09 Chap 5 How to Obtain Salvation
CHAPTER V.
HOW TO OBTAIN SALVATION.
Acts 16:29-32.-Then he called for a light, and sprang in, and came trembling, and fell down before Paul and Silas ; and brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. And they spake unto him the word of the Lord.
We are sinners ; we need salvation. Jesus has died; the offer of life is freely made to us through him; Salvation is brought nigh unto us. You have heard and read the word. It has entered into your understanding; your conscience is aroused ; your heart impressed ; and you are so far persuaded of your duty and your necessities, as to inquire how you may secure the great salvation, or become interested in it. You are inquiring with Job, " How should man be just with God ?" Job 9:2; and with the Philippian jailer, " What must I do to be saved?" This question implies an awakened attention to the subject. It is posible, indeed, for one to inquire about the way of life, and ask what he must do to be saved, merely to gratify his curiosity. But no one will make this inquiry with earnestness, unless he is the subject of an awakened attention. The jailer’s attention was aroused by a special providence, as well as by the operations of the Spirit. So the Spirit may now use the providence of God, or the truth of God, or both, in arousing the sinner’s attention, and causing him to feel an interest in spiritual things, and to be anxious in regard to his own salvation. And if you are inquiring what you must do, it is evident that you are disposed to give to this subject a consideration which hitherto you have not given it. Is this the case with you? Has the truth indeed reached your heart? Is the Spirit operating there? Let not your attention be diverted from the grand inquiry. And not only inquire what you must do, but do it; not only ask for the way of life, but be resolved to walk in it. Many have lost their souls by having their attention diverted from the great question.
Satan has taken advantage of their indecision, and borne them away in triumph to the world of woe. And this may be the case with you, notwithstanding your awakened attention, if you do not resolve with fixed purpose, for God and heaven. Your sins, your pleasures, your business, your associates, may plead with you to defer the great work yet for a little season ; but stop your ears to their solicitations, and answer all their pleas with the cry, Life, eternal life! How shall I obtain eternal life? This question implies anxiety. The one who asks what he must do, feels some solicitude about his eternal interests. He fears. He may be lost. He wishes to know how he may escape from hell, how reach, heaven. There is a burden on his heart. His guilt oppresses him ; his danger alarms. It is no unmeaning question that he asks, for it comes from an anxious soul. His conscience is awake ; his fears are excited ; his- heart impressed. Salvation is nigh ; he asks with anxious solicitude, How may I obtain salvation?’ Is it thus with you? Dismiss not your anxiety, nor rest till you find the Saviour precious to your soul. This question implies some degree of ignorance. At least this is the case with many who propose it. Some need no information as to what they must do. They have known the Scriptures from their childhood. Their proposing the question only implies their anxiety about their souls. Yet their convictions may be so deep as to cause them almost to despair of salvation ; and in such circumstances they may ask for information how they may obtain peace. Others need instruction. They have not been religiously educated. Their views of truth are not clear. And when they ask what they must do, it is because they do not know how to obtain salvation. They are anxious, but in some degree ignorant. They feel that something must be done, but know not what to do. Hence they inquire. This question implies a desire for information. It was with this view that the jailer proposed it ; and with this view it is proposed by those who have been awakened by the Spirit of God, whose attention is aroused, and whose fears and anxieties are stirred within them. It is thus that it is proposed by you. You put it not as an idle question. It is not a question of mere curiosity, nor of speculation. It is a serious question-one of the most deeply serious questions ever proposed by man or to man. On the answer to this question hangs your eternal destiny. As it’shall be answered to you, and as it shall be answered by you in your decision and conduct, so shall you be happy or miserable for ever ! You ask, What must I do to be saved? I answer in the words of Paul and Silas, " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." But that I may not only point you to the way of life, but direct you in it, it may be proper to be more particular. Hence I observe,
