NO. 2770<\/b><\/p>\n
INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD\u2019S-DAY, MARCH 16TH, 1902,<\/b><\/p>\n
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,<\/i><\/p>\n
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON,<\/b><\/p>\n
ON LORD\u2019S-DAY EVENING, SEP. 23RD, 1883.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.\u201d -Luke 7:50.<\/i><\/p>\n
THERE appear to have been four stages in Christ\u2019s dealing with this woman. I know not what had preceded the narrative as we have it recorded in this Chapter; I need not enter into that question now. There had, doubtless, been a work of the Spirit of God upon that woman\u2019s heart, turning her from her sin to her Savior; but when she stood at our Master\u2019s feet, raining tears of penitence upon them, wiping them with the hairs of her head, giving to them kisses of love, and anointing them with the ointment from the alabaster box, there were four stages in his gracious dealings with her.<\/p>\n
The first was when he silently accepted her manifestations of love. When the copious tears from her eyes felt upon his feet, he did not withdraw them. When those feet were wiped with the luxuriant tresses of her hair, still he did not withdraw them; and when she ventured upon a yet closer familiarity, and not only kissed his feet, but did not cease to kiss them, he still did not withdraw them, but quietly accepted all that she did. And when the precious ointment was poured in lavish abundance upon those precious feet of his, he did not upbraid her, he did not refuse her gifts, but tacitly accepted them, though without a word of acknowledgment just then. And I think it is a very blessed thing for any one of you to be accepted before God, even though no word has come from his lips assuring you that it is so. When your tears, and cries, and secret love, and earnest seeking,-when your confession of sin, your struggle after faith, and the dawnings of your faith are just accepted by the Lord, though as yet he has not said to you, \u201cThy sins are forgiven thee,\u201d it is a very blessed stage for you to have reached, for the Lord does not begin to accept anyone, even by a silence which means consent, and then draw back. He accepted this woman\u2019s love and gifts, though, for a time, he gave her no assurance of that acceptance and that fact must have greatly cheered her. Manoah\u2019s wife said to him, \u201cIf the Lord were pleased to kill us, he would not have received a burnt offering and a meat offering at our hands;\u201d and I feel sure that, if the Lord had not meant to bestow his mercy upon this woman, he would not have submitted to her washing of his feet with her tears, and wiping them with the hairs of her head, and the subsequent continual kissing of them, and anointing of them with the precious ointment.<\/p>\n
Our Lord\u2019s favorable inclination towards this woman was still more marked in the second stage of his dealings with her, when he began to defend her against her accuser. When Simon\u2019s evil thoughts had condemned her and her Lord also, Jesus spoke that wonderful parable which set forth the greatness of this woman\u2019s love, and justified the extraordinary way in which she manifested it. Christ did not speak to her, but he spoke up for her; and such action as that should be quite sufficient to stay the soul of a believer in him. What though my Lord has not revealed himself to me? He has revealed himself to the Father for me. What if he has not spoken to me? Yet, if he has spoken to God on my behalf,-if he has spoken in the Scriptures in defense of poor sinners, and advocated their cause in the High Court of Heaven, then how thankful I may be, and how thankful they may be!<\/p>\n
In the third stage, our Lord did still more for this woman, for he spoke to her these gracious words, \u201cThy sin are forgiven.\u201d Oh, how they must have dropped like dew into her poor soul! How she must have been refreshed by them! She, who was a sinner,-a great sinner, a public sinner,-ay, a professional sinner, hears her Savior say to her, \u201cThy sins are forgiven.\u201d The absolution pronounced by the man who calls himself a priest is utterly worthless; but it would be worth while to give a thousand worlds, if we had them, for absolution from our great High Priest! Yes, he who knew all about the woman\u2019s sin, he who had power on earth to forgive sins, had said to her, \u201cThy sins are forgiven.\u201d Was not that enough for her? Would not that short sentence set all the bells of her heart ringing as long as ever she lived.<\/p>\n
