Trust in Christ Alone

Sometimes satire bats 1000% when putting a fine point on the truth.

President Donald Trump: 

“I want to try and get to heaven if possible. I’m hearing I’m not doing well. I am really at the bottom of the totem pole. But if I can get to heaven, this [Russia-Ukraine peace negotiations] will be one of the reasons.”

Babylon Bee:

“Celestial sources report that in response to hearing of President Trump’s hopes for getting into heaven, God has agreed to let Trump into His kingdom if he simply repents of his sin and trusts in Christ alone for his salvation.

“According to the angelic hosts, the Lord had mercifully declined Trump’s wish to have his merits weighed against his faults, instead offering His only begotten Son as the spotless sacrifice for Trump’s sins.

“‘Peace deals are wonderful – yet, none are righteous. No, not one,’ the angel Gabriel confirmed. ‘But, peace deal or no, God in his love and mercy has agreed to let Trump into Heaven all the same, if he will only repent and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ. The Lord’s grace is sufficient.’

“Heavenly sources confirmed that no one throughout history who trusted in their own goodness has been able to enter the presence of the Holy of Holies.”

Romans 3:21-26 But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

Pray for the President, and ALL that trust in themselves, rather than trusting in God which raiseth the dead, and his Son who rose from the dead!

Faith Promise Giving, once more

Awhile back I had an anonymous commenter challenge my blog post about faith promise giving as “a total misunderstanding of what Oswald J Smith taught.” The person writes:

“This is a total misunderstanding of what Oswald J Smith taught on the matter. Furthermore, if you listened to him carefully, you’d have known that he wasn’t the creator of the idea.

“A faith promise was a promise one made to God to trust him to provide for them to give more than they thought their budget would allow. They would then believe God to provide for them to give what they had promised. He never asked anyone to be foolish or unwise but only to trust God to help them give more than they themselves might be able to without His extra provision. Respectfully presented. Nothing unbiblical about that.”

I replied briefly then, but make these additional remarks. Let us look a little further. Below is the 2-page tract of Oswald J. Smith (in Times roman type) and some responses from me (in Arial italic type).

A FAITH PROMISE OFFERING

Oswald J. Smith, Litt. D.*

A Faith Promise Offering is a Scriptural offering; it is a Pauline offering, and, therefore, God blesses it (2 Corinthians 8-9).

The Apostle Paul took up Faith Promise offerings. He would get the Church to promise a certain amount and then he would give the Church a year to pay it. Then, you remember, as the year drew to a close, he would send Titus, or someone else, to remind the Church of the promise that had been made, so that he would not be ashamed when he arrived. He wanted to be sure it would be paid. Then, at the end of the year, he came and collected it.

In this tract, Oswald Smith grounds his system in the practice of Paul, the apostle. Does his explanation match the practice of Paul? Only in a caricatured way. Of course, the Bible mentions no such thing as a “Faith Promise Offering.” No doubt, Smith would likely admit that and say he put a name to a principle he found in the Bible. Does this principle and practice exist? While Smith says Paul “would get the Church to promise a certain amount,” the text of 2 Corinthians 8-9 says no such thing. In fact, it is much the opposite. The churches of Macedonia were willing of their own liberality, and asked Paul to receive and distribute their gift (8:3-4). Further, Paul said that he spoke “not by commandment” (8:8).

In this tract Oswald J. Smith presents Faith Promise as a scriptural manner of giving. However, in Smith’s personal testimony “How God Taught Me To Give,” we find he did not discover this method through Bible study. Rather than taught from the word of God, he says that God spoke to him and told him to give a faith offering (and how much to give). All told, this gives the smell of an adopted practice that went searching for scripture to back it up – and 2 Corinthians 8-9 was the best available.

Have you ever in your life given a Faith Offering, or have you only given a cash offering? It doesn’t require any faith to give a cash offering. If I have a dollar in my pocket, all I have to do is tell my hand to go into my pocket, find the dollar, take it out and put it on the [offering] plate. I don’t have to pray about it. I don’t have to ask God for it. I don’t have to trust Him for any definite amount. I just have to give it.”

