PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Horae Homileticae — Volume 15 of 21
Simeon, Charles, 1759-1836 · 259,427 words · 557 reading sections
1856.] The Privilege Of True Christians. 187
serve God so well as he could wish. But " he does not walk after the flesh ;" nor will he " obey it in the lusts thereof." In this respect he is widely different from the ungodly world. They affect nothing but the things of time and sense. He is not satisfied with any thing which has not a direct reference to eter…
404 wordsSECTION 182188 Romans, Viii. 2. [1857.
you have no part or lot with God's believing people. I pray you, lay this matter to heart, and seek, ere it be too late, the blessings purchased for you by the Redeemer of the world ] 2. The over-confident professor — [Some there are who will pronounce the words of our text with the same unhallowed confidence, as…
273 wordsSECTION 1831857.1 The Gospel Frees From Sin And Death. 189
Rom. viii. 2. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the laio of sin and death. THE world in general account it liberty to give loose to their passions. But such freedom is indeed the sorest bondage to sin and Satan a. None possess true liberty but those who are freed by Christ b.…
515 wordsSECTION 184190 Romans, Viii. 2. [1857.
We shall next explain the proposition contained in the terms. The proposition is, that " the Gospel frees us from the curse of the law, and from the dominion of sin " — [When we embrace the Gospel we cease to be under the covenant of works1 ; we then partake of all the blessings which Christ has purchased for us …
354 wordsSECTION 185Christ The Author Of Our Sanctification.
[Many think their guilt too great to be pardoned, and their lusts too strong to be subdued ; but Paul's case was intended to prevent such desponding fears r. Let none therefore any more complain like those of olds : every one may find en- couragement in the power and mercy of God1.] It reproves also those who spea…
336 wordsSECTION 186192 Romans, Viii. 3, 4. [1858.
to him more in that view. In the preceding context he is spoken of as delivering his people from con- demnation, and many judicious commentators under- stand the text as referring to the same point : yet, on the whole, it appears more agreeable both to the words of the text, and to the scope of the passage, to un…
386 wordsSECTION 1871858.1 Christ The Author Of Our Sanctification. 1 9 J
[He sent his co-equal, co-eternal Son, " in the likeness of sinful flesh," and to be a sacrifice " for sinc;" that, through his obedience unto death, he might " deliver those who had been, and must for ever have continued, subject to bondage." How this expedient was to succeed, will come under our considera- tion …
460 wordsSECTION 188194 Romans, Viii. 3, 4. [1858.
" The weak is enabled to say, I am strong:" and he, who just before was in bondage to his lusts, now casts off the yoke, and " runs the way of God's commandments with an enlarged heart."] 3. It suggests motives sufficient to call forth our utmost exertions — [The hope of heaven and the fear of hell are certainly …
431 wordsSECTION 189The Carnal And The Spiritual Man Compared.
Christ for strength, and maintain the conflict in dependence on his power and grace. Then, though unable to do any thing of ourselves, we shall be enabled to " do all things."] 3. How are we indebted to God for sending his only Son into the world ! [If Christ had never come, we had remained for ever the bond-slav…
346 wordsSECTION 190196 Romans. Viii. 5. [1859.
That the two characters may the more clearly appear, I will set them before you, I. In a distinct and separate view — The carnal man will follow carnal things — [There is in man, by nature, a carnal principle only. Whatever be his feelings, or whatever his pursuits, he is in- fluenced by no other principle than t…
471 wordsSECTION 1911859.] Carnal And Spiritual Man Compared. 197
repentance will now occupy his mind; and the Lord Jesus Christ will be endeared to him as the Saviour of the world. There will be between him and the carnal man the same difference as existed between the whole and the sick in the days of our Lord. The whole beheld him with mere curiosity : the sick flocked around …
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judgment: for though he may see a better path, and pursue a worse, yet, at the time, he wills that which he thinks will, under the existing circumstances, contribute most to his hap- piness. Hence the carnal man, though he may feel some good desires after religion, and some purpose of heart to seek after it at som…
751 wordsSECTION 193The Carnal And Spiritual Mind Contrasted.