Ay, but there was still more to follow, for the Lord spoke to her a second time, and said, \u201cThy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.\u201d So she was not only delivered from the guilt of sin, but she was also delivered from the power of sin. Her faith had saved her; she was a saved woman, so she might go in peace. Now she is enjoying the sunlight of full assurance, the bright clear noontide of acknowledged acceptance: \u201cThy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.\u201d Some of us have this great blessing, and we rejoice in it; but if others of you have not come quite so far on the heavenly road, do not begin murmuring, or doubting. Bless the Lord Jesus Christ for any favor that he has shown to you, a poor unworthy sinner; and if you have even the faintest ray of light, pray him to make your path like that of the just, which \u201cshineth more and more unto the perfect day.\u201d If you have received any token for good from your Lord, be thankful for it, and expect ere long to hear in your soul the sweet music of this gracious word, <\/p>\n
\u201cThy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
So we have come to our text, in which two things are very clearly revealed. The first is, an assurance: \u201cThy faith hath saved thee;\u201d and the second is, a dismission: \u201cGo in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
I. <\/b>First, then, here is An Assurance: \u201cThy faith hath saved thee.\u201d<\/p>\n
That assurance teaches us, first, that salvation is a present thing:<\/p>\n
\u201cThy faith hath saved thee.\u201d This is something that is already accomplished. You are saved; not, you shall be saved; but you are even now in possession of the priceless boon of salvation: \u201cThy faith hath saved thee.\u201d All through the Scriptures, and especially in the New Testament, it is plainly asserted that believers in Christ are already in possession of salvation. I will not stay to prove that it is so, but will rather explain it. If anyone says to me, \u201cIn what respect are believers saved?\u201d I answer, that they are saved in the price, in the promise, in the principles, and in the pledge of salvation. The alliteration will help you to remember these four points.<\/p>\n
First, they are saved in the price of salvation. All that was necessary to save them from the result of sin has been endured by the Lord Jesus Christ. He has ransomed them by his death upon the cross. He has stood in their stead, and borne their sin in his own body on the tree, and suffered the full penalty for it. He has finished the transgression, and made an end of sin, and made reconciliation for iniquity, and brought in for them everlasting righteousness; so that they are saved. The great work of their salvation was completed by Christ upon the cross when he laid down his life for them, and now they are\u2019 \u201c bought with a price,\u201d even \u201cthe precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.\u201d<\/p>\n
Next, they are saved in the promise of salvation. Our Lord Jesus Christ, who cannot lie, hath declared \u201cthat whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.\u201d God\u2019s promise is certain of fulfillment, so that every believer in Jesus may be absolutely sure of salvation. We often take the cheque of a man who is known to be in a good financial position, and we consider his cheque to be as good as if it were hard cash; and, in like manner, we accept God\u2019s promise of salvation as being just as sure as the salvation itself. Paul tells us that God\u2019s promise has been confirmed by an oath, \u201cthat by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, thirdly, we have salvation in the principles of it; that is to say, all those graces, which constitute the essentials of a perfect character, are in every true child of God. There is given to us, when we are regenerated, the very same life, which we are to live for ever in heaven. We have now the root, the bulb, the seed, out of which immortality and perfection will most surely grow; we may not yet be perfect, but we have that which will come to perfection. We have within us a new nature, which cannot sin, because it is born of God; and this will gradually overcome the old nature, as the Israelites drove out the Canaanites, and we shall be perfect before the throne of the Most High. A man may have, in a very small room, a whole field of wheat lying in embryo, in the seed which is to be sown in the springtime, and reaped in the autumn; and we have, in the gift of God\u2019s grace, all heaven in embryo, in the seeds of faith and love, and the work of the Holy Spirit within our souls. Thus, we have salvation in the principles of it.<\/p>\n