In encouraging to offer by “faith” what they do not have, Smith disparages those who give out of what they have – even though Paul said, “it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not” (8:12). Such a standard also disparages the “cash offering” of the poor widow who threw in her two mites, all that she had (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 21:1-4).

But with a Faith Promise Offering it is entirely different. I have to pray about it and ask God how much He would have me give, and then trust Him for it, and month by month go to Him in prayer and ask Him for the amount promised, and wait upon Him until it comes in. that is the offering that brings the blessing.”

Smith would have us believe that those who do not give faith promises are not spiritual in their giving – they are not moved by faith in God, and they do not pray about their giving. This disparages the faith and practice of all those who do not follow his method.

That is about the only kind of an offering I have taken up for Missions in all these years, well over a quarter of a century now—a Faith Promise Offering. I would never go back to a cash offering. With a cash offering I could only get a very little, but with a Faith Promise Offering I can get much. In our Annual Missionary Convention we never get more than $7,000 in cash, but we get a quarter of a million or more in Faith Promises.

The testimony in this paragraph has nothing to do with scriptural or spiritual giving, but descends into pure pragmatics – we get a lot more money this way.

There is many a church that will not give a Faith Promise Offering. They are not interested in Scriptural giving. They will not obligate themselves for the definite support of their missionaries. They will not promise a certain amount to any one worker. They simply divide whatever comes in, in the way of cash, between various missionary societies. They don’t have to trust God for anything. If it comes in, they give it. But since there is no need to exercise faith, therefore there is no burden, no responsibility. I have no use for that kind of giving. I believe that every individual church should obligate itself in faith before God for a certain definite amount, and pray until that amount has been received.

The disparaging continues. Those who will not give a “Faith Promise Offering…are not interested in Scriptural giving.” Those who do not give this way are not trusting God. How arrogant, how high-handed! 

I do not believe in pledges. I have never taken up a pledge offering in my life. What is the difference, you ask, between a pledge offering and a Faith Promise Offering? All the difference in the world. A pledge offering is between you and a church, between you and a missionary society, and some day the deacons may come along and try to collect it, or you may receive a letter asking for it. In other words, you can be held responsible for a pledge offering.

A Faith Promise Offering, on the other hand, is between you and God. No one will ever ask you for it. No official will ever call on you to collect it. No one will ever send you a letter reminding you of it. It is a promise made by you to God, and to God alone. If you are unable to pay it, all you have to do is to tell God. Give Him your excuse and if He accepts it, you are free. You do not have to pay it. That, I say, is a Faith Promise Offering. That is the kind of an offering I preach and teach and take everywhere I go. I want to be Scriptural in all I do.

In these two paragraphs, Smith unconsciously contradicts his foundational text. Paul’s practice is like the pledge offering, between the church at Corinth and the missionary society (Paul and his co-laborers). Like the pledge, where someone will come along and try to collect it, so Paul “came and collected it.” In Smith’s “Faith Promise” system, “no one will ever ask you for it” – but in his description of Paul’s system, someone does ask for it! His text will not bear the weight of his teaching.

I have gone to many a church that has been opposed to a pledge offering, but as soon as I have explained the nature of a Faith Promise Offering, all opposition has disappeared, and those who have been most antagonistic to a pledge of any kind, have been perfectly willing to accept the plan of a Faith Promise Offering, and God has accomplished wonders.

I believe we could get all the missionary money we need if we would take up Faith Promise Offerings in all our churches.

These two paragraphs once again appeal to the pragmatism of the practice. I have no problem believing that doing things God’s way is practical. However, that is not the reason we do those things. And in this case, Smith fails to clearly establish that his practice comports with Scripture. 

Interestingly, Smith promotes this as a marvelous missions munificence, while never bothering to explain that this New Testament era collection was being taken for the saints at Jerusalem, not missions.

Have you ever given such an offering? If not, do it and you will be amazed the way God will bless you.

* Dr. Oswald J. Smith was the originator of the idea of a Faith Promise offering for missions. For many years, he was pastor of The Peoples Church in Toronto, Canada, where he challenged that congregation to raise $1 for missions for every $1 they spent on themselves. That story still continues today with his son as pastor.

The anonymous respondent claimed that “if you listened to him carefully, you’d have known that he wasn’t the creator of the idea.” Yet this tract plainly credits Oswald J. Smith as “the originator of the idea of a Faith Promise offering for missions.” I didn’t make that up.

