1 Peter 5:12 By Silvanus, a faithful brother to you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting… Grace, in scriptural language, denotes, in general, free favour to the unworthy, to the guilty. Accordingly the gospel, which proclaims salvation freely to all, is here denominated "the grace of God." Now the gospel may be considered in three views. First, and most characteristically, it may be contemplated as a promise of life and salvation through Jesus Christ, fraught with the richest blessings. Again, the gospel may be viewed as a testimony, in which the messengers of the Lord of Hosts, as faithful witnesses, announce certain great facts, appealing to the judgment of God as that which shall confirm the truth of their testimony, as well as avenge the guilt and disobedience of such as slight or gainsay it. Lastly, the gospel is frequently represented as a promulgation of privilege, involving, of course, a prescription of duty, pointing to the hope of man, explaining the plan of salvation through the Cross of Christ, and inculcating upon all the necessity of immediately embracing this way of life, and availing themselves of that "grace which reigns through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord." Obviously the apostle, in our text, while he doubtless includes the first of these considerations, is viewing the gospel immediately in the two last as an exhortation inculcating duty, and as a testimony proclaiming truth and inviting men to improve it. And he employs both expressions to indicate his own earnestness in the address, as well as the deep interest which they had in acting upon it. We exhort and testify, then, with Peter, and with all the apostles, that the method of redemption proclaimed in the gospel, by sovereign mercy reigning through the Cross of Christ, is the "true grace" by God, that alone which is founded in fact, which can yield satisfaction to the reflecting mind; and that all other plans of salvation which men have invented, however specious they may appear or confidently they may have been put forward, as calculated to honour God and magnify His mercy, will prove delusory, and, if persisted in, destructive. I. THERE ARE THOSE WHO EXPECT ULTIMATE SALVATION ON THIS PRINCIPLE, THAT GOD FROM HIS GREAT GOODNESS WILL OVERLOOK SIN, AND DECLINE TO PUSH IT AS A MATTER OF COURSE. This is an opinion which hardly any of you will avow, and perhaps none of you will advocate. Yet it is congenial to the corrupted mind, has been not only adopted, but argued by others, and, there is reason to fear, is secretly entertained by very many. "The sinners of My people say," is the testimony of God concerning the Jews in the time of Amos, "the evil shall not overtake or prevent us." And, again, saith God by Zephaniah, "The men that are settled upon their lees say in their hearts, The Lord will not do good, neither will He do evil." And, at an earlier period of their history, this is represented by Moses as language which might be justly ascribed to them, though equally indicative of cattishness and of impiety, "I shall have peace, though I walk in the imagination of mine heart, and add drunkenness to thirst." Such impunity, indeed, would be amazing "grace" on the part of God — i.e., free favour to the guilty. But is it "true grace"? Is it such grace as can be imputed to Him without impiety? Assuredly not. It is totally incompatible with His revealed characters. For if He be "the Lord, the Lord God merciful and gracious, longsuffering and slow to wrath, abundant in goodness," it is also testified of Him that He is "abundant in truth, and will by no means clear the guilty." It is irreconcilable with the dictates of right reason; for, as the poet says, "A God all mercy is a God unjust." And it is opposed to the honour and interests of the Divine government. What would be the consequences? How fearful, how sweeping, how disastrous! II. There are many who would not be thought to adopt this hypothesis of necessary impunity to the unbelieving and impenitent transgressors of every class, arising from the goodness of God, AND YET CONCEIVE THAT HE WILL ACCEPT OF EXTERNAL RITES AND OBLATIONS, OF RELIGIOUS FORMS AND OBSERVANCES, AS A COMPENSATION FOR THE NEGLECT OF DUTY, AND FOR THE VIOLATION OF HIS HOLY LAW. Upon this principle, it is obvious, every institute of paganism is constructed. Nay, the Jews, who ought to have known better things, were impressed with this belief. Accordingly, amid the perpetration of their crimes and the denunciations of their prophets, they cried out, not only without trembling apprehension, but with boastful confidence, "The temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord are we!" And is there not reason to fear that there is too great a leaning to forms, under the clearer light of the gospel, and among all parties of Christians? Do you not see, from day to day, some of one class, for example, though sunk in carelessness or addicted to vice, deluding themselves with the hope that penance and prayer, the confession