I

'

CI--IAPTER V

SALVATION

BY GRACE
'

BY REV. THOMAS

SPURGEON,

LOND ,ON, ENGLAND

WHAT IS ''G RACE''?

Once u.pon a time, I me.t,. on b oa.rd an A.ustra]ian liner,

an aged man of genial temperamen t, and of sound and extensive learning.
He man ,aged to dwell in well-nigh perpetual sunsl1ine, f o,r he f oll,owed the sun rot1nd the globe year
after y,ear, and he was hims.,elf so sunny that t.he pass,eng ers
made friends with him, and sought information from him. It
fell out that a discussion ha.ving arisen as to what ''Grace''
was, someone said, ''Le .t us ask 'The Walking Encyc lopcedia';
lie will be sure to know.'' So to him they went with their
.inquiry as to the meaning of the theo1ogica1 te .rm, ''Grace.''
They retu .rned woef u11y disappointed, for all he could say
was, ''I confes ,s that I do,n't unders tand it .." At th e same time
he volt1nteer ed the following ,extrao ,rdinary statement: ''I don't
1
think that they understand it either who so often speak of it. ~
Like , the medical man of who1n the Rev. T . Phillips told in hi.s
Baptist World Congress sermon who sai,d of Grace, ''It i,s
utterly meaningless to me," this well-read traveller comprehend 1ed. it not. Some among us. were hard]y as tonished at this ,
but it did occur to us that he might have allowe ,d that it was
j11st possible t'hat on this particular t'heme, at all event .s, some,
l ess. learned f ol.k might be more enlightened than himself.
Now~ it chanced tl1at on th ,a.t . same vess ,el there w,as a Christi ,an
seaman, wh 0, if h e cottld not have gi,v en a concise and adequate definition o,f ''Grace,'' nevertheless knew pe,r fect1y well
its ,significanc e, and would have said, ''Ay, ay, sir; that's it,'' '
1

49
with hounding heart and beaming face, if one had suggested
that ''Grace is God's f ree, unmerited favor, graciously best~1owed upon the unwortl 1y and sinful.' ' And if Mr. Phi llips
himself had been on board, an.cl had preached his Co11gress sermon the ,re, and had declared that ''G race is something in Gold
which is at the heart of all His redeeming activities, . the downv,ard stoop and reach of God, God bending from the heights
of His majesty, to touch and grasp our insignificance and
pover t,y,' ' the weath ,er-beaten face woul d have beamed ,again,
and the converted sailor ....
man would have ,said within himself,
''Oh, to Grace how great a debtor, daily I'm constrained to be."
Verily, th ,e world thro ,ugh its wis,do1n ]<nows no t God. The
true meaning of ''Grace'' is hidden from the wise and pntdent, and is revealed to babes. ''Cottage dames'' are often
wiser as to the deep things of God than savants and scientists.
Our learned traveller dwelt in perpett1al sunshine, but he was
11.0 ,t able f'r om experience
to say, ''God hath sl1ined in our
hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God,
in the face of Jesus Christ.''
.
Dr.. Dale, Jong years ago, lamen,ted that the word '' Grace''
was becoming disu .sed. It has, alas I been use ,d a great deal
less since then. His own defii1ition of ''Grace'' is wortl1 rememberit1g: ''Grace is love which passes beyond all claims
to love. It is love which after fulfilling the obligations imposed by law, bas an unexhausted wealth of kindness.'' And
h.iere is Dr . Maclar ,en's:
''Grace wh ,at is that? The word
means, first, Jove in exerci se to, those who are be1ow the lover,
or who deserve sometl1ing else; stooping love that condescends, . and patient love that forgives . Then it means the
gifts which such love bestows ; and 'then it means the effect
of these gifts in the beauties of character and conduct develloped in the ,rec,eiver .s.''
[)r. Jowett puts the matter strikingly:
''Grace is energy.
Grace is love-energy. Grace is a redeeming love-energy ministering to the unlovely, and endowing the unlovely with its
1

so

The Fundam ,entals

own loveliness.'' Shall we hear Dr. Alexande~ Whyte her~

'ttpon? ''Grace means favor , mercy, pard ,on. Gr ,ac e and love
are essentiall ,y the same, o,nly Grace is love manifesting itself
arid operating under certain conditions, and a,dapting it,seif to
certain circumstances.
As, for instance , love ha ,s no l'imit or
Jaw such as Grace has. Love may exist between ,equals, or
i,t , ma,y rise to t'hose above 'US, or flow down to tho ise in an,y
way beneath us. But Grace, from its nature, has only one
directio ,n i,t can take. GRACE ALWAYS FLOWS DOWN.
Grace is love indeed, hut it is love to creatures , humbling itself.
A king's love to his e,quals, 0 r to his own royal house, is love;
but his love to h,is st1bjects 'is. called grace ,. And thus , it is that
God's 1o,ve to sinners is always called GRACE in t'he Scriptur 1es:. It is .1,ov,e indeed, but it is ),1
ove t 'O creatures !, ,and 't 1
0
creatures who do not deserve His Jove. And therefore all He
does for , 11s in CJ1rist, and all that j.s disclos ,ed to us of His
goo,dwill i11 the Gospel, is ca,lled Grace.''
1

DEFINABLE?

