My brethren, we are debtors to the poor. No man after having read these chapters attentively, and having understood them, can deny that the doctrines of sovereign, distinguishing grace, are the sum and substance of the teaching of the Bible. That man is God's child, but though he is a prince of the blood royal, his garments are those of toil, the smock frock or the fustian jacket. Now Secondly, we are called upon to notice the universality of this evil. We stand boldly in front of all our foes, because we know that we are free from the evil which once condemned us: it is all gone. A fine title indeed if it belongs to every man! II. It is clear then the prayers which are indited in us by the spirit of God are those which arise from our inmost soul. Speak we of his omniscience? Christ spoke of it as the putting of a well into us, and he said, "The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life." Why, one would have thought you would rejoice to take your Master for better or for worse, and to be partaker with him, not only in his glories but in his sufferings. Such guidance will the Spirit give to each of you if you will ask him to illuminate you. Think of thyself now, not as a man or separate individual, but as a member of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. That is the first illustration I will give you of what is meant by effectual calling. If I cannot understand I will not question, for I am not his counsellor, but I will adore and obey, for I am his servant. He that will live godly in Christ Jesus must suffer persecution. This and this alone can restore the peace of divided families, and unite disputing relatives. An unconverted man may love a God, as, for instance, the God of nature, and the God of the imagination; but the God of revelation no man can love, unless grace has been poured into his heart, to turn him from that natural enmity of the heart towards God, in which all of us are born. that we might stamp it with truth, and that God might help us to impress upon its wings some proof that it has not flown by neglected and unheeded. We are only creatures after all, and when we are condemned, we sink down into destruction, and suffer for our sin; but he is the eternal God, and when he takes our nature, and cries, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" He stands to us in the relationship of a Maker and Creator; and from that fact he claims to be our King. PORTION OF SCRIPTURE READ BEFORE SERMON Romans 8:1-39 . It was the father bruising the firstborn son; and, if you and I, brethren, are to be conformed to the image of the firstborn, though we may expect from God much fatherly love, we may also reckon that it will show itself in parental discipline. Suppose one who was perfect in the law should take up his cause warmly, and come and live with him, and use all his knowledge so as to prepare his case for him, draw up his petitions for him, and fill his mouth with arguments, would not that be a grand relief? The believer is here the brother to the worm; in heaven he shall be next of kin to the angels. A thousand sources of joy are opened in that one blessing of adoption. And the believer is to be the heir, I say, not merely of God's works, not simply of God's gifts, but of God himself. The desires which the Spirit prompts may be too spiritual for such babes in grace as we are actually to describe or to express, and yet the Spirit writes the desire on the renewed mind, and the Father sees it. CHILDREN are expected to bear some likeness to their parent. I beseech you, my dear friends, take this thought with you wherever you go: "I am a debtor, I must serve my God. I tell you, sirs, if you change yourselves, and make yourselves better, and better, and better, a thousand times, you will never be good enough for heaven, till God's Spirit has laid his hand upon you; till he has renewed the heart, till he has purified the soul, till he has changed the entire spirit and new-made the man, there can be no entering heaven. Some may say, "It is the prospect of bankruptcy." We are to be like him then in nature, in relation, in experience. Scripture everywhere represents the chosen people of the Lord, under their visible character of believers, penitents, and spiritual men, as being "the children of God," and to none but such is that holy title given. And this persuasion helped him to gain his aspiration. That which is thrown up from the depth of the soul, when it is stirred with a terrible tempest, is more precious than pearl or coral, for it is the intercession of the Holy Spirit. Yes, and with that natural groan there may go up an unutterable groaning of the Holy Spirit. The carnal mind is at all times enmity against God. See, brethren, he enters into glory, but not for himself alone, for it is written, "Whither the forerunner is for us entered." O brethren, what honors are ours! why art thou at enmity with God? Oh, if you, my dear hearers, knew the joy and peace that would come to you if you but trusted in the doctrine of substitution, you would not rest until you were able to say, "Christ was in my place, that I might stand in his place: my sins