14. Three degrees in the way to heaven

Three degrees in the way to heaven There are three degrees that a man is in, that is in the way to heaven.

[1.] The state of nature, when he cares neither for heaven nor hell in a manner, so he may have sensual nature pleased, and go on without fear or wit,* without grace, nay, without the principles of nature, so he may satisfy himself in a course of sin. That is the worst state, the state of nature.

[2.] But God, if he belong to him, will not suffer him to be in this sottish and brutish condition long, but brings him under the law; that is, he sets his own corrupt nature before him, he shews him the course of his life, and then he is afraid of God: ’Depart from me, I am a sinner;’ as Adam he ran from God when he had sinned, that was sweet to him before; so a brute man, when he is awakened with conscience of sin, considering that there is but a step between him and hell, and considering what a God he hath to deal with, and that after death there is eternal damnation,—when the Spirit of God hath convinced him of this, then he is in a state of fear, and when he is in this state, he is unfit to have liberty to run to God. He useth all his power to shift from God all he can, and hates God, and wisheth there were no God, and trembles at the very thought of God, and of death, &c.

[3.] Oh, but if a man belong to God, God will not leave him in this condition (and though this be better than the first, it is better that a man were out of his wits almost, than to be senseless as a block); there is another condition spoken of here, that is, of liberty; when God by his Spirit discovers to him in Christ forgiveness of sins, the gracious face of God ready to receive him, ’Come unto me all ye that are weary and heavy laden,’ Matthew 11:28, saith Christ; and ’where sin hath abounded, grace more abounds,’ Romans 5:20; when a man hears this still sweet voice of the gospel, he begins then to take comfort to himself, then he goes to God freely. Now all in this state of freedom, take them at the worst, they have boldness to go to God. David in his extremity, he runs to God. David trusted in the Lord his God. When he was at his wits’ end, what doth Saul in his extremity? He runs to his sword’s point, Judges 9:54, seq. Take a man under nature, or under the law, in extremity, the greater wit he hath, the more he entangleth himself. His wit serves to entangle him, to weave a web of his own despair. But take a gracious man, that is acquainted with God in Christ, in such a man there is a liberty to go to God at the lowest; for he hath the Spirit of Christ in him. What did the Spirit in Christ himself direct him to do at the lowest? ’O my God, my God,’ Mark 15:34. In the deepest desertion, yet ’my God.’ There was a liberty to go to God. So take a Christian that hath the same Spirit in him, as indeed he hath, ’My God’ still. He owns God and knows him in all extremity.

Many are discovered hence to have no Spirit of God in them. In trouble whither go they? To their purse, to their friends, to anything. They labour to overcome their troubles one way or other, by physic and the like, but never to go with boldness and comfort, and a kind of familiarity to God. They have no familiarity with God. Therefore they have not a Spirit of liberty.

[4.] Again, where this Spirit of liberty is, as there is a freedom to go to God, so in regard of the creature and the things here below, there is a freedom from popular, vulgar conceits, from the errors of the times and the slavish courses of the times.

There are alway two sorts of wicked persons in the world.

(1.) The one who accounts it their heaven and happiness, to domineer over others; to bring them into subjection, and to rule over their consciences if they can, and sell all to please them, conscience and all.

(2.) Another sort again, so they may gain, they will sell their liberty, their reason and all: if it be but for a poor thing, so they may get anything that they value in the world, to make them beasts, as if they had no reasonable understanding souls, much less grace. Between those two, some domineering and others beastly serving, a few that go upon terms of Christianity, are of sound judgment. Now where the Spirit of God is, there is liberty, that is, a freedom not to enthral our judgments to any man, much less conscience. The judgment of man enlightened by reason is above any creature; for reason is a beam of God, and all the persons in the world ought not to think to have power over a man, to say anything against his knowledge.* It is to say against God, if it be but in civil matters, be it what it will Judgment is the spark of God. Nature is but God’s candle. It is a light of the same light that grace is of, but inferior. For a man to speak against his conscience to please men, where is liberty! For a man to enthral his conscience to please another man! No man that hath the spirit of a man will be so pharisaical, to say as another man saith, and to judge as another man judgeth, and to do all as another man doth, without seeing some reason himself; going upon the principles of a man himself. It is true of a man as a man, unless he will unman himself. It is much more true of a Christian man. He will not for base fears and engagements enthral his conscience, and sell heaven and happiness and his comfort for this and that; and those that do it, though they talk of liberty, they are slaves; though they domineer in the world, the curse of Cain* is upon them, they are slaves of slaves.