IS ''GRACE''

Delightful as these defin itions are, we are conscious that

the ha.If has not b,ee,n told. Oh I the e,xceeding ric'hes of His
gra ce. Wher ,eunto shall we liken the mercy of God, or with
,vhat comparison shall \ve compar ,e it? It defies definition,
and beggars descriptio ,n. This is ha1dly to, be wondered at,
f on it is so Divine. There are som -e things of earth to which
no human pen or brush has done j 'Ustice st orms, rainbows,
cataracts , sunsets, i,cehergs, snowflakes, dewdrops, the wings
that wanto 'n among , S'Ummer flower ,s. Becaus ,e God made the(llt
man fails to describe them ,. Who, then,,. shall te,ll forth fully
that whjch God has and is? The definition we have quoted
from Dr:. Jowett is worthy of .his gr,eat reputati .1
on, yet he
himself confesses that ''Grace'' is indefinable. Thus choicely
t1e puts
it:
''~ome
tnin
.
i
ster
of
the
C'
r
oss;
toiling
in
great
.
lon,eline,s,s,, amo ng a sca.,ttered and primitive people, and on the
very fringe of dark primeval forests, , sent me a tittle sample
1

Salvation by Grace

51

of his vast and wealthy environment. It was a bright and

gaily colored wing of a native bird. The color and life of
trackless leagues sampled within the confines of an envelope!
And when we have made a compact little phrase to enshrine
the secret of Grace, I feel that however fair and radiant it
rnay be, we have only got a wing of a native bird, and bewildering stretches of wealth are untouched and unrevealed.
No, we cannot define it."
DESIRE FOR SALVATION

It cannot be pretended that all men desire to be saved.

Would to God that it were so! A lack of the sense of sin
is still the most perilous omen of today, as Mr. Gladstone
declared it was in his time. Were he now alive, he would, we
believe, repeat those portentous words with added emphasis,
for this lack- this fatal lack---is approved and fostered oy
certain of those whose solemn endeavor it should be to prevent and condemn it. A fatal lack it assuredly is, for if , a
sense of sin . be absent, what hope is there of a longing for
salvation, of a cry for mercy, or of appreciation of a Saviour?
So long as men imagine themselves to be potential Christs,
there is little likelihood that they will be sufficiently discontent with self to look away to Jesus, or, indeed, to suppose
that they are other than rich and increased in goods and in
need of nothing. No, no; all men do not desiderate salvation,
though we sometimes think that there has come to all men at
some time or other, before the process of hardening was complete, some consci.ence of sin, some apprehension as to the
future, some longings, faint and fitful it may be, to be right
with God, and assured of heaven. There is, moreover, a
tnuch larger number than we suppose of really , anxious souls.
Deep desire is often hidden under a cloak of unconcern, and
there is sometimes a br,eaking heart under a , brazen . breast.
In addition to, and partly' in consequence of, this lao'k of a
sense of sin, there is much misconception as to the nature of

.,.

The Fundanie,itals
salvation, and tl1e way to secure it. It is even possible to entertain some true conception of sin, and of salvation ., without
c.omprel1ending, or, at all events, with .out su.bmitt .ing to Go,d's
method of salvatio n. One may r eali.ze that to be sav,ed f r,om
sin is to o,vercome its po wer a.s w ell as to es.c.ape its penalty,
and yet suppo ,se that this is not impossible to f alien men by
way of profound penitence, radic al ref ormation, and precis1
piety.
.

Rl GHTEOUSNE .SS IS ESSENTIAL

1

One thing is eviden t rig.hteo11sness. i,s essential.