And, once more, we have salvation in the pledge of it; for, when the Holy Spirit enters our heart, hi coming there is the pledge and the earnest of heaven. There is a difference between a pledge and an earnest, and what I really mean is rather an earnest than a pledge. A pledge is taken back again, but an earnest is retained. A man, who\u2019 has his wage to take at the end of the week, may get some earnest money in the middle of the week; and, if his master is what he should be, that will be a pledge that he will get the rest. So, the Holy Spirit is the Divine Person who virtually puts heaven into us, and makes us fit to be in the heaven, which Christ has gone to prepare for us. What a mercy it is to have the witness of the Holy Spirit, the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God our Heavenly Father, to have aspirations after holiness which we never had in our unregenerate\u2019 state! All this is the pledge of heaven; and in having the pledge, we have practically the salvation itself. The Holy Spirit would not have come into our hearts, and given us all these blessings, if he had not meant to \u201cperfect that, which concerneth us,\u201d and to save us in the Lord with an everlasting salvation.<\/p>\n
Salvation, then, is a present thing, in price, in promise, in principles, and in pledge; but the important question for each of you to answer is,-Have you obtained that salvation? If you have not, you are in a truly terrible condition, for you are \u201ccondemned already\u201d because you have \u201cnot believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.\u201d But if you have obtained this salvation, then you are indeed rich to all eternity. Perhaps you live in one poor room, and have to work very hard for a livelihood, yet you are much richer than those emperors and kings, who have much earthly pomp and state, but who are not the subjects of God\u2019s grace, for you are saved; the Lord has given you that salvation which can never be taken away from you. So, rejoice in this salvation; and, if you have little else to cover you, let this salvation be your royal apparel; let this salvation load your table with heavenly dainties; let this salvation smooth your path, however rough it may be, and cheer your heart, however great your trials may be.<\/p>\n
So, this assurance means that salvation is a present thing.<\/p>\n
Next, it teaches us that salvation is obtained by faith: \u201cThy faith hath saved thee.\u201d \u201cBut,\u201d says someone, \u201cWas it not the Lord Jesus Christ who saved her?\u201d Yes, certainly it was; but do you see what Christ does! He is so fond of faith that he takes the crown from his own head, and puts it on the head of faith, as he says to the woman, \u201cThy faith hath saved thee.\u201d Is that a safe thing for Christ to do? Oh, yes! because faith at once removes the crown from her own head, and puts it back upon Christ\u2019s, saying, \u201cNot unto me, not unto me, but unto thy name be all the glory.\u201d Christ loves to crown faith because faith loves to crown Christ. As for boasting,-faith cannot tolerate that for a moment; she hurls it out of the window, and will have nothing further to do with it. Our Savior speaks thus, \u201cThy faith hath saved thee,\u201d because he knows that it will be understood that faith is only the connecting link with himself,-that he really works the salvation, but that the faith of the believer is the means of obtaining it.<\/p>\n
There are four things, concerning this faith, which I want you to notice, and I will put them under the same letter that I used before, so that it may be the easier for you to remember them. First, this woman\u2019s faith was a personal faith: \u201cThy faith hath saved thee.\u201d O dear friends, I implore you to give up all idea of being saved by anybody else\u2019s faith! Thou must believe in Jesus for thyself or thou wilt be a lost man for ever. What a dreadful falsehood it is when men stand up, as sponsors for a child, and promise and vow various things, none of which are within their power to perform! As to anything that anybody ever promised with regard to your soul, what can another person do for you in such a matter as that? The most earnest faith in your parents can never bring you to heaven, unless you also have faith in Jesus. There is a great blessing whi.ch may come to us, through the faith of others, if they exercise it in prayer on our behalf; but, still, salvation can never come to us apart from our own personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. He said to the woman, \u201cThy faith hath saved thee;\u201d-not Peter\u2019s faith, nor James\u2019s faith, nor John\u2019s faith, but her own; and thou also must have faith for thyself, or thou wilt assuredly be lost. \u201cBelieve on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved;\u201d but if thou dost not personally believe on him, thou cant not be saved.<\/p>\n
