03 - The Object

And so I proceed to the use of exhortation, to persuade you all in the affections of Christ to set about this great work, "the working out your salvation." Beloved, here is a plot for heaven, and I would have you all in this plot; rally together all the powers of your souls; give neither God nor yourselves rest until you have "made your election sure." (2 Peter 1:10) Christians, fall to work; do it early, earnestly, incessantly.

Pursue salvation as in a holy chase; other things are but matters of convenience; salvation is a matter of necessity. You must either do the work that Christians are doing, or you must do the work that devils are doing. Oh, you that never yet took one stitch in this work of salvation, begin now. Religion is a good trade if it be well-followed. Be assured there is no salvation without working. But here I must lay down a caution to prevent mistakes.

Though we shall not be saved without working, yet not for our working. We do not work out salvation by way of merit. Bellarmine says, "We merit heaven out of worthiness." No, though we are saved in the use of means, yet by grace too (Ephesians 2:5). There must be ploughing and sowing the ground, but yet no crop can be expected without the influence of the sun; so there must be working, but no crop of salvation can be hoped for without the sunshine of free grace: "It is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the Kingdom" (Luke 12:32).

Give? Why, might some say, we have wrought hard for it? Ay, but heaven is a donation; though you work for it, yet it is the good pleasure of God to bestow it. Still look up to Christ’s merit; it is not your sweat, but His blood that saves. That your working cannot merit salvation is clear, "It is God that works in you to will and to do" (Php 2:13). It is not your working, but God’s co-working. For as the scrivener guides the child’s hand, or he cannot write; so the Spirit of God must afford His auxiliary concurrence, or our work stands still. How then can any man merit by working, when it is God that helps him to work?

I shall now, having laid down this caution, resume the exhortation, and persuade you to the working out salvation. But I must first remove two objections which lie in the way.

Objection 1. You bid us work out salvation, but we have no power to work.

Answer. It is true, we have not power; I deny that we have the liberty to work. Man before conversion is purely passive; therefore the Scripture calls it a heart of stone (Ezekiel 36:26). A man by nature can no more prepare himself to his own converting than the stone can prepare itself to its own softening. But yet when God begins to draw, we may follow. Those dry bones in Ezekiel could not of themselves live, but when breath came into them, then "they lived, and stood up upon their feet" (Ezekiel 37:10).

Question. But suppose God has not dropped in a principle of grace? Suppose He has not caused breath to enter?

Answer. Yet use the means. Though you cannot work spiritually, yet work physically; do what you are able, and that for two reasons.

1. Because a man by neglecting the means, does destroy himself. It is like a man by not going to the physician, may be said to be the cause of his own death.

2. God is not wanting to us when we do what we are able. Urge the promise, "Seek and you shall find" (Matthew 7:7). Put this bond in suit by prayer; you say you have no power, but have you not a promise? Act so far as you can. Though I dare not say as the Arminian, when we do exert and put forth nature, God is bound to give grace; yet this I say, God is not wanting to those who seek his grace. No, I will say more, He denies His grace to none but those who wilfully refuse it (John 5:40).

Objection 2. The second objection is this; But to what purpose should I work? There is a decree past; if God has decreed I shall be saved, I shall be saved.

Answer. God decrees salvation in a way of working (2 Thessalonians 2:13). Origen, in his book against Celsus, observes a subtle argument of some who disputed about Fate and Destiny. One gave counsel to his sick friend not to send for the physician, because, says he, it is appointed by destiny whether you shall recover or not. If it be your destiny to recover, then you need not the physician; if it is not be your destiny, then the physician will do you no good. The like fallacy does the devil use to men; he bids them not work; if God has decreed they shall be saved, they shall be saved, and there is no need of working; if He has not decreed their salvation, then their working will do them no good; this is an argument fetched out of the devil’s topics. But we say, God decrees the end in the use of means. God did decree that Israel should enter into Canaan, but first they must fight with the sons of Anak. God decreed that Hezekiah should recover from his sickness, but let him lay a fig to the boil (Isaiah 38:21). We do not argue thus in other things. A man does not say, "If God has decreed I shall have a crop this year, I shall have a crop; what need I plough, or sow, or fertilize the land?" No, he will use the means, and expect a crop. Though "the blessing of the Lord, it makes rich" (Proverbs 10:22), yet it is as true, "the hand of the diligent makes rich" (Proverbs 10:4). God’s decreeing is carried on by our working. And thus having removed these objections, let me now persuade you to set about this blessed work, the working out your salvation; and that my words may the better prevail, I shall propound several arguments by way of motive to excite you to this work.

