Moses — An Example (3)

The world in the nineteenth century is what it always was. The hearts of men are still the same. The offence of the cross is not ceased. God’s true people are still a despised little flock. True Evangelical religion still brings with it reproach and scorn. A real servant of God will still be thought by many a weak enthusiast and a fool.

But the matter comes to this. Do you wish your soul to be saved? Then remember, you must choose whom you will serve. You cannot serve God and mammon. You cannot be on two sides at once. You cannot be a friend of Christ and a friend of the world at the same time. You must come out from the children of this world, and be separate; you must put up with much ridicule, trouble, and opposition, or you will be lost for ever. You must be willing to think and do things which the world considers foolish, and to hold opinions which are only held by a few. It will cost you something. The stream is strong, and you have to stem it. The way is narrow and steep, and it is no use saying it is not. But depend on it, there can be no saving religion without sacrifices and self-denial.

Now are you making any sacrifices? Does your religion cost you anything? I put it to your conscience in all affection and tenderness.—Are you, like Moses, preferring God to the world, or not? I beseech you not to take shelter under that dangerous word “we”: “we ought,” and “we hope,” and “we mean,” and the like. I ask you plainly, What are you doing yourself? Are you willing to give up anything which keeps you back from God? or are you clinging to the Egypt of the world, and saying to yourself, “I must have it, I must have it: I cannot tear myself away”? Is there any cross in your Christianity? Are there any sharp corners in your religion, anything that ever jars and comes in collision with the earthly-mindedness around you? or is all smooth and rounded-off, and comfortably fitted into custom and fashion? Do you know anything of the afflictions of the Gospel? Is your faith and practice ever a subject of scorn and reproach? Are you thought a fool by anyone because of your soul? Have you left Pharaoh’s daughter, and heartily joined the people of God? Are you venturing all on Christ? Search and see.

These are hard inquiries and rough questions. I cannot help it. I believe they are founded on Scripture truths. I remember it 145is written, “There went great multitudes with Jesus, and He turned, and said unto them, If any man come to Me and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea and his own life, also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be my disciple.” (Luke xiv. 25-27.) Many, I fear, would like glory, who have no wish for grace. They would fain have the wages, but not the work; the harvest, but not the labour; the reaping, but not the sowing; the reward, but not the battle. But it may not be. As Bunyan says, “the bitter must go before the sweet.” If there is no cross, there will be no crown.

(2) The second thing I say is this—nothing mil ever enable you to choose God before the world, except faith.

Nothing else will do it. Knowledge will not, feeling will not, a regular use of outward forms will not, good companions will not. All these may do something, but the fruit they produce has no power of continuance: it will not last. A religion springing from such sources will only endure so long as there is no “tribulation of persecution because of the Word”; but as soon as there is any, it will dry up. It is a clock without mainspring or weights; its face may be beautiful, you may turn its fingers round, but it will not go. A religion that is to stand must have a living foundation, and there is none other but faith.

There must be a real heartfelt belief that God’s promises are sure and to be depended on; a real belief that what God says in the Bible is all true, and that every doctrine contrary to this is false, whatever anyone may say. There must be a real belief that all God’s words are to be received, however hard and disagreeable to flesh and blood, and that His way is right and all others wrong. This there must be, or you will never come out from the world, take up the cross, follow Christ, and be saved.

You must learn to believe promises better than possessions; things unseen better than things seen; things in heaven out of sight better than things on earth before your eyes; the praise of the invisible God better than the praise of visible man. Then, and then only, you will make a choice like Moses, and prefer God to the world.

Now I ask every reader of this paper, have you got this faith? If you have, you will find it possible to refuse seeming good, and choose seeming evil.—You will think nothing of to-day’s losses, in the hope of to-morrow’s gains.—You will follow Christ in the dark, and stand by Him to the very last. If you have not, I warn you, you will never war a good warfare, and “so run as to obtain.”—You will soon be offended and turn back to the world.

Above all this there must be a real abiding faith in the Lord 146Jesus Christ. The life that you live in the flesh you must live by faith of the Son of God. There must be a settled habit of continually leaning on Jesus, looking unto Jesus, drawing out of Jesus, and using Him as the manna of your soul. You must strive to be able to say, “To me to live is Christ.” “I can do all things through Christ which strengthened me.” (Philip. i. 21; iv. 13.)

This was the faith by which the old saints obtained a good report. This was the weapon by which they overcame the world. This made them what they were.