Notice, next, that this woman\u2019s faith was a practical faith. She was saved by faith, and not by works; but she was not saved by a faith which did not produce works. Think of her works,-she washes the Master\u2019s feet with her tears, and wipes them with the hairs of her head; she kisses them repeatedly, and anoints them with her precious ointment I may truly say of her, \u201cShe hath done what she could.\u201d All that her affection prompted, her devotion performed; for she had the faith which works by love; and if you, dear friends, have a faith that never works for Christ, I beg you to get rid of it at once, for it will turn out to be a bastard faith. The faith that never kisses his feet is a faith that he will tread under his feet. The faith that never anoints him is a faith that will have no fragrance in his esteem, and he will not accept it. We are not saved by works and faith combined, much less by works alone; but, nevertheless, the\u2019 faith which saves is not a barren faith; it produces the good fruit of love and service for Christ.<\/p>\n
So this woman\u2019s faith was personal and practical. It was also a penitent faith. While she stood at Christ\u2019s feet, behind him, her eyes showered tears upon them as she wept over her sin. I am always doubtful of the genuineness of a dry-eyed faith. The longer I live, the more I am afraid of those people who profess to leap into faith without any repentance; and there seem to be some, in these days, who do not believe in the old-fashioned sorrow for sin. I would rather see some men less confidant than they are if they were more humbled on account of their past transgressions. This woman manifested a truly penitent faith.<\/p>\n
And, once more, it was a pure faith;-I use that word pure to help your memory, and I mean that her faith was perfectly simple. She wept, but she did not trust in her weeping. She anointed Christ\u2019s feet with the ointment, but she did not rely upon her self-sacrifice. She kissed his feet, but she did not depend upon her kisses. Where was her trust all placed? Why, upon Christ, and upon him alone. I do not know that she had ever read the Old Testament; certainly, she could not have read the New Testament, for it was not written then. She may not have known much about the Bible, but she knew him who is the very sum and substance of the Bible. I have heard people talk about a Body of Divinity; but there never was but one in the highest sense of the term, and Jesus Christ is that Body of Divinity. He is, in the true sense, \u201cthe Word of God.\u201d This woman had seen him, she had learned to know him, he had forgiven her sin, and she had come into that house full of love to him, and full of trust in him, and now from his own lips she receives this gracious assurance, \u201cThy faith hath saved thee.\u201d It was faith in him, and in nothing else. There was not, and there could not have been, in her case, anything to trust to but Christ. She was, in a very emphatic sense, a sinner; she had not set herself up as being a person of good character; there were, no doubt, scores of people in the city who could have borne lamentable evidence of her sinfulness. But she trusted herself absolutely to Jesus Christ, the sinners Savior, and she trusted him alone, and so her faith was proved to be of that pure kind that saves all who exercise it. Let yours be like that, dear friend, personal, practical, penitential, and pure.<\/p>\n
Further, upon this first point, note that salvation may be a matter of assurance. This woman had the assurance from Christ\u2019s own lips, \u201cThy faith hath saved thee.\u201d Those of you who were at the prayer-meeting here, last Monday night, will remember that one of our brethren, when he was giving an address, made you smile when he said, \u201cHe that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life,\u201d and then added, \u201ch-a-t-h,-that spells got it.\u201d \u201cThat is a queer mode of spelling, which is not taught at the Board School; yet it is a heavenly way of spelling, and it is perfectly correct. \u201cH-a-t-h;-that spells got it.\u201d If you have the blessing of salvation, there is a possibility of knowing that you have it. \u201cHe that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life;\u201d he has got it; he has got it now.<\/p>\n
\u201cI should believe it,\u201d says one, \u201cif Jesus Christ spoke to me, and said so.\u201d My dear friend, he has said it in his Word. Is that Word a lie, or is it true? If it is true, then what more do you want? Christ has written it in his Word; and I like a thing that is written even better than that which is spoken. You know how a man says, when he wants a guarantee about a bargain, \u201cGive it to me in writing; for some people will swear that they never aid what we ourselves heard them say, so give it me in black and white.\u201d Well, here it is in black and white: \u201cHe that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life;\u201d and again, \u201cThere is therefore now\u201d-\u201dnow,\u201d mark,-\u201dno condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus;\u201d and yet again, \u201cTherefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.