To Mr. K——
Faith receives Christ in all his offices — Distrustfulness — Illustra tiou — A specific kind of unbelief pointed out — The Bible the voice of God to man — Reference to 2 Pet. i, 21 — Profession on the authority of the word urged — Waverings in faith sinful — Triumphs of Satan — Loss to the church — SUght notions of the sin of unbe-Uef lamented.
Dear Sir, — I had hoped that my dear brother
K had counted the cost of living a life of
faith on the Son of God; yes, of faith on the Son of God, and of faith on him in all his relations to you. He is your Prophet, Priest, and King. Remember, brother, Christ is not divided. If he is received at ail, he must be received in all his offices. You cannot be saved by receiving him as your atoning Priest, while you reject him as your reigning Sovereign or your Prophet — your Teacher. You have faith in the efficacy of his atonement as Priest. You, doubtless, consent to his control as your King. But, brother, may the Spirit mightily convince you of the necessity of an unwavering trust in all his teachings! His “words are Spirit, and they are life.”
I imagine you say, Sister P has mistaken
my position. It is not the loord of God I distrust. It is myself. The language of my heart ever is,
‘Lord, I believe thy every word,
Thy ever)’ promise, true.’”
And yet, brother, I think, on carefiU examination,
The Whispered Doubt. One Point.
you may find yourself in some degree given to distrustfulness. To the degree you are so, you dishonor God. If Christ, robed in human flesh, were now standing before you, repeating words of living truth in your ear, and should a distrustful look cloud your brow, or words betokening a hesitating faith fall upon the ear of the listening multitude, would not the Saviour’s heart be pained, and his name be dishonored before the whole assembly?
But you may desire to know whether I can direct to one point where your faith in God is defective. Perhaps I may discover to you more than one, if, through the Holy Spirit’s influence, I be successful in placing before you what I think I perceive. You say, “Were I only sure I had given up all, I could at once believe, irrespective of frames and feelings. The promise, * I will receive you,’ I could at once claim as my own, and thus, in obedience to God, I should be empowered to cleanse myself from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit.” One point, marking the defectiveness of your faith, is here. You labor prayerfully to be sincere, and then, just as well as you know how, you give yourself wholly up to God through Christ. After making this surrender, you ask if anything is kept back, that it may be clearly discovered. But, in answer to these intercessions, nothing further is revealed. Just here a promise “The Just shall live by Hearing.”
meets you: “If in anything ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you.” Now, why do you not believe the word of the Lord? It is just the promise which you need at this point in your experience. God is now saying this to you, and you are doubting him, and by this he is dishonored. Yes, unbelief is a sin. If you conceived the word of God a sufficient foundation for your faith, and were not looking for some evidence apart from this, you would believe. “But is it not through the direct agency of the Holy Ghost that I must believe?” Yes; but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost; and you will, indeed, prove these words are spirit and life, as soon as you fully rely upon them. Yes, you will realize that the Holy Ghost hath given them a life -giving energy, —
“To him that in thy name believes,
Eternal life with thee is given;
Into himself he all receives,
Pardon, and holiness, and heaven.”
The Bible is the voice of God speaking to man. If holy men spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, the words thus uttered are in verity the words of God, as though they were heard sounding forth from the highest heavens. If they were heard, faith were no longer requisite. If this were the order of God, it would have been written. The just shall live by hearing, or something
Faith better than Sight.
answerable thereunto. Or, if this were the better way for man in his present state, God had ordained it. But the holy apostle Peter, who had both heard this voice which came from heaven, and was also an eye-witness of his majesty, does not pronounce the indulgence of these senses the surest way for establishing the heart: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy, whereunto ye do well to take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts, knowing this — first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation, for 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.”
I note this most important passage, with the hope that you may, as in the presence of God, mark, learn, and inwardly digest; and from this time believe, when you comply with the conditions upon which the blessings which you need are promised, that they are already yours. The word is nigh thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart. I will return to the point which I may seem to have left, but which, in truth, I have aimed at in the foregoing remarks. Now, should you believe, when you ask God to discover to you anything which may be unrevealed, that he fulfills his word to you; in your confessions before God and man, you would say,” Through the power of the Holy Spirit, I am
Confession on the Authority of the Word.
now wholly given up to God. I have laid all upon the altar.” Were an inquirer to ask, “What authority have you for speaking so confidently of your state?” you would reply, “I have the authority of God’s word. Upon this alone my confidence rests. I, in sincerity, have given myself wholly to him. I have the promise that he will receive me when I make the surrender; and I cannot now believe otherwise than that he does receive me, unless I doubt his word, and this were in itself sinful’’ “But, perhaps, there may be something undiscovered, which may mar your sacrifice, and render it unworthy the acceptance of God.” “I am bound to believe that the Faithful and True fulfills his word to me; he cannot deny himself. I have asked, if there be anything withheld, or if in anything I be otherwise minded, that God will reveal even this unto me; and now it were, indeed, most dishonoring to God, for me to doubt his faithfulness in this respect.” Just in proportion to your confidence in the faithfulness of God would be the strength of your testimony in your confessions of what he had done for you.
O if these doubtings and waverings were only regarded among professed believers as §inful, as they are in reality before God, what a different state of experience would the church present! Satan, surely, is peculiarly successful in blinding the minds of multitudes who believe in
An Unvanquished Foe. Great Loss,
the attainableness of the rest of faith, relative to the enormity of this sin. When one who has been brought out of the bondage of spiritual Egypt arrives at the borders of the promised land; if an enemy, perchance his last unvanquished foe, prevent his leaping over, even though but within one step of his long-sought rest, what a victory is gained! Shall an enemy, capable of detaining his victim for days, months, and even years, at this point, be thought of as an enemy of small moment? Shall a foe, possessed of power sufficient to keep hundreds among the ministry, who are sincerely endeavoring to gain the rest of faith, and thousands also among the laity, who, for years, have been uttering strong desires for its attainment, 0 shall such an enemy be regarded as a slight foe? But, alas! too well does Satan succeed in keeping the understanding of multitudes in comparative darkness, relative to the aggregate loss of the church in the holiness of her membership, through this form of unbelief.
Why do you not enter into the enjoyment of full salvation? asks the inquirer of one who would be a sincerely devoted follower of Christ. “I cannot say why,” says the latter,” unless it be my-unbelief. I have for a long time been seeking, and I know of nothing that I would not be willing to sacrifice for its attainment; and I conclude, that it can be only my unbelief which keeps me from tho
Wavering-, “Only Unbelief.”
enjoyment of this my promised inheritance. I know that the kingdom of hea^en sufFereth violence, and also that God hath made it my duty to believe, and frequently I have almost made the venture, but again I vraver!” So says the doubting one: as if it were comparatively a small matter to indulge in these vacillations of faith; and this, too, when it is the word of the unchangeable Jehovah which we claim the privilege of crediting or rejecting at our pleasure.
I have not yet finished what I would communicate on this subject, for my heart is indeed full; but circumstances render it inexpedient that I should vn*ite more at present. I will give you my thoughts more fully, soon.
Yours, &c.