Argument 1. The first argument or motive to working, is taken from the preciousness of the soul; well may we take pains that we may secure this from danger. The soul is a divine spark kindled by the breath of God. It does out-balance the world (Matthew 16:26). If the world be the book of God, as Origen calls it, the soul is the image of God. Plato calls the soul a glass of the Trinity. It is a bright mirror in which some refracted beams of God’s wisdom and holiness do shine forth; the soul is a blossom of eternity. God has made the soul capable of communion with Himself. It would bankrupt the world to give half the price of a soul. How highly did Christ value the soul when He sold Himself to buy it? Oh then, what pity is it that this excellent soul (this soul for which God called a council in heaven when he made it) should miscarry and be undone to all eternity? Who would not rather work night and day than lose such a soul? The jewel is invaluable, the loss irreparable.

Argument 2. Holy activity and industry does ennoble a Christian. The more excellent any thing is, the more active. The sun is a glorious creature, it never stands still, but is going it’s circuit round the world. Fire is the purest element, and the most active; it is ever sparkling and flaming. The angels are the most noble creatures and the most nimble; therefore they are represented by the cherubim, with their wings displayed. God Himself is (as the school men speak) a most pure act: Homer says of Agamemnon, that he did sometimes resemble Jupiter in feature, Pallas in wisdom, Mars in valor; by holy activity we resemble God who is a most pure act. The phoenix flies with a coronet on its head; the industrious Christian needs not a coronet; his sweat ennobles him; his labor is his ensign of honor. Solomon tells us that "drowsiness shall clothe a man with rags" (Proverbs 23:21). Infamy is one of the rags that hang upon him; God hates a dull temper. We read in the law, that the donkey, being a dumb creature, must not be offered up in sacrifice. Spiritual activity is a badge of honor.

Argument 3. Working out salvation is that which will make death and heaven sweet to us. It will sweeten death. He that has been hard at work all day, how quietly does he sleep at night? You who have been working out salvation all your lives, how comfortably may you lay down your head at night in the grave, upon a pillow of dust, in hopes of a glorious resurrection? This will be a deathbed cordial. It will sweeten heaven. The more pains we have taken for heaven, the sweeter will it be when we come there. It is delightful for a man to look over his work and see the fruit appear. When he has been planting trees in his orchard, or setting flowers, it is pleasant to behold and review his labors. Thus in heaven, when we shall see the fruit of our labors, "the end of your faith, even the salvation" (1 Peter 1:9), this will make heaven the sweeter. The more pains we have taken for heaven, the more welcome it will be; the more sweat, the more sweet. When a man has been sinning, the pleasure is gone, and the sting remains; but when he has been repenting, the labor is gone, and the joy remains.

Argument 4. Yet you have time to work. This text and sermon would be out of season to preach to the damned in hell. If I should bid them work, it is too late; their time is past. It is night with the devils; it is yet day with you. Work while it is day (John 9:4). If you lose your day, you lose your souls. This is the season for your souls. Now God commands, now the Spirit breathes, now ministers beseech, and as so many bells of Aaron, would chime in your souls to Christ. Oh, improve your season! This is your seed-time, now sow the seeds of faith and repentance. If when you have seasons, you lack hearts, the time may come when you have hearts and you shall lack seasons. Take time while you may; the mariner hoists up his sails while the wind blows. Never had a people a fairer gale for heaven than you of this city, and will you not set forward in your voyage? What riding is there to the term: I warrant you the lawyer will not lose his term. Oh my brethren, now is the term-time for your souls, now plead with God for mercy, or at least get Christ to plead for you. Think seriously of these things.