\u201d Now, cannot you also say, \u201cgot it!\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, but!\u201d says someone, \u201cI want evidence that it is so.\u201d Very well, you shall have evidence; you shall have the witness of the Spirit who has renewed you; you shall have the witness of your changed life; you shall have the witness of your new character; but, first of all, is not Christ\u2019s Word sufficient for you? Is not Christ\u2019s written Word enough? Is not this Book, which you believe to have been inspired by the Holy Ghost, and which reveals the Word of the Lord, enough for you? It is enough for me. If all the men in the world were to come, one after another, after I had read something in the Bible, and were all to say, in their different languages, \u201cThat is a lie,\u201d I should not believe it an atom the less; and suppose they were\u2019 all to stand up, and say, \u201cIt is true,\u201d I should reply, \u201cOf course it is, but I do not need your word to confirm what Christ has said.\u201d I am perfectly satisfied if he has said it; and there it stands, and all the powers of hell cannot prevail to overthrow it. Here is the solid rock for a soul to rest upon. Christ says, at this moment, to everyone who believes in him, and trusts in his blood and righteousness, \u201cThy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014<\/p>\n
II. <\/b>So we come to the latter part of our text, which is, A Dismission: \u201cGo in peace.\u201d What did our Lord mean by saying this?<\/p>\n
I think he meant, first, \u201cQuit this place of controversy, and go in peace.\u201d Do you notice that it was when those, who sat at meat with him, began to say within themselves, \u201cWho is this that forgiveth sins also?\u201d that he said to the woman, \u201cThy faith hath saved thee; go in peace \u201cI See the black looks of those Jews, those Pharisees, round about Simon\u2019s table. Why, they are as sour as vinegar, and full of all kinds of skepticism, so the Savior says to the woman, \u201cGo home, good soul, away from all of them.\u201d So, dear friends, whenever you meet with a book that is full of skepticism and unbelief,-especially you who have lately found the Savior, you had better throw it away. \u201cThy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.\u201d Unbelief will be no help to thee; thy faith hath already saved thee; then, what more dost thou want? Thou hast the assurance within thine own soul that thou art saved; do not go anywhere, or do anything to damage that assurance. I do not think it is worth while to go through a horse pond, and get covered with filth, just for the pleasure of being afterwards washed. It may be that some strong man, like another Samson, may have to go in among the Philistines, and pull their temple down about their ears; but poor Hannah could not do that, and those who are like her-the women of a sorrowful spirit,-had better go home, and get out of the way of that set of wranglers. They may even be wrangling professors, squabbling about this doctrine and that, and perhaps not understanding any of them properly; so the Savior says to you, \u201cYou have the assurance of salvation; do not let anybody worry you out of that. Go in peace.\u201d This is what the apostle means when he says, \u201cHim that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations.\u201d<\/p>\n
Then, next, I think our Savior meant his words to the woman, \u201cThy faith hath saved thee; go in peace;\u201d to be a kind of dismissing of her case from the Court. Here is Simon in thought accusing her, and thinking that she ought not to be permitted to come and touch the Master\u2019s feet, and here is the Lord Jesus Christ not only becoming a pleader for her, but deciding the case in her favor as he says to her, \u201cThy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.\u201d This was in effect saying, \u201cYour case is dismissed; there is nothing against you. The Court clears you; go home, good soul.\u201d What a mercy it is when the Lord speaks thus to anyone! \u201cWho shall lay any thing to the charge of God\u2019s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea, rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us.\u201d Christ has given us our dismissing from the Court of Justice, so let us \u201cgo in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