Perhaps “anonymous” can equivocate because there were some antecedents before Smith created the “Faith Promise offering for missions.” 

In “Faith Promise Giving,” Eugene Gurganus says it originated with A. B. Simpson and was refined by Oswald J. Smith (Missions in the Local Church, Melbourne E. Cuthbert, Jeannie Lockerbie, 1998 p. 147). I think the clarity is found that Simpson was using a form of pledging which Smith refined and named “Faith Promise.”

“How God Taught Me to Give” by Oswald J. Smith is his personal testimony that shows he does not credit the word of God for showing him this truth, but a sort of subjective experience in which God told him to give a faith promise offering.

In the video How God Taught Me to Give, Oswald Smith tells his experience, beginning with the Proverbs 11:24-25. Despite starting with a text, the testimony is based on an experience, not from studying the Bible.

Perhaps Smith’s own son helps clear up the timeline. He writes about it this way:

The first faith promise offering in our times was probably organized by a Presbyterian minister. Dr. A. B. Simpson founded the Christian and Missionary Alliance denomination — although a denomination was not a part of his original vision. Dr. Simpson was greatly concerned about world evangelization and the older Alliance churches existed primarily to promote and support foreign missions.

To do this they had a missionary convention every year at which their people were urged to designate a large percentage of their total giving to missions. They still do this. The offering is a commitment of what people will trust God to enable them to do win the next twelve months and it is generally called a pledge. The Christian and Missionary Alliance churches established the system and led the way for the rest of us in this kind of giving for missions.

…

The Alliance method of raising money for mission captured father’s imagination, but he was bothered by their use of the word ‘pledge.’ …My father searched for some word that would express the concept that had always been used in the Christian and Missionary Alliance churches – a word to take the place of ‘pledge.’

He concluded that the two words ‘faith promise’ would be ideal. This would retain the missionary offering concept of the Alliance people and eliminate the unfortunate connotations of the word ‘pledge.’ Whether or not this was actually originated by father I do not know. However, it is safe to say that it was his ministry that made the evangelical world familiar with the expression ‘faith promise.’ Very few of the tracts or booklets that have been written on the subject can complete their topic without reference at some point to Dr. Oswald J. Smith. (The Senders: World Missions Conferences and Faith Promise Offerings, Paul B. Smith, Burlington, Ontario: Welch Publishing Company, Inc., 1979, pp. 59-61)

So, according Paul Smith, Oswald J. Smith’s son, the “faith promise” system rose out of the missions pledge of the Christian and Missionary Alliance. Smith tweaked it, gave it a new name, and new emphasis. The contemporary “faith promise giving” most certainly finds its genesis in Smith, even if he drew on the previous practices of others. Nevertheless, whether it originated with Oswald J. Smith, A. B. Simpson, or someone else is a deflection from the scriptural discussion, and will not make the errors of it scriptural.

“You don’t need any faith to give a cash offering,” says Oswald J. Smith. Says I, “Tell that to the poor widow who gave her two mites.”

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Note: For another writing on Faith Promise giving, see Is “Faith Promise Mission Giving” Bible-Based?

Just live by faith

Habakkuk 2:4 Behold, his soul which is lifted up is not upright in him: but the just shall live by his faith. (Note the faith and trust of Habakkuk 3:17-19.)

There are two ways people approach the puzzling question of the Divine providence. Some object to it, quarrel against God and contest his providences. Let God be true, but every man a liar. They are proud and lifted up, believing they are right and God is wrong. Some react with faith, submit to God, wait on his work, knowing the Judge of all the earth will do right. Ultimately, this intersects with the promise of the coming Messiah – those who received him and those who rejected him (John 1:11-12). Some scoffed at the promise of his coming, and did not believe him when he came. Some held dear the promise, and believed of Jesus as the Christ when he came.

Paul makes reference to this “living by faith” statement of Habakkuk three times in his writings.

Faith is ready to preach the gospel.

• Romans 1:17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

Justification is by faith and not the law.

• Galatians 3:11 But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith.

Faith is an encouragement to perseverance.

• Hebrews 10:38 Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him.

