"A CASTAWAY." Sermon PREACHED IN THE HORNS ASSEMBLY ROOM, ON SUNDAY MORNING, AUGUST 25TH, 1878, BY THOMAS BRADBURY. "But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”—1 Cor. ix. 27. THERE HERE were certain characters in the Church at Corinth who were constantly calling into question the apostleship of the writer of this very blessed and instructive epistle. We find throughout the two epistles to the Corinthian Church and the epistle to the Churches of Galatia, the apostle Paul says more concerning His apostleship than in all his other writings put together. The reason is plain. He was vindicating the commission he had received "not of men, neither by man," but directly from his risen and glorified Lord and Master. You see this in Gal. i. 11: "For I certify you, brethren, that the Gospel which was preached of me is not after man." He did not receive it from any formulary, article, or creed, nor according to vain notions of the Papists and Ritualists of the present day, from the apostolic fathers who were before him. But we see Paul tracing up his call and commission to the Great First Cause of all events, to the One Great Source of all revelation, and to the One Grand Fountain of truth and spiritual communition. He says: "For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." Do you desire any spiritual and heavenly communications this morning? Well, as you look for it, long for it, and desire it, ay, as you find in you a Divinely-wrought necessity that you must have it, the desire and the necessity both come from God through the Son of His love by the power of His blessed Spirit. Paul continues: "For ye have heard of my conversation in time past in NOTE. Sermon No. 153 was preached at the Horns Assembly Room, not at Grove Chapel. No. 154.-PRICE ONE PENNY. the Jews' religion, how that beyond measure I persecuted the Church of God, and wasted it. But when it pleased God." Here you see the ground upon which he found a firm footing for his faith. He traced all his religion up to the FountainGod. He acknowledged God's good pleasure and all-wise counsel in all things. "But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother's womb "-there is a separation for you, a work in which neither the apostle himself or any created being could claim a part-"and called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood." Paul writes not of the manifestation of Christ to him, but of the revelation of God's Son in Him, which is the only true qualification a Gospel minister possesses. He knew full well that conferring with flesh and blood was fatal to the stability of a child of God, and so do I. There is God's Book, and the man who speaks according to the mind and will of God as revealed therein, who is brought into profound subjection to its truths by the guidance and grace of God the ever-blessed Spirit, has much to be thankful for. It is of God's mercy I know that, in standing before you as a preacher of truth, and in looking back to the spots where I have stood, there has been no conference with flesh and blood. It is wholly of the grace of God that I am what I am, and where I am, and am often found at the feet of Jesus willing to do His bidding for the good of any of His brethren; but as for conferring with the flesh, or taking fleshly counsel, such not being in accordance with the Word, it can have no place in my mind as long as the Lord is graciously pleased so to teach me. "Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them that were apostles before me." What an independent character! Blessed with the assurance of God being by his side, Christ in his heart, and the Holy Ghost enlightening his understanding, that was sufficient for him, and he could get on very well without apostolic aid or interference. "But I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus. Then after three years I went up to Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days." A man with such an independent spirit, and freed from all human shackles, may well expect to be the butt for many hellish shafts, and the subject of much defamation and slander. You may rest assured of this, when a man stands in the simplicity which is in Christ and in the power of the Holy Ghost, he will not be free from Satan's fiery darts, nor from the defamation of proud professors; but he can well afford to leave all these matters in His hand that judgeth righteously and wait patiently the result. It is our privilege this morning to look at a portion of God's most Holy Word which may perplex some and frighten others. These may be ready to put forth their fleshly free-will hands to steady the ark of God's truth, which, according to their shortsighted view, is shaken. There may be some present who fancy that after all they have heard preached upon the everlasting security and eternal preservation of the Church of God, this one Scripture saps and mines the whole foundation of their faith. Well, it may be God's will to bring about a little clearing away of your doubts in respect to this glorious truth. May He send forth His Spirit-wind, which alone can chase away the fogs, the mists, and the clouds of ignorance and error which have darkened the minds of many of His tried and tempted children. In approaching this subject, I feel I have especially to deal with the elect, redeemed, and regenerate people of God. It is not my intention to attempt to refute any Arminian gloss which has been put upon this portion of inspired truth, yet such erroneous views existing in the minds of many of the living family may be met and scattered to the winds. I hope to meet with the little ones in the family of God, the weaklings in the flock of Christ who long for establishment in the glorious things of God's Gospel. The portion before us has ofttimes been quoted and preached from for the purpose of refuting the truth of the eternal preservation of the Church in Christ Jesus. Mark the words. I do not say, the final perseverance of the saints, because there may be such an expression as this which is not at all Scriptural. Many of God's dear children are troubled with the impression that they have not persevered as they ought to have done, therefore they must set to work with the means at their disposal, read the Word, communicate with God's people, attend prayer meetings, and be diligent in the use of the so-called means of grace; but in these things they meet with many stumbling-blocks, failures, falls, and miserable disappointments. I remember the time when I thought I would read God's Word more diligently than ever I did