The Golden Key to Open Hidden Treasures
By Thomas Brooks, 1675
The third question, or case is this, namely—Whether in
the day of general judgment, or in the particular judgment that will pass
upon every soul immediately after death, which is the stating of the soul in
an eternal estate or condition, either of happiness or misery;
whether the sins of the saints, the follies and
vanities of believers, the infirmities and enormities of sincere Christians
shall be brought into the judgment of discussion and discovery, or not?
Whether the Lord will either in the great day of account, or in a
man's particular day of account or judgment, publicly manifest, proclaim,
and make mention of the sins of his people, or not? This question is
bottomed upon these ten scriptures, [Eccles. 11:9, and 12:14; Mat. 12:36,
and 18:23; Luke 16:2; Romans 14:10, 12; 2 Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27, and 13:17; 1
Peter 4:5.] which I desire the Christian reader to consult; and upon the sad
and daily complaints of many dear sincere Christians, who frequently cry
out, "Oh, we can never answer for one evil thought of ten thousand, nor we
can ever answer for one idle word of twenty thousand; nor we can ever answer
for one evil action of a hundred thousand! How then shall we stand in
judgment? how shall we look the judge in the face? how shall we be ever able
to answer for all our omissions, and for all our commissions; for all our
sins of ignorance, and sins against light and knowledge; for all our sins
against the law, and for all our sins against the gospel, and for all our
sins against sovereign grace, and for all our sins against the remedy,
against the Lord Jesus, and for all the sins of our infancy, of our youth,
and of old age? Job 9:3; Psalm 19:12, and 143:2; Ezra 9:6, etc.
What account shall we be able to give up, when we come to
our particular day of judgment, immediately after our death, or in the great
and general day of account, when angels, devils, and men shall stand before
the Lord Jesus, Heb. 9:27, whom God the Father has ordained to be the judge
of the living and dead, Acts 17:31?"
Now to this great question I answer, that the sins of the
saints, the infirmities and enormities of believers, shall never be brought
into the judgment of discussion and discovery; they shall never be objected
against them, either in their particular day of judgment, or in the great
day of their account. Now this truth I shall make good by an induction of
particulars; thus,
[1.]
First, Our Lord Jesus Christ, in his
judicial proceedings in the last day, which is set down clearly and largely
in Mat. 25:34-42, does only enumerate the good works they have done—but
takes not the least notice of the spots and blemishes, of the infirmities or
enormities, of the weaknesses or wickednesses, of his people. God has sealed
up the sins of his people, never more to be remembered or looked upon, Deut.
32:4-6; Dan. 9:24. In the great day the book of God's remembrance shall be
opened and publicly read, that all the good things that the saints have done
for God, for Christ, for saints, for their own souls, for sinners; and that
all the great things that they have suffered for Christ's sake, and the
gospel's sake, will be mentioned to their everlasting praise, to their
eternal honor. And though the choicest and chief saints on earth have—
1. Sin dwelling in them;
2. Sin operating and working in them;
3. Sin vexing and molesting of them, being as so many
goads in their sides and thorns in their eyes;
4. Sin captivating and prevailing over them, Romans
7:23-24; Gal. 5:17—yet in that large recital which shall then be read of the
saints' lives, Mat. 25, there is not the least mention made either of sins
of omission or commission; nor the least mention made either of great sins
or of small sins; nor the least mention made either of sins before
conversion or after conversion.
Here in this world the best of saints have had their
"buts", their spots, their blots, their specks—as the fairest day has its
clouds, the finest linen its spots, and the richest jewels their specks. But
in the judicial process of this last and universal assize, there is not
found in all the books that shall then be opened, so much as one unpleasant
"but" to blemish the fair characters of the saints. Surely he who sees no
iniquity in Jacob, nor perverseness in Israel, Num. 23:21, to impute it to
them while they live, he will never charge iniquity or perverseness upon
them in the great day, Rev. 20:12; Dan. 7:10. Surely he who has fully
satisfied his Father's justice for his people's sins, and who has by his own
blood balanced and made up all reckonings and accounts between God and their
souls—he will never charge upon them their faults and follies in the great
day. Surely he who has spoken so much for his saints while he was on earth,
and who has continually interceded for them since he went to heaven, John
17; Heb. 7:25; he won't, though he has cause to blame them for many things,
speak anything against them in the great day. Surely Jesus Christ, the
saints' paymaster, who has discharged their whole debt at once, who has paid
down upon the nail, the ten thousand talents which we owed, and took in the
bond and nailed it to the cross, Heb. 10:10, 12, 14; Mat. 18:24; Col. 2:14;
leaving no back reckonings unpaid, to bring his poor children, which are the
travail of his soul, Isaiah 53:11, afterward into any danger from the hands
of divine justice; he will never mention the sins of his people, he will
never charge the sins of his people upon them in the great day. Our dear
Lord Jesus, who is the righteous judge of heaven and earth in the great day
of account, he will bring in his presentment, all fair and well, and
accordingly will make proclamation in that high court of justice, before
God, angels, devils, saints, and sinners, etc.
Christ will not charge his children with the least
unkindness, he will not charge his spouse with the least unfaithfulness in
the great day. Yes, he will represent them before God, angels, and men, as
complete in him, as all fair and spotless, as without spot or wrinkle, as
without fault before the throne of God, as holy and unblamable and
unreprovable in his sight, as immaculate as the angels themselves who kept
their first estate, Col. 2:10; Cant. 4:7; Eph. 5:27; Rev. 14:5. This honor
shall have all the saints, and thus shall Christ be glorified in his saints,
and admired in all those who believe, 1 Thes. 2:10.