1. The first step toward salvation is to feel your need of it. This is clear and plain enough. " They that are whole need not -a physician ; but they that are sick." Luke 5:31. No one calls in the physician’s aid until he feels it to be necessary. A sense of bodily ills drives us to the doctor. So it is with the soul and the great Physician. We cry not for mercy till we feel our need of it ; we ask not for salvation till we feel that we are lost. The first step, then, is to feel our need. And that you may thus feel, look at your exposure. Review the particulars enumerated in the first- chapter- of this book. You are a sinner-far from righteousness-under the curse of God’s law-condemned by your own conscience-in danger of hell; you are in the way to perdition, in the broad road to death. How perilous your situation!" How sad our state by nature is! Our sin, how deep it stains!" Consider what has been done to save you. The Son of God has died ; his blood has been shed ; and the Spirit has been sent down to apply to your soul the purchased redemption. Look at your character-I mean not your reputation in the sight of men, but your moral standing in the sight of God. He can see nothing but corruption in you. You are by nature a child of wrath, because by nature corrupt. ’Ephesians 2:3. John 3:6. Your heart is enmity against God ; and your life has been a constant series of transgressions of his law. Romans 8:7. Your sins have risen like mountains, and are enough to sink you to the lowest hell. Compare yourself with the law of God. Lay your heart and life alongside of each of the ten commandments; or take the sum of the ten in the two great commandments,-" Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind ; and thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." ’Matthew 22:37-39. And how far have you come from living up to these requisitions ! You have failed, not barely once or twice, but all your life. By the law is the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20. By a faithful application of the law, in all its extent and spirituality, to your own case-to the frame of your own spirit and. the tenor of your own conduct-to your own heart and life-you cannot fail to be convinced of your sinfulness and of your need of salvation. Pray also for the illuminating, the’ convincing and converting influences of the Spirit. He convinces of sin, slays false hopes, and sweeps away false confidences. You shall not have prayed long; with seriousness and earnestness, ere you feel, more deeply than ever, your need of the Saviour. And, "All the fitness he requireth, Is to feel your need of him: This he gives you- ’Tis the Spirit’s rising beam."
Even now you feel your need- Already you are convinced of your guilt. You are impressed with a sense of your sin and misery ; you know and feel that without an interest in the great salvation you must perish. Hence you ask what you must do. Not only is salvation brought nigh unto you, but you have taken the first step toward securing it. Your need is felt. But this by no means renders salvation certain. A step toward the way of life is not entering into it. Many have gone as far, many have gone much farther, and done many things, and yet have lost their souls. You must go farther, or you will never be saved. Hence, I observe,
2. The next step is to see a fitness, a propriety, and an adaptation to our wants, in the gospel way of salvation. First, we feel our need ; next, does the gospel meet our wants? Is it adapted to our case? Is there a fitness in this salvation to our necessities as sinners? This is what the awakened, anxious sinner is to see. And can he not see it? Is it not as clear as a sunbeam God by it is honoured. His holiness,’ justice, and truth are vindicated, and new lustre is given to all his perfections. And if his own glory is the end of his works, surely that end is attained by the scheme of redemption. There is in the gospel a fitness to this end or design. And this salvation too abases man. It assigns him his proper place in the dust; and if humility, and self-abasement, and prayer, and trust in God, are becoming graces and exercises in man, then there is in the gospel salvation, an adaptation to this end, for it most effectually promotes them. It also provides for us a Saviour, who is Just what we want, and all we want. There is in him an infinite fulness. He possesses unsearchable riches. Ephesians 3:8. He is a prophet to instruct our ignorance and illuminate our darkness ; he is a priest to satisfy for our sins, and intercede for our souls ; he is a king to subdue our enemies and rule us with his gentle sway. As God he has all power ; as man he can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. Hebrews 4:15.
There is no want in our natures, or in our circumstances, which is not met by his all-sufficiency. "He is the chiefest ’among ten thousand ; he is altogether lovely." Sol. Song of Solomon 5:10. Sol. Song of Solomon 5:16. " His name is as ointment poured forth ; all his garments smell of myrrh, and aloes, and cassia." Sol. Song of Solomon 1:3. Psalms 45:8. Yet the unwakened sinner can see in him no beauty that he should desire him. Isaiah 53:2. To the indifferent and careless, as well as, to the self-righteous, he is as a root out of a dry ground ; they can see nothing in him, nor in his salvation, which meets their wants. To them he bath no form nor comeliness. Isa. l53:2-3. But when one is awakened, and feels himself perishing, he begins to see in Jesus Christ, the Saviour he needs. He begins to see in the gospel scheme a fitness and propriety which he never saw before, and to behold in its provisions a-wonderful adaptation to all his necessities. But many have seen and felt all this, and yet not closed with Christ. They have seen and felt all this, and yet remained unrenewed and unforgiven, and perished. Two steps toward the cross are not enough ; the sinner must go quite there, or die in his sins.
