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{The Application
Application for the Godly
The Right Performance of Holy Duties
Directions for the Duty of Self Examination
Matter: Whether You Are in a State of Grace or Sin}
To help you in the former trial, I might only send you back to those directions previously given concerning your closure with Christ; from these it will not be difficult to gather some certain marks by which to try yourselves.295 However, I will add two or three more. Let these not be offensive to anyone; I follow that light that I have received from the worthy labors of that faithful servant of Christ, Mr. Baxter. By this light and through mercy, I myself confess that I have grown into a fuller acquaintance with my own heart; I will therefore make use of this light for the help and benefit of others.
Mark: Hearty Willingness to Part with Every Sin
{The Application
Application for the Godly
The Right Performance of Holy Duties
Directions for the Duty of Self Examination
Matter: Whether You Are in a State of Grace or Sin
Mark: Hearty Willingness to Part with Every Sin}
Wherever there is true grace, there is a hearty willingness to part with every sin. The first work of the sanctifying Spirit on the soul is the uncovering or revealing of sin, making it appear to be an enemy. And the first saving work is to divide between sin and the soul, making an utter breach between them. The Spirit of God first makes us look upon sin as an enemy, and then to deal with it as an enemy, to hate it, fear it, and be impatient at the presence of it. “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?” (Romans 7:24 NASB). When the good Spirit enters into the heart, from that day forward, the soul looks on sin as Saul looked on David when the evil spirit fell upon him. Scripture says that he eyed David from that time forward; he looked on him with an evil eye, an envious eye (1 Samuel 18:9). Oh, that I were once well rid of this David! Oh, says a convert, that I were once well rid of this lust! Sin has now become to the soul as the daughters of Heth were to Rebekah: a grief of mind to it and a weariness to it (Genesis 26:35). “I am weary of my life because of the daughters of Heth” (Genesis 27:46).
When there is this breach made between sin and the soul, it is grace that has made the breach. When sin has lost the will, it has lost the person. When Christ has gotten the will, He has gained the person. The will is the heart; “give me your heart” is the same as “be willing to be mine.” The will is the stronghold of the soul. The will is that which holds out longest against God; when the will is won, all is won. It is possible that sin has lost the understanding and lost the conscience; these may instead plead for God and for holiness and cry out against sin: “Away with it; away with it; crucify, crucify it. There is death and Hell in the bowels of it; away with it.” But as long as sin has the will in favor of it, sin still has the person. Reason says, “I ought to repent.” Conscience says, “I must repent.” And yet nothing happens. But when the heart says, “I will repent,” then the work is done. Reason says, “These idols ought not to stand.” Conscience says, “These lusts must be subdued. These sinful pleasures of mine, these sinful ways of mine, and these sinful companions of mine must be rejected.” But when the will says to them, “Get you gone,” there is a work of grace begun.
But now this willingness to part with, or turn from, sin must meet two conditions in order to assuredly prove that grace is in us.
First, the willingness must be a universal willingness to be rid of all sin. The enmity against sin that is produced by grace is against all sin and against all kinds of sin, root, branch, body, and members. A true Israelite would not wish one Canaanite left in the land and would wish the whole generation rooted out.296 “I hate every false way” (Psalm 119:104). “Search me, O God … and see if there is any wicked way in me” (Psalm 139:23–24 NKJV).
Second, the willingness to turn from sin must be habitual. It must not be only when the heart is under some terror or trouble that it is set against sin, but there must be an abiding willingness. Pharaoh, when the thunder, hail, fire, frogs, and flies were upon him, was willing to let Israel go at that time. But afterward [when the plague was removed] he intended no such thing. It is not what you are in a fit, fright, sudden passion, fickle state, or when under fear of death that will give you any certain light by which you may judge your state. Rather, it is what you are in the usual and abiding disposition and bent of your soul. A godly person is never unwilling (when he is himself) to be rid of every sin.
Third, the willingness to turn from sin must have the superior and overriding influence. The willingness must be greater than the unwillingness. A gracious heart is more willing to be rid of sin than to continue in sin. If it were put to his choice, he would much rather live without any sin at all instead of being allowed to live in any sin. Whatever pleadings and arguments his flesh might make in favor of allowing any particular sin, whatever the advantages of yielding to the flesh might be, whatever damages or detrimental effects might follow from parting with them, he would much rather, whatever comes of it, be freed from them all. If the Lord should come to such a soul and give him as large a grant as He did to Solomon—“Ask! What shall I give you?” (1 Kings 3:5 NKJV) Ask what I shall do for you. Write down what you will and you will have it—this is what he would have: “Lord, take away my iniquities.” It is not the lives of my enemies or a revenge against them that I desire. It is not freedom from trouble or affliction that I desire. Rather, make my heart clean, O Lord, and purge my sins from me. Let my lusts and corruptions die, and then, though my enemies and their malice live and my trouble lives, I have my desire if my sins are dead.