The greatest part of the saints by far will have passed
their particular judgment long before the general judgment, Heb. 9:27, and
being therein acquitted and discharged from all their sins by God the Judge
of the living and dead, 2 Tim. 4:1, and admitted into heaven upon the credit
of Christ's blood, righteous satisfaction, and their free and full
justification; it cannot be imagined that Jesus Christ, in the great day,
will bring in any new charge against his children when they have been
cleared and absolved already. Certainly when once the saints are freely and
fully absolved from all their sins by a divine sentence, then their sins
shall never be remembered, they shall never be objected against them any
more; for one divine sentence cannot cross and rescind another. The Judge of
all the world had long since cast all their sins behind his back, Isaiah
38:17; and will he now set them before his face, and before the faces of all
the world? Surely not! He has long since cast all their sins into the depths
of the sea, Micah 7:19,—bottomless depths of everlasting oblivion—that they
might never be buoyed up any more! He has not only forgiven their
sins—but he has also forgotten their sins, Jer. 31:34; and will he
remember them and declare them in the great day? Surely not!
God has long since blotted out the transgressions of his
people, Isaiah 43:25. This metaphor is taken from creditors, who, when they
purpose never to exact a debt, will blot it out of their books. Now after
that a debt is struck out of a bill, bond, or book, it cannot be exacted,
the evidence cannot be pleaded. Christ having crossed the debt-book with the
red lines of his blood, Col. 2:14; if now he should call the sins of his
people to remembrance, and charge them upon them, he should cross the great
design of his cross. Upon this foundation stands the absolute impossibility
that any sin, that the least sin, yes, that the least circumstance of sin,
or the least aggravation of sin, should be so much as mentioned by the
righteous Judge of heaven and earth in the process of that judicial trial in
the great day—except it be in a way of absolution in order to the
magnifying of their pardon.
God has long since blotted out as a thick cloud the
transgressions of his people, and as a cloud their sins, Isaiah 44:22. Now
we know that the clouds which are driven away by the winds appear no more;
nor the mist which is dried by the sun appears any more; other clouds and
other mists may arise—but not those which are driven away and dried up. Thus
the sins of the saints being forgiven, they shall no more return upon them,
they shall never more be objected against them.
[2.]
Further, The Lord says, "Though your sins
be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like
crimson, they shall be as wool," Isaiah 1:18. Pardon makes such a
clear riddance of sin, that it is as if it had never been. The scarlet
sinner is as white as snow—snow newly fallen from the sky, which was never
sullied. The crimson sinner is as wool, wool which never received the least
tincture in the dye. You know scarlet and crimson are double
and deep dyes, ingrained dyes—yet if the cloth dyed therewith be as the wool
before it was dyed, and if it be as white as snow, what is become of those
dyes? Are they any more? Is not the cloth as if it had not been dyed at all?
Even so; though our sins, by reiterating them, by long lying in them, have
made deep impressions upon us—yet, by God's discharge of them—we are as if
we had never committed them.
[3.]
Again, The psalmist pronounces him
"blessed whose sin is covered," Psalm 32:1. A thing covered is not seen; so
sin forgiven is before God as not seen.
The same psalmist pronounces him "blessed to whom the
Lord imputes not sin," Psalm 32:2. Now a sin not imputed is as not
committed. The prophet Jeremiah tells us that "the iniquity of Israel shall
be sought for, and there shall be none; and the sins of Judah, and they
shall not be found," Jer. 50:20. Now is not that fully discharged which
shall never be found, never appear, never be remembered, never be mentioned?
Thus, by the many metaphors used in Scripture to set out
forgiveness of sin, pardon of sin, you plainly and evidently see that God's
discharge is free and full, and therefore he will never charge their sins
upon them in the great day, Jer. 31:34; Ezek. 18:22. But
Some may OBJECT and say that the Scripture says,
that "God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing,
whether it be good, or whether it be evil," Eccles. 12:14. How then can this
be, that the sins of the saints shall not be mentioned, nor charged upon
them in the great day?
I answer, this scripture is to be understood respective,
etc. with a just respect to the two great parties which are to be judged,
Mat. 25:32-33. Sheep and goats, saints and sinners, sons and slaves, elect
and reprobate, holy and profane, pious and impious, faithful and unfaithful.
All the grace, the holiness, the godliness, the good of those who are godly,
shall be brought into the judgment of mercy, that it may be freely,
graciously, and nobly rewarded. And all the wickedness of the wicked shall
be brought into the judgment of condemnation, that it may be righteously and
everlastingly punished in this great day of the Lord. All sincerity
shall be discovered and rewarded; and all hypocrisy shall be
disclosed and revenged. In this great day, all the works of the saints shall
follow them into heaven; and in this great day, all the evil works of the
wicked shall hunt and pursue them into hell. In this great day—all the
hearts, thoughts, secrets, words, ways, works, and walkings of wicked men
shall be discovered and laid open before all the world—to their everlasting
shame and sorrow, to their eternal amazement and astonishment. And in this
great day the Lord will make mention, in the ears of all the world—of every
prayer that the saints have made, and of every sermon that they have heard,
and of every tear that they have shed, and of every fast that they have
kept, and of every sigh and groan that ever they have fetched, and of all
the good words that ever they have spoke, and of all the good works that
ever they have dope, and of all the great things that ever they have
suffered!
