CONTENDING FOR THE FAITH (Concluded)

All doctrines that are taught you to believe, reduce them thither; there is no profession of faith to be built, but the stones must be fetched from this mountain. If you believe divine truths, but not because the Scripture propounds them, your faith is but human. If you believe anything the Scripture does not speak, your faith is diabolical. The Word of God and your faith must run parallel. All that is written you must believe, and you must believe nothing but what is written. This was the rule of the Old Testament: ‘To the law and to the testimony,’ Isaiah 8:20; to the law, that is, to Moses; and to the testimony, that is, to the prophets; ‘if they speak not according to these, there is no light in them.’ When anything was offered to Christ by way of enquiry, His common answer was, ‘How readest thou?’ Luke 10:26. ‘How is it written?’ When the apostle Paul would correct the abuse of the Lord’s Supper, he does not carry the Corinthians to such and such fathers, to this and that tradition and custom, but brings before them how it was delievered from the Lord. He reduces them to the institution, ‘What I have received from the Lord, that have I delivered unto you.’ The Word of God is perfect, in respect of doctrine, and in respect of worship, so that whatever is offered you to believe, you must try it by Scripture’s perfect rules; for it is given by divine inspiration, to make the man of God perfect and wise unto salvation. It is such a canon about doctrines to be received, as nothing must be added to nor taken from it, Rev. 22:18. Therefore it is called a Testament. Now no man dares add to another man’s last will and testament. Who shall dare to add a faith to the faith of God’s elect, to that which Christ has delivered? I will give you this as a most certain observation, that there never was anything of false doctrine brought into the church, or anything of false worship imposed upon the church, but either it was by neglecting the Scriptures, or by introducing something above the Scripture.

Bring hither all practices of worship, as well as doctrine. Try the ways and forms of Christ’s house by the word of Christ. He shows us the pattern thereof, the outgoings, and returnings thereof. He was faithful in all His house, even as Moses was, who did not omit a. pin of the tabernacle, but did appoint it. There is nothing decent and comely in the church, which is so much pleaded for, but what comes in by Christ’s institution. Whenever you worship without a warrant from the Word of God, or by whatever means you worship without a warrant from the Word of God, you worship you know not what, John 4:20. It is will-worship, and by the rule by which you receive one form of will-worship, you may receive twenty. It is vain worship; it will never bring you into communion with God, for He is a Spirit, and seeks spiritual worshippers. It will never bring you to the enjoyment of God. So I say again, bring all questions of worship to the Word of God. And as to faith and worship, say, 0! my faith and my worship, hitherto shalt thou go and no further.

This rule, rightly improved, will disentangle you from the hooks, and take you off from the baits, of those cunning fowlers (for to such the apostle compares them in the New Testament) who seek to draw souls away from the simplicity of gospel-faith. To put up false doctrine, they put down the Scripture, and put out the eyes of Christians to make them bend to it. Before they use other means to compel them, their great work is to darken the light, or the truth; and in the place of the Scripture they set up other rules.

Therefore I would press you to labor for an established spirit. You must not only hear the things of God, but see them; the first will but blind you, or at best leave you in great uncertainty; the last will settle you. When the apostles were under the greatest threatenings of the high priests, and were forbidden to speak in the name of Christ, what was the reason of the holy apostles’ zeal, in speaking of justification by faith, and the resurrection of Christ from the dead, and forgiveness of sins by Him (things that are very remote from sense and reason) ? The apostle will tell you in Acts 4:20: ‘We cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard.’ Hence it is that poor simple women who, by reason of the infirmity of their sex and the terrors of the fire and faggot, might readily have been brought to apostacy, yet they confounded the great doctors and rabbis when they were brought before them. They were able to burn, though they could not dispute; they beheld things that were invisible. It is an excellent thing not to take up the Word upon notion, upon opinion, but to have an established heart through grace.

In order to have a heart established through grace, get the Lord Himself by prayer to teach you every truth. What Jesus Christ teaches once, is everlastingly taught; no word is abiding, but what the Lord Jesus teaches Himself. See how it is with Satan; when he comes to seduce men from the truth, he presents such a fine notion without, and commonly he darts such a dazzling light within, that you never knew a heretic take up a false opinion, but it was with a marvellous portion of sweetness and comfort. So when the Lord Christ teaches by His Spirit, He comes with such light, sweetness, savor, and relish of truth, that it will be impossible for you to let it go. Hence when Christ would confute the Pharisees, who had the witness of His Father in His work, He says, ‘Ye have neither heard His voice at any time, nor seen His shape,’ John 5:37. It is an excellent thing to see the shape, and hear the voice of God.

Again, be well rooted in Christ, or else you will never be established in any truth of Christ. If you miss the Lord Jesus by the grace of faith, you will never hold fast the doctrine of faith. You are built upon the doctrine of the apostles (not their persons), the Lord Jesus being the corner-stone. He that does not know Jesus Christ Himself, will certainly lose his faith. What is the reason the stony-ground hearers in time of persecution fell away? Why, they had no root, they were not planted upon the Lord Jesus.

Those truths that God has taught you, and those ways of worship God has commited to you, love them as your lives, love them above your lives; for no man will ever contend to hold them if he does not love them. Things of low price and esteem are soon let go. He that loves the Word above his life, will let life go rather than the Word. If you receive not the Word out of love, every imposter and false prophet, every fear and terror of men, will rob you of it. Hide the Word in thy heart, says Solomon, love the truth dearly. It was a great saying of Calvin: ‘Never did anyone apostatize from the truth of Jesus Christ, but it was because he did not love the truth.’ And I add this, that never did any apostatize from the ways and truths of Jesus Christ, but it was because they did not receive them in love, or else they have lost their love; for there is a decay of affection, as well as having no affection. If you love them, what will you not suffer for them?

Guard all the truths of God, and those ways of God that have been taught you; guard them strongly, especially truths that are most material and fundamental. For leading truths are like captains of armies, if they be routed, the rout of the whole follows. There is great opposition that will be made against your faith. The whole power of darkness of Antichrist, of his seducing spirits, likely and probably enough will overspread the whole face of Christendom once more. For she must sit as a lady, before she is made desolate and forsaken for ever. The apostle bids you beware of dogs; beware of the concision; beware of evil workers; guard yourselves against them. Guard the truths you have learned, by argument, by Scripture, by reason, that you may have wherewithal to confute them by the Word of truth mightily, out of the Scripture, as the apostle did.

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