B ut
what must be. the : nature and quality of that righteousne ,ss~
and how and w h ence is it to be obtained ? Shall it be homer11ade, or shall it be of God and fr om above? Shall I go
about t,o est.ablish my own, or shall I subj1ect myself to God's?
Shall salvation be of wor.ks,, or by f'aith? Is Christ to be a
Substitttte fo r the sinner, or will tl1e sinner be a s,t1bstitute
for the Savi our?
Shall the altar sme,11 of ,sacrific.e, Go,dappointed ,and God-pr ovided ., 0 r will we prefer to d eck it. with
flowers that with er an d with fruits that sl1rivel, howsoever fair
t 'hey seem at first? Is personal goodness, or s God' 's gr ace,
as revealed in Jesus Christ, to bring us to the world where all
is well ? The one is a ladder that we ourselves set up,, and
pa .infully ascend; the. othe~ is an elev.a,tor which . God provides,
into which, ind .eed, we pass by penit .ential . faith, but with which
the liftin .g po wer is, God's alo ne. Salvati on by work s is the
choice of the Pharisee, salvation by Grace is the hope of tfie
Publican.
.
,
1

Nor ca.n these two p,rinciples be combin .ed. They are t,~
tally distinct; nay, more, they are at variance the one with
th e other. A blend of the two is impo,ssible. ''If ,it is by
1

grace, it is no more ,of works ; other wise grace is no more

grace.'' One cannot merit me,rcy. Thi ,s field must not be

SJ

Salvation by, Grace

1

sown with mingl ,ed s,eed. The ox of mercy, and th e, ass of

.tnerit n1us't not be yoked tog ether; indeed, they cannot be;
tl1ey are t 00 unequal.
No linsey -w oolsey 'garment can 'We
weave of works and grace. As Hart quaintly puts it:
1

''Everything
we do we
Cho ,se11 Jew ,s
Must not use

.
sin

,,

in,

S0 the choice must be n1ade between these two wa,ys to

heaven. The great ques ,tion still is, ''How can m.an be just .
wit.h God?'' and it app ear .s that he tnust either him.self be essentially and perfectly ho,Iy, ,or he must, by some means, acquire a justnes .s which will bear the scrutiny of Omnis ,cience,
and p ass muster in th ,e High Court of Heaven .
1

W H AT SAYS THE BOOK?

What , has the Word of God to say about this all-important matter? It declares most plainly that all hav e sinned, that
sin is exceedi ng sinful, that retribution follows iniq~ity as 'the
cart-wheel follows the footprints . of the ox that draws it, tltat
none can ma ke his hands clean or r,enew his own heart. It
tells us also that God, in His infinite mercy, has devised a
way of s,alvation, and that none b~t Jesus can do helpless sin. ners good. Behold the bleeding victims , and th.e smoking aita .rs
lof the ol 1d 1dispensati 1on ! Th 1ey ,speak of sin thiat neede 1d to
be put. away, and they fo reshadowe :d a sacrifice of nobler n,ame
and richer blood than the,y, th e only Sacrifice whicl1 can mak e
the comers th,ereunto perfe ,ct. Hea rk,en to, David as he cries: ,
''Enter n,ot into ju ,dgm ent with Thy servant, for in 'Thy sight
shall no flesh living be ju stified.''

The
prophets
te11
t'
h
e
sel
f
same
ta1e.
''By
the
knowledge
of Him shall My righteous Servant justify many, for He shall
bear their iniquities'' (Isa. 53.:11 ). Then there is that wonderful word . whic'h broke the fetters that were on Luther's
1

54

The Fundamentals
I

soul as he climbed the h.oly Staircase on. his knees: ''"fl1e jiust
shall live by faith.''
The Apostles bear similar witness. Peter tells of Jesus
of N aza .reth, and declares, ''In none other is there salvat :i.on;
or neither is ther e any other name under heaven, tha t is given
among men, wherein we mu st be saved'' (Acts 4 :12, R. v.).
Paul is in sistent on justification b.Y faith alone. ''By the
d.eeds of the law th .ere s,ha ll no flesh be ,justi .fied in His sight ''
(Rom. 3 :20),. ''By gra ce ye are saved through faith; and that
not of yourselves; it is the ,gift of God; not of workst lest a ny
man should boast'' (Eph. 2 :8 and 9). ''Not by works of
righteou sn-es,s which we have do11.e, but according to His mercy
H 'e, sav ,ed us, b y the washing of r egeneration, and renewing ol
thf! Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundant ty throug r1
Jesus Chris ,t our Saviour; that being justified by His grace,
'We sh ould be ma de h eirs according t 0 the ho pe of eternal
tife'' (Ti ,tus 3:5; , 6, 7). (See .also Gal . .3:11, Ph .ii. 3:8 and

9, Acts 13 :39, a11d2 Tim. 1 :9.)

NO THOROUGHF 'ARE

What nee,d have we 0 . further w:itness,? It is evjden ,t tha t

1

the way of Works is closed .. Athwart the narrow track have

fallen the Tree of Life and the broken t.ables of the Law,
and God ha s affixed a n,otice there , large and legible , so, that
he who reads may ru.n into a better path N 0 TH 0R 0U
FARE! It is given ''.By Order,'' and the King's red seal is
011 it.; there ore doth it stand fast for ever.
Levitical instructions, Davidi ,c confessions, Prophetic and Apostolic declara ,tions are . all the vo,ice o,f the Lo rd the voice that breaketh
the cedars of Leban ,on and strippeth the forests bare declar~
ing that salvation is by G1"acealone .
1

i -- -

'

THE
I

'VERDICT OF HISTORY
,

1.