2. As a rule whereby to regulate your conduct — [It is clear, from this passage, what ought to be the con- stant habit of our lives. We should be growing continually in a deadness to the world, and in a superiority to every thing here below. The great concerns of eternity should more and more occupy our minds ; an…
548 wordsSECTION 194I860.] Carnal And Spiritual Mind Contrasted. 201
[A carnal man can only act from carnal motives : he will have carnal aims even in spiritual employments6. A spiritual man, on the contrary, will act from spiritual motives : he will act with spiritual views even in his temporal concerns. The one will seek his own interest or honour, and the other God's glory f.] …
355 wordsSECTION 195Vileness And Impotency Of The Natural Man.
Let them endeavour to improve in spirituality of mind ; let them guard against relapses, which will destroy their peace ; and let their eyes be fixed upon the eternal state, where their present bliss shall be consummated in glory.] Rom. viii. 7, 8. The carnal mind is enw,ity against God : for it is not subject to …
313 wordsSECTION 1961861.] Vileness Of The Natural Man. 203
[There is not one of God's perfections, to which this dis- position is not averse. It deems his holiness too strict, his justice too severe, his truth too inflexible ; and even his mercy itself is hateful to them, on account of the humiliating way in which it is dispensed. Even the very existence of God is so odio…
396 wordsSECTION 197204 Romans, Viii. 7, 8. [1861.
[We cannot please God but by obeying his law. All ex- ternal compliances are worthless in his eyes, if not accompanied with the love and devotion of the soul. But such obedience cannot be rendered by the carnal mind ; and consequently they who are in the flesh, that is, are under the influence of a carnal mind, " …
405 wordsSECTION 198The Necessity Of Having The Spirit Of Christ.
Rom. viii. 9. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his a. MAN at his first creation was made in the Divine image ; God communed with him as a friend, and dwelt in him as a temple : but this harmony was not of long continuance : man sinned ; and God in right- eous judgment departed from him. Not…
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and transformed into the Divine image. In this sense we affirm that we may have the Spirit of Christ — [In the first ages of Christianity, not afetv individuals only, but whole Churches received the influences of which we speak. St. Paul prayed that the whole Church at Ephesus might have " the spirit of wisdom and…
497 wordsSECTION 2001862. J The Spirit Of Christ Necessary. 207
The aid of God's Spirit is necessary in order to our being Christ's : without it, We cannot know Christ — [By nature, we are altogether blind to spiritual things. "We are assured on most unquestionable authority, that " the natural man accounts the things of the Spirit to be foolishness, and that he not only does…
468 wordsSECTION 201^08 Romans, Viii. 9. [1862.
by the Spirit"? If any one think he can enjoy Christ by any power of his own, let him only make the experiment; let him retire to his closet for one hour, and say, ' I will spend this hour in the enjoyment of Christ; I will delight myself in him with my whole heart :' let him make the attempt, and he shall soon be…
489 wordsSECTION 20218(33.1 The Offices Of The Holy Spirit. 209
2. By a particular address — [Let those, whose consciences testify that they have not the Spirit, stand convicted and condemned. The text speaks of all such without exception ; "if any man" &c. Let it be remembered that, however cultivated our minds may be with human literature, and however amiable our natural dis…
290 wordsSECTION 203210 Romans, Viii. 9. [18G3.
