Fellowship with God, Sermon 16
SERMON XVI·
1 Joh. 1.8.
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive our selves, and the truth is not in us.
THe night is far spent, the day is at hand, Rom. 13.12. This …i…e is but as night, even to the godly: there is some light in it, some starlight, but it is mixt with much darknesse of ignorance and sin; and so it will be, till the Sun arise, and the morning of their translation to Heaven come. But though it be called night in one sense, in regard of that perfect, glorious▪ perpetual day in Heaven: yet they are called the children of light, and of the day, and are said to walk in the light, and are exhorted to walk honestly as in the day ▪ because though there be a mixture of d…knesse in them, of weaknesse in their judgment…, and impuri…y in their affections, yet they are na… ad maj…, born to greater things, and aspiring to that pe…fect day: the…e i… so much light, as to disce…n these night-monster…, their own cor…uption…, and Satans temptation…, to fight continually against them; they are about this noble wo…k, the pu…i…ying themselves from sin and da…knesse: so that they lye in the middle, between the light of Angels …nd g…ified Spirit…, that hath no darkness in it; an… the midnight of the rest of the world, who a…e b…ried in da…knesse and wickednesse, and lye intom…ed in it, a… the wo…d is, 1 Ioh. 5.19. The who…e world foreign lyeth in wickednesse, but we kn…w that we are of God: Therefore the Apostle subjoyns here very seasonably a caution, or correction of that which wa… spoken, about the walking in the light, and fellowship with God, which word… sound out some perfection, and to our self flatte…ing mind…, might possibly suggest some too high opinion of our selves. If we, even we th…t have fellowship with God, even I the Apostle, and you b…lievin… Ch…istians, if we say, we have no sin, no darknesse in us, we do but deceive our s…l…es, and deny the truth. But who will say that I have no sin? Solomon gives a challenge to all the world. Pro. 20▪9. Who can say, I have made my h…art clean, I am pure from my sin? And i…deed, the…e is no man so far a st…anger to himself, but if he in sobriety and calmnesse retire into his own heart, the very evidence of the impurity of …t, will extort this confession from him. As it useth to be said of an Atheist, he feels that Divine Majesty, within in his secret though…s and conscience, which he denyeth with his mouth, and he is often forced to tremble at the remembrance of him whom he will not confesse; so if there be any so far bewitched and inchanted into so gross and impudent a delusion, as to assert his own perfection, and vacancy from sin, and freedom from obligation to any divine command; (as this time is fruitful of such monsters) yet I dare be bold to say, that in the secret and quiet reflections on themselves, they find that which they will not confesse: Inwardly they feel what outwardly they deny, and cannot but some time or other be filled with horrour and anguish in their consciences, by that inwardly witnessing and checking principle, when God shall give it liberty to exe…ce its power over them, The end of such will be, as of professed Atheist…, they pretend the securest contempt, …nd fearlessest misregard of God, but then, when he awakes to judgement, or declares himself in some thing extraordinary, they are subject to the most panick fears and terrours, because then, there is a party armed within against them, which they had disarmed in security, and kept in chains. So, whensoever such men, of such high pretensions, and sublime professions, who love to speak no…hing but mysteries, and presume to such glo…iou… …i…cove…ies of new lights, of spiritual myste…ies, when these, I say, …ave flattered themselves … a season, in the monstruous, exorbitant conceit of their own pe…fection, and immunity from …; and, it may be, deceived some others too, when they have lived s…me time in this golden d…eam of innocency, the time will come, either when the mighty hand of God is on them here▪ or when they must enter eternity, that they shall awake, and find all their iniquities in …attel array, mustered by the Lord of hosts, in their con…cience against themselves; and then they shall be the …a…est ex…mples of fear, terrour, and unbelief, who p…etended to the greatest confidence, clea…nesse, and innocency. My beloved, let us establish this as an infallible rule, to discern the spirits by, and to know what Religion is, if it tend to glorifie G…d, and …base man, to make him more humble, as well as holy, if it give the t…ue and perfect discovery of God to man, and of man to himself, that is true Religion and undefiled. But away with these sublime speculations, these winged and airy mysteries, those pretensions to high discoveries, and new light…, i… the… do not increase that good old light of humble walking with thy God ▪ &c. if they tend to the loosing of the obligation of divine command… off thee; if they ravish man so high, that he seeth not himself any more to be a poor miserable and darkned creature. Certainly, that is no fellowship with the pure light, which is not continually the discovery and further man…festation o… more sin and darknesse in us. For, what is a mans light in the da…k night of this li…e? but the clearer …ight of that darknesse that is in man; and his holinesse, what is it? but the abhorring of himself for that. It is true, something …urther is attained then the knowing of this, but it is alwayes so far short of that original pattern, that the best way of exp…essing our conformity to it, is by how much we apprehend our distance …nd difformity from it.