. .

The history of man is the history of sin. lt is. one long,

lurid record of fall and failure. Adam had the. best opportun-

55

Sal'vation by Grace

it)" of all. The law was fragmentary a11d rud imental then.
Tl1ere was but one command a solitary test. B.ut it was one
t.oo, ma:n,y for ou.r first par ,ents~ Later, the fl1
ood-sw 1ep,t world
was soon defiled again. Lat -er still, there came a law to
Israel, holy an d ju.st and good. Did t]1ey obey? Let the
carcasses tl1at strew tl1e wilderness bear witness. Is ther ,e a
~lerfect life in all Tin1e's annals? Th ,e Pharisees were p1r~
e111inentas professional religionists, y,et Jesus said, ' 'Except
Your righteo ,u snes,s shall exceed the righteousnes s of the scribes
and Ph .a.r.i.se,es, ye shall in no wis,e enter int ,o the king dom of
heaven." They, as it were, traveled in an express train, and,
of course, fi.rst -class, but i.t was t,/ie iuron,g ,train! Saul of
Tarsus was a Pharisee of the Pharise es, and he was n 0 hypocrite, mind YOU, bu.t he, too, was on the wron .g track, till he
changed trains at Dam ,asctts Jt111ction. Ther ,e, he re1in.quished
a)] con .fidence in tl1e flesh, and thenceforth exclaimed: ''What
things wer e gain to, me, these have I ,count.ed loss for Christ~
Yea, verily, and I count all things to be loss for the excellency ,of the knowledge o,f Chri st _Jesus. my Lord, for whom
I suffered the loss of all things, a11d do coun t them but dung
that I may ,vin Christ, and be found in Him, not having mine
OWn righteousne ss which is of th e law, but that whi c'h is
througl1 faith in Christ, the righteousness which is of God by
1

fa-itl1..''

GRACE, NOT GRACES

Personal experience bears similar testimony.

Our own
g~races can never s.atisf y as does God's Gra.ce. He who is not
flar f'rom the kingdom, nevertl1eless inquir es, ''What lack I
yet r' One might as well think to lift himself by hauling at
his hoots, as, expect to win heav,en by tl1e deeds of the law.
The fact is, that fallen human nature is incapable of perfectly
keeping the perfect law of God. It isl we11 when this is un-
derstood a11d humbly lacknowledg ,ed ;, it may be the dawn of
better things, even as it was with one of whom I have heard
1

56

The Fundamentals

\vho was br ,ought to Christ by the S,pirit's application of 'the

wordst ''The heart is dec eitful above all things, and desperately
v;icl<ed.'' Who ,can b ring a clean thing o,ut of an unclean?
G,ulliver te,1,1,s of a man. who had been eight year s ,upon a
pr ocess of extractin .g suobe .ams out of cucu,mbers. . The ,sunbea1ns w,ere to be put in phials hermetically s ealed, and let out
to warm the air in inclement we~ther. This was folly ind eed,
but it is ,even more ridiculous to think ,of extracting 1i,gl1teousf!1es.s fr om .a depraved l1e,a rt. ''They that are in the flesh can 11ot please God.'' That ,vas good advice given to a seeker:
''You'll never know p,eace till you give up looking at self, and
let all .Your grace:s go for notl1ing." The blac.k devil of un-
righteou :sn.ess. :has slain i'tS tl10,usa nds, but the wl1i.te ,devil 0
self-rigl1teousness hatl1 slain its tens of thousands.
Salvation
is by Grace, not by graces. Sound aloud this truth, .for it is
glao ti dings , f or all save Pharisees
,
.
Tl1ey,
indeed,,
prefer
an.
Other Gos.pe1, whi,ch is not another, an,d ,a mode1~11
One wl1icl1
is as old as Cain's offe ring. Their watchword is, ''Believe in
yours ,elf," but for those who have seen themselves as God sees
th ,em, for such as can . b1
y no means lift up thems 1elves, who ar e
shlut up ut1,der s.in, an.d Cot1dem11e'd. al re,ady ,, oh f f or thes,e, this,
i~ summer new s, in truth. If salvation i.s by Grace, the grace~
less may be saved, prodigals may venture home, the vilest may
b1e cleans .ed. Ah ! yes, and there is a siense in which the guiltier,
the better. . Then is th.ere less fear of tl1.e intru .sion of ot .her
trust, and tl1e !glory gotten to God's Grace is greater. I do per ceive that if salvation be by works, then can none be saved.
Equa11y sure am I that if sa1vation be by Grace, none need be
l1c.1s
1t, for it is om~i.potent, a.nd .greatly re:j.oiceth . to be teste d to
the full. I read this sentenc e in la riveter's s'hop-window
. the other day: ''No article can be broken beyond repair the
more it is .smashed the better we li.ke it,''' and I said witl1in
myself:
''Thus it i.s with th.e Grace of God, and long as I
lie I wi11tell poor sinners so ..''
1

'

'

Salva ltion by Grace

57

As for the prQud Pharisee, ''God grant h.im grace to groan.'~

WHAT

SAITH

THE

CROSS?