Living by faith begins with a new birth.

• Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

Living by faith trusts in God. It is not just some blind leap, but buys the truth of God’s word and sells it not. Matthew Poole calls it a “well-grounded dependence on a persuasion of the truth of God’s promises.”

• Creator - Isaiah 40:28 Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding.
• Owner - 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 … ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.
• Saviour – Romans 5:8-9 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.
• Guide - John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth…

Surely we can and should trust the one who is all these things to us.

The melody of the soul

“Although the fig tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines, the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation!” Habakkuk 3:17-18.

“See, my soul, in the prophet’s example, the blessedness of living above creature enjoyments, by living upon Creator fulness. Here is a sun, which never goes down! Here is a fountain, whose streams can never dry up! He that lives upon creature excellency, will want both food and comfort when that excellency dies, for they must die with it, when the period of its flourishing is over. But the soul that draws all from Jesus, the God of his salvation, will have Jesus and leis salvation to live upon, and to be an everlasting source, when nature, in all its varieties, ceases to supply. My soul, what are thy resources for a day of famine? Canst thou join issue with the prophet? If blasting, or mildew, or frost, shall nip the fig-tree of its blossom; both the vine and the olive fail; yea, if the staff of life, as well as the sweets of life, should all be gone; hast thou Jesus to live upon; canst thou rejoice in him, when there is nothing else left to rejoice in; and call him thine, and the God of thy salvation, when none will own thee, and thou hast none beside him to own?

“They say that music upon the waters always sounds best. Be this so or not, yet the melody of the soul is certainly sweetest when nature is out of tune, if the believer can take his harp from the willow, and sing aloud on the tribulated waters of sorrow, to the God of salvation. And this is a song never out of season, but has peculiar joy in the note, when from a new strung heart, the believer sings it of the God of his salvation, and addresses it to the God of his salvation. Blessed Lord Jesus! Give me grace, like the prophet, so to sing and so to triumph, that since, lose what I may, I cannot lose thee, while thy creature comforts remain, I may enjoy them, from enjoying thee in them: and when all are taken away, still, having thee for my portion, may I sing aloud with the prophet, though all earthly enjoyments cease, ‘I will still rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.’”

Robert Hawker (1753-1827)

Do We Need the Old Testament?

“The Old Testament is the cradle in which the Christ child is laid.” – Martin Luther

Do We Need the Old Testament? The Benefits of the Old Testament, as seen in Romans 15:1-13.

The Old Testament provides the historical and theological foundation of New Testament Christianity. Most Christian denominations at least tacitly accept the Old Testament as part of their sacred writings. Searching, I did not find any who explicitly deny the Old Testament, other than the revived Marcionite Christian Church. Their website states, “The Hebrew bible (Old Testament) and the carnal deity portrayed within it, is antithetical to the words and teachings of Jesus Christ...It represents an alien culture and religion diametrically opposed to the God revealed to us through Jesus Christ...”

Marcion of Sinope[i] (ca. AD 95-160) rejected the entire Old Testament and some of the New Testament, focusing on the writings of Paul.  His Bible contained a truncated Gospel of Luke, 10 epistles of Paul—and no Old Testament. Most other Christians rejected him and his views as heretical, and he started his own church circa AD 144.

Though I have not found reference to another Christian denomination that officially rejects the Old Testament, many modernists and liberals view the religion and morals of the Old Testament as primitive. They have no qualms rejecting any parts of the Old Testament they find personally offensive.[ii] Other Christians may find it dull, boring, and hard to read. Still others see it as confusing or irrelevant. Due to these various considerations, many who do not outright reject the Old Testament as part of their sacred scripture nevertheless do not read and study it.

However, the unity of the Old and New Testament Scriptures is an important and edifying truth. Paul illustrates this unity in 1 Timothy 5:18, quoting both the Old Testament (Deuteronomy 25:4) and New Testament (Luke 10:7) as scripture. (See also Galatians 3:24-25, the law as a schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.) In Romans 15:1-13, Paul refers to the Old Testament five times in these 13 verses. He directly lauds and demonstrates its utility.

