The Grace of Christ, or,
Sinners Saved by Unmerited Kindness
William S. Plumer, 1853
"We believe it is through the grace of our
Lord Jesus that we are saved." Acts 15:11
JUSTIFICATION. ACCEPTANCE IN CHRIST
It is an error of some that they make our entire
justification to consist in the pardon of sin. It is not here denied that by
a well-known figure of speech, that remission, pardon and forgiveness, are
each sometimes put for the whole of justification; just as fear, love and
faith are each put for the whole of religion; and just as the cross of
Christ is spoken of to signify the whole system of truths essentially
connected with the cross. But precious as is the gift of pardon, and
certainly as it is accompanied by acceptance in the Beloved--yet it is not
itself such acceptance. Our case demands more than mere remission. Bare
pardon would save us from hell. It could give us no title to heaven. It
would bar the gates of death--but it would not open the gates of life. It
breaks off our chains and opens our prison doors, but it does not
beauteously array us, and send us forth in the garments of salvation. It
destroys the fear and takes away the pains of hell, but gives not the hope
of glory, nor secures the rewards of grace. Pardon turns the rebel loose,
but it does not authorize him to sit at the table of the king. It secures to
us remission; we need admission to the divine favor. Pardon brings us out of
Egypt. Acceptance brings us into Canaan. Pardon causes us to cease to be
heirs of hell. Acceptance makes us heirs of heaven.
It is also freely granted that forgiveness and
acceptance, remission and a title to eternal glory--are never separated,
though they are distinct and different; just as faith, hope and love are
never separated, yet no man will contend that they are the same Christian
virtues. As many as God pardons, he accepts in Christ, regenerates,
sanctifies and glorifies. A separate link of this blessed chain is never
found, yet each link is distinct. As this distinction is highly important,
and the opposition to it sometimes violent and scornful, it may be well to
give the views of those, whose names are of weight with nearly all good men.
It is strange that such hatred of the precious truth of God should ever be
indulged, but the friends of sound doctrine cannot abandon the defense of
that, which is so precious. It is their life.
Calvin says: "We simply explain justification to be an
acceptances by which God receives us into his favor, and esteems us as
righteous people; and we say it consists in the remission of sins and the
imputation of the righteousness of Christ." Owen says: "Had we not been
sinners, we would have had no need of the imputation of the righteousness of
Christ to render us righteous before God. Being so, the first end for which
it is imputed is the pardon of sin; without which we could not be righteous
by the imputation of the most perfect righteousness. These things therefore
are consistent, namely that the satisfaction of Christ should be imputed
unto us for the pardon of sin, and the obedience of Christ be imputed unto
us to render us righteous before God. And they are not only consistent, but
neither of them singly were sufficient unto our justification."
How precious such doctrine is, how faith lays hold of it
as with both hands! Hopkins says: "It is not therefore, O my soul, a mere
negative mercy that God gives you in the pardon of your sins: it is not
merely the removing of the curse and wrath, which your sins have deserved,
though that alone can never be sufficiently admired. But the same hand which
plucks you out of hell by pardoning grace and mercy, lifts you up to heaven
by what it gives you together with your pardon, even a right and title to
the glorious inheritance of saints above."
The bitterness, with which the present defenders of
orthodox views in this matter are assailed, must justify the making of an
extract from Thomas Scott: "The justification of a sinner must imply
something distinct from a total and final remission of the deserved
punishment; namely a renewed title to the reward of righteousness, as
complete and effective as he would have had if he had never sinned, but had
perfectly performed, during the term of his probation, all the demands of
the divine law. The remission of sins would indeed place him in such a
state, that no charge would lie against him; but then he would have no title
to the reward of righteousness, until he had obtained it by performing, for
the appointed time, the whole obedience required of him; for he would merely
be re-admitted to a state of probation, and his justification or
condemnation could not be decided until that were terminated. But the
justification of the pardoned sinner gives him a present title to the reward
of righteousness, independent of his future conduct, as well as without
respect to his past actions. This is evidently the scriptural idea of
justification: it is uniformly represented as immediate and complete, when
the sinner believes in the Lord Jesus Christ; and not as a contingent
advantage to be waited for until death or judgment: and the arguments, which
some learned men have adduced, to prove that justification means nothing
else than forgiveness of sins, only show that the two distinct blessings are
never separately conferred. David, for instance, says, 'Blessed is the man
to whom the Lord imputes not iniquity;' and Paul observes that in that
passage, 'David describes the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputes
righteousness without works.' This does not prove, that 'not imputing sin,'
and 'imputing righteousness' are synonymous terms: but merely, that where
God does not impute sin, he does impute righteousness' and that he confers
the title to eternal life, on all those whom he rescues from eternal death.
Indeed exemption from eternal punishment, and a right to an actual and vast
reward, are such distinct things, that one cannot but wonder they should be
so generally confounded as they are in theological discussions."
These extracts have been purposely given at length,
because they fairly and cogently argue the question, because these writers
are remarkable for sound and clear discrimination, because they were
eminently earnest and deeply experienced Christians, because above most they
were Bible theologians, and because they justly have great weight with good
and sober people in settling the opinions of the wavering. It would be easy
to swell the testimonies to this precious truth to a great number. Take the
following as the only additional witness now offered. The Confession of
Helvetia says: "To justify, in the apostle's disputation concerning
justification, does signify to remit sins, to absolve from the fault and
punishment thereof, to receive into favor, to pronounce a man just."
Still our dependence is on God's precious word for all
our doctrinal principles. There we find the remission and the reward both
stated. Jesus Christ says, "Verily 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." John 5:24. Here life and
death, everlasting life and condemnation are opposite, and justification by
faith is described, not merely as escape from death and condemnation, but as
a passage already made from death unto life. In Acts 13:38, 39 are these
words also: "Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through
this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins; and by him all who
believe are justified from all things, from which you could not be justified
by the law of Moses." So Christ sent Paul to preach to the gentiles, "that
they might receive forgiveness of sins, AND inheritance among those who are
sanctified." Acts 26:18. Here both the blessings are distinctly stated as
flowing from Christ. So in Romans 5:1-2, "Therefore being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we
have access into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the
glory of God." Surely, the second verse here is not mere tautology. By the
pardon of sin "there is no condemnation" to the believer; by his acceptance
in the Beloved, "he is made an heir according to the hope of eternal life."
Romans 8:1; Titus 3:7.
If the distinction has not been made clear, and also well
established, perhaps it is hardly necessary to spend more time upon it. Its
importance may be seen by asking--what is the true state of believers? Are
they merely a company of pardoned wretches? or are they a glorious family of
adopted children? Are they merely turned out of prison to wander at large?
or are they through Christ entitled to eternal glory? Do they stand before
God's tribunal as a reprieved felon stands before his king? or have they "a
right to the tree of life?" But we are already trenching upon the subject of
the next chapter, namely, the imputed righteousness of Christ. May this and
that be a blessing to many a child of God. O that God's people knew their
privileges and rejoiced in them continually. And "while we carry a sense of
grace in our conscience to comfort us--let us carry a sense of sin in our
memory to humble us."