Yes, in this great day they shall reap the fruit of many
good services which themselves had forgotten! "Lord, when did we see you
hungry, and fed you; or thirsty, and gave you drink; or naked, and clothed
you; or sick or in prison, and visited you?" Mat. 25:34-41. They had done
many good works, and forgotten them—but Christ records them, remembers them,
and rewards them before all the world. In this great day, a bit of bread, a
cup of cold water shall not pass without a reward, Eccles. 11:1, 6. In this
great day, the saints shall reap a plentiful and glorious crop, as the fruit
of that good seed, that for a time has seemed to be buried and lost. In this
great day of the Lord the saints shall find that bread which long before was
cast upon the waters. But my
The second reason is taken from Christ's
vehement protestations, that they shall not come into judgment: John
5:24, "Truly, truly, I say unto you, he who hears my word, and believes on
him who sent me, has everlasting life, and shall not come into
condemnation—but has passed from death unto life." Those words, "shall
not come into condemnation," are not rightly translated. The original is,
"shall not come into judgment," not into damnation, as you
read it in all your English books. Further, it is very observable that no
evangelist uses this double asseveration but John, and he never uses it but
in matters of greatest weight and importance, and to show the earnestness of
his spirit, and to stir us up to better attention, and to put the thing
asserted out of all question and beyond all contradiction; as when we would
put a thing forever out of all question, we do it by a double
asseveration—truly, truly, it is so, etc., John 1:51, 3, 11, and 6:26, 32,
47, 53, etc.
Thirdly, Because his not bringing their sins into
judgment does most and best agree with many precious and glorious
expressions that we find scattered, as so many shining, sparkling pearls, up
and down in Scripture; as,
FIRST, With those of God's blotting out the sins of his
people: "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake,
and will not remember your sins. I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, your
transgressions, and, as a cloud, your sins," Isaiah 43:25, and 44:22.
Who is this that blots out transgressions? He who has
the keys of heaven and hell at his belt; who opens, and no man shuts; who
shuts, and no man opens; he who has the power of life and death, of
condemning and absolving, of killing and making alive. He it is, who blots
out transgressions! If an under officer should blot out an indictment, that
perhaps might do a man no good; a man might, for all that, be at last
condemned by the judge. But when the judge or king himself, shall blot out
the indictment with their own hand, then the indictment cannot return. Now
this is every believer's case and happiness.
SECONDLY, To those glorious expressions of God's not
remembering of their sins any more, Jer. 31:34; Isaiah 43:25. "And I will
not remember your sins." "For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will
remember their sin no more." So the apostle, "For I will be merciful to
their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember
no more." Heb. 8:12.
And again, the same apostle says, "This is the covenant
that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My
laws on their hearts, and I will write them on their minds, I will never
again remember their sins and their lawless acts." Hebrews 10:16-17. [That
which Cicero said flatteringly of Caesar, is truly affirmed of God, "He
forgets nothing but the wrongs which daily are done him by his people."]
The meaning is, their iniquities shall be quite
forgotten: I will never mention them more, I will never take notice of them
more, they shall never hear more of them from me. Though God has an iron
memory to remember the sins of the wicked—yet he has no memory to remember
the sins of the righteous.
Thirdly, His not bringing their sins into judgment does
most and best agree with those blessed expressions of his casting their sins
into the depth of the sea, and of his casting them behind his back. "He will
turn again, he will have compassion upon us, he will subdue our iniquities,
and you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea," Mic. 7:19.
Where sin is once pardoned, the remission stands never to be repealed.
Pardoned sin shall never more come in account against the pardoned man
before God; for so much does this speech import. If a thing were cast into a
river, it might be brought up again; or if it were cast upon the sea, it
might be discerned and taken up again—but when it is cast into the depths,
the bottom of the sea—it can never be buoyed up again. By the
metaphor in the text, the Lord would have us to know that sins pardoned
shall rise no more, they shall never be seen more, they shall never come on
the account more. He will so drown their sins, that they shall never come up
before him the second time.
And so much that other scripture imports, "You have cast
all my sin behind your back," Isaiah 38:17. These last words are a borrowed
speech, taken from the manner of men, who are accustomed to cast behind
their backs such things as they have no mind to see, regard, or remember. A
gracious soul has always his sins before his face, "I acknowledge my
transgressions, and my sin is ever before me," Psalm 51:3, and therefore no
wonder if the Lord cast them behind his back. The father soon forgets, and
casts behind his back those faults that the child remembers, and has always
in his eyes; so does the Father of spirits.
FOURTHLY, His not bringing their sins into judgment does
best agree with that sweet and choice expression of God's pardoning the sins
of his people.
"And I will cleanse them from all their iniquity, whereby
they have sinned against me; and I will pardon all their iniquities, whereby
they have sinned, and whereby they have transgressed against me," Jer. 33:8.
Just so, in Micah, "Who is a God like unto you, who pardons iniquity, and
passes by the transgressions of the remnant of his heritage?"—as though he
would not see it—but wink at it—"he retains not his anger forever, because
he delights in mercy," Mic. 7:18. The Hebrew word that is here rendered
pardons, signifies a taking away. When God pardons sin, he takes it sheer
away; that if it should be sought for—yet it could not be found, as the
prophet speaks, Jer. 50:20, "In those days, and in that time, says the Lord,
the iniquity of Israel shall be sought for, and there shall be none; and the
sins of Judah, and they shall not be found, for I will pardon them whom I
reserve;" and these words, "and passes by," in the afore-cited Micah 7:18,
according to the Hebrew is, "and passes over," "God passes over the
transgression of his heritage," that is, he takes no notice of it; as a man
in a deep muse, or as one who has haste of business, sees not things before
him, his mind being busied about other matters, he neglects all to mind his
business.
As David, when he saw in Mephibosheth the feature of his
friend Jonathan, took no notice of his lameness, or any other defect or
deformity; so God, beholding in his people the glorious image of his Son,
winks at all their faults and deformities, Isaiah 40:1-2, which made Luther
say, "Do with me what you will, since you have pardoned my sin; and what is
it to pardon sin—but not to mention sin?"
