Walkington's Works

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Gospel Of The Grace Of God

There is a continual need to return to the great fundamental of the faith . As long as the age lasts the Gospel of God's grace must be preached . The need arises out of the natural state of the human heart , which is essentially legalistic . The cardinal error against which the Gospel has to contend is the inveterate tendency of men to rely on their own performances . The great antagonist to the truth is the pride of man , which causes him to imagine that he can be , in part at least , his own Saviour . This error is the prolific mother of a multitude of heresies . It is by this falsehood that the pure stream of God's truth , passing through human channels , has been polluted .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Gospel Of The Grace Of God

The great center of all Calvin's preaching was the grace of God . It has been the custom ever since to designate as "Calvinists" those who emphasize what he emphasized . We do not accept that title without quaification , but we certainly are not ashamed of it . The truth Calvin thundered forth was identical with the truth Paul had preached and set down in writing centuries before . This was also the substance of Whitefield's preaching , which God honored so extensively as to produce the great revival in his day .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Gospel Of The Grace of God

[ AW quotes Spurgeon here ]

Luther had , as it were , undamped the stream of truth , by breaking down the barriers which had kept back its living waters as in a great reservoir . But the stream was turbid and carried down with it much which ought to have been left behind . Then Calvin came , and cast salt into the waters , and purged them , so that there flowed on a purer stream to gladden and refresh souls and quench the thirst of poor lost sinners .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Gospel Of The Grace Of God

The Law manifests what was in man -- sin ; grace manifests what is in God -- love and mercy . The Law speaks of what man must do for God ; grace tells of what Christ has done for men . The Law demanded righteousness from men ; grace brings righteousness to men . The Law brought out God to men ; grace brings in men to God . The Law never had a missionary ; the Gospel is to be preached to every creature . The Law makes known the will of God ; grace reveals the heart of God !

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Gospel Of The Grace Of God

The Gospel affirms that grace is the sinner's only hope . Unless we are saved by grace we cannot be saved at all . To reject a gratuitous salvation is to spurn the only one that is available for lost sinners . Grace is God's provision for those who are so corrupt that they cannot change their own natures ; so averse to God , they cannot turn to Him ; so blind , they cannot see Him ; so deaf , they cannot hear Him ; in a word , so dead in sin that He must open their graves and bring them on to resurrection-ground , if ever they are to be saved . Grace , then , implies that the sinner's case is desperate , but that God is merciful .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Fullness Of Christ

It cannot be expected that those who are drowned in the love of the world will have any true apprehension of Christ , or any real desire for it . But for those who have "tasted that the Lord is gracious" (1 peter 2:3 ) , how foolish we would be if we gave all our time and strength to other things to the neglect of diligent searching of Scripture to obtain a fuller knowledge of Him .

 

2191 And Holding

Tis a mystery why the same number of views has been shown for almost two weeks since I have noticed it . I asked a mod and he did not know why the views haven't increased either . Are any of you reading these slices of AWP's works ? I'm just taking a periodic reading here .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Fullness Of God

Not until the mind arrives at a fixed judgment that all things here are transitory and reach only to outward man -- that everything under the sun is but "vanity and vexation of spirit" ( Ecclesiastes 4:16 ) , and there are other things incalculably better to comfort and satisfy the heart -- not till then will we ever be delivered from spending our lives in fear , distress , and sorrow . Christ alone can satisfy the heart . And when He does truly satisfy , the language of the soul is "Whom have I in heaven but thee ? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee" ( Psalm 73:25 ) . [ See also Ps. 16:2 and 62:5 -- Rip ]

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Helpfulness Of Christ

Whatever the circumstances , the succoring Saviour is all-sufficient and enters sympathetically into your condition . He knew what it was to be weary ( John 4:6 ) and exhausted ( Mark 4:36-38 ) . He knew what it was to suffer hunger and thirst . Are you homeless ? He had not a place to lay His head . Are you in straitened circumstances ? He was cradled in a manager . Are you grief-stricken ? He was the Man of sorrows . Are you misunderstood by fellow believers ? So was He by His own disciples . Whatever your lot , He can enter fully into it . He experienced all the miseries of mankind and has not forgotten them . Are you assailed by Satan ? So was He . Do blasphemous thoughts at times torment your mind ? The Devil tempted Him idolatrously to worship him . Are you in such desperation as to think of making an end of yourself ? Satan challenged Him to cast Himself down from the pinnacle of the temple . He "was in all points tempted like as we are , sin excepted" ( see Hebrews 4:15 ) .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Call Of Christ