'

'
Grace and atonement go hand in hand r Dr. Adolph Saphir ,
has well said: ''The world does not know what grace is. Grace
is not pity; grace is not indulgence nor leniency; grace is not
long-suffering. Grace is as infinite an attribute of ' God as is
.Eis power, and as is His wis.dom. Grace manifests itself in
righteoustless, Grace has a righteousness which is based upon
atone .ment or substitution, land through the whole Scriptre
there run the golden thread of grace and tl1e scarlet thread of
ato neme11t,.wl1icl1 t ogether reveal to us, for man, a rig hteousness that comes dow11 from heaven.''
The fact that Christ
has died, a Sacrifice for sin, surely settles the question as to
whether salvation is or is not b,y Grace. ''If righteousness is
througl1 the law, then Christ died for nought."
Yon great
Sacrifice were worse than waste, if man can save himself.
They who think to be saved through works of the flesh make
voi d the gr ace of God. The unspe ,akable gift had never been
donated ; the substitutionary sacrifice had never been o:ffered,
had any other way been possible. Calvary says, more plainly
than anytl1ing else, ''Salvation is of the Lord.'' Away, ye
tnerit-mongers from the Cross, where ''the sword of Justice
i..:scabbarded in the jeweled sheath of Grace.'' Penances, and
pieties, 3ind p,erf ormances are less than vanity in view of the
''unknown sufferings'' of the spotless Lamb of God. It is
impossible for self-righteousness to thrive on the slopes of the
hill cal.led Calvary.

... .

''Oh bring no price; God's grace is free

Te Paul, to Magdale11e, to me!'
1

'

'

ALL OF GRACE

Salvation, the~, is necess~rily a.11.of Grace. Man's . fall. is

so complete, God's justic e is so inexora ble, heaven is so holy,
1

-.

'

The Fundamental'$

S8

that nothing short of Omni potent lov,e can tift the sinner, magnify the law which he has mutilated~ ancl make him pure
enough to dwell in Lig 'ht. Tl1e thought of s,aving si,nners is
God's, born, in the secret places of His great loving ' heart.
''G race first contrived the way to s.ave r ebellio,us man.w'' The
accomplishment of the wondrous plan reveals God's Grace
tliroughollt. He sent His Son to be tl1e Saviour o.f the World.
He freely delivered Him up for us all. He acknow]edged Him
in Hi s 11u1niliation as, Hi ,s beloved Son, but fors ,ook Him on
the t.ree, 'because He was made sin f o,r us. Moreover, He
brought . again - f'rom rthe dead our Lord Jesus, that great
Shepl1erd of the s11eep,and enthroned Him at the right hand
Qf the Majesty on high. There followed the shedding forth
of the S,pir it to convict the world of sin, and of r.igh,t ,eou,sness,
_and of ju ,dgment . He re is grace at every turn.
1

, ''THROUGH

FAITI1:''

A Work of G1~ace,too, ha s been effected in each believing

'
~heart.. We are . not saved merely becaus ,e Cl1rist died. Tl1e
good news would be to us as rain upon Sah.ara, did not Grace
i11
,cli.ne to penitence and pra}rer and faith.

...J

'

'Grace ta .u gh.t my soul to pray,

And made my eyes o'e ,rfiow.''

..

Salvation by grac e is appropriated by faith : Grace is the

fountain, but faith is the channel. ,Grace is the life -line, but
faith is tlie hand tha t ,clutcl1es it. And, thoroughly and final.ly
t.o exclude all boasting, it is declared tl1at the salvation and
the faith are botl;i the gift of God. '' And t.hat not of your-selves, it is the gift of God." T'h at salvation is Go,d's gif t is
e,vident. ''Tl1e gift 0 1f God is eternal life through ,Christ~'' ' ''The free gift,'' ''The gift of grace,'' ''The gift of righteous ness'' these phrases det,errri'ine the f'act tha 't s.a]vation is itself
a Divine pre sen t t.o ma n. ''Salvation,'' cried C1' H. Spurgeon