FIFTHLY, His not bringing their sins into the judgment of
discussion and discovery does best agree to those expressions of forgiving
and covering, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is
covered," Psalm 32:1. In the original, it is in the plural, "O, the
blessednesses"; so here is a plurality of blessings, a chain of pearls.
The like expression you have in the 85th Psalm and the
2nd verse, "You have forgiven the iniquity of your people, you have covered
all their sin. Selah." For the understanding of these scriptures aright,
take notice that to cover is a metaphorical expression. Covering is such an
action which is opposed to disclosure; to be covered, it is to be so hidden
and closed as not to appear. Some make the metaphor from filthy loathsome
objects which are covered from our eyes as dead carcasses are buried under
the ground; some from garments, which are put upon us to cover our
nakedness; others from the Egyptians who were drowned in the Red Sea, and so
covered with water; others from a great gulf in the earth, that is filled up
and covered with earth injected into it; and others make it, in the last
place, an allusive expression to the mercy-seat, over which was a covering.
Now all these metaphors in the general tend to show this,
that the Lord will not look, he will not see, he will not take notice of the
sins he has pardoned, to call them any more to a judicial account.
As when a prince reads over many treasons and rebellions,
and meets with such and such which he has pardoned, he reads on, he passes
by, he takes no notice of them, the pardoned person shall never more hear of
them, he will never more call him to account for those sins; so here, etc.
When Caesar was painted, the artists drew his finger upon his scar, his
wart. God puts his fingers upon all his people's scars and warts, upon all
their weaknesses and infirmities, that nothing can be seen but what is fair
and lovely: "You are all fair, my love, and there is no spot in you,"
Cant. 4:7.
SIXTHLY, It best agrees to that expression of not
imputing of sin. "Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputes not iniquity,
and in whose spirit there is no deceit," Psalm 32:2. Just so, the apostle
reiterates in Romans 4:6-8. Now not to impute iniquity, is not to charge
iniquity, not to set iniquity upon his score, who is blessed and pardoned,
etc.
SEVENTHLY, and lastly, It best agrees with that
expression that you have in the 103d Psalm and the 11th and 12th verses,
"For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy towards
those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he
removed our transgressions from us." What a vast distance is there between
the east and west! of all visible latitudes, this is the greatest; and thus
much for the third argument. The
[4.]
The fourth argument which prevails with
me to judge that Jesus Christ will not bring the sins of the saints into the
judgment of discussion and discovery in the great day is, because it seems
unsuitable to three considerable things for Jesus Christ to proclaim the
infirmities and miscarriages of his people to all the world.
FIRST, It seems to be unsuitable to the glory and
solemnity of that day, which to the saints will be a day of refreshing, a
day of restitution, a day of redemption, a day of coronation—as has been
already proved. Now how suitable to this great day of solemnity the
proclamation of the saints' sins will be, I leave the reader to judge.
SECONDLY, It seems unsuitable to all those near and dear
relations that Jesus Christ stands in, towards his people. He stands in the
relation of a Father, a Brother, a Head, a Husband, a Friend, an Advocate.
[Isaiah 9:6; Heb. 2:11-12; Eph. 1:21-22; Rev. 19:7; John 15:1; 2:1-2.] Now,
are not all these by the law of relation, bound rather to hide, and keep
secret—at least from the world—the weaknesses, and infirmities of their near
and dear relations; and is not Christ, is not Christ much more, by how much
he is more a Father, a Brother, a Head, a Husband, etc., in a spiritual way,
than any others can be in a natural way? etc.
THIRDLY, It seems very unsuitable to what the Lord Jesus
requires of his people, in this world. The Lord requires that his people
should cast a mantle of love, of wisdom, of silence, and secrecy over one
another's weaknesses and infirmities, etc.
Hatred stirs up strife—but love covers all sins—love's
mantle is very large. Love will find a hand, a plaster to clap upon every
sore, Proverbs 10:12, and 1 Pet. 4:8. Flavius Vespasianus, the emperor, was
very ready to conceal his friends' vices, and as ready to reveal their
virtues. Just so, is divine love in the hearts of the saints, "If your
brother offends you, go and tell him his fault between him and you alone; if
he shall hear you, you have gained your brother," Mat. 18:15. As the
pills of reproof are to be gilded and sugared over with much gentleness
and softness, so they are to be given in secret. Tell him between him and
you alone. Tale-bearers and tale-hearers are alike abominable. Heaven is too
hot, and too holy a place for them, Psalm 15:3. Now will Jesus Christ have
us behave thus towards offending Christians, and will he himself act
otherwise? Nay, is it an evil in us to lay open the weaknesses and
infirmities of the saints to the world? and will it be an excellency, a
glory, a virtue in Christ, to do it in the great day? etc.
[5.]
A fifth argument is this, It is the glory
of a man to pass over a transgression. "A man's wisdom gives him patience;
it is to his glory to overlook an offense," Proverbs 19:11. Or to pass by
it, as we do by people or things we know not, or would take no notice of.
Now, is it the glory of a man to overlook an offense—and will it not
much more be the glory of Christ, silently to to overlook an offenses
of his people in that great day? The greater the treasons and rebellions
are, that a prince passes over, and takes no notice of—the more is his honor
and glory; and so doubtless it will be Christ's in that great day, to pass
over all the treasons and rebellions of his people, to take no notice of
them, to forget them as well as to forgive them.