before, communicate with the saints more frequently, pray without ceasing and more fervently, but I found all these to be as so many dry breasts, with no refreshment, consolation, or encouragement to my soul. Yet it has pleased God in His own way, set before us in the experiences of His saints, as recorded in the Scriptures, to bring me by a way that I knew not into a blessed knowledge of Himself, which must stand when all things else decay and fade away. But I said, this portion has been quoted for the purpose of disproving the eternal preservation of the Church of God in Christ Jesus. Enemies of truth have manifested their enmity in such deceiving expressions as these: "You see, if so highlyfavoured a man as the apostle was afraid of becoming a castaway from God's presence, love, and salvation, how much more must we fear!" Mark well this specious deduction! If the apostle Paul doubted the certainty of the covenant verities he preached and taught, doubted whether he, with all the favours JEHOVAH had bestowed upon him, should ever stand before God with acceptance in glory, how much more should poor, weak mortals such as we, doubt, fear, and tremble! If the apostle admitted the possibility of a saint like himself becoming a reprobate character, an eternal castaway from JEHOVAH'S love and care, is this not sufficient proof that the eternal preservation of the children of God in Christ is only a human figment, and not a Divine fact? To this I at once answer, If such were the admission of the apostle, then I should admit the conclusion arrived at. But, I not only question the truthfulness of the conclusion, but I declare emphatically before God and His people that such a conclusion is a lie of Satan to deceive unstable souls and to perplex many of those for whom Christ died and whom He will most assuredly have at home in glory with Him. We will now look at this perplexing portion, and endeavour to find out whether the falling from grace theory is consistent I. With the Father's purpose of love. II. With the Son's redemption of His people. III.-With the Spirit's power in the redeemed; and 1. IS THE FALLING FROM GRACE THEORY CONSISTENT WITH THE FATHER'S PURPOSE OF LOVE? We will see. Let us look at those glorious declarations of grace given by the inspiration of the Spirit in Ephesians i. Here we see that He purposed in Himself to have a people near to Himself, in whom He would be everlastingly glorified, and by whom He would be everlastingly worshipped and adored. In covenant, before the worlds were formed, He set up His Son as the great and glorious Head of grace. To this Head the members were given, and to the members He gave the Head, who held Himself responsible for the eternal preservation, certain salvation, and everlasting security of the whole. To Christ the Head the Father communicated all the blessings of grace and glory with which the members should be endowed irrespective of any condition to be performed on their part. Every blessing freely given. You see this in the third verse: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ; according as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him." In this we have the Father's purpose of love, even the whole election of grace blessed, chosen, holy, and without blame before Him in Christ the Head. "In love." Mark the punctuation! "In love having predestinated us to the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to Himself." Predestinated in eternity to the adoption in time, "according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace wherein He hath made us accepted in the Beloved; " or, as it may be rendered, "graced us in the Beloved." We thus stand before Him in the person of our Head possessing every grace we need. Some of you are ready to say, We do not experience that! Ah, my dear friends, you never will experience all that until you stand with Christ in glory, 46 "Filled with the fulness of your God, And lost in His embrace." Look at that word: "Graced in the Beloved." The grace of love for all the elect, the grace of faith for all the redeemed, the grace of repentance for all His tempted ones, the grace of consolation for all mourners in Zion. It is a glorious fact to contemplate, that JEHOVAH in the riches of His grace, before the foundation of the world, had every grace treasured up for His children against the times of their sin, imperfections, infirmities, failures, and falls. This grace is like Himself, eternal, omnipotent, infinite, invincible, and indefectible. In it His elect people in Christ Jesus have full provision made against every emergency which Satan may suggest, every contingency he may present to their fears, and every perplexity they may experience. See how the apostle repeats this again and again : Having made known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure which He hath purposed in Himself; that in the dispensation of the fulness of time He might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth, even in Him: in whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of Him who worketh all things after the counsel of His own will." Why? "That we should be to the praise of His glory who first trusted in Christ." The Father in covenant trusted Christ with His honour, faithfulness, and glory. He trusted Him with the whole election of grace, with every blessing He designed for them to enjoy, and with all the glories of eternity which must be theirs after every toil, trial, and tribulation is past and gone for ever. Think for moment upon this momentous question! If the good pleasure of the Father which He purposed in Himself, and the working of all things after the counsel of His own will should meet with failure, the very devils would rejoice, and hell be filled with exultation. If a redeemed one should suffer eternal destruction, Satan would taunt God with His want of foresight, wisdom, and power. If an elect vessel of mercy should fall from grace, all hell might well resound with its shouts of defiance and taunts against a God who so signally failed in the accomplishment of His purpose. But that can never be. We now come to consider II. IS THE FALLING FROM GRACE THEORY CONSISTENT WITH THE SON'S REDEMPTION OF HIS PEOPLE? The Son's honour was engaged to save with an everlasting salvation all that the Father gave unto Him. In the fulness of time, and all to display the Father's purpose and magnify His grace, all the given ones fell in Adam. Fell from what? From grace? Never. From the love and notice of Him who gave them to His Son? That is an utter impossibility. From what |