# A Beacon to the Society of Friends/Sermon IV

SERMON IV.
EXTRACT I.
"I conceive that the only medium whereby we can come to a knowledge of God, is by attending to the manifestations of his grace, or life, in our spirits, or souls."
Thus the revelation in the Holy Scripture, as a medium to a knowledge of God, is set at nought and rejected, in order to make way for this delusive notion of "the inward light." But the humble Christian, whilst he reverently acknowledges that it is by the Holy Spirit his understanding is opened, and the sacred truths of the Bible are savingly applied to his heart, will also acknowledge, that it is by the written revelation of the Spirit of God, he has the true knowledge of God.
What saith the Scripture?
For the further refutation of this pernicious error, see under Ex. 4.; and under Ser. II., Ex. 2, 3.
EXTRACT II.
Repentance, Remission of Sins, &c.
"As we are brought into a state of repentance, and are sincerely sorry for what we have done; so he grants us the gift of repentance, and we come to experience remission of sins, and reconciliation with our heavenly Father." p. 85.
Here again are Christ and the Gospel set aside. Repentance, remission of sins, justification, reconciliation with God, and present and final salvation, are revealed by the Holy Spirit as being bestowed through Jesus Christ. Here indeed is grace! But let it never be forgotten that the Spirit also emphatically teaches, that it is by the same grace which worketh in us to believe, that these precious gifts are bestowed.—And whoever would uphold the notion, of our finding acceptance with God in any other way than by believing in his ​beloved Son, robs Christ of that honour which is due to him, and sets at nought the whole revelation of the Gospel, where it is declared, that all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father.
What saith the Scripture?
See Ser. I. Ex. 2;—Ser. III. Ex. 2.
EXTRACT III.
Mystery of Godliness.
"Now these are all plain things, for there is no mystery in true godliness,—none at all, to those who are willing to open their hearts to the revealing operating power of divine truth, or the Spirit of God within us." p. 88.
In the foregoing extract had the word mysticism been put in the place of "mystery," the assertion would have stood more correctly. With regard to what is described in the following gracious declarations and promises of the Lord Jesus, shall it be said there is no mystery?
If the assertion, "There is no mystery in true godliness," was intended to apply to the doctrines of the Gospel, it would palpably contradict the declarations of the Holy Spirit, through the Apostle Paul.
EXTRACT IV.
On human agency in the work of salvation.
"We are not to look to man to know the will of God, and if we are not to look to man, then certainly not to that which is less than man, the writings of man. We must turn in, to the witness for God in our own hearts. For it is a great truth, that what is to be known of God is manifested only in man. There is the place that he manifests himself. He dont speak to us carnal, animal, outward creatures. He does not speak to our outward senses.'—'He is only known and found in the still small voice, like that which said to Elijah, 'What doest thou here, Elijah.'" pp. 90, 91.
The inefficacy of all human means, without divine aid, is admitted by all true Christians; but that human means are employed and made effectual, through divine aid, in bringing men to the knowledge of God, and of eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord, is written as with a sunbeam in the inspired pages of the Gospel revelation. It is plainly the way, which he who is infinite in wisdom, has chosen, for the ​communication of this knowledge to mankind. Did God make known his will to all the children of Israel, as he made it known to Moses? No; he revealed it immediately to Moses, and they were to receive it through him. Did he in succeeding times reveal his will to the Jewish people, as he did to the prophets? No; they had the revelation immediately from God, and the people were to have it mediately through them. Did our Lord Jesus Christ make known his whole will to all the Jews, as he did to the Apostles? Did he say to the people, as he said to those "witnesses chosen before of God," "Whatsoever I have heard of my Father, I have made known unto you?" Did he say to all the people, as he said to the Apostles, "These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you; but the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you?" Did the Holy Spirit reveal (i.e. immediately) the way of life and salvation to all men, as he did to the Apostles? Nothing can be plainer than that he did not. How were the three thousand pricked to the heart, and converted on the day of Pentecost? By the instrumentality of the sword of the Spirit, which he used through the preaching of Peter. How were the Corinthians converted? By the same weapon, through the preaching of Paul.—"I have," says he, "begotten you through the Gospel."How were the Thessalonians converted? By the same weapon, used in the same way.—"When ye received the word of God, which ye heard of us; ye received it not as the word of men, but as it is in truth the word of ​God, which effectually worketh also in you that believe. For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God, which in Judea are in Christ Jesus." How were the Ephesians converted? By the same means.—"In whom [Christ] ye also trusted, after that he heard the word of truth, the Gospel of your salvation; in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance." How were the churches in Galatia, at Samaria, Philippi, Colosse, Antioch, &c. gathered? Through the preaching of the word, by the Apostles and their fellow helpers.