The heathens have long since observed, that in nothing
man came nearer to the glory and perfection of God himself, than in goodness
and mercifulness. Surely, if it is such an honor to man, "to overlook an
offense," it cannot be a dishonor to Christ, to overlook an offenses of his
people, he having already buried them in the sea of his blood. Again, says
Solomon, "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing," Proverbs 25:2. And why
it should not make for the glory of divine love, to conceal the sins of the
saints in that great day, I know not. And whether the concealing the sins of
the saints in the great day, will not make most for their joy and wicked
men's sorrows; for their comfort and wicked men's terror and torment—I will
leave you to judge, and time and experience to decide; and thus much for the
resolution of that great question.
FIRSTLY. Now, from what has been said, in answer to this
third question, a sincere Christian may form up this first plea as to these
ten scriptures, [Eccles. 11:9, and 12:14; Mat. 12:36, and 18:23; Luke 16:2;
Romans 14:10, 12; 2 Cor. 5:10; Heb. 9:27, and 13:17; 1 Pet. 4:5.] which
refer either to the general judgment, or to the particular judgment that
will pass upon every Christian immediately after death.
"O blessed God! Jesus Christ has by his own blood
balanced and made up all reckonings and accounts that were between you and
me; and you have vehemently protested, that you will not bring me into
judgment; that you will blot out my transgressions as a thick cloud, and
that you will remember my sins no more; and that you will cast them behind
your back, and hurl them into the depth of the sea; and that you will
forgive them, and cover them, and not impute them to me, etc. This is my
plea, O Lord, and by this plea I shall stand."
"Well", says the Judge of the living and the dead, "I own
this plea, I accept of this plea, I have nothing to say against this plea;
the plea is just, safe, honorable, and righteous. Enter into the joy of your
Lord!"
SECONDLY. Every sinner at his first believing and closing
with Christ, is justified in the court of glory from all his sins, both
guilt and punishment, Acts 13:39. Justification does not increase or
decrease—but all sin is pardoned at the first act of believing. All who are
justified are justified alike. There is no difference among believers, as to
their justification; one is not more justified than another, for every
justified person has a complete remission of his sins, and the same
righteousness of Christ imputed.
But in sanctification, there is difference among
believers. Everyone is not sanctified alike, for some are stronger and
higher, and others are weaker and lower in grace. As soon as any are made
believers in Christ, all the sins which they have committed in time past,
and all the sins which they are guilty of, as to the time present, they are
actually pardoned unto them in general, and in particular, 1 Cor. 12:12-14;
1 John 2:1,12-14. Now, that all the sins of a believer are pardoned at once,
and actually unto them, may be thus demonstrated.
[1.] First, All phrases in Scripture imply thus
much. Isaiah 43:25, "I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for
my own sake, and will not remember your sins." Jer. 31:34, "I will forgive
their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Jer. 33:8, "And I
will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned, and whereby they
have transgressed against me." Ezek. 18:22, "All his transgressions that he
has committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him." Heb. 8:12, "I will be
merciful unto their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities I
will remember no more;" consequently, all is pardoned at once. But,
[2.] Secondly, That remission of sins which leaves
no condemnation to the party offending, is the remission of all sins; for if
there were any sin remaining, a man is still in the state of
condemnation—but justification leaves no condemnation. Romans 8:1, "There is
no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus," and verse 33, "Who shall
lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God who justifies;" and
verse 38-39, "Nor things present, nor things to come, shall be able to
separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord;" and
John 5:24, "He who hears my word, and believes on him who sent me, has
everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation—but is passed
from death to life;" consequently, all sins are pardoned at once, or else
they were in a state of condemnation, etc. At a sinner's first conversion
his sins are truly and perfectly pardoned. Thus you see it evident that
there is no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Therefore there
is full remission of all sins, to the soul at the first act of believing.
But,
[3.] Thirdly, A believer, even when he sins, is
still united to Christ, John 15:1, 6, 17:21-23; 1 Cor. 6:17, "And he is
still clothed with the righteousness of Christ, which covers all his sins,
and discharges him from them, so that no sin can redound to him," Isaiah
61:10; Jer. 23:6; 1 Cor. 1:30; Phil. 3:9, etc. But,
[4.] Fourthly, A believer is not to fear curse or
hell at all, which yet he might do if all his sins were not pardoned at
once—but some of his new sins were for a while unpardoned, etc. But,
[5.] Fifthly, Our Lord Jesus Christ, by once
suffering, suffered for all the sins of the elect—past, present, and to
come. The infinite wrath of God the Father fell on him for all the sins of
the chosen ones, Isaiah 53:9; Heb. 12:14, and 10:9-10, 12, 14. If Christ had
suffered for ten thousand worlds, he could have suffered no more than he
did; for he suffered the whole infinite wrath of God the Father. The wrath
of God was infinite wrath, and the sufferings of Christ were infinite
sufferings. Consequently, as Adam's sin was enough to infect a thousand
worlds, so our Savior's merits are sufficient to save a thousand worlds.