3. The next step is to seek the renewal of your heart by the power of the Holy Ghost. Not one right step can be taken without the Spirit’s aid ; we need his influences from the first ; and the reason why so many awakened sinners lose their convictions and again become careless, and why so many who once seemed to be converted, return again to the world, is because they were never born of the Spirit. Arid wherever conviction stops short of regeneration, there the sinner will stop short of Christ, and never enter the way of life. You see the danger thin of resisting convictions and grieving the Spirit. Such a course, if successful, must of necessity end in perdition. Men must be born again, or they cannot be saved. John 3:1-10. Hence they should cherish the Spirit’s strivings and seek his influences in earnest prayer. It was said of Saul of Tarsus, when awakened on his way to Damascus, " Behold, he prayeth." Acts 9:11. Prayer should be the sinner’s resort when convinced of sin, and indeed at all times. He should cry with the publican, " God, be merciful to me, a sinner," Luke 18:13 ; with David, " Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy loving-kindness : according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my, sin. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." Psalms 51:1-2. Psalms 51:10. And with the prodigal he should say, " Father, I have sinned against heaven, and before thee," Luke 15:18-21; and with blind Bartimeus, " Jesus, thou Son of David, have mercy on me." Mark 10:48-47. Nor should he be satisfied without a thorough work of grace upon his heart. He should not rest till he is a new creature in Christ Jesus. 2 Corinthians 5:17. But many pray, who do not surrender themselves to Jesus Christ. This step does not save the soul ; for prayer is not faith.-Hence,
4. The next step is the entire renunciation of ourselves, of all our refuges and false confidences. It is too often that many of these are between the sinner and the cross. He will stand upon his moral life, his works of merit, his charities, his prayers and tears. So long as these are in the way, so long as he rests in them or relies upon them, so long is he unprepared to receive and rest upon the Saviour of sinners and take refuge in his atoning sacrifice. Every thing of this kind must be renounced. You, reader, you must be brought to feel that "None but Jesus Can do helpless sinners good." The language of Jehovah is, " Thou hast destroyed thyself," Hosea 13:9; and the sinner must be brought to feel that he is self-destroyed and helpless, ere he is prepared to embrace the great salvation. And this he will feel if his heart is renewed by the Spirit of God; and when he is brought to this point, he is ready to take that step by which he enters the way of life and is clothed with the garments of salvation:
5. That step is the reception of Jesus Christ by faith. Faith receives the testimony of God. It believes what God has said of his Son. Saving faith is reliance upon Jesus Christ for salvation. It is trust in Christ ; and has been thus defined,-"Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation, as he is offered to us in the gospel." He is offered to us in the gospet as our Saviour. First, we must feel our need of him ; second, we must see in him a fitness to our case; and then, renouncing ourselves and every other refuge, we must receive and rest upon him for salvation. This is the way of life ; and this is the way to enter it. There is no salvation if we stop short of this. We must have faith, or we cannot be justified ; we must receive Jesus, and rest upon him, or we shall be lost; for without faith it is impossible to please God. Heb. xi. 6. Do you feel yourself a sinner? Do you inquire what you must do ? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the Saviour you need. Trust in him ; rely upon him with humble and obedient confidence. " He is the way, the truth, and the life : no man cometh unto the Father but by him." John 14:6. Receive him in all his offices, as your prophet, priest, and king,-as your Redeemer and your all,-that he of God may be made unto you wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. 1 Corinthians 1:30.
Review now the steps which have been enumerated. Salvation is provided ; it is offered;; it is brought near to you ; and you inquire how you may secure it. The question implies an awakened attention to the subject; it implies anxiety about the soul. And the answer is,-feel your need of it, see a fitness in it, seek the renovation of your heart by the power of the Holy Ghost, renounce yourself, receive and rely upon Jesus Christ. This is to believe in him ; this is the way of life; these steps lead to heaven. You must take them all, if you would gain the skies. Many have gone as far as the fourth ; but not taking the fifth, they have remained in their sins. They have gone to the very gate of heaven, only to sink the deeper in hell ; they have gone almost to the cross, only to be ground to powder beneath that stone which is laid for a foundation in Zion. Isaiah 28:16 ; Matthew 21:42-44:0 reader, stop not till you have entered the way of life. Rest not till your soul is safe. Go not almost to the cross ; go quite there. Not only behold and admire the Lamb of God, but embrace him by faith. Acts 13:41. And now while you feel your need of salvation, and see a fitness in it to your wants, close in with its offers, and secure to yourself an interest in its priceless blessings. While you confess your sins to God, and call on the Spirit to renew your heart, believe in Christ to the saving of your soul. Psalms 51:10-11; Hebrews 10:38-39.