But, my beloved, this is not all that is here meant, nor must we take it so grosly, as if this did only check the open professors of a sinlesse, spotlesse sanctity. Nay certainly, there is another way of saying this, then by the tongue, and many other wayes of self-deceiving, then that grosse one, many more universal and more dangerous, because lesse discernable. There is something of this, that even true believers may fall into, and there is something of it more common to the generality of professed Christians.
Among believers in Christ, there is much difference in self-judging; extream cont…arieties, both between diverse persons, and in one and the same, at diverse times. You know that some are kept in the open view of their own sins and infirmities, and while they aim at holiness, they are wholly disabled to that worthy indeavour, by their discouragements, arising from the apprehension of their own weaknesse, and infinit shortcoming. Now to elevat and strengthen such …pirits, that word was seasonably cast in, and the blood of Iesus Christ cleanseth from all sin. For i… properly belongs to the comfort of such fainting …oul…, and it is all one as if he had said, up, and be doing, and the blood of Christ shall clean…e your evil doings. He goeth not about to persw…de them to have better thoughts of themselves, or lower apprehensions of their sins, but only to have higher and more suitable thoughts of Christ, and the vertue of his blood. And thi… is the only cure, not to abate from that low esteem of our selves, but to add to the esteem▪ and grow in the lively apprehension of Christ. I would not counsel you to think your sel…e… better, but to think better of him, that all your confidence may a…ise from him.
Now there are others, and it may be, that same pe…son at another time, (for the …ind of temptation windes about, and is sometimes in one corner, sometimes in another; our adve…ary useth many stratagems, and will seem to flee before us, in yeelding us the victory over our unbelief, that he may in his flight retu…n, and throw some other dart upon us unawares;) when they have attained any …e…vency of desire…, and hight of design after holinesse, and walking with God, and thi… i… seconded with any lively indeavours, and this confirmed and st…engthned with these presences of God, a…d accesses into the soul, that fill it with some sweetnesse; then, I say, they are ready to app…ehend too highly of themselves, as if they had a…tained, and to look below upon others with some disdain, then the…e is not that p…esent discov…ry of themselves, that may intermingle humble mourning with it, but a kind of unequal measuring their attainments by their desi…es, which in all true Ch…istians are exceedingly mounted above themselves. Now indeed, this is in effect, and really to say, we have no sin. He…ein is a delusion, a self-deceiving fancy, that begets too much self-pleasing. Let us know where our stance is, infinitly below either our duty, or our desi…e, and re-mind this often, that we may not be in haza…d to be drunk with self-love, and self-deceit in this particular. Besides, are there not many Ch…istian…, that ha…ing been once illuminated, and had some serious exercises in their souls, both of sorrow for sin, and fear of wrath, and comfort by the Gospel, and being accustomed to some discharge of religious duties in private and publick, they sit down here, and hath not mind of further progresse; they think if they keep that stance they are well, and so have few designs or indeavours after more communion with God, or puri…ication from sin. Now this makes them degenerat to fo…mality, they wither and become ba…en, and are exposed by this to many temptations, which overcome them. But, my beloved, is not this really and indeed to say, we have no sin? Do not your walking, and the postu…e of your spirits import so much, as if you h…d no sin to wrestle with, no more holinesse to aspire unto, as if you had no further race to run to obtain the Crown. Do not deceive your selves, by thinking it sufficient to have so much honesty and grace, as in your opinion may put you over the black line of irregeneration, as if ye would seek no more then i… precisely necessary for salvation? Truly, if