Those sufferings that he suffered for sins past, are sufficient to satisfy
for sins present and to come. That all the sins of God's people, in their
absolute number, from first to last, were laid upon Christ, who in the days
of his sufferings did meritoriously purchase perfect remission of all their
sins—to be applied in future times to them, and by them, is most certain,
Isaiah 54:5, 6. But,
[6.] Sixthly, Repentance is not at all required
for our justification—where our pardon is only to be found—but only faith;
therefore pardon of sin is not suspended until we repent of our sins. But,
[7.] Seventhly, If the remission of all sins be
not at once, it is either because my faith cannot lay hold on it, or because
there are some hindrances in the way. But a man by the hand of faith, may
lay hold on all the merits of Christ, and thereby, the pardon of all. There
is no danger which attends this assertion, for it puts the highest
obligation imaginable upon the soul, as to fear and obedience: Psalm 130:3,
"If you, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?" verse 4,
"But there is forgiveness with you, that you may be feared." Forgiveness
does not make a Christian bold with sin—but fearful of sin, and careful to
obey, as Christians find in their daily experience. By this argument it
appears clear, that the forgiveness of all sins is made to the soul at once,
at the first act of believing. But,
[8.] Eighthly, If new sins were not pardoned until
you repent—then we would be left to an uncertainty, as to whether our sins
are pardoned, or when they will be pardoned; for it may be long before we
repent, as you see in David, who lay long under the guilt of murder and
adultery before he repented; and you know Solomon lay long under many high
sins before he repented, etc., and it may be more long before we do, or can
know that we do truly repent of our sins. But,
[9.] Ninthly, If all sins were not forgiven at
once, then justification is not perfect at once—but is more and more
increased and perfected as more and more sins are pardoned, which cannot
consist with the true doctrine of justification. Certainly as to the state
of justification, there is a full and perfect remission of all
sins—considered under the differences of time past, present, and to come. As
in the state of condemnation, there is not any one sin pardoned; just
so in the state of justification, there is not any one sin
unpardoned; for the state of justification is opposite to all condemnation
and curse and wrath. But,
[10.] Tenthly, All agree that as to God's eternal
decree or purpose of forgiveness, all the sins of his people are forgiven.
God did not intend to forgive some of their sins and not the rest—but a
universal and full and complete forgiveness was fixedly purposed and
resolved on by God. Forgiveness of sins is a gracious act, or work of God
for Christ's sake, discharging and absolving believing and repenting people
from the guilt and punishment of all their sins, so that God is no longer
displeased with them, nor will he ever remember them any more, nor call them
to an account for them, nor condemn them for their sins—but will look on
them, and deal with them—as if they had never sinned, never offended him!
THIRDLY, Consider, that at the very moment of a
believer's death, that all his sins are perfectly and fully forgiven. All
their sins are so fully and finally forgiven them, that at the very moment
of their souls going out from the body, there is not one sin of omission or
commission, nor any aggravation or least circumstance left standing in the
book of God's remembrance; and this is the true reason why there shall not
be the least mention made of their sins in their trial at Christ's tribunal,
because they were all pardoned fully and finally at the hour of their death.
All debts were then discharged, all scores were then crossed, so that in the
great day, when the books shall be opened and perused, there shall not one
sin be found—but all blotted out, and all reckonings made even in the blood
of Christ.
Indeed, if God should pardon some sins, and not others,
he would at the same time be a friend and an enemy, and we would be at once
both happy and miserable, which are manifest contradictions. Besides, God
does nothing in vain—but it would be in vain for God to pardon some sins but
not all, for as one leak in a ship unstopped will sink the ship, and as one
sore or one disease, not healed nor cured, will kill the body—so one sin
unpardoned will destroy the soul.
FOURTHLY, God looks not upon those as sinners, whose sins
are pardoned: Luke 7:37, "And behold a woman in the city who was a
sinner." A notorious sinner, a branded sinner. Mark, it is not said, behold
a woman who is a sinner—but "behold a woman who was a sinner;"
to note that sinners converted and pardoned are no longer reputed sinners,
"Behold a woman who was a sinner." Look, as a man, when he is
cleansed from filth, is as if he had never been defiled; so when a sinner is
pardoned, he is in God's account as if he had never sinned. Hence those
phrases in Cant. 4. 7, "You are all fair, my love, and there is no
spot in you." Col. 2:10, "And you are complete in him, who is the
head of all principality and power," as though he had said, because in
himself he has the well-head of glory and majesty, the which becomes ours;
in that he is also the head of his church: Col. 1:21, "And you who were once
alienated, and enemies in your mind, by wicked works—yet now has he
reconciled;" verse 22, "In the body of his flesh, through death, to present
you holy and unblamably, and unreprovable in his sight," that is, by his
righteousness imputed and imparted. Eph. 5:27, "that he might present it to
himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any such thing—but
that it should be holy and without blemish." The word "present" is taken
from the custom of solemnizing a marriage; first the spouse was wooed, and
then set before her husband adorned with his jewels, as Rebekah was with
Isaac's.
Rev. 14:5, "And in their mouth was found no deceit, for
they are without fault before the throne of God." They are without fault by
imputation. Hence Job is said to be a perfect man, Job 2, and David to be "a
man after God's own heart," Acts 13:22. The forgiven party is now looked
upon and received with that love and favor, as if he had never offended God,
and as if God had never been offended by him, Hosea 14:1-2, 4; Isaiah
54:7-10; Jer. 31:33-34, 36, 37; Luke 15:19-23. Here the sins of the prodigal
are pardoned, and his father receives him with such expressions of love and
familiarity as if he had never sinned against him; his father never so much
as objects any one of all his high sinnings against him.
Hence it is that you read of such sweet, kind, tender,
loving, comfortable expressions of God towards those whose sins he had
pardoned: Jer. 31:16, "Refrain your voice from weeping, and your eyes from
tears;" verse 20, "Is Ephraim my dear son, is he a pleasant child?" Mat.
9:2, "Son, be of good cheer, your sins are forgiven you." Remission of sins
is not only a removal of guilt—but an imputation of righteousness. Look, as
he who is legally acquitted of theft or murder, is no more reputed a thief
or murderer, so here, Jer. 50:20, "In those days, and in that time, says the
Lord; search will be made for Israel's guilt, but there will be none, and
for the sins of Judah, but none will be found, for I will forgive the
remnant I spare." Pardoned sin is in God's account no sin; and the pardoned
sinner in God's account is no sinner; as the pardoned debtor is no debtor.
