Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1045
“And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement.” Romans 5:11.
OUR text begins with these words, “And not only so.” It is the second time in which they occur in the chapter—I might almost have said the third—for a similar expression is used in another verse. The Apostle had been mentioning very great and amazing privileges. He had gone from great benefits to yet greater—he had advanced, I might say, from silver to gold, and from gold to the priceless crystal—and when he had reached the highest point that we could have thought to be conceivable, he adds, “And not only so.” There is always in Christian privilege a beyond. The ancient mariners spoke of the pillars of Hercules and the Ultima Thule, and they supposed that when once their sails had whitened the sea in that direction they had come to the end of the universe and could go no further. But, more venturous ships forced their way to a new world and proved that the former boundaries were imaginary.
Even so we may have concluded in the early days of our Christian experience that we never could be happier, that we never could enjoy greater privileges, that there could not be greater treasures than we had discovered! But even at the present time we have pushed far beyond our young attainments and are preparing for yet more far-reaching endeavors. We have not yet attained. Far be it from us to imagine that we are, or have all that the Lord intends. Let us not sit down contented with the notion that the Gospel contains no more, for rest assured, to him who is able to follow after it there are whole worlds of privileges yet to be discovered! We are only at the foot of the mountain as of yet. We may take for our motto the words, “Higher, higher, higher,” and may soar aloft again and again on eagles’ wings, for Heaven is higher than our loftiest flight.
It certainly touches the confines of Heaven, if it is not altogether Heaven! This is the joy of angels and of spirits purified from all stain—they joy in God! Yet this is an attainment possible to us here. I might confine my thoughts to that subject, but it might be for profit if I use the text in another way—embracing that thought and making it the main topic of discourse—but taking a somewhat wider range. My text seems to me to describe the progress of a soul towards God. There is the first step visible in it, though somewhat in shadows and rather implied than expressed. The second step is very clear—it is “receiving the atonement,” or more correctly “the reconciliation.” The third step shines in a yet brighter light—having received the reconciliation, “we joy in God.” And so we complete our fellowship with Him and ascend to an elevation which, if it is not in Heaven, lies on the confines of it.
I. Our text shadows out, by implication at any rate, THE FIRST STEP OF A SOUL IN COMING TO GOD. It lies here. We begin to be conscious that God is angry with us. The text declares that we have received the reconciliation. There was, therefore, a time when we had not received it, and before we could receive it we were made sensible that we needed it. And before we could be conscious of that need we were led to see that from necessity of His Nature, God must
be angry with such sinful creatures as we were. It is the dawn of Divine Grace in the soul when the heart perceives that there is a holy God and that such a God cannot be on terms of amity with an unholy thing like itself.
God is not angry with men arbitrarily because He chooses to take a dislike to them. Oh, no! God is necessarily angry with evil because He is holy, and pure, and good. A being who has no anger against evil has no love towards goodness. This is one mark of righteousness—that it of necessity takes fire and burns with indignation against unrighteousness. Now, I may preach this Truth of God to this present congregation and many, when they hear my words, will carelessly enquire, “Well, and what concern is that of ours? What does it matter?” But, if God’s Grace has begun a work in any heart, that soul will say, “Alas, alas, how true it is! How could the great Lawgiver in the heavens suffer me to break His Laws with impunity? How could He be God and yet smile on sin? How could He be worthy of the seraphic song, ‘Holy, holy, holy Lord God of Sabaoth,’ and yet look with complacency upon one so unholy, so depraved, so unrighteous as I am by nature?”
The awakened soul perceives that unless God could cease to be God, He could not look with complacency upon sin, nor upon the sinner, either, so long as sin lies upon him. This is a discovery which is very painful but very simple. One would think that every man ought to see this fact—but no man does see it till the Spirit of God convinces him of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment—and even then the natural heart endeavors to shut its eyes to it. That God is angry with us for sin is so unpleasant a thought that the convinced sinner would, if he could, escape from it. He would willingly take the wings of the morning and fly to the uttermost parts of the sea that he might escape from his dread of Divine wrath for sin—but there is no land of peace for such a soul.