Rom. viii. 9. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. ON a remote occasion, similar to the present, I endeavoured to set forth in this place, the law ; and, on a subsequent occasion, the Gospel. These two subjects, taken together, form a whole, so far as re- lates to Christianity as a system.…
510 wordsSECTION 2041863.] The Offices Of The Holy Spirit. 211
as God, in his Church, declaring his will to us ; or as God, in our nature, interposing for us ; but as God, in our hearts, dwelling and operating in us : and this brings him into such immediate contact with us, and requires of us such a minute attention to all our ways, that we shrink back from every part of the …
403 wordsSECTION 205212 Romans, Viii. 9. [18G3.
the satisfying of these inquiries, that I now address myself to this deep and comprehensive subject. But let me entreat, not only your candour, (for of that I am, from long and uniform experience, well assured,) but your prayers, also, that God may enable me so to speak, as to approve myself to him; and enable you…
339 wordsSECTION 2061863.1 The Offices Of The Holy Spirit. 213
conceived that his name would have been united with that of the Father and of the Son in these solemn acts of worship. But, in fact, the whole Scriptures bear witness to him as God, equally with the Father and the Son. Ananias, " in lying to the Holy Ghost, lied unto Gode" And we, in being his temples, are the te…
363 wordsSECTION 207214 Romans, Viii. 9. [1863.
The endowments of the Lord Jesus for his hea- venly commission were also communicated to him from the same source ; as the Prophet Isaiah very distinctly foretold : " The Spirit of the Lord God shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and under- standing, the spirit of counsel and of might, the spirit of knowled…
382 wordsSECTION 2081863.] The Offices Of The Holy Spirit. 215
Now, as ministering thus to the Lord Jesus, from the first moment of his existence to the period of his restoration from the grave, the Holy Ghost is pecu- liarly entitled to the name given him in my text, " The Spirit of Christ." But this name further pertains to him on account of his subserviency to Christ in t…
388 wordsSECTION 209216 Romans, Viii. 9. [1863
God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this which ye both see and hearV In every thing which from that period the Holy Ghost enabled the Apostles to do and teach, he acted as the deputy of Christ, not himself originating what he revealed, or speaking it of …
391 wordsSECTION 2101863. J The Offices Of The Holy Spirit* £17
was the fountain from which, in all cases, the living water flowed"1, and the reservoir from whence the holy oil descended through the golden pipes of divine ordinances upon all God's waiting and obedient peo- ple", so in every thing which the Holy Spirit either then did, or at the present moment does, impart to …
376 wordsSECTION 211218 Romans, Viii. 9. [1863.
the Son, and is in every way entitled to the same respect, and "love," and confidence, as theyq. Be it then remembered, that this is He, whom every Christian must have dwelling and abiding in him. St. Paul expressly calls him, " The Holy Ghost which dwelleth in usT" And if we mark carefully the whole passage from…
398 wordsSECTION 2121863. J The Offices Of The Holy Spirit. 219
of which my text speaks, is of such a discriminating nature, that no man who has it can fail to belong to Christ, and no man who has it not can have any part or lot with him. The Spirit of God is promised to us, to dwell in us as in his temple ; for we are to be " the habitation of God through the Spirit3";" and h…
391 wordsSECTION 213220 Romans, Viii. 9. [1863.
I am aware that this is a truth but little considered ; a truth, the very mention of which is, by the gene- rality of Christians, accounted visionary at least, if not impious and profane. But if this truth be not admitted, yea, and admitted too as a matter of primary importance, all that we shall have to advance, …
355 wordsSECTION 2141863.1 The Offices Of The Holy Spirit. 221
should be disappointed. And Christian hearers feel no lack, though they pass the whole remainder of the year, without ever being reminded of the truth of which my text speaks ; i.e. of the necessity of having the Holy Ghost imparted to us in order to our final salvation. Nay, even " Masters of Israel," of whom be…
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of our belonging to him : for the declaration of God is unquestionable, and his decision is irreversible ; nor is there any exception whatever made : " If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his." He may be in a high and dignified station ; but he is not therefore Christ's. He maybe greatly distin…
482 wordsSECTION 216Our Need Of The Holy Spirit.
