[April 26th, 1857.]
The effects or fruits of justification are,
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Peace with God.
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The enjoyment of his favor.
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Hope of glory.
Man as a sinner is the object of the divine wrath, under condemnation, unable to secure either justification, sanctification or eternal life. These are the necessities of his nature. They cannot be obtained by works. It is only when we are so united to Christ by faith that we become interested in his righteousness and partakers of his life, that we are justified, and being justified, have peace and hope. This hope is sure; it does not disappoint, for the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts.
I. The love of God, is his love to us. The fact that we are the objects of a love which embraces all the creatures of God, would not be a ground of hope. But it is, 1. A special love, a love which stands opposed to wrath. It includes reconciliation, or divine favor. To be assured of God’s love, is to be assured that he is propitious toward us; that his wrath is turned away from us; that his justice no longer demands our condemnation. It is the love which secures all the benefits of redemption. 2. It is infinitely great. It led to the gift of the Son of God. 3. It is gratuitous. It is not founded on our character. It was exercised towards us when we were sinners. 4. It is therefore immutable. If founded on anything in us, it would continue no longer than our attractiveness continued. But if perfectly gratuitous, flowing from the mysterious fulness of the divine nature, it cannot change.
II. This love is shed abroad in our hearts: that is, we have a full conviction and assurance that we are its objects. There might be a conviction that God is love, that his love towards some men is infinitely great, that it is gratuitous and unchangeable, and yet we might remain in the blackness of despair. It is only when we are assured that we are its objects, that we have a hope which sustains and renders blessed.
III. But how do we know that we are the objects of this love?
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It cannot be because God has this love for all men, and, therefore, for us; because this is not true.
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It is not because we see in ourselves the effects of regeneration or the evidences of holiness, because (a.) This love was prior to regeneration, and (b.) Because holiness is the fruit of the assurance of God’s love.
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The knowledge is produced by the Holy Ghost. The Holy Ghost produces in our mind the conviction that we are the objects of that love of God which induced him to give his Son for our salvation, which is gratuitous and unchangeable, and which secures all other gifts. But how does the Holy Ghost produce this conviction? We cannot tell, and it is unreasonable to ask. We might as well ask how he produces faith, peace, joy, or any other grace. It is enough to answer negatively, that it is not (a.) By exciting our love to God, whence we infer his love to us. The true order is the reverse. Nor (b.) By simply opening our eyes to see what a wonderful display of love is made in redemption; for that we might see, and yet suppose ourselves excluded.
IV. The proof that we are not deluded in this matter, is to be found in the effects of this conviction. The effects of a conviction of our being the favorites of God, or the objects of his special love, when that conviction is unfounded, are seen in the Jews, the Romanists and in Antinomians. These effects are, 1. Pride. 2. Malignity. 3. Immorality; the divorce of morals from religion. On the other hand, when the conviction is produced by the Holy Ghost, then the effects are,—1. Humility. Nothing so bows down the soul as a sense of undeserved love. 2. The tenderest concern for those who are not thus favored, and an earnest desire that they may share our blessedness. 3. Love to God. Love begets love; and our love to God is mingled with wonder, admiration, gratitude, and zeal for his glory. 4. Obedience. When aliens, and under the law, we brought forth fruit unto death, but now we bring forth fruit unto holiness. The sixth and seventh chapters are designed to show that such are the effects of assurance of the divine love.
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