1 We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification. 3 For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me. 4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope. 5 Now the God of patience and consolation grant you to be likeminded one toward another according to Christ Jesus: 6 That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God. 8 Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers: 9 And that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy; as it is written, For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. 10 And again he saith, Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. 11 And again, Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; and laud him, all ye people. 12 And again, Esaias saith, There shall be a root of Jesse, and he that shall rise to reign over the Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles trust. 13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.

The Old Testament instructs and admonishes the believers and their churches, verse 4. Cf. 1 Corinthians 10:11. The things written in the Old Testament were not for them alone, but were written and preserved for the learning of those who some come afterward (2 Timothy 2:2). If God had them written and preserved for our instruction and admonition, then the apparent conclusion is that the words should and must be read and studied.

The Old Testament testifies of Christ, verse 3. Cf. Luke 24:25-27; 44-45. Paul refers to Psalm 69:9, as it prophesies and speaks of Jesus Christ. The Old Testament provides an example (vs. 1-3), supporting Paul’s point to the Roman believers that they should care for others, as did our Lord. It promotes unity (vs. 6-7). It confirms promises made to the fathers (v. 8). It shows the promises were not for Abraham’s seed alone, the circumcision, but also foretells the inclusion of the Gentiles (vs. 9-12). In rapid succession draws out this conclusion from Psalm 18:49, Deuteronomy 32:43, Psalm 117:1, and Isaiah 11:10 (in the law, in the prophets, and in the psalms).

The Old Testament teaches us patience, comfort, hope, and unity, verses 4-7, 13. The Old Testament encourages the people of God through his promises and their fulfillment (for example, Matthew 1:22 with Isaiah 7:14). We learn from its record the creation of the world; the origin of sin; the work of God in his providence, his miracles, and his judgements; and the promise of a Saviour (e.g., Genesis 3:15). We see that he is “the God of patience and consolation,” as well as “the God of hope.” We can be fully persuaded that, what God has promised, he is able also to perform.

Yes, the Old Testament is the cradle in which the Christ child is laid, so to speak, promising us a Saviour and promoting our faith, hope, and love. Read it for instruction. Read it for admonition. Read it in unison with the New Testament.

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[i] Sinope was a Greek colony in Pontus.
[ii] Apparently, unlike modern liberals, Marcion accepted the historicity of the Old Testament. For example, he believed “the carnal deity portrayed within it” created the world, as taught in Genesis.

All Is Well

From The Sacred Harp (scan of first printing, scroll down to page 122; video from The Sacred Harp, 2006 Cooper Edition printing.
Tune arranged by Jesse T. White, 1844; alto is by Wilson Marion Cooper, 1902
Lyrics at least as early as 1836, in Pious Songs.

What’s this that steals, that steals upon my frame?
Is it death? Is it death?
That soon will quench, will quench this mortal flame?
Is it death? Is it death?
If this be death I soon shall be,
From ev’ry pain and sorrow free,
I shall the King of glory see.
All is well! All is well!

Weep not, my friends, my friends, weep not for me,
All is well! All is well!
My sins forgiv’n, forgiv’n, and I am free,
All is well! All is well!
There’s not a cloud that doth arise,
To hide my Jesus from my eyes,
I soon shall mount the upper skies.
All is well! All is well!

Tune, tune your harps, your harps, ye saints on high,
All is well! All is well!
I too will strike my harp with equal joy,
All is well! All is well!
Bright angels are from glory come,
They’re round my bed, they’re in my room,
They wait to waft my spirit home.
All is well! All is well!

Hark! hark! my Lord, my Lord and Master’s voice,
Calls away, Calls away!
I soon shall see—enjoy my happy choice,
Why delay, Why delay!
Farewell, my friends, adieu, adieu,
I can no longer stay with you,
My glittering crown appears in view,
All is well! All is well!

Hail! hail! all hail! all hail! ye blood washed throng,
Saved by grace, Saved by grace—
I come to join your rapturous song,
Saved by grace, Saved by grace.
All, all is peace and joy divine,
And heaven and glory now are mine.
Loud hallelujahs to the Lamb!
All is well! All is well!

The order of repentance and faith

The sequential order of faith and repentance evidently makes a fun and fine debating point. Some of the debate is substantial, and other of it is peripheral.