And this willingness will show itself to have the superior and overriding influence by bringing forth:
Resolution;
Resistance against sin.
When a person is truly willing to be rid of sin, there will be resolution against it. He will be patient and content to give God leave to crucify all of his beloved lusts and darling corruptions. He will give the Word leave to chop and strike home at the root of them without hiding them or warding off the blow. He will not wish that his sins will be allowed to him. But not only this, he stands steadfastly on God’s side and takes part with Him against sin and resolves to use all his means to conquer and overcome them.
This resolution will bring forth resistance against sin. A heart that is weary of sin will vigorously strive against sin. “The flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another” (Galatians 5:17 NKJV). Contraries naturally repel each other. Such a pair of twins as Jacob and Esau and such [brothers] as Isaac and Ishmael cannot lie quietly together in the same womb nor live quietly together in the same house. There will be mutual fighting and persecuting of each other. Fire and water may as well agree in the same vessel as grace and sin in the same heart. A gracious heart will be restraining, curbing, and withstanding sin in all of its workings. It is mere vanity for people to talk of being willing to be rid of sin when they let it live, work, rule, and run its course without ever putting the hand to the bridle to restrain it.
Let me add one word more. If you strive against sin, and your striving is attended with success, and if you have gotten any degree of victory, the evidence will be much fuller and clearer.
This now is the first mark by which you may try yourselves as to whether there is truly grace in you or not.
Consider a person who is willing to be freed from all sin, is habitually willing, and whose will against sin prevails over his will to sin. He is more willing to be freed from sin than to be allowed to live in sin. For this reason he is resolved to use all of God’s means for conquering it. Accordingly, he strives, prays, watches, and wrestles against it. Undoubtedly there is grace in this person’s heart, especially if he finds that his lusts begin to fall before him. As Haman’s wife said to her husband, “If Mordecai, before whom you have begun to fall, is of Jewish descent, you will not prevail against him but will surely fall before him” (Esther 6:13 NKJV). I will be bold to say to such a person without any if’s or conditions, that this Mordecai is of Jewish descent,297 and this grace before which your lusts have begun to fall is descended from God, and therefore your sins will never totally prevail against grace, but will finally fall and be destroyed by God’s grace.
Mark: Strict and Sincere Godly Life Is Preferred in Both Esteem and Choice
{The Application
Application for the Godly
The Right Performance of Holy Duties
Directions for the Duty of Self Examination
Matter: Whether You Are in a State of Grace or Sin
Mark: Strict and Sincere Godly Life Preferred}
Wherever there is true grace, a strict and sincere godly life is preferred above any other life in the world, both in esteem and choice.
A godly person loves all godliness and he loves it above all. “The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true; they are righteous altogether. They are more desirable than gold, yes, than much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and the drippings of the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:9–10 NASB).298 The fear of the Lord and the judgments [rules] of God are to be desired more than all the world. They deserve more respect from people. They are of more value and more worthy of desire and seeking after than gold or honey. Here all the advantages of a worldly life are put together in two words signifying the profits of it and the pleasures of it. The fear of the Lord is preferred before them all. Concerning gold: gold is all things. Gold, much gold, has greatness following it. Gold has glory, all the glory of the world attending it: lands, livings, honors, friends, and all things that a carnal heart can desire are hidden in the gold mines. Honey signifies all the sweetness, pleasures, and delights of a worldly life. Now, says the psalmist, put all this together, all the revenues and income of a worldly life, with all its pleasures and delights, and the fear of the Lord will outweigh them all. Though the people of this foolish world run madly after money and pleasure, misspend their days, waste their lives, prostitute their consciences, and throw away their souls on these things, yet one gram of godliness or one day spent in the fear of the Lord is better than all this. Such is the judgment of the psalmist.