Come unto me , all ye that labour and are heavy laden , and I will give you rest . Take my yoke upon you , and learn of me ; for I am meek and lowly in heart : and ye shall find rest unto your souls . For my yoke is easy , and my burden is light" ( Matthew 11;28-30 ) .
Familiar as the sound of those words are to professing Christians , there is a pressing need for their careful examination . Few portions of God's Word have received such superficial treatment . That these verses call for prayerful meditation some will admit , but few realize that such a 'simple passage" demands protracted study . Many take it for granted that they already understand its meaning ; hence they make no diligent inquiry into the significance of its terms . The mere fact a verse is so frequently quoted is no proof that we really see its import [ add John 3:16 , 2 Peter 3:9 , 1 John 2:2 , 1 Timothy 2:4,6 to some typically misunderstood , but often quoted verses -- Rip ] ; yet , such familiarity has precluded careful examination and renders it far more likely we do not rightly grasp its truth .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Call Of Christ

There is a vast difference between being acquainted with the sound of a verse of Holy Writ and entering into the sense of it . Our age is is marked by industrial loafing [ doncha' just love his terminology? -- Rip ] and mental slackness . Work is detested ; and how quickly a task may be disposed of , rather than how well it may be done , is the order of the day . The same dilatory spirit marks the products of both the pulpit and the printed page ; hence the superficial treatment this passage commonly receives . No regard is paid to its context or no laborious attempt made to ascertain its coherence ( the relation of one clause to another ) ; no painstaking examination and exposition of its terms .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Call Of Christ

If ever a passage of Scripture were mutilated and its meaning perverted , it is this one . Only a fragment of it usually is quoted , with the part most unpalatable to the flesh omitted . A particular call is twisted into a promiscuous invitation by deliberately ignoring the qualifying terms there used by the Saviour . Even when the opening clause is quoted , no attempt is made to show what is involved in "come to Christ," so the hearer is left to assume he already understands its meaning . The special offices in which the Son of God is portrayed , namely as Lord and Master , as Prince and Prophet , are ignored and another substituted . The conditional promise made by Christ is falsified by making it an unconditional one , as though His "rest" could be obtained without our taking His "yoke" upon us , and without our "learning" of Him .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Call Of Christ

Such charges may be resented bitterly by a large number of churchgoers who do not wish to hear anyone criticized . But if they are prepared to remain "at ease in Zion," if they are content whether they be deceived or not , if they have such confidence in men that they are willing to receive the most valuable things of all secondhand , if they refuse to examine their foundations and search their hearts , then we must "let them alone" ( Matthew 15:14 ) . But there are still some who prize their souls so highly they consider no effort too great to ascertain whether or not they possess a saving knowledge of God's truth ; whether or not they truly understand the terms of God's salvation ; whether or not they are building on an unshakable foundation .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Call Of Christ

Some places enjoy the means of grace more plentifully than others . Just as certain parts of the earth receive a much heavier rainfall than others , certain countries and towns have been favored with purer Gospel preaching and more outpourings of the Spirit than others . God is sovereign in the distribution of His gifts , both natural and spiritual , and "unto whomsoever much is given , of him shall much be required" ( Luke 12:48 ) . The greater our opportunities , the greater our obligations ; and the stronger the inducements we have to repent , the more heinous is impenitence and the heavier reckoning will be . Christ notes His "mighty works" among us , and will yet hold us to an account of them .
"Woe unto thee, Chorazin ! woe unto thee , Bathsaida !" ( Matthew 11:21 ) . Christ came into the world to dispense blessing . But if His person is despised , His authority rejected , and His mercies slighted , then He has terrible woes in reserve . But how many church attenders hear anything at all about this ? Often the pulpiteer has deliberately taken the line of least resistance and sought only to please the pew , withholding what was unpalatable or unpopular . Souls are deceived if a sentimental Christ is substituted for the scriptural Christ , if His "Beatitudes" ( Matthew 5 ) are emphasized and His "woes" ( Matthew 23 ) are ignored .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Call Of Christ

In more recent times many preachers have dealt with the text (Matthew 11:28 ) as though the Lord Jesus was issuing an indefinite invitation , regarding His terms as sufficiently general and wide in their scope to include sinners of every type . They suppose that the words "ye that labour and are heavy laden" refer to the misery and bondage which the Fall brought upon the human race , as its unhappy subjects vainly seek satisfaction in the things of time and sense , and endeavor to find happiness in the pleasures of sin ... They are laboring for contentment by gratifying their lusts , only to add to their miseries by becoming more and more the burdened slaves of sin .
It is true the unregenerate "labour in the fire" and they "weary themselves for very vanity" ( Habakkuk 2:13 ) ; it is true they "labour in vain" ( Jeremiah 51:58 ) , and "what profit hath he that hath laboured for the wind ?" ( Ecclesiastes 5:16 ) . It is true they "spend money for that which is not bread ," and "labour for that which satisfieth not" ( Isaiah 55:2 ) , for "the eye is not satisfied with seeing , nor the ear filled with hearing" ( Ecclesiastes 1:8 ) . It is equally true that the unregenerate are heavy laden , "a people laden with iniquity" ( Isaiah 1:4 ) , yet they are totally insensible to their awful state . "The labour of the foolish wearieth every one of them , because he knoweth not how to go to the city" ( Ecclesiastes 10:15 ) . Moreover , "The wicked are like the troubled sea , when it cannot rest , whose waters cast up mire and dirt . There is no peace , saith my God , to the wicked " ( Isaiah 57:20-21 ) . They have neither peace of conscience nor rest of heart . But it is quite another matter to affirm these are the characters Christ invited to come unto Him for rest .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Call Of Christ