Rom. viii. 9. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. THE Jewish religion, by the express command of its Divine Author, would not admit of any relaxation of its principles, or any departure from its established ordinances. Not only did it prohibit any connexion with idolaters, but it forbade …
622 wordsSECTION 2171864.1 Our Need Of The Holy Spirit. 225
him, that he may be brought back to God ; and the gift of the Holy Spirit is necessary for him, in order that he may come to Christ aright, and find accept- ance with God through Christ. This need of the Spirit's influence is the part of my subject which I am now called to unfold ; and I pray God, that, whilst I …
379 wordsSECTION 218226 Romans, Viii. 9. [1864.
gainsayer, and to the satisfaction of every unprejudiced mind. First, then, let it be remembered, That all our faculties are impaired by sin. It is clear, that we are not noxo such as we were when we first came out of our Creator's hands. We were created, originally, "after God's own image6." Our mind was in per…
375 wordsSECTION 2191864.] Our Need Of The Holy Spirit. 227
which I call his moral image, we bear no resemblance to him whatever. Our understanding is blinded, so that, instead of approving God's revealed will, we turn away from it with dislike. His law, as contained in the Ten Commandments, is deemed by us unne- cessarily strict ; and the sanctions by which it is enforce…
387 wordsSECTION 220228 Romans, Viii. 9. [1864.
whom we all had our conversation in times past in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind ; and were by nature children of wrath, even as others1." And again, " We ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice …
379 wordsSECTION 2211864.] Our Need Of The Holy Spirit. 229
in all of us, though not exactly in the same way, that the body, which was ordained to serve, exercises a tyrannic sway over, the soul ; and the soul, which was ordained to regulate all the motions of the body, is made a very pander to its corrupt appetites. Now then, agreeably to what I mentioned as the second p…
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kingdom of Gody:" and that " no unclean thing shall enter into his presence2." But what truth would there be in these declarations, if an unrenewed man could stand with acceptance in the sight of God ? But, in fact, an unregenerate man could not be happy in the presence of God, even if he were admitted to it. For…
393 wordsSECTION 2231864.] 0Ur Need Of The Holy Spirit. 231
people as his, till they have received an entire renova- tion of their nature, and a meetness for that glory to which he would exalt them. Let me not, however, be misunderstood. I am far from saying that our fallen nature renders us incapable of enjoying heaven, provided we be washed from our guilt in the blood o…
686 wordsSECTION 2241864.] Our Need Of The Holy Spirit. 233
If, then, we do not of necessity receive a new nature in baptism, when and how are we to receive it ? Can we, by any efforts of our own, form it in ourselves ? I answer, No. It is called in Scripture "a new creation"1;" and a man can no more create himself anew, than he could create himself at first. If any think…
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manu." The Spirit of Christ alone can so reveal the Saviour to us, that, with any measure of true affiance, we should " call him Lord*." No other power than his can ever assimilate us to the risen Saviour, enabling us to die unto sin, and to rise again unto righteousness y. Nothing, I say, but the mighty working …
382 wordsSECTION 2261864.1 Our Need Of The Holy Spirit. 235
the words which I have delivered have carried con- viction along with them. And if any doubt remain on the mind of a single individual, I call upon him to study well the state of his own soul before God. If any one of you think himself not so fallen as I have represented, let him examine well the Scrip- tures, an…
381 wordsSECTION 227236 Romans, Viii. 9. [1864.
ever arrive? More especially now that God's judg- ments are so visibly, and with such rapid strides, traversing the earth, and may, for aught we know, be even already at our doors ; who can tell, whether even a single day may be allowed you for repairing your present neglect, and for acquiring that renova- tion o…
381 wordsSECTION 2281864.] Our Need Of The Holy Spirit. 237
that he may bestow it upon usk. But, however free his promises be, " he will be inquired of by us," before he will perform them1. The promise runs, " Ask, and ye shall have ; seek, and ye shall find ; knock, and it shall be opened unto youm." Let us then, in dependence on this promise, entreat of God to give us, …
340 wordsSECTION 229The Spirit'S Work In Unbelievers.