May not our Lord also have meant something more than we see upon the surface of these words. May he not have meant, \u201cGo home in peace to thy daily avocations \u201c? Ah! she had done a deal of mischief in that home of hers by her sin; for there never was a fallen woman who brought a blessing to her family while she lived in sin. And now that the Savior has given to her the assurance of salvation, he says to her, \u201cGo home, and attend to your ordinary household duties. Go and act as a woman should. Fulfil your part as a mother, or a daughter, or a servant, or whatever you\u2019re calling may be. Go in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Do you not also think that this dismissing word would last her as long as ever she lived,-and that, all her life through, she would seem to hear the Savior saying to her, \u201cGo in peace \u201c? Perhaps she was to go upstairs, and he there ill; but she was to \u201cgo in peace.\u201d Possibly, she was to come down, and to confront opposition and persecution; if so, she was still to hear this message, \u201cGo in peace.\u201d I think that word would come to her every morning as soon as ever she woke; and when she was about to close her eyes, and go to sleep, she would still hear it. With such a gracious message as that, she could even go through the Valley of the Shadow of Death, and \u201cfear no evil.\u201d It may be that is just what the Lord meant it for,-that, when she came to die,-and she may have died a martyr\u2019s death, we cannot tell, at any rate, whenever she came to die, this message was ringing in her ears, \u201cGo in peace.\u201d<\/p>\n
The practical point that I want to bring home to you Christian people, to you who are saved, is this. Beloved friends, as you go to your families, as you go through life, as you go into eternity, I pray you to \u201cgo in peace.\u201d It is heaven begun below to possess \u201cthe peace of God, which passeth all understanding.\u201d Peace should be the continual portion of all believers. This is what the angels sang when our Lord Jesus appeared on earth, \u201cGlory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men.\u201d And as it was at the beginning of our Savior\u2019s life, so it was at the end, for this was our Lord\u2019s legacy to all his disciples, \u201cPeace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.\u201d That which gives one of his titles even to God himself-for he is called \u201cthe God of peace,\u201d-should be very precious to your soul.<\/p>\n
Peace is the fit result of what the Savior has done for you. Has he forgiven you! Then you have peace. Has he saved you? Oh, then, feel an inward peace which none can take from you! Did he die for you? Then you can never die, in the full meaning of the word, so be at rest about that matter. Has he risen for you? Then, because he lives, you shall live also; so, let not your heart be troubled, but be at peace. Will he come again to receive you unto himself? Oh, then, let your peace be like a river flowing from the very throne of God!<\/p>\n
This peace within your heart is the blessed fruit of the Spirit of peace. Where the Spirit of God is, there must be peace, for he is the Sacred Dove. The fruit of the Spirit within us should be \u201cquietness and assurance for ever.\u201d Do not despise this priceless boon of peace; but, as saved souls, covet more and more of it. Do you know what I mean by talking thus to you? Suppose you are thinking to yourself, \u201cAlas! I am going home to an ungodly husband;\u201d never mind, dear wife, \u201cgo in peace.\u201d \u201cOh, but! To-morrow, I have to go out among ungodly men.\u201d Never mind; \u201cgo in peace.\u201d Do not go among them disturbed and fluttered, but sing to yourself softly,-\u201dMy heart is resting, O my God!\u201d \u201cGo in peace.\u201d Perhaps you are going to the sickbed of one of your dearest friends. Possibly, there is one at home, who is so depressed in spirit as to depress you too. Never mind; \u201cgo in peace.\u201d It will strengthen you to have your own heart at peace. I remember once seeing an accident on a hill. I feared that a man had broken his leg, and I know that someone ran to fetch a doctor, and when he came, to my surprise, he walked coolly up to where the man was. If I had been sent for, I should have run myself out of breath to get to the poor man; and when I reached him, I should have been all of a tremble, and should not have been able to do anything properly. But when the doctor heard that there was a man with his leg broken, he walked quietly to the spot, and the result was that he was able to do his work properly. Our Lord Jesus Christ was never in a hurry. It is marvelous to contemplate the leisure of the greatest Worker who ever lived. He always moved along with a holy calm and quiet dignity, and he therefore did everything well. Do you likewise; \u201cgo in peace,\u201d for it shall be your strength. Sometimes, your strength is to sit still; and, always, the joy of the Lord shall be your strength.<\/p>\n