were laid on him, that his righteousness might be girded on me." Now, beloved, it is in such a plight as this that the Holy Ghost aids us with his divine help. Let us not be backward in doing our work. I have thus illustrated the call in two ways, by the state of the sinner in his sin, and by the omnipotence which overwhelms the resistance which he offers. At this time our subjects for consideration shall be, firstly, the help which the Holy Spirit gives; secondly, the prayers which he inspires; and thirdly, the success which such prayers ore certain to obtain. He that sanctifieth and they that are sanctified are all of one; for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. leaving not so much as a single drop of wormwood or gall for any to drink who put their trust in him. But, at any rate, certain knight-errants have set themselves to do battle with windmills, and really believe that they shall actually destroy from the face of the earth that which is a fundamental and abiding distinction, without which the Scriptures are not to be understood. It is true that death was the payment of the debt, but resurrection was the public acknowledgment that the debt was paid. And when Samuel knew it was the Lord, he said, "Speak; for thy servant heareth." Jerusalem, my spirit is come to thee, and unto thy glorious assembly. Sonship towards an earthly parent brings with it a host of duties, and shall the Everlasting Father be unregarded? There is in the carnal mind of an infant, enmity against God; it is not developed, but it lieth there. What contrasts we have in the seventh verse! "What!" Those who obey his promptings shall not walk in darkness. So is it also with us. Another text. Now, there are many things in which the worldly and the godly do agree, but on this point there IS a vital difference. There is a chain on this side of the river fixed into a staple, and the same chain is fixed into a staple at the other side, but the greater part of the chain is for the most part under water, and you cannot see it: you only see it as the boat moves on, and as the chain is drawn out of the water by the force that propels the boat. They do not groan, so far as any pain can be, but they long with greater intensity than you and I long, for the "adoption, to wit, the redemption of the body." Oh! I come, therefore, to notice the second argument. Delivered on Lord's Day Morning, March 24th, 1872, by. Will he be received with triumph by his Father? But this should not be so. Here he is covered with the sweat and dust which he acquired by Adam's fall; there his brow shall be bright with the immortality which is conferred upon him by the resurrection of Christ. When at any time then the Holy Spirit comforts you sheds a sweet calm over your disturbed spirit; when at any period he instructs you, opens to you a mystery you did not understand before; when at some special period he inspires you with an unwonted affection, an unusual faith in Christ; when you experience a hatred of sin, a faith in Jesus, a death to the world, and a life to God, these are the works of the Spirit. Free-will may look very pretty in theory, but I never yet met any one who found it work well in practice. But the greatness of our talents is only the amount of our debt; for, the more we have, the more we owe. Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? Let us begin with the word "work." Let me show you that you have not been hearing strange doctrine. Did an earthly benefactor feed you, would you hate him? So is it with our text. Many men cavil at election; the very word with some is a great bug ear; they no sooner hear it than they turn upon their heel indignantly. May he who comes from Jesus lead you to Jesus. This detailed study of Romans 8 will encourage you to live free of sin's shackles and enjoy victorious, confident communion with Christ. I. I do not much wonder that thou shouldst despise spiritual good, for thou art yet "in the gall of bitterness and the bonds of iniquity;" a stranger to spiritual things, and let thy despising of spiritual things teach thee that thou art not spiritual, and therefore thou canst not understand the spiritual, because it must be spiritually discerned. When he is about to favour an individual he casts the shadow of hopeful expectation over his soul. Out of stock. "Well, sir, you know how much I love the cause, and how earnest I am in doing everything that I can to serve my Maker; but (now comes the end of it all) I really work so hard all the week that I cannot afford to go out on the Sabbath to Sunday-schools." One of the reasons why many men kick against it is this, they are afraid it hurts them. The first witness is our spirit; the second witness is The Spirit, the eternal Spirit of God, who beareth witness with our spirit. Christian men, do you feel this with regard to your sins. We see not yet all things put under man, but we see Jesus who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor; and in the person of Christ Jesus this day we, the men who are made in his image, have dominion over all things, being all made kings and priests unto God, and in Christ Jesus ordained