THE ABILITY OF CHRIST TO SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST. That Christ is able to save, may be argued from His appointment to that work by the Father, whose infinite wisdom could employ no means inadequate to the purpose they were designed to accomplish. That He is able to save, may be argued from the dignity of His person, and His possession as God and as man of every qualification necessary in a Saviour. That He is able to save may be argued from the unequivocal testimony to that ability borne by all the subjects of His grace, both in earth and in heaven. That He is able to save, may be argued from the tokens of His Father’s approbation, by bringing Him forth from the prison of the grave, to which He was consigned by our sins, and investing Him with universal dominion for the Church’s weal. But we limit ourselves to the proof of His power to save to the uttermost, derived from the fact mentioned in our text, “that He ever liveth to make intercession.” To understand this, let us remember that in this chapter the apostle is setting forth, in various points, the superiority of the High Priest of our profession to the high priests of the legal dispensation.
II. SOME PARTICULAR POINTS IN WHICH THAT UNLIMITED POWER TO SAVE IS APPARENT,
1. His ability to save reaches to the uttermost depths of guilt and depravity; the greatest sinners may be pardoned, sanctified, and glorified through His power and grace.
2. He can save to the uttermost verge of life and time. “Though late repentance is seldom true, true repentance is never too late.” Let not the impenitence of sixty or seventy years tempt the aged man to cast his soul away. Long as the hardening process has gone on in his heart, a look to Christ on the cross may yet dissolve it in tears of deepest penitence. It is only when unmoved to the last that we can say, “The sinner, being an hundred years old, shall be accursed.” As Christ is thus able to save to the close of life, so He is not less able to save till time shall terminate. So long as there shall be guilty and perishing men, He can stretch forth His hand for their deliverance.
3. Christ can save to the uttermost extent of His people’s need. Salvation consists of innumerable benefits, all of which Christ is mighty to impart; but this topic being so extensive, we shall illustrate our statement by showing that He can save both body and soul, and save to eternity.
III. THE PERSONS ON WHOM THE POWER OF CHRIST TO SAVE SHALL BE EXERCISED: “all who come unto God through Him.” Without Him none can be saved; with Him none can be lost. (James Kirkwood, M. A.)
Salvation to the uttermost
I. JESUS CHRIST CAME INTO THE WORLD FOR THE PURPOSE OF MAN’S SALVATION. The pride of the evil heart is hardly willing to confess that it really needed a Saviour. The duty, then, of the preacher is to insist that Christ is the Saviour, and the only Saviour, of mankind. Sin had cast you down headlong to such an infinite depth that, bruised and bleeding by the fall, you could not climb up the steep ascents from darkness into light, from the power of Satan unto God. You were ruined, and you were helpless in your ruin; and to save you, to snatch you from perdition, Christ Jesus came into the world.
II. THE CHARACTER OF THIS SALVATION WHICH IS BY CHRIST.
1. His salvation covers the whole race of mankind.
2. It is salvation to the uttermost as regards the completeness and perfection of the means provided for the work.
3. In respect to its perfect consummation.
III. As TO THOSE WHO SHALL BE PARTAKERS OF THIS SALVATION.
1. Christ can only save in one accepted way, and that way is through Himself.
2. The atonement of Christ is made effectual for us by the exercise of sincere and loving faith.
3. If wisdom or amiability or any natural morality could save us, then Christ’s salvation would not be “salvation to the uttermost.” If what we can do is necessary to fill up the measure of demanded sacrifice, then Christ’s sacrifice is not infinite after all. And if Christ’s sacrifice is not infinite, then Christ Himself is not infinite. But if, on the other hand, Christ be infinite, if, therefore, His sacrifice be infinite, then the possibility of our coming acceptably to God in any other way is in the nature of things impossible.
4. Nay, more, it is an insult to Christ. Would it not be a grievous detraction from His glory who is worthy of all honour and praise if, after He had opened a new end living way for us through His flesh, God should accept the sinner coming to Him in any other way?
IV. IMPORTANT CONSEQUENCES FLOWING FROM THESE TRUTHS.
1. What a debt of gratitude is imposed upon us by the preparation for us and the offering to us of this perfect salvation through Jesus Christ I
2. The perfection of Christ’s salvation is an inducement to an immediate acceptance of it.
3. A lesson of comfort and hope. In this world, even the best of men are continually obliged to struggle with sin. What a light, then, of consolation and hope is kindled for us in the text. He will save to the uttermost. The weak shall yet be strong; the impure shall yet be pure; the struggling, weary heart shall yet rest in perfection and peace beneath the smile of God, (W. Rudder, D. D.)