[Reasons to think seriously of these things]

First, our life does unravel apace. Gregory compares our life to the mariner in a ship going full sail; we are every day sailing apace to eternity.

Secondly, the seasons of grace though they are precious, are not permanent. Abused mercies will like Noah’s dove, take their wings and fly from us. England’s golden hour will soon run out; gospel blessings are very sweet, but very swift. "Now they are hid from your eyes" (Luke 19:42). We know not how soon the golden candlestick may be removed.

Thirdly, there is a time when the Spirit has done striving. There are certain spring tides of the Spirit, and these being neglected, possibly we may never see another tide come in. When conscience has done speaking, usually the Spirit has done striving.

Fourthly, the loss of gospel opportunities will be the hell of hell. When a sinner shall at the last day think with himself, oh, what might I have been! I might have been as rich as the angels, as rich as heaven could make me! I had a season to work in, but I lost it. This, this will be as a vulture gnawing upon him; this will enhance and accent his misery. And let this persuade you speedily to work out your salvation.

Fifthly, you may do this work and not hinder your other work; working out salvation and working in a calling are not inconsistent. And this I insert to prevent an objection. Some may say, but if I work so hard for heaven, I shall have no time for my trade. No, surely, the wise God would never make any of His commands to interfere; as He would have you "seek you first the kingdom" (Matthew 6:33), so he would have you provide for your family (1 Timothy 5:8); you may drive two trades together. I do not like those who make the church exclude the shop, who swallow up all their time in hearing, but neglect their work at home (2 Thessalonians 3:11).

They are like the lilies of the field which toil not, neither do they spin. God never sealed a warrant to idleness. He both commands and commends diligence in a calling, which may the rather encourage us to look after salvation, because this work will not take us off our other work. A man may with Caleb, follow God fully, (Numbers 14:24) and yet with David be "following the sheep great with young" (Psalms 78:71). Piety and industry may dwell together.

Sixthly, the inexcusableness of those who neglect working out their salvation. Methinks I hear God expostulating the case with men at the last day, after this manner, "Why did you not work? I gave you time to work, I gave you light to work by, I gave you My gospel, My ministers. I bestowed talents upon you to trade; I set the recompense of reward before you. Why did you not work out your salvation?" Either it must be sloth or stubbornness. Was their any work you did of greater concern? You could work in brick, but not in gold. What can you say for yourselves why the sentence should not pass? Oh, how will the sinner be left speechless at such a time, and how will this cut him to the heart to think with himself he neglected salvation, and could give no reason for it?

Seventhly, the inexpressible misery of such as do not work out salvation. Those who sleep in spring, shall beg in harvest. After death, when they look to receive a full crop of glory, they will be put to beg, as Dives, for one drop of water. Vagrant people who will not work are sent to the house of correction. Such as will not work out salvation, let them know, hell is God’s house of correction that they must be sent to.

Eighthly, if all this does not prevail, consider, what it is we are working for. None will take pains for a trifle; we are working for a crown, for a throne, for a paradise, and all this is comprised in that one word, "salvation." Here is a whet-stone to industry. All men desire salvation. It is the crown of our hopes; we should not think any labor too much for this. What pains will men take for earthly crowns and scepters! And suppose all the kingdoms of the world were more illustrious than they are - their foundations of gold, their walls of pearl, their windows of sapphire - what were all this to that kingdom we are laboring for?

We may as well span the firmament as set forth this in all its splendor and magnificence. Salvation is a beautiful thing, it is as far above our thoughts as it is beyond our deserts. Oh, how should this add wings to our endeavors! The merchant will run through the intemperate zones of heat and cold for a little prize. The soldier, for a rich booty, will endure the bullet and sword, he will gladly undergo a bloody spring for a golden harvest. Oh then, how much more should we spend our holy sweat for this blessed prize of salvation!