This is the way in which you are to glorify God in your life,-by going in peace. When this woman went back to her home,-that same woman who had been such a poor, trembling, broken, bruised reed, because of her sin,-those who knew her enquired, \u201cWhat has come to Mary?\u201d-if that was her name; I do not know;-\u201dWhat has come to her? Why, she looks so placid, so calm, she is not like the same woman that she used to be.\u201d I have no doubt that she was rather quick-tempered, for most very loving spirits are like that. \u201cBut now,\u201d say her friends, \u201cshe takes things so differently; she is so still, and quiet, and restful.\u201d Just so; and then they took knowledge of her, that she had been with Jesus, and had learned of him, for that was his style and his manner also. Ah, dear hearts! if Christ has saved you, you have the best reason in all the world for being the quietest, happiest people who ever lived. One said, one day, to a person who had spoken of his salvation in tones of assurance, \u201cYou ought to be the happiest man that lives;\u201d and he answered, \u201cSo I am.\u201d It was well known that he was very poor, that he did not know where he would get a second coat to his back; but, then, he thought that he did not want a second coat till he had worn out the first one. They said that he did not know where he would get. his next breakfast; but he had had his supper, so he was quite content to wait till God should give him his breakfast. He had such simple faith in God that, though he was so very poor, yet he said he was the happiest man in all the world. Go in for that, beloved, for surely you have a right to it if you are a believer in Jesus. Your greatest sorrows are over, your heaviest burdens Christ has carried; the most terrible disaster that could ever happen to you has been averted by him; the most fearful calamity that you once had cause to dread can never come to you. You are an heir of God, and a joint-heir with Jesus Christ. You shall have all you really need in this life, and you shall have the heaven of God in the life to come. The supreme act of God, by which he blesses eternally, has been performed upon you already. The Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, have all united to bless you; and the covenant of peace is signed, and sealed, and ratified, and you must and shall conquer at the last. So, \u201cLet not your heart be troubled; neither let it be afraid;\u201d but say to yourself,-<\/p>\n
\u201cAll that remains for me
Is but to love and sing,
And wait until the angels come
To bear me to the King.\u201d<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n
God bless you, for Christ\u2019s sake! Amen.<\/p>\n
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON.<\/p>\n
EPHESIANS 2.<\/b><\/p>\n
Verse 1. And you hath he quickened,<\/i><\/p>\n
You, who were by nature dead are now made alive unto God by the holy Spirit. If you had nothing else to think of, all day long, but just these five words, they might suffice to lift you up to the very heights of grateful adoration of your quickening Lord: \u201cAnd you hath he quickened,\u201d-<\/p>\n
1. Who were dead in trespasses and sins;<\/i><\/p>\n
These were your grave clothes, or the charnel-house in which you would have continued to lie if the quickening power of God the Holy Spirit had not brought you out into newness of life.<\/p>\n
2. Wherein in time past ye walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience:<\/i><\/p>\n
This is what happened to us all in our unregenerate state, we were carried along by the world, loving what it loved, judging from its views, and acting according to its maxims. Nay, worse than that, the devil himself had dominion over us, as he had over the rest of the world; \u201cthe prince of the power of the air\u201d was the spirit that worked in us as well as in the rest of \u201cthe children of disobedience.\u201d What a glorious deliverance it was to be saved from the power of death, and the dominion of Satan, and to be made partakers of everlasting life!<\/p>\n
3. Among whom also we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind; and were by nature the children of wrath, even as others.<\/i><\/p>\n
That is the highest point to which human nature can attain; left to itself, it makes us \u201cchildren of wrath.\u201d Even those who are now most assuredly the children of God were once the children of wrath; there was no difference, in that respect, between them and the rest of mankind. It is only the marvelous mercy and grace of God which have made us to differ from our fellow-creatures who are still \u201cdead in trespasses and sins.\u201d<\/p>\n
4, 5. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ,-<\/i><\/p>\n
Again let us praise the Lord with all our hearts for what he has done for us. It is truly wonderful that he should have loved us when we were \u201cdead in trespasses and sins,\u201d-with no feeling, no holy desire, no repentance; while indifference, heartlessness, powerlessness, covered everything. We were dead in sin, yet he loved us, and therefore it was that he \u201cquickened us together with Christ,\u201d-<\/p>\n
5. (By grace ye are saved.)<\/i><\/p>\n