Salvation to the uttermost
I. THE PEOPLE WHO ARE TO BE SAVED.
1. Where these people come to. “Unto God.”
2. How they come. By Jesus Christ.
3. What they come for. Salvation.
4. In what style they come. Not with the pompous pride of the Pharisee, not with the cant of the good man who thinks he deserves salvation, but with the sincere cry of a penitent, with the earnest desire of a thirsty soul after living water. As my God who sits in heave, liveth, if you have not come to God in this fashion, you have not come to God at all; but if you have thus come to God, here is the glorious word for you--“He is able to save to the uttermost them that come unto God by Him.”
II. WHAT IS THE MEASURE OF THE SAVIOUR’S ABILITY?
1. Sinner! Christ is” able to save to the uttermost”; by which we understand that the uttermost extent of guilt is not beyond the power of the Saviour. Can any one tell what is the uttermost amount to which a man might sin?
2. To the uttermost of rejection. There are a thousand prayers on which you have trampled, there are a hundred sermons all wasted on you, there are thousands of Sabbaths which you have thrown away; you have rejected Christ, you have despised His Spirit; but still He ceases not to cry, “Return! return!” He is “able to save thee to the uttermost,” if thou comest unto God by Him.
3. There is another case which demands my particular attention: it is that of the man who has gone to the uttermost of despair. Let me whisper to him words of consolation. Despairing soul! hope yet, for Christ “is able to save to the uttermost”; and though thou art put in the lowest dungeon of the castle of despair, though key after key hath been turned upon thee, and the iron grating of thy window forbids all filing, and the height of thy prison wall is so awful that thou couldst not expect to escape, yet let me tell thee, there is one at the gate who can break every bolt, and undo every lock; there is one who can lead thee out to God’s free air, and save thee yet, for though the worst may come to the worst, He “is able to save thee to the uttermost.”
4. And now a word to the saint, to comfort him; for this text is his also. Christ is able to save thee to the uttermost. Art thou brought very low by distress? hast thou lost house and home, friend and property? Remember, thou hast not come “to the uttermost” yet. Badly off as thou art, thou mightest be worse. He is able to save thee; and suppose it should come to this, that thou hadst not a rag left, nor a crust, nor a drop of water, still He would be able to save thee, for “He is able to save to the uttermost.” So with temptation. If thou shouldst have the sharpest temptation with which mortal was ever tried, He is able to save thee. If thou shouldst be brought into such a predicament that the toot of the devil should be upon thy neck, and the fiend should say, “Now I will make an end of thee,” God would be able to save thee then. Aye, and in the uttermost infirmity shouldst thou live for many a year, till thou art leaning on thy staff, and tottering along thy Weary life, if thou shouldst outlive Methuselah, thou couldst not live beyond the uttermost, and He would save thee then. Yea, and when thy little bark is launched by death upon the unknown sea of eternity, He wilt be with thee; and though thick vapours of gloomy darkness gather round thee, and thou canst not see into the dim future, though thy thoughts tell thee that thou wilt be destroyed, yet God wilt be “able to save thee to the uttermost.”
III. Now, in the last place, WHY IS IT THAT JESUS CHRIST IS “ABLE TO SAVE TO THE UTTERMOST”? The answer is, that He “ever liveth to make intercession for them.” This implies that He died, which is indeed the great source of His saving power. Oh I how sweet it is to reflect upon the great and wondrous works which Christ hath done, whereby He hath become “ the High Priest of our profession,” able to save us t That Man who once died on the cross is alive; that Jesus who was buried in the tomb is alive. If you ask me what He is doing, I bid you listen. “O My Father I forgive--! “Why, He mentioned your own name!” O My Father, forgive him; he knew not what he did. It is true he sinned against light, and knowledge, and warnings; sinned wilfully and woefully; but, Father, forgive him!” Penitent, if thou canst listen, thou wilt hear Him praying for thee. And that is why He is able to save. A warning and a question, and I have done. First, a warning. Remember, there is a limit to God’s mercy. I have told you from the Scriptures that “He is able to save to the uttermost”;. but there is a limit to His purpose to save. If I read the Bible rightly, there is one sin which can never be forgiven. It is the sin against the Holy Ghost. Tremble, unpardoned sinners, lest ye should commit that. And now, lastly, the question. Christ has done so much for you: what have you ever done for Him? Oh t there are some of you that will loathe yourselves when you know Christ because you did not treat Him better. (C. H. Spurgeon.)
A great Saviour
Jesus is above all praise. As the stars disappear when the sun rises, so all subject fade away when we think of Christ. He is spoken of elsewhere as a Friend, Teacher, Light, Redeemer, Ransom, Physician, and here as a Great Saviour.