And nothing can be more evident, than that the Prophets, Evangelists, and Apostles, were the appointed medium, through whom God was pleased to give a standing revelation of the way of eternal life to mankind. How derogatory, then, to the Holy Spirit, to call his attested revelation "the writings of man,"—"an outward law made by man," &c.!
The work of conversion is indeed an inward work, effected by the power of the Holy Spirit in the heart: but what is the amount of evidence, that this is ever done wholly without the instrumentality of the outward word, either immediately or indirectly applied? But through the instrumentality of man, both in preaching the Gospel and spreading his written revelation, the Holy Spirit is still pleased to work, for the conversion of kingdoms, and nations, and tongues, and people: so that, to this day we have, on a large scale, a practical comment on the words of our Lord, "Go ye and teach all nations;" and on the words of the Apostle, "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God?"
And if to this general rule, viz, that it is the ​divine appointment, that men shall be brought to the knowledge of life and salvation by the instrumentality of man, no well attested exceptions can be brought forward, from the day of Pentecost to the present day, (the case of the Apostle Paul can hardly be considered an exception) would it not be, presumptuously to fly in the face of Divine Wisdom, for us to say, that men are converted without the knowledge of the Gospel by outward means?
Let it be borne in mind, that the question is not what God could have done, nor what it was befitting, according to our apprehension, that he should have done; but it is simply, What is the way which God hath chosen for communicating the knowledge of life and salvation?
It may be said, this was under the law. True, but under the Gospel is human agency superseded?
What saith the Scripture?
We might bring forward many more passages in this place, each being distinct and separate proofs of our position, but we refer the reader to several of the quotations under Sermon II. Extract 2. And under Sermon III, Extract 3.
It may be said, What then must become of the Heathen? We answer, we know no more of the ultimate dealings of God with men, than what he has been pleased to reveal in the Scriptures; and as he has therein made known, what concerns those who have his testimonies, rather than what relates to those who have not; let us not presume to speculate—either to fix their inevitable doom, or to determine that they are safe without the knowledge of the Gospel. If we have been made partakers of the hope of salvation through Jesus Christ, let us, whilst acknowledging that God is righteous in all his ways, earnestly seek to diffuse that blessed Gospel, from which we receive such incalculable benefit in this life, and such bright hopes with regard to that which is to come. And let none of us shut our eyes against what God has made known to us, because there are other things which, in his wisdom, he hides from us.
EXTRACT V.
Law written on the heart.
"Here again we learn the great and deep wisdom of Almighty Goodness and Mercy, that he does not make one law for all men. But the divine life makes a rule in every mind, and gives a law that will counteract all the evil propensities of the mind. Our propensities, opinions, and actions, are different; therefore, if we had but one law, it might be written, as to Israel, on tables of stone. But what would that do for us? it would not do for the children of men universally; no not for any two, unless they were all exactly in the same state.' 'So here we learn, when thus enlightened,—that no creed, or profession of faith, can ever be made to suit the Christian dispensation; because it limits the Holy One, and fixes the ground and rule, and it never suits the purpose of one individual of the whole, because it dont reach to the matter, to the heart.—But when the Almighty enters into our souls by his light and life, he sees the evil and the good, and in his abundant mercy, and loving kindness, he make up a rule for us; we learn his commandments.—We have the law in us, that goes with us every day, and we are to teach it to our children, and to recommend them where the law is, and where it must be sought for, and not recommend them to an outward law, made by man, that cannot suit the inward state of any two in 'the world.'—'Here we learn the inefficacy of all human means, be they what they will, whether the reason of man, without being governed by the divine light; or whether it be the Bible, which some call a complete rule of faith and practice, and even some highly professing Christians.—But it is not a complete rule of faith and practice; it never made a Christian in the world, neither that, nor any man that ever lived, had power to do it. There is nothing but the immediate manifestation of the divine mind, through the revelation of his own spirit, that we can build any thing on, upon which we can depend." p. 94.
