Satan desires to have us and to sift us as wheat. Which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast, and which entereth into that within the veil; Sailors throw their anchors downwards; we throw ours upwards. So shall we be when he shall say unto us, "Enter ye into the joy of your Lord." Oh! diabolical crime! The world is not at play; it hath an object in its wildest movement. Possibly they fancy that creation is a paternal act, that all created things are sons. "For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand not of works, but of him that calleth; It was said unto her, The elder shall serve the younger. A mother can translate baby-talk: she comprehends incomprehensible noises. Jesus the Mediator must lose the glory which his finished work has procured for him, ere one of his co-heirs can miss of it; he must come down from that glory which he now inhabiteth, and cease to be honored as "the Lamb that was slain, and hath redeemed us unto God by his blood," if any one of his people shall be deprived of that glory, and be cast into hell. Stern was the labour, toilsome was the work; he dug on, and on, and on, through rocks of suffering, into the deepest caverns of misery; but the resurrection was the springing up of the water. Heir of God! The children look up to the firstborn. If this be his ardent love of the Godhead, what must his hatred thereof be? Death hath no more dominion over him and no more dominion over me; his deliverance is mine, his freedom mine for ever. The true son of God will never blush to acknowledge that he is in subjection to the Father of spirits. 14. Sovereign Mercy comes, and there lies this unconscious, lifeless mass of sin; Sovereign Grace cries, either by the minister, or else directly without any agency, by the Spirit of God, "come forth!" Amen. We do not like groans: our ears are much too delicate to tolerate such dreary sounds; but not so the great Father of spirits. It means, first of all, that our right to the divine heritage stands or falls with Christ's right to the same inheritance. "Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above." Is then your calling a high calling, has it lifted up your heart, and set it upon heavenly things? It shall work for thy good. If we are predestinated to be conformed to the image of his son, the Lord has predestinated us to much tribulation, and through it shall we inherit the kingdom. Are you persuaded of this love of God to you? Second, the people being described as having no katakrima are not all who believe in Christ for everlasting life, but a particular type of believer. May we have this faith on our dying bed, when the pulse is faint and feeble, and heart and flesh begin to fail! Verse 1. "If thou be the Son of God." Did you hear that groan just now? God's great love for us is supremely demonstrated in Christ Jesus our Lord, who gave Himself for us on the cross. Exactly so, therefore if we be heirs, as Christ Jesus is the heir of all things, we are "joint heirs with Christ." Is not that "coming out" necessary to sonship, and were they his sons, were they his daughters, had they any claim or right to call him Father, until they came out from the midst of a wicked world, and were separate? Now, believer, thou mayest be very poor, and very sick, and very much unknown and despised, but sit thee down and review thy calling this morning, and the consequences that flow from it. He says, "I fear not that assize, for who can condemn?" Would that he would be merciful and pass them by without an atonement! And here I am met upon the very threshhold by the opposition of certain modern theologians, who hold that sonship is not the special and peculiar privilege of believers. But, remember, Christ is coheir with you in this. but you have aforetime refused Christ. On, that you would know and feel your dependence upon the Holy Ghost that he may prompt the once crucified but now ascended Redeemer that this gift of the Spirit, this promise of the Father, is shed abroad upon men. May the Spirit of God enable you so to live, that you can bequeath your example as a legacy to the future. So you see if there be any flaw, if there be any action to set aside the will, or if there be found no effects, or if the effects be slender, the loss falleth upon the co-heirs; not on one alone, nor on the other alone, but on the two, since they are jointly designated heirs in the will, and they are only heirs as they stand in relationship with one another. It begins with the word "for." This is something more than helping us to pray, something more than encouraging us or directing us, but I venture no further, except to say that he puts such force of his own mind into our poor weak thoughts and desires and hopes, that he himself maketh intercession for us, working in us to will and to pray according to his good pleasure. Mark then, with care, that OUR CONFORMITY TO CHRIST IS THE SACRED OBJECT OF PREDESTINATION. Where are your hearts, then? Can you not do it? The apostle Paul puts this "first of all", and every true preacher of the good tidings