Where God has pardoned a man, there he never looks upon that man as a
sinner—but as a just man. Pardon of sin is an utter abolition of it; in this
respect the pardoned man is as free as if he had never sinned. Therefore the
believer, the penitent person, has infinite cause of rejoicing, that God has
perfectly pardoned his sins, and that he looks upon him no more as a
sinner—but as a just and righteous person.
O sirs! what can the great God do more for your comfort
and consolation? and therefore, never entertain any hard thoughts of God, as
if he were like those men who say they forgive with all their hearts, and
yet retain their secret hate and inward malice as much as ever. But forever
live in the faith of this truth, namely—that when God pardons sin, he takes
it so fully away, as that the party acquitted is no more looked upon as a
sinner. Now upon this consideration, what a glorious plea has every sincere
Christian to make in the day of account! But,
FIFTHLY, Forgiveness of sin, takes off our obligation to
suffer eternal punishment; so that, look, as a forgiven debtor is freed from
whatever penalty his debt did render him liable to, so is the forgiven
sinner from the punishment itself. In this respect Aristotle says, "To
forgive sin is not to punish it." And Austin says, "To forgive sin is not to
inflict the punishment due unto it." And the schools say, "To remit the sin
is not to impute the punishment." When a king pardons a thief, his theft now
shall no longer make him guilty. The guilt obliging is that whereby the
sinner is actually bound to undergo the punishment due to him by the law,
and passed on him by the judge for the breach of it; this is that which by
the schools is called the extrinsic guilt of sin, to distinguish it from the
intrinsic, which is included in the unlawfulness of the act, and which is
inseparable from the sin. And if you would know wherein the nature of
forgiveness immediately and primarily consists, it is in the taking off this
obligation, and discharging the sinner from it. Hence it is that the
pardoned sinner is said not to be under the law: Romans 6:14, and not to be
under the curse; Gal. 3:13, and not to be under the sentence of
condemnation. And according to this notion, all Scripture phrases are to be
construed by which forgiveness is expressed, Romans 8:1. God, when he
forgives sin, he is said to cover them, Psalm 32:1, 85:2; Romans 4:7; "to
remember them no more," Isaiah 43:25; Jer. 31:34; Heb. 8:12; "to cast them
behind his back," Isaiah 38:17;" to throw them into the depth of the sea,"
Micah 7:19; "to blot them out as a cloud," Isaiah 44:22; and "to turn away
his face from them," Psalm 51:9. By all which expressions we are not to
think that God does not know sin, or that God does not see sin, or that God
is not displeased with sin, or that God is not displeased with believers for
their sins—but that he will not so take notice of them as to enter into
judgment with the people for them.
Just so, that the forgiven sinner is free from obligation
of the punishment, as truly, as surely, as fully, and as perfectly as if he
had never committed the sin—but were altogether innocent. In every sin there
are two things considerable: first, the offence which is done to God,
whereby he is displeased; secondly, the obligation of the man so offending
God—to eternal condemnation. Now, remission of sin does wholly lie in the
removing of these two. So that when God does will neither to punish or to be
offended with the person—then he is said to forgive. It is true there
remains paternal and medicinal chastisements after sin is forgiven—but no
offence or punishment strictly so taken. And is not this a noble plea for a
believer to make in the day of account? But,
SIXTHLY, Consider that all the sins of believers were
laid upon Christ their surety, Heb. 7:21-22. What is that? That is, he
became bound to God, he became responsible to him for all their sins, for
all that God in justice could charge upon them, and demand for satisfaction:
Isaiah 53:5-6, "Our salvation was laid upon one who is mighty;" Psalm 89:19;
Isaiah 63:1. "As Judah became a surety to Jacob for Benjamin, he engaged
himself to his father: I will be surety for him, of my hand shall you
require him; if I bring him not unto you, and set him before you, then let
me bear the blame forever," Gen. 43:9. Herein he was a type of Christ, who
is both our surety to God for the discharge of our debt and duty, and God's
surety to us for the performance of his promises. "Father," says Christ, "I
will take upon me all the sins of my people; I will be bound to answer for
them; I will sacrifice myself for them; at my hands you require satisfaction
for their sins, and a full compensation unto your justice; I will die, I
will lay down my life, I will make my soul an offering for sins; I will
become a curse, I will endure your wrath." Oh, what unspeakable comfort is
this, that there is a Christ to answer for that which we could never answer!
Christ is a surety in way of satisfaction, undertaking for the debts, the
trespasses, the sins of his elect. In this respect it is that Christ is most
properly called a surety, in regard of his taking upon him the sins of his
elect, and undertaking to answer and make satisfaction unto the justice of
God for them. Christ interposes himself between the wrath of God and his
people, undertaking to satisfy their debts, and so to reconcile them unto
God. Christ had nothing of his own to be condemned for, nothing of his own
to be acquitted from. He was condemned to pay your debt, as your surety, and
therefore you cannot be condemned too. He was acquitted from it, being paid,
as your surety, and therefore you must be acquitted too. He appeared the
first time with your sin to his condemnation, he shall appear the
second time without your sin unto your salvation, Heb. 9:28.
God the Father says to Christ, "Son, if you would have
poor sinners pardoned, you must take their debts upon yourself, you must be
their surety, and you must enter into bonds to pay every farthing of that
debt poor sinners owe; you must pay all if you will undertake for them."
Certainly these were some of those transactions that were between God the
Father and God the Son from all eternity about the pardoning of poor
sinners. If ever your sins be pardoned, Christ must take your debts upon
himself, and be your surety; 2 Cor. 5:21, "He made him to be sin for us, who
knew no sin." Christ was made sin for us—firstly, by way of imputation,
for "our sins were made to meet upon him," as that evangelical prophet has
it, Isaiah 53:6; and, secondly, by reckoning, "for he was reckoned
among malefactors," verse 12. The way of pardon is by a translation of all
our sins upon Christ, it is by charging them all upon Christ's score. That
is a great expression of Nathan to David, "The Lord has put away your sin;"
but the original runs thus, "The Lord has made your sins to pass over;" that
is, to pass over from you to his Son; he has laid them to his charge.
