Christ: The Way, the Truth, and the Life Part 16

1. By himself, who was given for a witness, Isaiah lv. 4; and came to bear witness to the truth, John iii. 11; xviii. 37; and was a faithful witness, Rev. i. 5; iii. 14,

2. By his ministers, who witness the truth of the gospel by publis.h.i.+ng and proclaiming the same.

3. By his martyrs, who seal the truth with their blood, and so bear witness to it, Rev. ii. 13; xvii. 6. Acts xxii. 20.

4. By his Spirit, sealing the truth of grace in a believer, and his interest in G.o.d through Christ, and his right to all the benefits of the new covenant, "in whom also, after ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance," Eph.

i. 13, 14.

_Eleventhly._ He is the Truth, in respect that he carrieth towards poor sinners in all things, according to the tenor of the gospel, and the offers thereof; he offers himself to all freely, and promiseth to put none away that come to him; and this he doth in truth: for no man can say, that he had a sincere and true desire to come to Jesus, and that he rejected him and would not look upon him. He giveth encouragement to all sinners to come, that will be content to quit their sins; and promiseth to upbraid none that cometh. And is there any that in their own experience can witness the contrary? He offers all freely; and did he ever reject any upon the want of a price in their hand? Nay, hath not the cause of their getting no admittance been, that they thought to commend themselves to Christ by their worth; and would not take all freely, for the glory of his grace? Let believers and others speak here, out of their own experience, in truth and in uprightness; and it shall be found, that he was and is the truth.

_Twelfthly._ He is the Truth, in that, in all his dispensations in the gospel, and in all his works and actions in and about his own people, he is true and upright. All his offers, all his promises, all his dispensations, are done in truth and uprightness; yea, all are done out of truth and uprightness of love, true tenderness and affection to them, whatever the corruption of jealousy and misbelief think and say to the contrary. He is the truth; and so always the same, unchangeable in his love, whatever his dispensations seem to say; and the believer may rest a.s.sured hereof, that he being the truth, shall be to him whatever his word holdeth him forth to be, and that constantly and unchangeably.

CHAPTER XII.

SOME GENERAL USES FROM THIS USEFUL TRUTH, THAT CHRIST IS THE TRUTH.

Having thus cleared up this truth, we should come to speak of the way of believers making use of him as the truth, in several cases wherein they will stand in need of him as the truth. But ere we come to the particulars, we shall first propose some general uses of this useful point.

_First._ This point of truth serveth to discover unto us, the woful condition of such as are strangers to Christ the truth; and oh, if it were believed! For,

1. They are not yet delivered from that dreadful plague of blindness, error, ignorance, mistakes under which all are by nature; a condition, that if rightly seen, would cause the soul lie low in the dust.

2. Whatever course they take, till they come to Christ, and while they remain in that condition, is a lie, and a false, erroneous, and deceitful way. For still they are turning aside to lies, Psalm xl. 4; and seeking after them, Psalm iv. 2.

3. Whatever hopes and confidence they may have, that their way shall carry them through, yet in end they will be found to inherit lies, Jer.

xvi. 19; and meet with the saddest disappointment that can be. For instead of the fellows.h.i.+p of G.o.d, Christ, angels, and glorified spirits, they shall take up their lodging with devils and d.a.m.ned souls; and that because they have made no acquaintance with the way of truth; and the way wherein they are, is but a lie and a falsehood; and so of necessity must deceive them.

4. All their literal and speculative knowledge shall not avail them, so long as they are strangers unto him who is the truth. Their knowledge is but ignorance, because it is not a knowledge of him who is the truth.

5. They have none to go to for help and light in the day of their darkness, confusion, and perplexity; for they are not reconciled unto the truth, which alone can prove steadable and comfortable in that day.

6. They can do nothing to help themselves out of that state of darkness and ignorance; and whatever they do to help themselves shall but increase their darkness and misery; because there is no truth there, and truth, even the truth alone, can dispel these clouds of error, mistakes, ignorance, &c.

_Secondly._ Hence, we see the happy and blessed condition of believers, who have embraced this truth, and gotten their souls opened to him who is the truth; for,

1. They are in part delivered from that ma.s.s of lies, mistakes, misapprehensions, errors, deceitfulness and ignorance under which they lay formerly, and all the unregenerate do yet lie. And though they be not fully delivered therefrom, yet the day is coming when that shall be, and the begun work of grace and truth in them is a pledge thereof; and at present they have ground to believe, that that evil shall not again have dominion over them, they being now under grace, and under the guidance of truth.

2. Howbeit they have many perplexing thoughts, doubts and fears of their state and condition, and think many a time, that they shall one day or other perish by the way; and all their hopes and confidence shall evanish; yet having given up themselves to truth, and to the truth, they shall not be disappointed in the end. The truth shall land them safe on the other side. The truth shall prove no lie.

3. They have a fast and steadable friend to go to, in a day of darkness, clouds, doubts, when falsehood and lies are like to prevail, even the Truth, who alone can help them in that day.

4. Howbeit the knowledge they have of G.o.d, and of the mysteries of the gospel, be but small; yet that small measure being taught by him, who is the truth, and flowing from truth, shall prove sanctifying and saving.

9. They have ground to hope for more freedom from errors and deceitful lies, than others; for they have chosen the way of truth, and given themselves up to the leading of truth.