All Campbellites and some Baptists put faith before repentance, citing that knowledge must come first before one came repent. “It’s just common sense,” they say. I am satisfied to be a simpleton in this regard. I accept the order that repentance and faith are placed in the scriptures rather than submit it to human logic for what must be first. Our Lord’s own preaching (e.g. Mark 1:15-16) places repentance before faith. In Matthew 21:32 and 2 Timothy 2:25 repentance is in order to believing and acknowledging the truth. One must also be careful to distinguish the belief of accepting facts that are truth, and the belief of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Cf. James 2:19. Often those who put faith before repentance only mean believing facts when they speak of faith.

These scriptures put repentance before faith:

• Matthew 21:32 For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye believed him not: but the publicans and the harlots believed him: and ye, when ye had seen it, repented not afterward, that ye might believe him.
• Mark 1:15 And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel.
• Acts 19:4 Then said Paul, John verily baptized with the baptism of repentance, saying unto the people, that they should believe on him which should come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.
• Acts 20:21 Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.
• 2 Timothy 2:25 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
• Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones wrote, “There must be faith in general before you can repent, because if you do not believe certain things about God, you do not act upon it, and there is no repentance. But I am referring to faith in the special sense of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. In that case, repentance comes before faith and Paul puts them in that order: ‘Testifying both to the Jews, and also to the Greeks, repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.’”

“Why must repentance come first? Well, you will find that it always comes first in Scripture…Repentance is of necessity the first message, and it surely must be. It is Scriptural, yes, but Scripture also enables us to reason. Let me put it to you like this: Why should men and women believe on the Lord Jesus Christ? It is no use just asking them to believe in Christ. They are entitled to ask, ‘Why should I believe in Him?’ That is a perfectly fair question. And people do not see any need or necessity for believing in the Lord Jesus Christ if they do not know what repentance is. Of course, you may be inviting them to Christ as a helper, or as a friend, or as a healer of the body, but that is not Christian conversion. No, no, people must know why they must believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. The Law is our schoolmaster (Gal 3:24) to bring us there, and the Law works repentance.”

Saving faith should not be reduced to a mere assent to correct facts. Beyond that, the repentance of faith and the faith of repentance are “inseparable graces” neither readily nor easily separated in a time sequence.

Dialogue between a Believer and His Soul

“A Dialogue between a Believer and His Soul” by Joseph Hart appears below. It was first published in Hart’s Hymns, Composed on Various Subjects in 1759. Hart was the author of many unique and worthy hymns, including “The Stony Heart.” In The Sacred Harp, we sing two stanzas of Hart’s longer “Dialogue” hymn under the title The Grieved Soul.

The structure of the poem is intriguing, truly a dialogue or discussion between a man and his own soul. The internal conflict can be seen and felt as the soul’s doubts fight to be heard. The believer reasons from the Saviour and Scripture. It begins with both the believer and the soul alternating their speaking in 8-line stanzas. The discussion is sophisticated in the beginning. In stanza eight this gives way to 4 lines for each, then 2 lines alternating back and forth in the ninth stanza. It ends with a staccato flourish, the soul and the believer each quickly alternating lines as the soul seems to exhaust its questions in a gasp, giving way to the biblical answers of the believer. We might easily relate Hart’s struggle to our own within ourselves.

In the presentation below “B” stands for the dialogue of the “Believer” and “S” stands for the dialogue of the “Soul”. It appears as in A Sheaf of Psalms, Hymns and Spiritual Songs.

246    A Dialogue between a Believer and his Soul    7s. 6s. (8 lines)

1.            B:            Come, my soul, and let us try,

                              For a little season,

                              Every burden to lay by;

                              Come, and let us reason.

                              What is this that casts thee down?

                              Who are those that grieve thee?

                              Speak, and let the worst be known;

                              Speaking may relieve thee.

2.            S:            O I sink beneath the load

                              Of my nature’s evil!

                              Full of enmity to God;

                              Captived by the devil;

                              Restless as the troubled sea,

                              Feeble, faint, and fearful;

                              Plagued by every sore disease;

                              How can I be cheerful?

3.            B:            Think on what my Saviour bore

                              In the gloomy garden;

                              Sweating blood at every pore,

                              To procure thy pardon!