of salvation will follow his example. I know you have an a cross, or if you have not, I hope you will soon have one, for where there is no cross there is no Christ. Let me say now, before I turn from this point, that it is possible for a man to know whether God has called him or not, and he may know it too beyond a doubt. Ah! Say it, Christians, say it this morning; say it by your prayer, your deeds, your constant energy, say it by your benefactions, demand the earth for Christ, demand it for yourselves, for ye are "joint heirs with Christ." The prophet cried, "My bowels, my bowels, I am pained at my very heart: my heart maketh a noise in me." Now, what is not right towards man is not right towards God. What a heritage lies before us! Let me suppose an impossible case for a moment. II. Man! Who is he that condemneth." They are well put together by that master of eloquence, Paul, and they were moreover, dictated by the Holy Spirit, who telleth man how to speak aright. Here is a test for us all. It is proven to a demonstration in our own lives; it is a fact which runs like a golden clue through all the labyrinth of our history "All things work together for good to them that love God." I do not know a more beautiful sight to be seen on earth than a man who has served his Lord many years, and who, having grown grey in service, feels that, in the order of nature, he must soon be called home. The Spirit of God has come unto us so that our "bodies are the temples of the Holy Ghost." We always want to be putting in some little scrap of our own virtue; we want to be doing something. They love God as their future Inheritance, they believe that when days and years are past they shall enter into the bosom of God; and their highest joy and delight is the full conviction and belief, that one day they shall dwell for ever near his throne, be hidden in the brightness of his glory, and enjoy his everlasting favor. Death has not abated a single note of their song; nay, more, I have known some of them who are like the fabled swan which is said never to sing till it dies. At this present time, the groaning and travailing which are general throughout creation, are deeply felt among the sons of men. Christ will not belie himself. Brutus slays his sons; but some Christians would spare their sins. The Holy Spirit has a wonderful power over renewed hearts, as much power as the skillful minstrel hath over the strings among which he lays his accustomed hand. And I think I may stand firmly while I argue here, that if a Roman, a worshipper of Jupiter or Saturn, became great or glorious, a Son of God ought to be nobler far. saith he, "I do not call gold good, but I call faith good! They can't get away this time!" General Douglas McArthur "My words are Spirit and Life, and not to be weighed by the understanding of man. It is not the Spirit that groans, but we that groan; but as I have shown you, the Spirit excited the emotion which causes us to groan. Such guidance will the Spirit give to each of you if you will ask him to illuminate you. The excellency of the power is in the doctrine, and not in my preaching. In this discourse I am only going to handle the topic of Paul's persuasion. May God the Holy Spirit lead you to trust in "Christ that died"! He says, "Yes, I am happy and grateful. 5:1-11 Suffering with assurance of future glory 5:12-21 The basis for assurance in the work of Christ 6:1-23 Slavery to sin 7:1-25 The weakness of law Consider how much you owe to his forgiving grace, that after ten thousand affronts he loves you as infinitely as ever; and after a myriad of sins, his Spirit still resides within you. Thine omnipotence is ours, O God, to be our defense. Lo! *See Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit, No. Oh! "Oh," say some, "it may be true that we are at times opposed to God, but surely we are not always so." The thoughts are too great to need to be spun out, or you can do that in your private meditations. They seek in vain; for there is no Saviour to be found, except at Calvary; and after you have made the circuit of the globe, and compassed heaven and hell to find another way of salvation, you will have to come back to Christ. It is as when a man doth marry. We know not what we should pray for as we ought, and then it is that we groan, or utter some other inarticulate sound. There are different senses to the word "good." Romans 8:28 . Last of all, I have another practical point. Nor is this all, for the spirit of God is not sent merely to guide and help our devotion, but he himself "maketh intercession for us" according to the will of God. Shall an eye of Christ be put out in darkness?" Many have gone round the world to look for a saviour other than the Lord Jesus Christ, and they have only come to him when all others have failed them. He goes on to say, "Heirs of God;" for if they are heirs they inherit their Father's property. Prayers which are the offspring of great desires, sublime aspirations, and elevated designs are surely the work of the Holy Spirit, and their power within a man is frequently