Now Christ has discharged all his people's debts and
bonds. There is a twofold debt which lay upon us. One was the debt of
obedience unto the law, and this Christ did pay by "fulfilling all
righteousness," Mat. 3:15. The other was the debt of punishment for
our transgressions, and this debt Christ discharged by his death on the
cross, Isaiah 53:4, 10, 12; "And by being made a curse for us, to redeem us
from the curse," Gal. 3:13. Hence it is that we are said to be "bought with
a price," 1 Cor. 6:20, and 7:23; and that Christ is called our "Ransom,"
Mat. 20:28, and 1 Tim. 2:6. The words signify a valuable price laid down for
another's ransom. The blood of Christ, the Son of God, was a valuable price,
a sufficient price; it was as much as would take off all enmities, and take
away all sin, and to satisfy divine justice-and indeed it has done so.
Therefore you read that "in his blood we have redemption, even the
forgiveness of our sins," Eph. 1:7; Col. 1:14, 20; and his death was such a
full compensation to divine justice, that the apostle makes a challenge to
all: Romans 8:33, "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect?" and
verse 34, "Who is he who condemns? it is Christ who died." As if he had
said, Christ has satisfied and discharged all. The Greek word is of special
emphasis. The force of the word properly signifies a counter-price, when one
undergoes in the room of another, that which he should have undergone in his
own person; as when one yields himself a captive for the redeeming of
another out of captivity, or gives his own life for the saving of another's.
There were such sureties among the Greeks as gave life for life, body for
body; and in this sense the apostle is to be understood, when he says that
Christ gave himself a ransom, a counter-price, paying a price for his
people.
Christ has laid down a price for all believers, they are
his "dearly bought ones," they are his "choice redeemed ones," Isaiah 51:11.
Christ gave himself a counter-price, a ransom, submitting himself to the
like punishment, which his redeemed ones would have undergone. Christ, to
deliver his elect from the curse of the law, subjected himself to that same
curse of the law under which all mankind lay. Jesus Christ was a true
surety, one who gave his life for the life of others.
The Lord Jesus became such a surety for his elect, giving
himself a ransom for them, John 6:51; Tit. 2:14; 1 Pet. 1:18; Rev. 1:5, and
5:9.
Oh, what comfort is this unto us—to have such a Jesus,
who himself bore our sins, even all our sins, left not one unsatisfied for;
and laid down a full ransom, a full price, such an expiatory sacrifice as
that now we are out of the hands of justice, and wrath, and death, and
curse, and hell—and are reconciled and made near by the blood of the
everlasting covenant! The blood of Christ, as the Scripture speaks, is "the
blood of God," Acts 20:28, so that there is not only satisfaction—but merit
in his blood. There is more in Christ's blood, than mere payment or
satisfaction. There was merit also in it, to acquire and procure and
purchase all spiritual good, and all eternal good for the people of God; not
only immunities from sin, death, wrath, curse, hell, etc.—but privileges and
dignities of sons and heirs; yes, all grace, and all love, and all peace,
and all glory—even that glorious inheritance purchased by his blood, Eph.
1:14.
Remember this once for all, that in justification our
debts are charged upon Christ, they are reckoned to his account. You know
that in sin, there is the wicked and staining quality of it, and there is
the resulting guilt of it, which is the obligation of a sinner over to the
judgment-seat of God to answer for it. Now this guilt, in which lies our
debt, this is charged upon Christ. Therefore, says the apostle, "God was in
Christ, reconciling the world to himself, not imputing their trespasses unto
them," 2 Cor. 5:19; "And has made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin,"
ver, 21. You know in law, the wife's debts are charged upon the husband; and
if the debtor is disabled, then the creditor sues the surety. The surety and
debtor, in law are reputed as one person. Now Christ is our surety, "He is
made sin for us," says the apostle; "for us"—that is, in our stead—a
surety for us, one who puts our debts on his accounts, our burden on his
shoulders. Just so, says that princely prophet Isaiah: Isaiah 53:4-5, "He
has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows." How so? "He was wounded for
our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities;" that is, he stood in
our stead, he took upon him the answering of our sins, the satisfying of our
debts, the clearing of our guilt; and therefore was it that he was so
bruised, etc.
You remember the scape-goat; upon his head all the
iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their transgressions in all
their sins were confessed and put: "And the goat did bear upon him all their
iniquities," Lev. 16:21-22. What is the meaning of this? Surely Jesus
Christ, upon whom our sins were laid, and who alone died for the ungodly,
Romans 5:6, "and bore our burdens away." Therefore the believer in the sense
of guilt, should run unto Christ, and offer up his blood unto the Father,
and say, "Lord, it is true, I owe you so much—yet, Father, forgive me;
remember that your own Son was my ransom, his blood was the price; he was my
surety, and undertook to answer for my sins! I beseech you, accept of his
atonement, for he is my surety, my redemption. You must be satisfied that
Christ has satisfied you, not for himself—what sins had he of his own?—but
for me. They were my debts which he satisfied for! Look over your book, and
you shall find it so; for you have said—He was made sin for us, and that he
was wounded for our transgressions."
Now, what a singular support, what an admirable comfort
is this, that we ourselves are not to make up our accounts and
reckonings—but that Christ has cleared all accounts and reckonings between
God and us! Therefore it is said that "in his blood we have redemption, even
the forgiveness of sins," Eph. 1:7.