Not by human merit, not by the energy of our own will; but, \u201cby grace ye are saved.\u201d<\/p>\n
6. And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus<\/i><\/p>\n
We are not only alive, you see, but we are elevated into the highest position of the new life,-made to live with Christ, and in Christ,-made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n
7, 8. That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God:<\/i><\/p>\n
Both the salvation and the faith that makes it ours are the gift of God.<\/p>\n
Twice over, the apostle tells us that we are saved by grace, yet men will not believe it. They will, somehow or other, get away from this humbling but true and precious doctrine. They will contrive, by some method or other, to squeeze in their own works, and their own will, and so rob Christ, if not of his crown, yet of some of its brightest jewels.<\/p>\n
9, 10. Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are his workmanship,-<\/i><\/p>\n
If we have good works, as I trust we have, yet even they are the production of God\u2019s grace; praise and glory for them belong to him, and not to us: \u201cFor we are his workmanship,\u201d-<\/p>\n
10. Created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.<\/i><\/p>\n
This is the great object of our election; we are elected that we may be holy, and ordained that we may walk in good works;-who can rightly quarrel with such a divine purpose as this?<\/p>\n
11, 12. Wherefore remember, that ye being in time past Gentiles in the flesh, who are called un-circumcision by that which is called the Circumcision in the flesh made by hands; that at that time ye were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world:<\/i><\/p>\n
That is the condition of every unbeliever at this time: \u201chaving no hope, and without God in the world.\u201d Mr. Hume once made the remark that he knew many Christians who were afraid to die, but he was not. The Christian man, to whom he said this, pointed to an ox grazing in the meadow, and said, \u201cYou have reached about as high as that bullock has, for he also is not afraid to die; but pray, Mr. Hume,\u201d enquired the good man, \u201chave you any hope after death?\u201d At that question, the philosopher shook his head, for he knew nothing of such a hope as that; the utmost point he could reach was, by indifference, to raise himself above fear. \u201cHaving no hope,\u201d is a true description of every man who has no faith in our crucified and risen Savior.<\/p>\n
13. But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ.<\/i><\/p>\n
That is the great attracting power, which draws us from our natural distance, and brings us into nearness to God. How we ought to prize that precious blood which does so much for us! It cleanses us from sin; it pleads for us before the throne; and here, you see, having made a way of access for us, it also conducts us along that way, and brings us nigh to God.<\/p>\n
14. For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us;<\/i><\/p>\n
There are no privileges now for the Jew from which the Christian is shut out, for Christ \u201chath made both one.\u201d There is neither circumcision nor un-circumcision now, for all believers are one in Christ Jesus.<\/p>\n
15-22. Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; and that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: and came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father. Now therefore ye are no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; in whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto an holy temple in the Lord: in whom ye also are builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.<\/i><\/p>\n
May we realize that the Holy Spirit is inhabiting his own Church at this moment; and, especially, may all of us, who believe in our Lord Jesus Christ, realize Our own position in that spiritual temple which is the \u201chabitation of God through the Spirit,\u201d for Christ\u2019s sake! Amen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
NO. 2770 INTENDED FOR READING ON LORD\u2019S-DAY, MARCH 16TH, 1902, DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD\u2019S-DAY EVENING, SEP. 23RD, 1883. \u201cAnd he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.\u201d -Luke 7:50. THERE appear to have been four stages in Christ\u2019s dealing with this woman. … Continue reading “\u201cGO IN PEACE.\u201d”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4099","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4099","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4099"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4099\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4099"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4099"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4099"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}