being godly. Yet Job stood fast—because he stood upright: "My righteousness I hold fast, and will not let it go; my heart shall not reproach me as long as I live" (Job 27:6). Those colors hold best, which are fixed in oils. If we wish to have our profession hold its color, it must be fixed in the oil of sincerity.
(6) Hold up the life and fervor of duty. "Fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" (Romans 12:11). We put coals on the fire to keep it from going out. When Christians grow into a dull formality, they begin to be dispirited, and by degrees abate in their godliness. No one is so fit to make an apostate—as a lukewarm professing Christian.
(7) Exercise great self-denial. "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. (Luke 9:23). Self-ease, self-ends, whatever comes in competition with (or stands in opposition to) Christ's glory and interest—must be denied! Self is the great snare; self-love undermines the power of godliness. The young man in the Gospel might have followed Christ—but something of self hindered (Matt. 19:20-22). Self-love is self-hatred. The man who cannot get beyond himself—will never get to heaven.
(8) Preserve a holy watchfulness over your hearts. The man who has gunpowder in his house, fears lest it should catch fire and explode. Sin in the heart is like gunpowder; it may make us fear lest a spark of temptation should fall on us and blow us up. There are two things which may make us always watchful of our hearts: the deceits of our hearts and the lusts of our hearts. When Peter was afraid that he should sink and cried to Christ, "Lord, save me", then Christ took him by the hand and helped him (Matt. 14:30,31); but when Peter grew confident and thought he could stand alone, then Christ allowed him to fall. Oh, let us be suspicious of ourselves and in a holy sense "clothe ourselves with trembling" (Ezek. 26:16).
(9) Strive for assurance. "Give diligence to make your calling and election sure" (2 Pet. 1:10). The man who is sure that God is his God, is like a castle built on a rock—all the powers of hell cannot shake him. How can that man be constant in piety—who is at a loss about his spiritual estate, and does not know whether he has grace or not? It will be a difficult matter for a man to die for Christ, if he does not know that Christ has died for him. Assurance establishes a Christian in shaking times. He who has the Spirit of God bearing witness to his heart is the most likely to bear witness to the truth (Romans 8:16). Oh, give diligence! Be much in prayer, reading, holy conversation. These things are the oil, without which the lamp of assurance will not shine.
(10) Lay hold of God's strength. God is called the Strength of Israel (1 Sam. 15:29). It is in his strength that we stand, more than our own. The child is safest in the father's hands. It is not our holding God—but his holding us—which preserves us. A little boat tied fast to a rock is safe, and so are we, when we are tied to the "rock of ages."
MOTIVES to Persevere in Godliness
So that I may encourage Christians to persevere in the profession of godliness, I shall propose these four considerations:
1. It is the glory and crown of a Christian to be grey-headed in godliness
"Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple" (Acts 21:16). What an honor it is to see a Christian's garments red with blood—yet his conscience pure white and his graces green and flourishing!
2. How sinners persevere in their sins!
They are settled on their lees (Zeph. 1:12). The judgments of God will not deter or remove them. They say to their sin, as Ruth said to Naomi, "Where you go, I will go . . . the Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me" (Ruth 1:16,17). So nothing shall part men from their sins. Oh, what a shame it is that the wicked should be fixed in evil—and we unfixed in good; that they should be more constant in the devil's service—than we are in Christ's service!
3. Our perseverance in godliness may be a means of confirming others
Cyprian's hearers followed him to the place of his suffering, and when they saw his steadfastness in the faith, they cried out, "Let us also die with our holy pastor!" "Many of the brethren, waxing confident by my bonds, are much more bold to speak the word" (Phil. 1:14). Paul's zeal and constancy animated the onlookers. His prison chains made converts in Nero's court—and two of those converts were afterwards martyrs, as history relates.
4. We shall lose nothing by our perseverance in godliness
There are eight glorious promises which God has entailed on the persevering saints:
(1) "Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life." (Rev. 2:10). Christian, you may lose the breath of life, but not the crown of life.