​That the way in which the doctrine of "the law written in the heart," as stated in these extracts, corresponds with the doctrine of Deists, may be shown by the following passage, extracted from the writings of Lord Herbert, of Cherbury, who was the first systematic writer on Deism.—"We come at the knowledge of divine things by innate ideas, or by having the law and rule of life written and engraven on our hearts, in such plain visible characters, that whoever looks into himself, will clearly discern the great principles and duties of religion, and the several obligations he thereby lies under to obedience." There can be no difficulty, therefore, in perceiving the deistical nature of the doctrine, as above stated. But it is of the utmost importance, that the Scriptural doctrine on this great subject, should be faithfully and explicitly upheld; and the perversion of the prophecy of Jeremiah, xxxi. 3, on which this false doctrine is built, should be laid open.
In considering this prophecy, "I will make a new covenant, &c.," which refers to the Gospel dispensation, several points should be taken into view.—
1st,—Whether, the figurative expression, "written on the heart," was not one with which the Jews were familiar?
2nd,—Whether, this expression was not intended to denote the affections being set on some particular object?
3rd,—Whether, by "the law written in the heart," is not intended the same law which the Holy Spirit reveals by the Scripture?
The following passages, taken in connection with ​Jeremiah, xvii. 1, it is submitted, determine all these points in the affirmative.
4thly,—Whether, taking into view the whole of the prophecy, from v. 27 to v. 40, it does not appear, as employed by the Prophet, to have direct reference to the Jews as a nation?
And lastly,—Whether, the Apostle, in the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapters viii. and x. does not argue upon it, as having special relation to those, whom he also denominates "the house of Israel and the house of Judah," as being brought into covenant with the Most High; and to whom therefore he regards the promise, "I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people" as applicable: which evidently could not be applicable to all mankind?
Now if, upon examination, it should appear that the prophecy affords no ground for the hypothesis, which has been built on it, viz., that under the Gospel dispensation the law is written on the heart of every man, yet it is clear from numerous passages of Scripture, as well as that in the Hebrews, that the law is written in the heart of true believers, whether Jews or Gentiles. Thus in the x. ch. of Romans the ​Apostle plainly appropriates to every such believer Deut. xxx. 14, "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart, that is the word of faith which we preach," &c.; and he goes on to say, "There is no difference between the Jew and the Greek, for the same Lord over all, is rich unto all that call upon him:" but then he expressly declares, v. 14, 15, and 17, the necessity of outward information, agreeably to the declaration of our Lord, Matt. xxiv. 14, "And this Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world, for a witness unto all nations." Is it not plain, therefore, that a declaration of the word of the Gospel is necessary; and that the way by which the law becomes written on the heart, is by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ? which faith, is the gift of God; because it is by the operation of the Holy Spirit upon the heart, that we are induced to believe in Christ, and believing in him, the heart is moved to love God, who gave his beloved Son to offer himself a sacrifice for our sins—or transgressions of the law. And thus grateful to God for his unspeakable gift, the love of his law, and sorrow for the transgression of it, is the necessary consequence; in other words, the law is written in the heart—the affections are engaged to obey it.
It may be further observed, that a most important distinction exists, between the law written merely in the memory, and the law written in the heart; for a man may perfectly remember a law which he dislikes, and which harasses him, but which, nevertheless, he refuses to obey. Is it, therefore, proper, to recommend men indiscriminately, whether believers or unbelievers, to obey the law written in their hearts? This may perhaps appear more obvious if we consider the two following questions. ​1st,—Did the Lord Jesus Christ, or his Apostles, ever give this indiscriminate recommendation?
2nd,—What law, is written in the heart of the wicked? Is it the law of God, or is it the law of "The prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience?" The Holy Spirit expressly declared by Jeremiah, "The sin of Judah is written with a pen of iron, and with the point of a diamond: it is graven upon the table of their heart.." Jer. xvii. 1.
What is said more in this extract is gratuitous, and may be answered by the two following quotations. Only we would ask, What evil propensities can there be in the human heart, which are not condemned by God's Holy law in the Scriptures?
EXTRACT VI.
Only begotten son of God.
"No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him; and what is the only begotten? Nothing but that which is begotten in every soul can manifest God to the soul. You must know this for yourselves, as nothing which you read in the Scriptures can give you a sense of his saving and almighty power.—Now, the only begotten, is what the power of God begets in the soul, by the soul uniting with the visitations of divine love, it becomes like a union,—the soul submits and yields itself up to God, and the revelation of his power, and thus it becomes wedded to him as its heavenly husband. Here now is a birth of the Son of God; and this must be begotten in every soul, as God can be manifested by nothing else." p. 97.
This fearful mysticism is consistent, from a man who doubted the miraculous conception of our Lord; but
What saith the Holy Spirit by the Scripture?