Five steps have been described as leading the soul into the way of life. These might all be included in one, viz. coming to Christ; for he says, "Come unto me; and, him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." Matthew 11:28. John 6:37. But no one ever came to Jesus without feeling his need of him, and seeing a fitness in him, and crying for mercy, and renouncing himself; and hence the view which has been given is correct and Scriptural. It authorizes no one to delay coming to Christ for a single moment ; for to come to him is to take the very steps described ; and to begin to take these steps, is to begin to come to the Saviour, and this should be done now. There is nothing to justify a moment’s delay.
"Let not conscience make you linger, Nor of fitness fondly dream."
Say to every temptation and to every difficulty and discouragement, " Hinder me not." Genesis 24:56. Cry unto God, Turn thou me, and I shall be turned ; draw me, and I will run after thee." Jeremiah 31:18. Sol. Song of Solomon 1:4. Turn the eye of your mind to Jesus, saying, "Rock of ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in thee." When these steps shall have been taken-whether in the precise order enumerated, it matters not-you will begin to walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4. Evangelical repentance is inseparable from saving faith. No one ever repented without the exercise of faith in Christ; and no one ever yet believed in. Christ unto salvation, without exercising repentance for sin. " Repentance unto life is a saving grace, whereby a sinner, out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension of the mercy of God in Christ, doth, with grief and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto God, with full purpose of, and endeavour after new obedience." To be saved, you must repent. Sin must be sorrowed for and forsaken. It must be confessed to God and deplored. You should mourn over the corruptions of your heart and life, the depravity of your nature and the vileness of your practice. "For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of." 2 Corinthians 7:10. And the evidence of our repentance, and the fruits of our faith, must be seen in our lives. Our conduct must witness to the sincerity and reality of our religion. " Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." Hebrews 12:14. Every man that hath hope in Christ, " purifieth himself, even as he is pure." 1 John 3:3. He begins the performance of religious’ duties ; and having a principle of grace implanted in his heart, he continues firm and faithful, " growing in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lard and Saviour’ Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 3:18. In his life is seen a practical exemplification of Peter’s exhortation, " and besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith, virtue; and to virtue, knowledge ; and to knowledge, temperance; and to temperance, patience; and to patience, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness-, charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Peter 1:5-8. From what precedes it appears that the way of salvation is plain and easily understood. There is nothing dark nor obscure about it. A child can understand it. And if you perish, it will not be because you do not know the way of life. You have known it from childhood. It has been pointed out to you every Sabbath day. A voice has followed you from infancy upward, saying, "This is the way, walk thou in it." Isaiah 30:21. Your pathway through life has been set with guide-boards at every turn, pointing out to you the way to heaven. In helpless infancy you were lulled to sleep in your, mother’s arms with the song of redemption ; in your youth redeeming love was the theme that most frequently greeted your wayward ears ; and now salvation is the sound which reverberates through all the avenues of your soul; and when you die it will be in full view of the cross of Christ. The steps which lead to that only Source of peace, of hope and joy, are clearly pointed out and are fully known. You have been told, and you know, just where to place your feet to bridge the gulf which lies be. tween you and heaven. Place them there, and you are safe ; place them any where else, and you tread on sand, and sink in the fathomless abyss beyond the reach of recovery! The way of salvation is also easy, as well as plain. What can be easier ?
" His help he’ll freely give, He makes no hard condition, ’Tis only-Look, and live."
You ask what you must do. The answer is, Believe. "This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent." John 6:29. Of devising a better way of salvation, you would not for a moment think. I ask whether you could devise one that is easier ? I know indeed, it is difficult to sinful men. "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots 1 then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." Jer 13::23. The way is difficult to sinners because they are proud and wicked. It is hard for them to renounce themselves; hard to submit to the righteousness of another; hard to cease to do evil, and learn to do well. Isaiah 1:16-17. Hence the gate is said to be strait and the way narrow. Matthew 7:13-14. But all these difficulties result from their own sinfulness. In itself considered, the way is easy ; and it leaves the sinner excuseless, because he cannot make his sinfulness an excuse for the neglect of salvation-he cannot make his sins his justification before God. God has done all he consistently can-all that he ever will do-to make the way plain and easy, and hence they who perish are without excuse. This they must ever feel. This you will feel, reader, if you are lost! O then close with Christ; believe in him and be saved. You feel your need of him now; you see a fitness in him ; renounce yourself, flee to his open arms, surrender to him your heart, and devote to him the remnant of your days. Let your language be, "Here, Lord, I give myself away ’Tis all that I can do."
"Seize the kind promise while it waits, And march to Zion’s heavenly gates;
Believe-and take the promised rest;
Obey-and be for ever blest."