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{Sermons on Ephesians 5:15
The Doctrine Explained
Precisians Are Proved to Be Not Fools
They Have the Treasures of Wisdom
They Have Gotten the White Robe}
The third great treasure that Precisians have obtained is the White Robe, or sanctification. Holiness is not only imposed on Christians as their duty, but bestowed upon them as their privilege.103 Therefore the Lord promises to His people, as their encouragement to suffer affliction, that they will be partakers of His holiness (Hebrews 12:10). This is the precious treasure of the saints. “The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good” (Matthew 12:35 ESV). A good person, though he may have no treasure in his house, purse, or field, still has a good treasure in his heart, a treasure of wisdom, knowledge, grace, holiness, faith, patience, humility, and mercy. This is a rich treasure; it is the one who is rich in faith, grace, and holiness who is a rich person indeed. A heart full of grace is a better treasure than a house full of gold. As much as strong men glory in their strength, as much as wise people glory in their wisdom, and as much as great people glory in their greatness, one grain of grace is worth more than all of these. Even though holiness is despised and trampled upon by people of this world, it is of greater value than mountains of gold and silver.104 Holiness is the health of the soul and the soundness of the spirit. When a poor person is healthy, his health is a large part of his portion in life. Look at what sickness is to the body; that is sin to the soul, the diseases of it. Sinful souls are sickly souls; as it is with sickly bodies, so it is with sinful souls. They are neither fit for employment nor capable of any considerable enjoyment. A sick person can do little service and can take little comfort in anything he has. Sinful souls are good for nothing and cannot take comfort in anything that is good. Holiness is the health of our souls. Sanctification is the restoration of the soul, with all of its faculties, to its rectitude and soundness. Holiness in the soul has two effects. First, by holiness, the soul is made fit for service and that is a great blessing. What a misery it is to be a useless, unprofitable lump, good for nothing. What a blessing it is to be serviceable, and that to such high and noble purposes as honoring God’s Name, carrying on the designs of God, and showing forth the virtues of the eternal God. Second, by holiness, the soul is made capable of enjoying the Lord and all the gifts of God. What is the reason that Christians who are under a decay of grace and overgrown with corruption cannot take comfort in anything? Tell them of the promises of the Gospel, the privileges of the Gospel, and the joys, hopes, and glory to come, and they can take no pleasure and find no sweetness in it. Promises do not affect them. Privileges do not affect them. Future hopes and expectations do not affect them. What is the reason for this? Oh! Their souls are sick, and they cannot taste or relish anything that is good. The healthier people are, the more they can take delight in their businesses, the more comfort they can take in their friends, and the more pleasure they can take in their food and drink or anything else they enjoy. And so it is with a healthy soul; the more holiness, the more sweetness. Duties are sweet; ordinances are sweet; promises are sweet; the society of the saints is sweet; the meditations on God are sweet. Those whose souls are in a holy and healthy state can be truly said to enjoy their friends, enjoy the promises and ordinances, enjoy their very duties, and enjoy God in all that they have or do. This is another of the treasures of wisdom that the saints have gotten; they have gotten holiness.
103Alleine’s association of the white robe with sanctification is not correct. Isaiah 61:10 speaks of a robe of righteousness, but does not give its color. The image of the white robe comes mainly from Revelation 7:9–14, where clearly, Christ’s atoning work is the source of the whiteness. Thus, the white robe represents justification (the imputation of our sin to Christ, and the imputation of Christ’s perfect obedience to the believer so that he or she is counted as righteous in God’s sight). However faulty Alleine’s imagery may be, his teaching on holiness stands. It is also possible that Alleine did not intend to refer to Revelation’s white robe.
104This passage is not literary hyperbole. The smallest sin is an infinite demerit and offense because God is infinite and perfectly holy. So, likewise, even a little increase in holiness is worth more than all of the riches the world may have to offer.
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