                              See Him stretched upon the wood,

                              Bleeding, grieving, crying,

                              Suffering all the wrath of God,

                              Groaning, gasping, dying!

4.            S:            This by faith I sometimes view,

                              And those views relieve me;

                              But my sins return anew;

                              These are they that grieve me.

                              Oh! I’m leprous, stinking, foul,

                              Quite throughout infected;

                              Have I not if any soul,

                              Cause to be dejected?

5.            B:            Think how loud thy dying Lord

                              Cried out, “It is finished!”

                              Treasure up that sacred word,

                              Whole and undiminished;

                              Doubt not He will carry on,

                              To its full perfection,

                              That good work He has begun;

                              Why, then, this dejection?

6.            S:            Faith when void of works is dead:

                              This the Scriptures witness;

                              And what works have I to plead,

                              Who am all unfitness?

                              All my powers are depraved,

                              Blind, perverse, and filthy;

                              If from death I’m fully saved,

                              Why am I not healthy?

7.            B:            Pore not on thyself too long,

                              Lest it sink thee lower;

                              Look to Jesus, kind as strong -

                              Mercy joined with power;

                              Every work that thou must do,

                              Will the gracious Saviour

                              For thee work, and in thee too,

                              Of His special favour.

8.            S:            Jesus’ precious blood, once spilt,

                              I depend on solely,

                              To release and clear my guilt;

                              But I would be holy.

               B:            He that bought thee on the cross

                              Can control thy nature;

                              Fully purge away thy dross;

                              Make thee a new creature.

9.            S:            That He can, I nothing doubt,

                              Be it but His pleasure;

               B:            Though it be not done throughout,

                              May it not in measure?

               S:            When that measure, far from great,

                              Still shall seem decreasing?

               B:            Faint not then, but pray and wait,

                              Never, never ceasing.

10.          S:            What when prayer meets no regard?

               B:            Still repeat it often.

               S:            But I feel myself so hard.

               B:            Jesus will thee soften.

               S:            But my enemies make head.

               B:            Let them closer drive thee.

               S:            But I’m cold, I’m dark, I’m dead.

               B :           Jesus will revive thee.

Melancholy Thoughts Suppressed

What follows is a hymn by Thomas Greene, under the heading “Melancholy Thoughts Suppressed.” It is given as it appears in Poems on Various Subjects, Chiefly Sacred. By the late Thomas Greene of Ware, Hertfordshire (London: H. Goldney, 1780, pp. 253-254). Lines in brackets are not in that publication, but often appear in printings of the hymn. According to Josiah Miller, “Mr. Greene was a gentleman of good means, residing at Ware...a member of the Congregational church...” He is also author of “It is the Lord, enthron’d in light, whose claims all all divine...” – found in the same 1780 Poems on Various Subjects.

1. Why should my soul indulge complaints,
Or sit and brood despair? [And yield to dark despair?]
The meanest of my Father’s saints
Are safe beneath his care.

2. Why should I thus desponding bow,
Or why with anguish bleed?
Tho’ darkness veils my passage now,
Yet glory shall succeed.

3. Why should my envious foes prevail
In what they most desire?
My faith, though weak, can never fail,
Nor humble hope expire.
[3. Why should my fears so far prevail,
When they my hopes accost?
My faith, though weak, can never fail,
Nor shall my hopes be lost.]

4. A thousand promises are wrote
In characters of blood,
And those emphatic lines denote
The ever-faithful God.

5. Thro’ these sweet promises I range,
And (blessed be his name !)
Tho’ I, a fickle mortal, change,
His love is still the same.

6. Grace, like a fountain, ever flows,
Fresh succours to renew:
The Lord my wants and weakness knows,
My sins and sorrows too.

7. ’Tis not perpetual sunshine here,
Yet I’m assured of this,
Oceans’s wild tumults shall endear
The port of endless bliss.

8. My God, my everlasting friend,
Directs my doubtful ways;
Will give salvation in the end,
And his shall be the praise.
[8. ’Tis he directs my doubtful way,
When dangers line the road;
Here I my Ebenezer raise,
And trust a gracious God.]