Rom. viii. 9. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. IN our two preceding discourses, we touched on points necessary to be considered in order to a just apprehension of our subject ; but they were rather of an introductory nature, than a direct unfolding of the subject itself. We now come to…
711 wordsSECTION 230240 Romans, Viii. 9. [1865.
b Ezek. xi. 19. c John xvi. 7, 8. * Matt. v. 21, 22, 27, 28. fe Rom. vii. 7. f Ps. xl. 12. Benefactor; the most injurious rebellion against our almighty Creator; and the most inconceivable folly, as destructive of our eternal welfare. We are apt, for the pacifying of our own minds, to balance our virtues against …
412 wordsSECTION 2311865.] The Spirits Work In Unbelievers. 241
who profess to be followers of that Divine Saviour, have "made light of these things," and are utterly inexcusable for not having inquired more fully into the mystery of redeeming love, and for having prac- tically said, " We will not have this man to reign over us1." Now, when the Spirit of God brings this to our…
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This is the very state which our Lord describes, when he says, that " he came to seek and to save that which was lostq:" and, till we know ourselves to be thus lost, we never shall come to Christ aright. We must feel ourselves, like Peter, actually sinking in the waves, and, under a sense of our perishing conditio…
398 wordsSECTION 2331865. J The Spirit'S Work In Unbelievers. 24>3
predicted concerning him in the prophecies, or sha- dowed forth in the Mosaic ritual. He shews us, that by that one offering of himself upon the cross, he has made an ample satisfaction " for the sins of the whole world x," and effected a perfect reconciliation between God and many, so that now God can be "just, a…
404 wordsSECTION 234244 Romans, Viii. 9. [1865.
heavenly inheritance. Faith is a duty, and can never be too strong ; hope is a privilege, and should rise or fall according to circumstances. The want of an assured faith is sin: the want of an assured hope may indeed argue a low, or even a sinful, state; but it is in itself rather a duty than a sin, provided we …
381 wordsSECTION 2351865.] The Spirit'S Work In Unbelievers. 245
If it be thought this knowledge of Christ is attain- able by any human efforts, let the Apostle's declaration be borne in mind : " By grace ye are saved, through faith ; and that not of yourselves : it is the gift of God0." And he elsewhere tells us, that " it is given to us to believe in Christ p." It was " by th…
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bought with a price, to glorify God with his body and his spirit, which are hisb." From this time, the man enters on a new course, mortifying the whole body of sin, and crucifying all his corrupt affections ; as it is written, " They that are Christ's, have crucified the flesh, with the affections and lusts c." Fr…
411 wordsSECTION 2371865.1 The Spirit'S Work In Unbelievers. 247
of the inspired volume ; and that no part of it can, by any means, be dispensed with. If we be not penitent, we can never come to Christ aright ; if we rely on any thing but his meritorious blood and right- eousness, we can never be accepted of him ; and, if we yield not ourselves up to him in a way of holy obedi…
399 wordsSECTION 2382 Is Romans, Viii. 9. [1865.
Jesus Christ and him crucified9 ?" Do I look with a holy jealousy and indignation on every thing that would divide with him the honour of my salvation; and is this the most rooted and habitual sentiment of my heart, " God forbid that I should glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ1?" Further, does " the…
408 wordsSECTION 2391865.] The Spirit'S Work In Unbelievers. 249
tilings, by saying that we require too much. Then I demand, which of these things can be dispensed with 1 Can repentance ? Can faith ? Can obedience ? There is not a person here who does not know, that not one of these things can be neglected, but to the certain destruction of our souls. Again, I ask, which of th…
384 wordsSECTION 240The Spirit'S Work In Believers.
Rom. viii. 9. If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. IN entering on this closing part of our subject, I feel peculiar difficulty, not from any want of scriptural and incontrovertible materials, but from the very nature of those materials which, being wholly of an experimental nature, can onl…
687 wordsSource & rights
Public domain historical edition (1832-33); scan/OCR from Internet Archive.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.