I. How JESUS SAVES.
1. Kindly. It is often said, “He was moved with compassion” (Joh_11:35).
2. Quickly. Sometimes accidents are long before they are healed. Christ heals and forgives “ straightway.”
3. Fully. “From their sins.” From pride, anger, hate, wrong words, evil thoughts. From death and hell to heaven.
II. WHOM HE SAVES.
1. “Them that come.” Christ is a Spring. If we thirst we must come. Bread of Life, Burden-bearer, Physician.
2. All who come. “To the uttermost.” Some children are much worse than others. They know more, and yet sin against God. But Christ can save the worst among us.
III. A GREAT ENCOURAGEMENT. Jesus still lives. The priests died. Our friends die. Jesus never dies. Let us come to Him to-day, and receive His great salvation. (R. Brown.)
Christ’s salvation
I. WHOM DOES CHRIST SAVE? “Them that come unto God by Him.”
II. THE WAY IN WHICH HE SAVES THEM. “He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Christ stands for them, not they for themselves. He answers for their sins, He gives virtue to their services, He obtains supply for their wants.
1. The intercession of Christ is to us the source of safety.
2. The intercession of Christ Is to us the source of acceptance for our services.
3. Christ’s intercession procures the supply of all our wants.
III. THE COMPLETENESS AND PERFECTION OF THE SALVATION OFFERED IN CHRIST. “He is able to save to the uttermost those who come unto God through Him.”
1. He is able to save them to the uttermost from their guilt.
2. He is able to save them to the uttermost from their sins.
3. He is able to save to the uttermost through every obstacle. (G. Innes, M. A.)
Soul restoration
I. THE SALVATION of man is THE MORAL COMING OF THE SOUL TO ITS GOD.
1. In low.
2. In likeness.
3. In fellowship.
II. The true coming of the soul to its God is THROUGH THE MEDIATORSHIP OF JESUS CHRIST. By bringing man back to God.
1. By demonstrating God’s love.
2. By revealing God’s character
3. By manifesting God’s presence.
III. The mediatorship of Christ for he purpose is PERMANENTLY AVAILABLE.
1. The saving virtues of His system are permanently available.
2. The saving agency of His Spirit is permanently available.
IV. The permanent availableness of His mediation RENDERS SALVATION POSSIBLE TO ALL. (Homilist.)
A Saviour to the uttermost
I. THIS COMING TO GOD BEGINS IN REPENTANCE. The pinch of hunger makes the prodigal cry out, “I am perishing with hunger.” This leads him to reflect on the past, and lays on his conscience the sense of guilt. “I will arise and go unto my father, and will say unto him, Father, I have sinned.” That is his errand. Thus, want creates desire; desire expresses itself in prayer; faith sustains prayer; God’s promises and perfections sustain faith. Hence the universal law, “He that cometh to God must believe that He is, and that He is the rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” But though, in the Word, and through His works, God is revealed infinite in wisdom and in power, “able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask, or even think,” though He is here revealed as condescending to our lowliness, pitying our weakness, merciful to our transgression; yet He is the Infinite Spirituality. Our senses cannot reach Him. No thought of ours can grasp His greatness. He is ineffably exalted, infinitely glorious, eternally true, inflexibly just, spotlessly pure--a moral glory, the blaze of which would entirely consume us if we got directly confronted with it. The reflecting man then asks, “How can I think of Him, of approaching Him, of speaking to Him?” You hope to be accepted. There is an intercessor--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. That intercessor has revealed His Father’s love, inviting us to go on. He has met every claim; He pleads our cause. Believing it, the mind enters into rest; the heart grows calm; there is a conscious approach to the Most High.
II. But, secondly, WE WILL GLANCE AT THE WORK OF CHRIST. “He ever liveth to make intercession.” An intercessor is a third person coming betwixt two others. He stands related to both, and is accepted by both. Thus it is said that the Holy Spirit intercedes. On the other hand, and God-ward, we say, “He that searcheth the heart knoweth what is the mind of the spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.” The Divine Spirit dwells in the Divine mind, and all His impulses must be in perfect harmony with the Divine will. And, on the other hand, and in view of man, we say, “We know not what to pray for as we ought.” “The Spirit helpeth our infirmities, and maketh intercession for us with groanings that cannot be uttered.” We are sometimes so ignorant or so troubled that we can only groan out our desires; but as He prompts them, He fills them with meaning and secures their acceptance. Thus, too, the Divine Redeemer exalted in heaven is said to intercede, and to intercede on behalf of all those who offer prayer to God.