(2) "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to eat from the tree of life, which is in the paradise of God" (Rev. 2:7). This tree of life is the Lord Jesus. This tree infuses life—and prevents death. The day we eat of this tree—our eyes shall indeed be opened to see God!
(3) "To him who overcomes, I will give some of the hidden manna. I will also give him a white stone with a new name written on it, known only to him who receives it." (Rev. 2:17). This promise consists of three branches:
(a) "I will give to eat of the hidden manna." This is mysterious. It signifies the love of God—which is manna for sweetness and hidden for its rarity.
(b) "I will give him a white stone", that is, absolution. "It may be called a precious stone," says Jerome.
(c) "And in the stone anew name", that is, adoption. He shall be reputed an heir of heaven, and no one can know it, except the one who has the privy seal of the Spirit to assure him of it.
(4) "He who overcomes will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out his name from the book of life, but will acknowledge his name before my Father and his angels" (Rev. 3:5). The persevering saint shall be clothed in white. This is an emblem of joy (Eccles. 9:8). He shall put off his mourning clothes, and be clothed in the white robe of glory.
"I will never blot out his name from the book of life." God will blot a believer's sins out—but he will not blot his name out. The book of God's decree has no errata in it.
"But I will acknowledge his name." If anyone has owned Christ on earth and worn his colors when it was death to wear them, Christ will not be ashamed of him—but will acknowledge his name before his Father and the holy angels. Oh, what a comfort and honor it will be to have a good look from Christ, at the last day! More—to have Christ own us by name and say, "These were those who stood up for my truth and kept their garments pure, in a defiling age. These shall walk with me in white, for they are worthy."
(5) "Him who overcomes I will make a pillar in the temple of my God. Never again will he leave it. I will write on him the name of my God and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem, which is coming down out of heaven from my God; and I will also write on him my new name." (Rev. 3:12). There are many excellent things couched in this promise:
"I will make him a pillar in the temple of my God." The hypocrite is a reed shaken by the wind—but the conquering saint shall be a glorious pillar, a pillar of strength and a pillar in the temple for sanctity.
"Never again will he leave it." I understand this of a glorified state. "Never again will he leave it," that is, after he has overcome, he shall not go out to the wars any more. He shall never have any more sin or temptation to conflict with. No more noise of drum or cannon shall be heard—but having won the field, the believer shall now stay at home and divide the spoil.
"And I will write upon him the name of my God", that is, he shall be openly acknowledged as my child, just as the Son bears his Father's name. How honorable that saint must be, who has God's own name written on him!
"And I will write upon him the name of the city of my God", that is, he shall be enrolled as a citizen of the Jerusalem above. He shall be made free in the angelic society.
(6) "To him who overcomes and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations" (Rev. 2:26). This may have a double mystery. Either it may be understood of the saints living on earth: they shall have power over the nations; their zeal and patience shall overpower the adversaries of truth (Acts 6:10); or, principally, it may be understood of the saints triumphing in heaven. They shall have power over the nations: they shall share with Christ in some of his power; they shall join with him in judging the world in the last days: "the saints shall judge the world" (1 Cor. 6:2).
(7) "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne" (Rev. 3:21):
(a) Here is, first, the saints' dignity: they shall sit upon the throne.
(b) Their safety: they shall sit with Christ. Christ holds them fast and no one shall pluck them off his throne. The saints may be turned out of their houses—but they cannot be turned out of Christ's throne! Men may as well pluck a star out of the sky—as a saint out of the throne!
(8) "I will give him the morning star" (Rev. 2:28). Though the saints may be sullied with reproach in this life, though they may be termed factious and disloyal—Paul himself suffered trouble, in the opinion of some, as an evildoer (2 Tim. 2:9)—yet God will bring forth the saints' righteousness as the light, and they shall shine like the morning star, which is brighter than the rest. "I will give him the morning star." This morning star is meant of Christ, as if Christ had said, "I will give the persevering saint some of my beauty; I will put some of my splendid rays on him; he shall have the nearest degree of glory to me, as the morning star is nearest the sun!
Oh, what soul-ravishing promises there are here! Who would not persevere in godliness! Whoever is not affected by these promises is either a stone or a brute.