59
jn the great co11gregation, '' is every,thing f ,or not,hing,J Christ
free ! Pa rdon free! Heaven free!'' Thanks be to , God for
a gratuitous salvation I
But is faith, also, the gift o.f God ? As,,sur,edly it is, ii enly
because it is one of the most precious faculties of the human
h eart. What have ,ve that we have not ~eceived ? But f aitb in
Christ is, in a very special sense, a Divine gift. ''Not that
something is given us which is different from abs ,olute trust
as exercised in. other ca ses , but that such trust is divinely
guided and fixed upon the right object. Gracious manifesta- .
tio .ns of the soul's need, a11d of tl1e Lord's glory , prevail upon
the will to repose tru st upon . that 1objec.t.'' To trust is natura,Jt
but to trust Christ, rather than self, Or ceremonies, is sup erit is the gift of God ,. More ,over , faith, to be worthy
natural
o f 'the name, must not he dry-ey .ed, and wh ,o can melt tb e hea rt
and turn the flint into , a fountain of water s b11t the God of al)
i)
G1race.
1

''The Grace that made me feel my sin,

1t taught me to believe;
~
Then, in b elievin g, peace I found,
And now I live, I Jive.,"
l

Nor is it to be supposed tha .t Grace has done with 11,s ~ as

soon as we have believ ed. The mighty call of Grac e that riesu lts in ou r awake ,ning , is bttt the begin~ing of good things .
Grace k,eeps us to the end . . It will no.t Jet. us g 0 .... t is the
n1orning and the evening Star of Christ ian exp,erienc~ It puts
us in the way, helps us by the ,vay, and takes us qll the way,;f
1

..

''LEST.ANY

MAN .SHOU{J)

BOAST';

..

It is diffic,ult to imagine by what ot.h,er pro ,cess salvati .on

co,uld have been secur ,ed, consistently ,vith God's honor. ~ Supi,ose, fo ,r a moment, that salvation by works were a possibJo
a]ternat .ive. Boasting, so fa:r f r,om being exeluded, ~oufti Ile
ir..vited. Man would boast in p,-ospect. How proud . hC Would

Tlie Fundamentals

60

be of hisl pur ,pose,,s and hopes. On such a task as this, he w,ould

embark with bands playing and C 0l ors flying~ Th ere would
be credit and eclat from the first. A]as ! vain ma,n; this can
Thou art building o,n the sand. This
only end disastrously.
is not of God, and ,must th ,erefo ,re come to naught. The Divine
Spirit hum b]es m,en to conviction and ,deep repentance ; H e.
never prompts to self'-righteousness and p,ride; as Hart's
simp'le, stanza bas it :
.

'''He never moves a man to say,

Thank God, 'I am so, good,'
But turns his eye another wayTo , Jesus and His bilood.''

He would bo,as t in progress.

How his meanest achieveme ,nt

would e,J,ate him? What crowing there would be over tl1e

slightest advance! TI1ere would be no need for indebtedness
to G,od,. The ne,w birth, the , cleansing bl,ood,, the conve ,rting
Spirit what call for thes ,e? The self ,-made man, they say,
v1orships 'his creator, and t'he self-rigl1teous ,man a.dores his
saviour, that is to s,ay, himse.lf., While the Pharisee is bragging of what he doe,s,, the publican mourns over wh ,at he is.
Because his l1eart smites him, he smites his heart; he cannot
look up for he has looked within, but 'be,cause he cries f or
niercy he is justified. This is as God wou]d have it, for He ~
hath S1aid: ''My glo,ry will I not . give u.nto an,other.''
He would boast w .lien perfect. If real peace an ,d lasti ,ng
joy could come to him, he w ould 'boast ane,w. ''I have made
my heart cleanj, and washed my hands in innocency," 'he w.ould
cry. The ,re would be n 0 room for God, and for His sovereign
cla ,im to th ,e wh ole, praise of 0 Ur salvati on. Ins ,tead of the
sweet ~iming ' of the bells of St~.Saviou ,r's, ''I forgave thee I
f'orgave thee I forgave thee all t'hat debt,'' we s'hould be
d,eafened with the ho~rse brass of every man's own trumpet .
blaring about the good some wi,Jl even dare to say,, the God
1
,

1n
a11
~th at ,15
II

...

,SaJvatio1i by Grace

61

I know which music I p1efer. Since first I hearkened

t.o that pardoning word, like h ells at ev ening pealing, my
soul has scor ned a]l other .strains. Ring on, ring on ., sweet
bells! .
Again ., he would boast in Paradise. Think of it! Heaven
as it is,. is. full . of perfect prais .e to God. Its every song
is in hono ,r of F .ather, , .Son, or Spirit. ''Unto Him that loved
us and w.ashed us, from ,our sins in His own blood, and hath
n1ade u.s kings and prie ,sts unto God and His Father, to Him
be gl,ory and do minio ,n for ever and ever.'' That i.s tl1e chorus
<>f tl1e skies, the sweet r,efrain of tl1e e.verl.a"sting song,.
'Worthy is, the Lamb,'' they cry, .and ,again tl1ey s,a.y, ''Ha .Jleluj ah !''
Bu t were salva ti.on. by works inst ead of by Grace , th,e songs
'"r,ould be in praise of man. Ea ,ch w,oul,d laud his f ellow or
himself, and et ernity would be: s,p ,ent in rec:ou11ting perso 11a1
,~irtt1es and victories. Oh! what a tir esome et,ernity that
would be.