This was the faith that made Noah go on building Ms ark, while the world looked on and mocked—and Abraham give the choice of the land to Lot, and dwell on quietly in tents—and Ruth cleave to Naomi, and turn away from her country and her gods—and Daniel continue in prayer, though he knew the lions’ den was prepared—and the three children refuse to worship idols, though the fiery furnace was before their eyes—and Moses forsake Egypt, not fearing the wrath of Pharaoh. All these acted as they did because they believed. They saw the difficulties and troubles of this course. But they saw Jesus by faith above them all, and they pressed on. Well may the Apostle Peter speak of faith as “precious faith.” (2 Peter i. 1.)

(3) The third thing I say is this—the true reason why so many are worldly and ungodly persons is that they have no faith.

We must be aware that multitudes of professing Christians would never think for a moment of doing as Moses did. It is useless to speak smooth things, and shut your eyes to the fact. That man must be blind who does not see thousands around him who are daily preferring the world to God—placing the things of time before the things of eternity, and the things of the body before the things of the soul. We may not like to admit this, and we try hard to blink the fact. But so it is.

And why do they do so? No doubt they will all give us reasons and excuses. Some will talk of the snares of the world—some of the want of time—some of the peculiar difficulties of their position—some of the cares and anxieties of life, some of the strength of temptation—some of the power of passions—some of the effects of bad companions. But what does it come to after all? There is a far shorter way to account for the state of their souls—they do not believe. One simple sentence, like Aaron’s rod, will swallow up all their excuses—they have no faith.

They do not really think what God says is true. They secretly flatter themselves with the notion, “It will surely not be fulfilled—there must surely be some other way to heaven beside that which ministers speak of—there cannot surely be so much danger of being lost.” In short, they do not put implicit confidence in the words 147that God has written and spoken, and so do not act upon them. They do not thoroughly believe hell, and so do not flee from it—nor heaven, and so do not seek it—nor the guilt of sin, and so do not turn from it—nor the holiness of God, and so do not fear Him—nor their need of Christ, and so do not trust in Him, nor love Him. They do not feel confidence in God, and so venture nothing for Him. Like the boy Passion, in Pilgrim’s Progress, they must have their good things now. They do not trust God, and so they cannot wait.

Now how is it with ourselves? Do we believe all the Bible? Let us ask ourselves that question. Depend on it, it is a much greater thing to believe all the Bible than many suppose. Happy is the man who can lay his hand on his heart and say, “I am a believer.”

We talk of infidels sometimes as if they were the rarest people in the world. And I grant that open avowed infidelity is happily not very common now. But there is a vast amount of practical infidelity around us, for all that, which is as dangerous in the end as the principles of Voltaire and Paine. There are many who Sunday after Sunday repeat the creed, and make a point of declaring their belief in all that the Apostolic and Nicene forms contain. And yet these very persons will live all the week as if Christ had never died, and as if there were no judgment, and no resurrection of the dead, and no life everlasting at all. There are many who will say, “Oh, we know it all,” when spoken to about eternal things and the value of their souls. And yet their lives show plainly they know not anything as they ought to know; and the saddest part of their state is that they think they do!

It is an awful truth, and worthy of all consideration, that knowledge not acted upon, in God’s sight, is not merely useless and unprofitable. It is much worse than that. It will add to our condemnation and increase our guilt in the judgment day. A faith that does not influence a man’s practice is not worthy of the name. There are only two classes in the Church of Christ—those who believe and those who do not. The difference between the true Christian and the mere outward professor just lies in one word—the true Christian is like Moses, “He has faith”; the mere outward professor has none. The true Christian believes, and therefore lives as he does; the mere professor does not believe, and therefore is what he is. Oh, where is our faith? Let us not be faithless, but believing.

(4) The last thing I say is this—the true secret of doing great things for God is to have great faith.

I believe that we are all apt to err on this point. We think too much, and talk too much, about graces, and gifts, and attainments, 148and do not sufficiently remember that faith is the root and mother of them all. In walking with God, a man will go just as far as he believes, and no further. His life will always be proportioned to his faith. His peace, his patience, his courage, his zeal, his works—all will be according to his faith.

You read the lives of eminent Christians, of such men as Wesley, or Whitefield, or Venn, or Martyn, of Bickersteth, or Simeon, or M’Cheyne. And you are disposed to say, “What wonderful gifts and graces these men had!” I answer, you should rather give honour to the mother-grace which God puts forward in the eleventh chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews—you should give honour to their faith. Depend on it, faith was the mainspring in the character of each and all.

I can fancy someone saying, “They were so prayerful—that made them what they were.” I answer, why did they pray much?—Simply because they had much faith. What is prayer, but faith speaking to God?

Another perhaps will say, “They were so diligent and laborious—that accounts for their success.” I answer, why were they so diligent?—Simply because they had faith. What is Christian diligence, but faith at work?

Another will tell me, “They were so bold—that rendered them so useful.” I answer, why were they so bold?—Simply because they had much faith. What is Christian boldness, but faith honestly doing its duty?