and the mass, rites and ceremonies the most frivolous and unintelligible, can atone for guilt, propitiate God, and save the soul? Nay, among the disciples of a purer faith and simpler institute, may we not detect an undue dependence upon the mere ceremonial of service? Now were Jehovah to accept of appearances instead of realities, of forms instead of actual services, and of heartless obedience instead of holy conduct, this might be accounted grace indeed. But is it such grace as we dare impute to God? Is it "true grace"? Is it such that you would venture to rest your eternal all upon it? I hope not. And if you did you would act a part the most foolish, and entirely contrary to the most explicit testimonies of Scripture. The very question is proposed, and the answer given, in the Book of Micah (Micah 6:6-8). III. But, abandoning the hope of salvation exclusively by external rites, there are some who think that this is TO BE ATTAINED BY HUMAN OBEDIENCE ALONE, AND BY SUCH OBEDIENCE AS MAN CAN RENDER IN HIS PRESENT SINFUL AND IMPERFECT STATE. That God prefers the obedience of life to mere ecclesiastical rites is certain. But the obedience of man — in its best form, you know — is greatly defective. How little is there of enlightened view, how little of holy principle, how little of filial love, how little of disinterested regard, how little of Godlike aim, is there in the services of the best! Verily they are sinfully imperfect in every view. Were God, then, to condescend to accept these sinful and imperfect services as the ground of hope, how liberal, how generous would He appear! But would this, I ask, be "true grace" — grace such as we may ascribe to Him, and as the Scriptures represent to be the principle of His moral government? Unquestionably not. Can God accept that which is greatly or altogether without holy principle, without godly spirit, without honourable aim? Much more, can He render immortality as the recompense of obedience so essentially and criminally defective? IV. Some, however, conceive that, though they dare not depend upon their own righteousness alone, yet, AS AIDED AND SUPPORTED BY THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST, IT MAY JUSTLY BECOME THE GROUND OF THEIR HOPE, AND BE CONSIDERED AS THE TRUE GRACE OF GOD. And were this foundation conceded, were this plea admitted, there would be grace on the part of God — grace in the appointment of the Saviour — grace in the obedience and atonement of the Saviour, and grace in the acceptance of human merit (if so proud a name may be attached to so poor a thing), as the price of "eternal redemption." But this is not the "true grace" of God; for, I ask you, where in Scripture is our Saviour's righteousness spoken of as only a secondary thing, subordinate to human worth? Where is it represented under the degrading character of a make weight, of a certain supplementary provision to human infirmity, of a sort of accessory to human goodness, of an authorised appendage to human merit? Is it not, on the contrary, uniformly asserted to have done all — to have, in the emphatical language of the prophet, "finished transgression, made an end of sin, made reconciliation for iniquity, sealed the vision, and confirmed the covenant?" V. Finally, there are those who, rejecting this heterogeneous admixture, and every other ground of dependence that is human, RELY FOR ACCEPTANCE AND SALVATION SOLELY UPON THE GRACE OF GOD, AS IT "REIGNS THROUGH THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST UNTO ETERNAL LIFE." This is the view given in Scripture. Hear how the Apostle Paul speaks on this subject, in a way greatly analogous to the passage before us, and calculated to throw light upon it: "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God." This is, indeed, "the true grace of God" — the grace of redemption pure, and free, and rich, and high, and infallible: pure, without any intermixture of human merit; free, springing from the sovereign good pleasure of Jehovah alone, and from no necessary impulse of His nature, or controlling necessity or incidental exigency of His government; rich, exceedingly abundant in every respect, applicable to all, adequate for each, and fraught with the noblest blessings to our fallen race; high, grand in its conception, glorious in its character, admirable in its provisions, heavenly in its results; infallible, on which we may rest without the fear of disappointment, and in which we can rejoice without the dread of delusion. In particular, this is the only plan of salvation which places the Divine generosity in the most unexceptionable and attractive light, while it satisfies justice, condemns sin, secures the honours of the Divine law, extends the reign of goodness, and brightens the glories of the moral empire of God. (John Mitchell, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: By Silvanus, a faithful brother unto you, as I suppose, I have written briefly, exhorting, and testifying that this is the true grace of God wherein ye stand. |
    |