Ah! it is better as it is, W'ith the Lamb in the mid st of the

throne , and tl1e har ps all tuned to Jesus' praise. There will
be no self-admiration tl1ere, and, consequently, no, co1nparisons and no rivalry, unless, indeed,
we
vie
one
with
the
other

as to who shall honor Grace the most. 'The motto of each

will be, ''He t'hat gloriet11t let hitn glory in the Lord.''
As
McC'heyne puts it, we shall be ''dressed in 'beauty not our
awn.'' T'liat is the beauty of it!
So, sa]vation is of Grace. and of Grace alone. God will
have no man boasting, and boast h e assuredly wou1d, were he
saved, even in part, , by the works of his own hands. It is
admittedI ,y a hun1bling doctrine ,.. We wonder not that it is
not popu]ar. Truth seldom is. ''Truth is unwe1come, how~ver .
Divine.,, But is it not well to be humbled? We are not dis
posed to favor any teaching whi ch be-littles God:t or magnifies ma n ,. It has been well and truly said that ''the .man who
1

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The Fundamentals

62

has been snat che d f 'r o1m helplessness and despai :r by un,merited
grace, will never forg et to carry himself as a fo:r ,given man. ''
(Rev ~ T. Phil]ips.) He ,vill not fail to look back to the rock
whence he was hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence he
v;,as digged. Gipsy Smith keeps the hedge row at the fo ,ot
0 f. his Camb rid,ge gard .en that he may enjoy u.ninterrupted
view of the Common on W'hich his, fatl1er's tent was pitched,
and whenc -e he us ed to eally forth as a young timber-merchant.
(He sold clothes -pegs, you remember.)
We love him for this.
Lifted to honor and u sef ulnes s by Grace, he gives God the
praise. Grac e Divine make s graci ,ous men. Good works and
graces are b,y no means . excluded from believ ers.' lives. They
are the produ ct of gratuitous salvation, the ev iden ce of saving
faith, the ac kn owledgment of grateful hearts. Tl1e Grace,saved si.nner W orks ou,t th,e s.alvation th.at has been wr ought
iL him. He i.s his Savio ur's willi,ng bon ,d-slave. He cannot
be c:ointent witl1 trium ,phing in Cl1ris,t's grace; he must grace
His triumph, too. It is, with him as it is with the inhabita~ts
of the city of B.ath, who record their ,appreciation of its healing waters on a tablet inscribed as follows :
1

''Thes ,e healing waters have flow ,ed onfr om tim e ,imme ,mor .ial,
Thei r virtu e animpai red, their heat undimini .shed,
1

Their volume unabated; they explain the origin,

Account for th e progress, and demand the gratitude
Q,f the City of B,ath .."

The analogy i..s nearly perfect.

Go,d' s, grac e may well b e
lik ,ened t.o flowing waters, t 0 streams hot and h,ealth-giv i,ng, to
streams th.at never cool nor fai]. Moreover, '''they account for
our origin and progress,'' that is, we owe our spiritual being
and we,]1-being to them. And as for demanding gratitude weJJ, '' 1Str eams of m er cy nev 1er ceasing cal.I for so11gsof lou1d. ''
es,t praise.

Oh, Jet us preach up Grace, even if it be not gracio ,usly ,

received. ''If the peepJe d,on't like the doctrine of Grace,''
1

Salvation b,y Grace

63

said C. H. Spur ,geon, ''give them the more of it.'' Not what
they wa~t; but what they need we must supp]y. If the age
is pleasure-loving, unbelieving, self-satisfied, the more call for
faithful testimony as to the nature of sin, God's attitude to wards 1t1 and the terms on which He offers salvation. We
must aim the more at heart , and consci ence. We m,ust seek
to ar ,ous,e and evc,n alarm the sinner, while we invite as ,vvooingly as. ever to the one Mediator. A full-orbed Gospel treats
alike of ab~unding sin, and of much more abounding Grace.
Si'urely Dr. Wat ts san ,g truly when he, pictured the ,r,an ...
somed recountin ,g their experie .nces of .G:race:

''Then all the chose ,n. s,eed

Shall m eet around , the throne,
Shall ble'.SS th e conduct 0f His grac ,e,,
. And mak ,e His glories known.''