to reign with him forever and ever. As long as you go with evil companions, they will applaud you. What a debtor thou art to Divine Sovereignty! Our blessed Lord delights in fellowship; such is the greatness of his heart that he would not be alone in his glory, but would have associates in his happiness. But next: why cannot we administer also to the blessed part of the glorious testament! Do not say, "I shall be lost; I shall be cast away." He knows and comprehends the cryings, and meanings, and sighings, and chatterings of his bewildered children. Stern was the labour, toilsome was the work; he dug on, and on, and on, through rocks of suffering, into the deepest caverns of misery; but the resurrection was the springing up of the water. Though we cannot pay all, we can at least acknowledge the debt. I have broken away from its thralldom; the new law, the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus, the law of grace has set me free from the domination of the law of sin and death. Now, why did you come here till you had paid your debt? ", I am anxious not to tarry over controverted matters, but to reach the subject of my sermon this morning. The text says, "we groan." I feel, sir, that I could believe God; but then at the time I feel so there is not much to believe." This was in accord with God's plan. Said he, "All things work together for good; but perhaps, any one of those 'all things' might destroy us if taken alone. Thank him for little grace, and ask him for great grace. Now, he never would sit if the work were not fully done. Did not Jesus say, "Your heavenly Father knoweth that you have need of these things before you ask them"? No! First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. "If thou be the Son of God." He might say, as Jesus did to the Jews, "For which of these works do ye stone me?" no, the poor legalist is like a blind horse going round and round the mill, or like the prisoner going up the treadwheel, and finding himself no higher after all he has done; he has no solid confidence, no firm ground to rest upon. I now come to finish up with CONSOLATION. The idle man that folds his arms or lies upon the bed of sloth is an exception to God's rule; for except himself all things work. And so addressing you, who love the Lord, under that title; I come at one to the text, "Brethren, we are debtors." If Christ owed anything to the justice of God by reason of his suretyship engagements, he would not be at God's right hand: but he owes nothing whatever. But while I have thus mentioned some of the different classes to whom we are debtors, I have not yet come to the point on which I desire to press your attention. Even when ignorance and perplexity are removed, we know not what we should pray for "as we ought." But Solomon did not add, that things are not what they seem. And would you blush to sit side- by-side with him, and be made nothing of as he was? Let a man once get that, and it will anoint his head with fresh oil, it will clothe him with the white garment of praise, and put the song of the angel into his mouth. I want to sit down, and suck all the sweetness out of this blessed truth: "It is Christ that died." Remember again, we are Christ's brethren, and there is a debt in brotherhood. This is one of his frequent operations upon the mind of the believer: "he shall teach you all things." All God's children are heirs, however numerous the family, and he that shall be born of God last, shall be as much his heir as he who was born first. They are well put together by that master of eloquence, Paul, and they were moreover, dictated by the Holy Spirit, who telleth man how to speak aright. Now, if I understand the passage before us, it means this. Our rights are joint rights, and most be either jointly acknowledged or jointly denied. He did not bring the mercy-seat outside the veil, to carry the mercy-seat to the blood. We need only the gospel thoroughly preached to bring about "liberty, equality, and fraternity," in the highest and best sense of these words. There are e'en stronger arguments for the non-condemnation of the believer in the resurrection of Christ than in his precious death and burial. God bless you, my beloved brethren, and may you feel the Spirit of the Lord thus working in you and with you. Look ye again at Camillus. But, secondly, the object of grace is that there may be some in heaven with whom Christ can hold brotherly converse. Christian, stop and ponder for a moment! I know my brethren, it is very hard for you to believe this. "Loose him and let him go," saith the Redeemer; and then he walks in all the liberty of life. My hands have never been stained with the blood of any man." Adam's death was not simply his own private loss, for in Adam all died, and Christ's life and all the consequences of his obedience are not merely his own, but the joint riches of all who are in him, of whom he is the federal head, and on whose behalf he accomplished the divine will. , the object of grace is that there may be some in heaven with whom can! Mind of the Lord, he never would sit if the work not! 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