so great that he cannot find expression for them. The desires which the Spirit prompts may be too spiritual for such babes in grace as we are actually to describe or to express, and yet the Spirit writes the desire on the renewed mind, and the Father sees it. "It is Christ that died." Gentlemen, the apostle Paul was well aware of your objections; and therefore mark how confidently he asserts the doctrine. Taking away this corner-stone, this fancy theory tumbles to the ground, and that theory which seemed to be as tall as Babel, and threatened to make as much confusion, may right soon be demolished, if you will batter it with the Word of God. A great gulf had opened in the Forum, perhaps caused by an earthquake, and the auspices had said that the chasm could never be filled up, except the most precious thing in Rome could be cast into it. Now, conscience, answer another question! Yet more, I fancy that. IN VIEWING THE ESTATES we must remark that to our present apprehension they are divided into two parts, the first part of the inheritance is one which flesh and blood would fain do without it is the inheritance of suffering. All the troubles of a Christian do but wash him nearer heaven; the rough winds do but hurry his passage across the straits of this life to the port of eternal peace. Ye would, I am sure, at once confess, did ye know what the race is, that the indictment is proven, and that the world must unreservedly and truthfully exclaim, "guilty. Some men groan because of their great losses or sufferings; well, this may be nothing but a rebellious smarting under the rod, and if so, no blessing will come of it. There is a double precedent to strengthen our confidence that he must prevail. Paul points us to the cross in two ways. You were saying of such-and-such an ungodly person, "Everything seems to go well with him, but as for me, all the day long am I plagued, and chastened every morning." "Brethren, ye have been called into liberty." Upon looking carefully at my Bible again I do not perceive such a statement. And I see him look downwards; there lies the old dragon, bound in chains, the accuser of the brethren; and the apostle stares him in the face, and says, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" He was ill-treated, abused, and slandered, and went away to retirement. I beseech thee, "Agree with thy creditor quickly, whilst thou art in the way with him; lest he deliver thee to the judge, and the judge deliver thee to the officer to cast thee into prison: verily I say unto thee, thou shall not come out till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." We are to work with God in the matter of our becoming like to Christ. We are to groan after perfection, but we are to wait patiently for it, knowing that what the Lord appoints is best. Is not the wretch smitten dead? A carnal man draws the inference that if God has ordained an event we need not pray about it, but faith obediently draws the inference that the God who secretly ordained to give the blessing has openly commanded that we should pray for it, and therefore faith obediently prays. Many of you will not feel the force of Christian reasons, let me remind you, that even you are obliged to the laboring poor. The pinch of faith always lies in the present tense. It is a pleasant and precious thing so to wait and so to hope. Spirit-taught prayers are offered as they ought to be. The fact is, brethren, that the relationship of a son of God belongs only to those who are "predestinated unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ, according to the good pleasure of the Father's will:" Ephesians 1:5 . I have called it, "A Carillon of Bells," because its one aim and object is to summon the Lord's people to bless and praise His Holy Name; and every note, from the highest to the lowest, is meant to peal forth the melody of "free grace and dying love." One of two joint heirs has no right apart from the other. I do really think I should be impatient to speak for myself. Sometimes a bow of steel is not broken by our hands, for we cannot even bend it; and then the Holy Ghost puts his mighty hand over ours, and covers our weakness so that we draw; and lo, what splendid drawing of the bow it is them! III. We hear of tornadoes, of earthquakes, of tempests, of volcanoes, of avalanches, and of the sea which devoureth its thousands: there is sorrow on the sea, and there is misery on the land; and into the highest palaces as well as the poorest cottages, death, the insatiable, is shooting his arrows, while his quiver is still full to bursting with future woes. Are you persuaded that it is so with you, dear friends? Curtius puts on his helmet, and his armour, mounts his horse and leaps into the cleft, which is said to have filled at once, because courage, valour, and patriotism, were the best things in Rome. Has it lifted up your tastes, so that they are no longer grovelling, but you choose the things that are of God? Though we cannot pay all, we can at least acknowledge the debt. 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