ye be so minded, you give a miserable hint, that you are not yet translated from the black side of darknesse. I do not say that all such are unconverted, but if you continue thus, without stiring up your selves to a daily conversion and r… novation, ye do too much to blot out the evidence of your conversion, and at length it may prove to some a self-destroying deceit, when they shall find themselves not past over that line that passeth betw…en Heaven and hell, which th…y were studying to find out only, that they might passe so far over it, as might keep their soul and hell asunder, without earnest desires of advancement towards Heaven in conformity to God. Now for the generality of professed Christians, though there be none hath that general confession of sin oftner and more readily in their mouths, yet, I suppose, it is easie to demonstrat that there is much of this self-de…eit in them▪ which declares that the truth is not in them. You know both God and man constructs of men by their w…yes, not by their words; and the Lord may interpret your hearts by their disposition, and raise a collection … A…heism out of all together▪ …he fool hath said in his heart, &c. Even so say I, many p…etended Christians say in their heart, We have no sin. How prove ye that? I seek nothing else to prove it, then your own ordinary clearings and excusings of your selves; ye confesse ye are sinners, and break all the Commands, yet come to particulars, and I know not one of twenty that will cordially or seriously take with almost any sin, yea, what you have granted in a general, you retract and deny it in all the particulars; which declares both that even that which you seem to know, you are altogether strangers to the real truth of it, and that you a…e over-blinded with a fond love of your selves. I know not …o what purposes your general acknowledgments are, but to …e a mask or shadow to de…eive you, to be a blind to hide you from your selves; since the most part of you, whensoever challenged of any particular sin, or inclination to it, justifie your selves; and when ever ye ar… put to a particular confession of your sins, you have all wrapt up in such a bundle of co…fusion, that you never know one sin by another. Certainly, ye deceive your selves, and the truth is not in you.
Let me add moreover another instance; Do you not so live, and walk in sin so securely, so impenitently, as if you had no sin, no fear of Gods wrath? Do not the most part contentedly and peaceably live in so much ignorance of the Gospel, as if they had no need of Christ? and so by consequence, as if they had no sin. For if you did believe in the heart, and indeed consider, that your hearts are sinks of iniquity and impurity, would you not think i… nec…ssary to apply to th… Physician? And would you not then labour to know the Physician, & the Gospel which is the report of him? Certainly, in as much as you take no pains for the knowledge of a Saviour, you declare that you know not yo…r sin; …or if ye knew the one, ye could not but search to know the other. What i… the voice of most mens walking? Doth it not proclaim this, that they think there is no sin in them? For if there be sin in you, is there not a curse upon you, and wrath before you? And if you did really see the one, would you not see the other? And did you s…e it, would it not drive you to more serious thoughts? Would it not a…right you? Would it not cause you often to retire in to your selves, and from the world? And above all, how precious would the tidings of a Saviour be, that now are common and contemptible? Would you not every day wash in that blood? Would the current of repentance dry? But, forasmuch as you are not exercised this way, give no thoughts nor time for reconcilement with God, walk without any fear of hell, and without any ea…nest and serious study of changing your waye…, and purifying your hearts; in a word, though ye confesse sin in the gene…al, yet your whole carriage of heart and wayes, declare so much, that you think it not … thing much to be feared, or that a man should busie himself about it; that a man may live in it, and be well here, and hereafter. And is not this to deny the very nature of sin, and to deceive your own souls?