To me it h.a.s been what the same poet calls ''a drop of

heaven," to review God's plan fo,r my salva .tion, and to try to

se:t it forth. Toward , t'he ,stou ,t ,ships that have C',a,r1ied me

acr ,0ss 't.he seas I have ever cherished a grateful fee],i:ng.l How
n1uch more do I 10ve the, good ship of Grace th ,at has born e
tne thus far on .my way 'to th e Fair Hav ,ens. An 'Unttstta1
opportunity was once of'ered me of viewing the vessel on
which I was a passenger, before the voyage was quite complete. After nearly three months in a sailing ship, we were
greeted by a: harbor tug, whose n1aster doubtless hoped for
the task of towing us into poft. There was, however, a
favorable breeze which, though light, promised to hold steady.
So the tng's . services w ere dec,Jined. Anxious t,o e,arn an honest pennyJ l1er master ranged alongsid e the clipper, and trans shipped such passengers as cared to get a view from another
deck of the good ship that had brought them some fifteen
thousand ,nii1es. Y ou may be sure that I was one of the,se. A
delightful experience it was to draw away from our floating
home, to mark her graceful lines, her towering masts, her
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T'he F undament,aJs

64

ta ,per .ing y a r,ds, her sW,elling sails th e white wave curling

at h er for e-foo ,t,, and th,e green wak ,e win ding ast ern ,. From
our new view-point items that had ,grovvn familiar were in..,
vested with fresh interest. Tl1ere was the wheel to which we
had se en six seamen lasl1ed in time ,of storm, and there the
binnacle, who se sheitet"ed compa ss had bee11 s.o constantly
studied Sri,nce the S,tart, and tl1ere the ,ch,a m
t,-110USe with its
treasur es of wisdom, and yonder the l1uge-flul{ed ,anchors, and
over al.I the netw ,ork of ropes a tangle to the uninitiated ,.
Even the smok e from the galley fire inspired respect, as we
remembered tl1e many meals that appetite ,s, sharpened by the
keen air of tl1e Sou thern S,eas, had dem olished. And yond er
1
is the port of one s own cabin I What marvelous things had
been view ed thr o ugh that narro ,w peep,hole., and what sweet
sleep had been etijoyed beneath it, ''rocked in tl1e cradle of the
. deep.'' Oh! it was a brave sight, that full-rigged ship,so long our
ocean home, which, despite contrary winds and cross-cur1ents,

and terrifying gales and t.antalizing calms, had ha'lf compassed

the globe, and had bro,ught her 11umerous, passengers and val uable freig .ht across , the trackl es,s, l,eagu,es in safety.
Do you
wonder that we cheer ,e,d the staunch ves ,,sel, a,nd her skilful
co1nman,1
de.r ., and the ,ship's com.pany again and again? I can
hear the echoes of thos ,e hurrahs today .. Do you wonder that
we ,g~ve thanks for a prosperous voyage by the will of God,
and presently stepped back from the tug-boat to the ship without question that what remained of the journey would be soon
and succeslsf ully ,a,c1complishe 1d?
.
.
Let me apply this incident. The good ship is FREE
GRACE,, an,d I have taken my readers aboard my tug-boat to
give them opportunity to view the means by which they have
already come so near ( how near we know not) to the
Haven under , the hill. . We have sailed ar ,ound abotit her ', and
told the tow ,ering ' masts tl1ereof, and m,arked W 'e!I her 1:pulwarks. We h .ave seen the breath of God fil,ling h et sails
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Salvation by Grace

65

brightened by the smile of His love. We have noted the

scarlet thread in all her rigging, and the crimson flag flying
at the fore . We have seen at the stern the wheel of God's
sovereignty by which the great ship is turned whithersoever
the Governor listeth, and on the prow the sinner's sheetanchor: "Him that cometh unto Me, I will in no wise cast
out." The chart-house is the Word, and the compass is the
Spirit, and there are well-plenished store-rooms , and spacious
saloons, and never -to- be-forgott en chambers wherein He has
given His beloved precious things in sleep, and outlooks
whence they have seen His wonders in the deep. Through
stress of storn1 and through dreary doldrums; through leagues
of entangling weed, and past many a chilling and perilous
iceberg, with varying speed and zigzag course, and changing
clime, FREE GRACE has brought us hitherto. We have, perchance, a few n1ore leagues to cover . We may even stand off
and on a while, near the harbor mouth, but , please God, we
shall have abundant entrance at the last. We have circled the
ship, and I call on every passenger to bless her in the name of
the Lord, and to shou t th e praise of Him who owns and
navigates her. All honor and blessing be unto the God of
Grace and unto the Grace of God! Ten thousand, thousand
thanks to Jesus ! And to the blessed Spirit equal praise t