" NOT O F W O R K S r
b (Eph. 2:9.) No man can save his soul (Ps. 89:48). "Be s i d es Me , " saith t he Lord, "'there is no Savior"' (Isa. 43:11). " N e i t h er is t h e re Salvation in any other, f or t h e re is none other N ame given under heaven, amo ng men, wh e r e by we mu st be saved" ( A c . 12:4). * Un d er the reign of a Just and Almighty God this is as obvious as it is certain. The sentence of d e a th has gone f o r th already, (Eze. 18:4; Jno. 3:18), " a ll the world has become guilty b e f o re God" (Rom. 3:19);" f or all have sinned and come short of t he glory of God" (Rom 3:23). All have sinned by commission and come short b y ' om i s- sion, for, " S in is t he Transgression of t he law of God, or any w a n t of conformity t h e r e t o ." Could men live life over doing no wrong, and omitting no duty, it would not help. Wh at is done, is done, wh at was l e ft undone has p a st its time. Then is the record against us. Wh a t e v er i a m e a nt by " T h e b o o k s" (Rev. 20:12) ^ t
It \ ord is kept, and " t h e dead" shall be " j u d g ed accor- d i n g t o t h e i r wo r k s" (Rev.20:13) By no me a ns can men!erase t h at rec- ord. Wh a t is w r i t- ten is wr i t t e n, 'and whosoever is n ot found w r i t t en in t he book of life (another volume) shall be cast into the L a ke of F i r e" (Rev. 20;15). But t he d a r k e st
of t he J u d gme n t, wh e t h er literal or figurative, it is t he same.
The rec- neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7) ' 'There is no good thing i n t h e m " ( R o m . 7: 1 8 ). " W h e n t h e y
NOT OF WORKS"
My soul, you can never attain To righteousness under the law, And all of your efforts are vain, Since death is the price of a flaw.
would do good evil is p r e s e nt w i t h t h e m " (Rom.7:21) "Sothe good they would they do not' (Rom.7:19). Thus they a re "children of w r a th by n a t- u r e " (Eph. 2:3). Theref o r e J e s us said " Y e mu st be born a g a i n" (Jno. 3:7). Now no man can r e g e n e r a t e himself, " C an t he leopard change his spots? or t he Ethi- opian his s k i n ? (Jer. 13:23). Yet even so it would not be possible f or t he very twice-born to live the r e st of their lives without sin, 4- save by t he power of the Holy Ghost, f or to sin by t he least flaw is t o become an outlaw (Jas. 2:10); and even t he saints a re not p e r f e ct in this world, such is t he will of the Spirit, t h at we may be cautious, humble, and glorify t he g r a ce of Gcd. Moreover, could we be saved by our works, we should miss t he bliss of our salva- tion. The swe e t e st s t a te of t he soul is penitent g r a t i t u de f or grace, its richest ex- perience is to be.sprinkled with t he blood of God's Lamb (Heb. 10:22; Gal. 6:14); its brightest adornment is t he robe of "righteousness which is by faith" (Phil. 3:9; Matt. 22:12); i t s g l o ry is "Thereproach of Christ" (Heb. 11:26; Gal. 6:14); its very heaven is, and will be to be led by t he L amb (Rev. 7:7), t he L amb slain f r om t he foundation of the world (Rev. 13:7; 5:6, 12). Wh at could ma ke heaven for t he man who saved himself? Wh at a solitary he would be! And w h a t would t he Son of God, the Blessed Jesus be to him? Haste, G my soul, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:31). "By the works of the law shall no flesh be justi- fied (Rom. 3:20)" for "with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation" Rom. 10:10). c h a r ge a g a i n s t men is not con- cerned with wh at they have done. b ut with wh at they are. Their very n a t u re i s " e n- mity against God and is not subject to t he law of God, But God in His mercy provides A righteousness reckoned to faith; It is all that He asks, and it hide^ The sin that condemned us to death. But could you, retracing the past, Undo all the evil you've done, And starting anew at life's task Do all that you ought to have done; Or could you, ascending the height, And wresting God's book from His hand- The record that's written unwrite And cancel the judgments that stand; Stili must you your nature renew In willing, in feeling, in thought; Do nothing you ought not to do, And all to God's glory you ought; Even then to be saved without grace Would be the unspeakable loss Of the Peace and the Joy that embrace A soul that Is saved at the Cross. Then "what must I do to be saved?" My soul, there is nought to be done; For what CAN a sinner enslaved But trust upon Jesus alone ? J. H. SAMMIS.
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