He that believeth, by Philpot

“He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself.” 1 John 5:10

The grand point to have decided in a man’s bosom is, whether he is Christ’s or not; and this is a problem which none but the Lord himself can solve. Blessed is he who has the witness in himself; and this he can only have by believing on the Son of God, as John speaks, “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself.” This is the internal witness of the Spirit, as the Apostle declares, “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”

What witness have you ever had in your bosom that you are a child of God? Or if you have not had this special witness, what marks or evidences, what tokens for good has the Lord bestowed upon you? Can you not remember something that the Lord has done for you in times past, some promise applied, some manifestation of his presence, some look of love, some softening touch of his gracious hand, which melted you into the dust, and brought sweet peace and assurance with it? It might not last long, or be very deep, but it was an evidence when felt that you belonged to Christ. You remember the time and the circumstances, the darkness, distress and bondage before, and the deliverance into sweet liberty then enjoyed; but still you are dissatisfied. You want the Lord once more to appear; you want another smile, another word, another look, another promise, another testimony, and without it your soul often sinks down into doubt and fear. Now this is the path in which most of God’s saints walk; I will not say all, because some are more favoured with an abiding testimony, though even they have great sinkings and heavy trials. But with most it is a very chequered, in and out path.

Thus, sometimes they are indulged with a smile, and then such darkness of mind falls upon them that they can scarcely see a single evidence. Then the sun shines again; but darkness once more covers the scene, and down they sink again into doubt, guilt, and fear. Then the Lord appears again, and then they love, and hope, and rejoice again; and so they go on, the scene ever changing, like an April day. Still on they go until they come at last to the closing scene, when the Lord usually appears, scatters all their doubts and fears and darkness, and gives them a blessed dismissal into his own bosom of eternal rest and peace.

J. C. Philpot

A Good Conscience, by Philpot

“Holding faith, and a good conscience; which some having put away concerning faith have made shipwreck.” 1 Timothy 1:19

We find that, in the Apostle’s time, there were characters who held faith, or rather what they called faith, and put away “good conscience.” He mentions by name, “Hymeneus and Alexander, whom he had delivered unto Satan,” that is, excommunicated them out of the church, as heretics and blasphemers. But if to have put good conscience away, stamps a man as unfit for the visible Church of God, it behooves us to search whether we have this weapon at our side, and in our hand.

What does the Apostle, then, mean by “a good conscience?” I believe he means a conscience alive in God’s fear, a spiritual conscience, a tender conscience, what he calls, in another part, “a pure conscience;” “holding faith in a pure conscience,” that is, purified from ignorance, from guilt, from the power of sin, “a conscience void of offence toward God and men.” Wherever, then, there is living faith in the soul, there will be united with it “a good conscience.” The Lord never sends forth a soldier to fight his battles with the weapon of faith only; he puts faith in one hand and “a good conscience” in the other. And he that goes forth with what he thinks to be faith, and casts aside “a good conscience,” will manifest himself to be one of those characters, who, “concerning faith make shipwreck.”

But why is it called “a good conscience?” Because it comes down from God, who is the Author of all good, the Giver of “every good gift, and every perfect gift.” There is none good but he, and there is nothing good but what he himself implants and communicates. This weapon of a good conscience, that the Lord arms his soldiers with, works with faith, as well as proves the sincerity of faith, and tests its genuineness and reality. Faith, without a good conscience, is dead. It bears upon it the mark of nature, and however high it may rise in confidence, or however it may seem to abound in good works, it is not the faith of God’s elect, of which the end is the salvation of the soul.

But it may be asked, How does a good conscience work with faith? What is the connection between these two weapons, and how do they mutually support and strengthen each other? In this way. What faith believes, good conscience feels; what faith receives, good conscience holds; what faith embraces, good conscience rivets fast; when faith is weak, good conscience is feeble; and when faith is strong, good conscience is active. They grow and they wane together, and like two stems from one root together do they flourish and fade. He then alone wars the good warfare, who goes forth with faith in the one hand, and “good conscience” in the other; faith strengthening conscience, and conscience strengthening faith; each doing their separate office, but still tending to one end; each accomplishing the work which the Lord has appointed, and yet each fighting the Lord’s battles, and bringing the soldier safe and victorious over his enemy.

By J. C. Philpot