Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1591
Delivered on Lord’s-Day Morning, April 3, 1881
“But the free gift is not like the offense For if through the offense of one, many are dead, much more the Grace of God, and the gift by Grace, which is by one Man, Jesus Christ, has abounded unto many.” Romans 5:15.
THIS text affords many openings for controversy. It can be made to bristle with difficulties. For instance—there might be a long discussion as to the manner in which the fall of Adam can justly be made to affect the condition of his posterity. When this is settled, there might arise a question as to the exact way in which Adam’s fault is connected with ourselves—whether by imputation of its sin, or in some other form. And then there might be further dispute as to the limit of the evil resulting from our first parents’ offense and the full meaning of the Fall, original sin, natural depravity and so forth. There would be another splendid opportunity for a great battle over the question of the extent of the redeeming work of the Lord Jesus Christ—whether it covers, as to persons, the whole area of the rain of the Fall or whether, in fact, full atonement has been made for all mankind or only for the elect.
It would be easy in this way to set up a thorn-hedge and keep the sheep out of the pasture, or, to use another metaphor, to take up so much time in pelting each other with the stones as to leave the fruit untasted! I have, at this time, neither the inclination nor the mental strength either to suggest or to remove the difficulties which are so often the amusement of unpractical minds. I feel more inclined to chime in with that ancient father of the Church who declined controversy in a wise and explicit manner. He had been speaking concerning the things of God and found himself, at length, confounded by a certain clamorous disputant who shouted again and again, “Hear me! Hear me!” “No,” said the father, “I will not hear you, nor shall you hear me, but we will both be quiet and hear what our Lord Jesus Christ has to say.”
And so we will not go, at this time, to listen to this side nor to that, but we will bow our ears to hear what the Scripture, itself, has to say apart from all the noise of sect and party. My objective shall be to find out in the text that which is practically of use to us; that which may save the unconverted; that which may comfort and build up those of us who are brought into a state of reconciliation with God, for I have of late been so often shut up in my sick chamber that when I do come forth, I must be more than ever eager for fruit to the Glory of God!
We shall not, therefore, dive into the deeps with the hope of finding pearls, for these could not feed hungry men, but we will navigate the surface of the sea and hope that some favoring wind will bear us to the desired haven with a freight of corn which to supply the famishing. May the Holy Spirit bless the teaching of this hour to the creation and nourishment of saving faith.
I. The first observation from the text is this—THE APPOINTED WAY OF OUR SALVATION IS BY THE FREE GIFT OF GOD. We were ruined by the Fall, but we are saved by a free gift. The text tells us that “the Grace of God, and the gift by Grace, which is by one Man, Jesus Christ, has abounded unto many.” “Where sin abounded, Grace did much more abound.” “Grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord.” Although this doctrine is well known and is taught in our synagogues every Sabbath, yet this grand essential Truth of God is often enough forgotten or ignored so that it is necessary to repeat it again and again.
I could wish that every time the clock struck it said, “By Grace are you saved.” I could wish that there were a trumpet voice ringing out at daybreak both on sea and land—over the whole round globe—the words, “By Grace are you saved.” As Martin Luther said of a certain other Truth of God, so say I of this, “You so constantly forget it that I feel inclined to take the Bible and beat it over your heads that you may feel it and keep it in remembrance.” Men do not naturally love the Doctrines of Grace and, therefore, they cast them out of their minds as much as possible. The larger portion of mankind do not believe that salvation is of Grace—another part of them profess to believe it but do not understand its
meaning—and many who do understand it have never yielded to it or embraced it. Happy are they who belong to the remnant according to the election of Grace, for they know right well the joyful sound and they walk in the light of the glory of the Grace of God which is in Christ Jesus!
Observe that salvation is a free gift, that is to say, it is bestowed upon men by God without regard to any merit, supposed or real. Grace has to do with the guilty. Mercy, in the very nature of things, is not a fit gift for the righteous and deserving, but for the undeserving and sinful! When God deals out to men His gracious salvation, they are regarded by Him as lost and condemned and He treats them as persons who have no claim upon Him whatever, to whom nothing but His free favor can bring deliverance. He saves them, not because He perceives that they have done anything that is good, or have hopeful traits of character, or form resolutions to aspire to something better—but simply because He is merciful and delights to exercise His Grace and manifest His free favor and infinite love.