Therefore, where the Spirit of Christ is, there is an independent liberty. A man is independent upon any other man, further than he sees it agrees with the rules of religion; and he is dependent only upon God, and upon divine principles and grounds. The apostle saith, ’The spiritual man judgeth all things, and is judged of none,’ 1 Corinthians 2:15. So far as a man is ’led with the Spirit,’ Romans 8:14, he discerns things in the light of the Spirit. He judgeth all things to be as they are, in the light of the Spirit, and is judged of none. His meaning is not, that none will usurp judgment of him, for that they will do. The emptiest men are most rash and censorious; but he is judged of none aright. It is a fool’s bolt. But the spiritual man indeed passeth a right verdict upon persons and things, as far as he is spiritual. And that is the reason that carnal men especially hate spiritual men above all things. They hate men that have a natural conscience, that judge according to the light of reason, for that is above any creature. When a man will not say white is black, that good is evil, to please any man in the world, a man that hath a natural conscience will not do this. And this is very distasteful. Where men idolise themselves they love not such, but such as are slaves to them. But much more, when a man is spiritual, he judgeth all things and censureth them and their courses; for he is above all, and seeth all beneath him. Therefore the greatest men in the world are holy men. They are above all other men, and without usurpation, they pass a censure upon the course and state of other men, though they be never so great. Howsoever the image of God is upon them, in regard of their authority and the like, yet in their dispositions they are base, and slaves to their corruptions and to Satan. They are not out of the base rank of nature. Now a man that is a child of God, he is taken into a better condition, and hath a spiritual liberty in him. ’He judgeth all things and is judged of none.’ They may call him this and that; it is but malice, and a spice of the sin against the Holy Ghost; but their hearts tell them he is otherwise. He shall judge them ere long, for ’the saints shall judge the world.’† Therefore Christians should know, and take notice of their excellency. ’Where the Spirit of God is, there is liberty’ to judge all things as far as they come within their reach and calling, to judge aright of all things. Therefore we should know how to maintain the credit of a Christian, that is, to maintain a liberty independent upon all but God; and other things with reservation, as far as they agree with conscience and religion. Thus we see how we may judge of this liberty. ’Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.’

He doth not say licentiousness to shake off all government; for by too much licentiousness all liberty is lost; but ’where the Spirit of God is, there is liberty.’ For a true Christian is the greatest servant and the greatest freeman in the world; for he hath a spirit that will yield to none. In things spiritual he reserves a liberty for his judgment, yet for outward conformity of life and conversation he is a servant to all, to do them good. Love makes him a servant. Christ was the greatest servant that ever was. He was both the servant of God and our servant. And there is none so free. The greater portion of the Spirit, the more inward and spiritual freedom; and the more freedom, the more disposition to serve one another in love, and to do all things that a man should do outwardly, all things that are lawful. We must take heed of that, mistake not this spiritual liberty. It stands with conformity to all good laws and all good orders, and there is a great mistake of carnal men for want of this. They think it liberty to do as men list.* It is true, if a man have a strong and a holy understanding, to be a good leader to it, but it is the greatest bondage in the world, to have most freedom in ill. As I said before, those that are most free in ill are most slaves of all; for their corruptions will not suffer them to hear good things, to be where good things are spoken, to accompany with those that are good, their corruptions hath them in so narrow a custody. Some kind of men, their corruptions are so malignant and binding, that they will not suffer them to be in any opportunity wherein their corruptions may be restrained at all, but they hate the very sight of persons that may restrain them, and all laws that might restrain them. Now this is the greatest slavery in the world, for a man to have no acquaintance with that that is contrary to his corrupt disposition.

Well, ’new lords new laws,’ as soon as ever a man is in Christ and hath Christ’s Spirit, he hath another law in his soul to rule him contrary to that that there was before. Before he was ruled by the law of his lusts, that carried him whither he would; but now in Christ he hath a new Lord and a new law, and that rules him according to the regiment† of the Spirit, ’The law of the Spirit of life in Christ hath freed me from the law of sin and of death, Romans 8:2.

Use 4. Again, seeing where the Spirit of God is, there is this sweet and glorious liberty, let us take heed by all means that we do not grieve the Spirit. When we find the Holy Ghost in the use of any good means to touch upon our souls, Oh give him entrance and way to come into his own chamber, as it were to provide a room for himself; as Cyprian saith, Consecra habitaculum, &c., enter into thy bedchamber; consecrate a habitation for thyself (c). So let us give him way to come into our souls when he knocks by his motions. We that live in the church, there is none of us all but our hearts tell us that we have often resisted the Holy Ghost. We might have been saved if we had not been rebellious and opposite. Grieve not the Spirit by any means.