Having considered what the godly person holds in esteem, let us next consider what his choice is. “There are many who say, ‘Who will show us some good? Lift up the light of your face upon us, O Lord!’ You have put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound” (Psalm 4:6–7 ESV). “Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, from men by your hand, O Lord, from men of the world who have their portion in this life, and whose belly You fill with Your hidden treasure. They are satisfied with children, and leave the rest of their possession for their babes. As for me, I will see Your face in righteousness; I shall be satisfied when I awake in Your likeness” (Psalm 17:13–15 NKJV). The people of this world, as they seek, so they obtain their portion in this life. They have a glorious and splendid time of it here: great portions, great possessions, great prosperity, bellies full of pleasure, and enough to spend on themselves and to leave to their children after them. They have this, and may it do much good to them. But let me only behold the face of God in righteousness, walk before the Lord in my integrity, keep a good conscience, and live in obedience to His will and in the light of His countenance. Then let them take the grain and wine and whatever else they can get. Let the Lord be mine, and I will never envy them their portion. “I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness” (Psalm 84:10 ESV). There are those whose outward condition is the most abject, but they live in the preference and favor of God. This I more desire and would rather have than the highest condition of others. Let me be a doorkeeper among the saints rather than a dweller with the wicked. Moses chose “rather to suffer affliction with the people of God than to enjoy the passing pleasures of sin, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures in Egypt; for he looked to the reward” (Hebrews 11:25–26 NKJV). “I have chosen the way of truth” (Psalm 119:30 NKJV).299 “Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, for they are the rejoicing of my heart” (Psalm 119:111 NKJV). From this, observe:
First, observe how the psalmist came into the way of truth, that is, not by chance, but by choice. “I have chosen the way of truth.” There are some who stumble into religion. They end up in such places or societies where godliness is in fashion or esteem and join in to do as others do, yet their hearts have never chosen Christianity. But, “I have chosen the way of truth,” says the psalmist.
Second, observe the psalmist’s choice of religion: the way of truth, the testimonies or precepts of the Lord. There are some who have chosen the wages of righteousness, but not the way of righteousness. They have chosen the promises, but not the precepts of the Lord. They have chosen the sweet of Christianity, but none of the sweat. But the psalmist says he has chosen the way of truth.
Third, observe how the psalmist values what he has chosen; he considers it as his heritage. There are some that choose religion, but it is only for a covering or a cloak to hide their wickedness. They make the same use of religion that a whore does of her paint, to hide the deformity that is beneath. Others take up religion for their last refuge; to them, it is something they must have so that they may have a recourse at the end of their life. But they will not have much to do with it nor take much pleasure in it for the present. But the psalmist chooses Christianity, not only as his refuge, but his riches, and not only as the ground of his future hopes, but as a matter of present joy.
From all these Scriptures, observe:
First, a godly person’s settled judgment is that a godly life is the best and happiest life.
Second, a godly person’s choice is according to his judgment. He esteems the fear of the Lord above gold and chooses it before gold. He is better pleased by it, and would rather take up the most abject and afflicted condition in a way of holiness than with the most plentiful and prosperous state in a way of sin. He prefers the poverty of Christ before the riches of the world.
Third, godly people and worldly people are distinguishable and one may tell one from the other by the choice they make for themselves. One who makes a worldly choice is a worldly person and one who is a godly person makes a godly choice. Consider godliness with all of its inconveniences, all of its difficulties and distresses, and when it is most under a cloud of reproach and contempt. Next, consider a worldly life with all its advantages, preferments, and pleasures in its greatest sunshine of outward prosperity and glory. A person is not a godly person and not of the psalmist’s spirit who is not able to say, “Give me this poor and despised, but godly life rather than the most flourishing life of worldly people.
Mark: One Who Has Grace Actually Lives a Godly Life
{The Application
Application for the Godly
The Right Performance of Holy Duties
Directions for the Duty of Self Examination
Matter: Whether You Are in a State of Grace or Sin
Mark: One Who Has Grace Lives a Godly Life}
Whoever has grace actually does live a godly life.
The tree is best known by its fruit, and the sincerity of our purposes by our performances. If you think you have chosen a godly life and yet do not live a godly life, it is a sign that you are mistaken and have not sincerely chosen it. “Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous” (1 John 3:7 ESV). “Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God” (1 John 3:10 ESV). There are kinds of righteousness and there are two kinds of doing righteousness.
First, there is righteousness in two different senses.
In the first sense, “righteousness” may narrowly refer to justice, properly defined as the observation of that rule: “And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them” (Luke 6:31 ESV).
In the second, larger sense, “righteousness” refers to holiness, or a universal rectitude in all our actions. To live according to our rule, the whole Word of God, is to live righteously. It is in this latter and larger sense that 1 John 3 (above) uses the term. One who conducts himself blamelessly and in holiness, both in the things pertaining to God and in the things pertaining to other people, does righteousness.