_Object._ But do not even such drink in and receive and plead for errors, as well as others; and is it not sometime found, that they even live and die in some mistakes and errors?

_Answ._ I grant the Lord may suffer even some of his own to fall into, and to continue for some time in errors, yea, and it may be all their days, as to some errors, that hereby, all may learn to tremble and fear, and to work out their salvation with fear and trembling. (2.) Some may be tried thereby, Dan. xi. 35. (3.) Others may break their neck thereupon. (4.) To punish themselves, for not making that use of truth, and of the truth, that they should have done; yet we would consider these few things:

1. That there are many more unregenerate persons that fall into error.

2. If his people fall into error at any time, they do not always continue therein to the end. G.o.d for his own glory maketh, sometime or other, truth s.h.i.+ne in upon their soul, which discovereth that mistake, and presently, the grace of G.o.d in their soul maketh them to abhor the same.

3. Or if some continue in it to their dying day, yet they repent of it, by an implicit repentance, as they do of other unknown and unseen evils that lie in their soul; so that that error doth not destroy their soul.

4. There are some gross errors, which a regenerate soul cannot readily embrace, or if, through a mistake, or the power of a temptation, they do embrace them, yet they cannot heartily close with them, whatever for a time, through corruption and pride, they may seem outwardly to do; and that because the very daily exercise of grace will discover them; and so they will be found to be against their daily experience; as some opinions of the Papists, Arminians, and Socinians, together with the abominable Quakers, which a gracious soul, when not carried away with the torrent of corruption, and with the tempest of a temptation, cannot but observe to contradict the daily workings of grace in their soul, and the motions of their sanctified soul, in prayer and other holy duties; and so such as they cannot but find to be false by their own experience.

_Thirdly._ Here is ground of a sharp reproof of the wicked, who continue in unbelief; and,

1. Will not believe, nor give any credit to his promises; wherewith he seeketh to allure poor souls to come to him for life.

2. Nor will they believe his threatenings, wherewith he useth to alarm souls, and to urge them forward to their duty.

3. Nor will they believe and receive his offers, as true.

5. Nor will they believe, that he is the true prophet, priest, and king, that must save souls from h.e.l.l and death, and therefore they will not give him employment in his offices.

All which cannot but be a high provocation, for in effect it is to say that he is not the truth, nor worthy to be believed. Let them consider this, and see how they think he shall take this off their hands. No man will take it well that another should either call or account him a liar; and can they think that Christ shall take it well at their hands, to be accounted by them a liar? What will they think to be challenged for this in the great day? Now, the truth is, all unbelievers, as they make G.o.d a liar, (O horrid and abominable crime! Whose hair would not stand on end to hear this?) 1 John v. 10, 11. "He that believeth not G.o.d hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that G.o.d gave of his Son. And this is the record, that G.o.d hath given to us eternal life; and this life is in his Son." So do they make the Son of G.o.d a liar, in all his sayings, in all his offices, and in all his works; and they make the Holy Ghost a liar, in not believing that truth that he hath sealed as firm truth. They make the covenant of suretis.h.i.+p betwixt the Father and the Son, a mere lie and a forgery. O dreadful! They make the word of truth a lie, and they make all the saints liars, and all the officers of Jesus Christ, who declare this truth, and the saints who believe it, and rest upon it, liars.

_Fourthly._ Hence is there ground of reproof to the G.o.dly, in that,

1. They do not firmly enough believe his sayings, neither his promises, nor his threatenings, as appeareth too oft upon the one hand, by their faintings and fears, and upon the other hand, by their carelessness and loose walk.

2. They make not use of him, in all cases as they ought. His offices lie by and are not improved; nor is he gone to as the truth, in cases requiring his help, as the truth; that is, in cases of darkness, doubtings, confusion, ignorance of their case and condition, and the like.

3. They do not approach to him, nor to G.o.d through him, heartily and cordially, as the very truth, and true way.

4. Nor do they rest with confidence upon him in all difficulties, as being the truth that will not fail them, nor disappoint them.

5. Nor do they rejoice in him, as satisfied with him, who is the truth, in the want of all other things.

_Fifthly._ The right consideration of this truth should keep us in mind of several great duties; such as those,

1. Of pitying those places where this truth is not heard of, as among Turks and heathens; or where it is darkened with superst.i.tion and men's inventions, as among papists; or where it hath been clearly s.h.i.+ning, but now is darkened, as in some churches now under the prevailing power of corruption; or, lastly, where it is not received in its power and l.u.s.tre, as, alas! it is too little received in the best and purest churches.

2. Of being thankful to him for making this truth known in the world, and particularly in the place where we were born, or had our abode; and yet more for that he hath determined our hearts to a believing of this truth, in some weak measure; to an embracing of it, and to a giving of ourselves up to be led, ruled, and guided thereby.

3. Of esteeming highly of every piece of truth for his sake who is the truth; studying it for his sake--loving it for his sake--holding it fast for his sake--witnessing to it, as we are called, for his sake. We should buy the truth, and not sell it, Prov. xxiii. 23; and we should plead for it, and be valiant for it, Isa. lix. 4, 14. Jer. vii. 28; ix.

3.

4. Of taking part with him and his cause, in all hazards, for truth is always on his side; and truth shall prevail at length.

5. Of giving him employment in our doubts and difficulties, whether,

(1.) They be about some controverted points of truth, which come to be debated, or to trouble the church. Or,