We prefer the view taken by the older writers . Over a century ago a latitudinarian spirit began to creep in , and even the most orthodox were often , unconsciously affected by it . Those in the pews were more inclined to chafe against what they regarded as the "rigidity" and "narrowness" of their fathers ; and those in the pulpit had to tone down those aspects of truth which were most repellent to the carnal mind , if they were to retain their popularity ... Posing as an angel of light , Satan succeeded in Arminianizing many places of truth ; and even where this was not accomplished , high Calvinism was whittled down to moderate Calvinism .
These are solemn facts which no student of ecclesiastical history can deny . Christendom has not fallen into its present condition all of a sudden ; rather its present state is the outcome of a long and steady deterioration . The deadly poison of error was introduced here a little , there a little , with the quantity increased as less opposition came against it . As the acquiring of "converts" absorbed more and more of the attention and strength of the Church , the standard of doctrine lowered , sentiment displaced convictions , and fleshly methods were introduced . In a comparitively short time many of those sent out to "the foreign field" were rank Arminians , preaching "another gospel." This reacted upon the homeland , and soon the intrepretations of Scripture given out from pulpits moved into line with the "new spirit" which had captivated Christendom .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Call Of Christ

While we do not affirm that everything modern is evil or that everything ancient was excellent , there is no doubt that the greater part of the boasted "progress" in Christendom of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries was a progress downward and not upward -- away fromGod and not toward Him , into the darkness and not the light . Therefore we need to examine with double caution any religious views which deviate from the common teachings of the godly Reformers and Puritans . We need not be worshippers of antiquity as such , but we need to regard with suspicion those "broader" interpretations of God's Word which have become popular in recent times .
We should point out some of the reasons why we do not believe that Christ was making a broadcast invitation that was issued promiscuously to the light-headed , gay-hearted , pleasure-crazy masses which had no appetite for the Gospel and no concern for eternal interests . This call was not addressed to the godless , careless , giddy , and worldly multitudes , but rather to those who were burdened with a sense of sin and longed for relief of conscience .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Call Of Christ

First , the Lord Jesus received no commission from heaven to bestow rest of soul upon all , but only upon the elect of God . "For I came down from heaven , not to do mine own will , but the will of him that sent me . And this is the Father's will which hath sent me , that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing , but should raise it up again at the last day" ( John 6:38-39 ) . That , necessarily , regulated all His ministry .
Second , the Lord Jesus always practiced what He preached . To His disciples He said , "Give not that which is holy unto dogs , neither cast ye your pearls before swine , lest they trample them under their feet , and turn again and rend you " ( Matthew 7:6 ) . Can we , then , conceive of our holy Lord inviting the unconcerned to come unto Him for that which their hearts abhorred ? Has He set His ministers such an example ? Surely , the word He would have them press upon the pleasure-intoxicated members of our generation is "Rejoice , O young man , in thy youth ; and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth , and walk in the ways of thine heart , and in the sight of thine eyes : but know thou , that for all these things God will bring thee into judgment" ( Ecclesiastes 11:9 ) .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Call Of Christ

Third , the immediate context is entirely out of harmony with the wider interpretation . Christ pronounced most solemn "woes' on those who despised and rejected Him ( Matthew 11:20-24 ) , drawing consolation from the sovereignty of God and thanking Him because He had hidden from the wise and prudent the things which belonged unto their eternal peace but had revealed them unto babes ( vv.25-26 ) . It is these "babes" He invites to Himself ; and we find Him presented as the One commissioned by the Father and as the Revealer of Him ( v.27 ) .

 

Gleanings In The Godhead

The Call Of Christ

It must not be concluded that we do not believe in an unfettered Gospel , or that we are opposed to the general offer of Christ to all who hear it . Not so . His marching orders are far too plain for any misunderstanding ; our Master has bidden us to "preach the Gospel to every creature," so far as Divine providence admits ; and the substance of the Gospel message is that Christ died for sinners and stands ready to welcome every sinner willing to receive Him on His terms . The Lord Jesus announced the design of His incarnation in sufficiently general terms as to warrant any man truly desiring salvation to believe in Him . "I am not come to call the righteous , but sinners to repentance " ( Matthew 9:13 ) . Many are called even though but few are chosen ( 20:16 ) . The way we spell out our election is by coming to Christ as lost sinners , trusting in His blood for pardon and acceptance with God .