Second, there is also doing righteousness in two senses.
The first sense is a legal sense that consists in exactly obeying and fulfilling the Law of God. In this sense, there is nobody who is righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10). Therefore, there is no one who does righteousness in this sense.
There is also a second sense, an evangelical sense, meaning to walk uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel. This is a sincere endeavor to observe all things that the Lord has commanded us.
To make the matter clearer, I must make use of two distinctions.
First, I must distinguish between a single good action and a series of good actions. It is not one or a few single good actions, but a continued course of holy actions that demonstrates that we are holy. As there is no person who is so holy that he does not sometimes fall into sin, so there are few people so wicked that they do not sometimes fall in with that which is good. And, as every sin that a godly person falls into through weakness does not immediately cause him to be designated as ungodly, so neither will a few good actions done by another person prove that he is godly. It is the course and tenor of life that must be diligently observed. A godly person makes godliness the business of his life. Christianity is a Christian trade [occupation], and you may well call it his trade for two reasons.
First, Christianity is the Christian’s living and livelihood. People live off their trades. A person’s trade is his maintenance; his food, clothing, and lodging all come from his trade. Godliness is a Christian’s whole living. He prays, and he lives by praying. He believes, and he lives by faith. He loves, and he lives by love. All the supports, succors, and comforts of this life come in this way. A Christian’s livelihood is all laid up in Christ and in the exercises of godliness, going down into his soul. If you take away from a Christian his Christianity, faith, prayer, hope, and love, and take away the labors and exercises of them, you leave him a poor person indeed. But take away his house and means and he will still live. Take away his food and he will still live. But take faith, hope, prayer, and so on away from him and he dies.
Godliness is the business of a Christian’s life. A person’s trade is his constant work, not just done now and then for a day or an hour on occasion. But it is his everyday work. Godliness, being a Christian’s daily bread, is his daily work. Do not judge yourself by what you are during some few holy days of your life. It may be that you fall into affliction or into some good society. You may be present at some good duty or ordinance.300 Therefore you seem, for a little while, to be another person than you really are at other times. Do not judge yourself to be what you are when, for a little while, you are not your real self. Rather, see what the trade and ordinary way of your life is. A person is only righteous when he does righteousness in his ordinary course of life.
The second distinction that I must make is to distinguish between a Christian’s actions and his care about his actions. The holy actions of some who are truly godly, especially the actions of young, beginning believers, may be few in comparison, but their care is more continual. What the apostle says of married people is true of all Christians: every soul that is married to the Lord cares how to please its husband. However, I do not say that all carelessness means that we have no grace. Yet this I do say: careless Christians cannot tell whether they have grace or not. Though such may have grace, they cannot have assurance. He who finds that the great care of his life is how to please the Lord is of God.
Try yourselves by this mark also: do not inquire only about your emotions, what your desires are, or what your joys, comforts, or peace are, but what your paths are. When all comes to all, this is the surest mark: he who does righteousness is righteous and he who does not do righteousness is not of God.
Put all these together, and whoever there is of you who:
Is willing to part with sin;
Values a godly life;
Has chosen a godly life above all other lives;
Has demonstrated all these by his actual care to please God in his ordinary course of life;
oh, be thankful and bless God forever! There is that work of grace begun in your soul that undoubtedly proves you to be of God and in the state of salvation.
Having faithfully tried yourselves by these certain and reliable marks and proven yourselves to be in the state of grace (for I would advise you to bring your trial to a clear judgment), then proceed in the next place to examine whether you are in a thriving and flourishing state.
295Let the reader not expect perfection in these marks this side of glory.
296This is a metaphor based on Exodus 23:31–33.
297“This Mordecai is of Jewish descent” is a metaphor for a true believer; he has been grafted into the universal church, which church originated with the Jews (Romans 11:17).
298Neither in this book nor the Scriptures is this mere literary hyperbole. It is rather an understatement. God’s being and holiness are infinite. Thus, sin is an infinite offense against God. Scripture, being the Word of God, is not only of infinite value because it is God’s Word, but because it militates against sin and is a means of grace against sin; it is of infinite value for that reason also. The same may be said of the other means of grace as well.
299The KJV and NKJV translate אֱמוּנָ֥ה [emuna] as “truth.” Other versions may translate it as “faithful.” or “faithfulness.” Alleine’s point stands with either translation.
300ordinance: a spiritual duty ordained by God, such as prayer, worship service, preaching of the Word, baptism, the Lord’s Supper, and so on.
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