III. In the third place, we glance AT THE PRACTICAL RESULT OF THIS ABIDING INTERCESSION. By virtue thereof He saves. He is “able to save.” He is “able to save to the uttermost.” Oh, priceless words? Is there one sinburdened, beclouded mind, one needing a Saviour and conscious of it, one who feels that God is supreme good--that away from Him happiness and rest will be impossible, yet conscious of much to keep Him away--afraid? Oh I think of the Intercessor and the result of His intercession. He can save. “His name shall be called Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” This is the brief and yet full exposition of the message of the great and blessed Saviour, for concerning Him it is, to the end of time, “a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,” even the very chief. All the divinely illuminated have seen that Saviour. Their language is, “Mine eyes have seen Thy salvation.” They have welcomed Jesus, and they have Him in their hearts, and they have heard the words, “This day has salvation come to his house.” There is nothing of the kind anywhere else. I have read of all the systems of philosophy and religion, from the earliest days, and all over the world until now; but I know of nothing that pretends to bring this salvation but the glorious gospel. “Neither is there salvation in any other. There is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we can be saved.” But this is enough. “He is able to save to the uttermost all them that come unto God by Him.” Now, He not only saves, but He has power distinctively, for He is “ able to save.” The old predictions and invitations proclaim this. “Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth, for I am God, and there is none else.” This, therefore, is the position in which the whole thing is presented to our minds in the New Testament. “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” This, therefore, is our Lord’s special claim. Doubting, troubled soul, weary with the burden of thy sin, and anxious for rest, this is our Lord’s special claim. What He said to the blind man He says to you--“Believe ye that I am able to do this?” He honours faith, faith honours Him. “Be it unto you according to your faith.” One of the most familiar similitudes to represent the salvation of the soul is the deliverance of captives--men who have been made prisoners in war; These are lost men--lost to country, to kindred, to liberty, to honour, to hope; bound in chains, cast into dungeons, to suffer without pity, to toil without recompense, to weep, to groan, to die--no friend but death, no shelter but the grave. One comes to deliver. With strong hand He smites down the captor, and sets the captive free. In doing that He lost His life. He knew that He should, but He did it, notwithstanding- nay, with that very end in view. As the captives move away, gladly they say, “He died for me! He died for me!” “He is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” “Ever liveth,” and therefore “able to save to the uttermost.” In the margin the word is “for evermore.” “To the uttermost” perfectly, in every sense, and for every object. “To the uttermost.” Oh, sinking soul, the hand is strong; the hand is loving. Take hold of it. (John Aldis.)
Christ able to save
What is salvation? We cannot fully answer this question unless we knew the extreme evil and demerit of sin; unless we understood the worth of the soul, the duration of eternity, and the felicity of heaven. This we know, salvation is deliverance from sin and all its consequences; freedom from the curse of a broken law, and from the wrath of an offended God; the possession of pardon, peace, and growing purity in this life; and the full fruition of holiness, happiness, and glory in the life which is to come. Salvation includes whatever constitutes the perfection of our immortal nature, its highest enjoyment; and this enjoyment perpetuated to the countless ages of eternity. Christ is “ able to save.” We notice
I. His NATURAL ABILITY. His ability of nature, irrespective of any office He fills, or engagement He has made: in plain words, His ability as God.
II. HIS OFFICIAL ABILITY. His ability of office, in virtue of which it is His right, His prerogative, to save. The Son of God undertook the cause of ruined man: He became Mediator. This was the office He condescended to sustain; and in pursuance of this office He saves.
III. His MORAL ABILITY. His ability of mind, if it may be so expressed; His inclination: in one word, His willingness to save. And how does this appear? How is it proved? Consider
1. What He hath said. He hath given the strongest assurances of His ability, His resolution, to save; and shall we not believe Him?
2. What He hath done. He hath saved sinners, the greatest sinners; and facts are decisive.
3. What He is now doing is farther proof of the ability, the willingness, of the Saviour. I refer not to His intercession in heaven, though this is decisive; but to the grace which He bestows on earth, the saving power which He now exerts among the sons of men. (T. Kidd.)
Christ saves fully and evermore
The Greek term includes two things: to save fully, and to save evermore--both are included. They are put in the text, to save to the uttermost; they put into the margin, very properly, the other term, evermore; and both are included. The Lord Jesus saves to the uttermost from all the power of sin. He will give you power to conquer every evil--the yoke of iniquity will be removed--the chain by nature takes away, snapped asunder--and your souls enter into liberty through the blood of the covenant. He is able to save to the uttermost from all past guilt. He is able to save to the uttermost from all pollution. To cleanse the polluted heart--to destroy everything contrary to the Divine nature--to raise the soul to bear the stamp divine of the lovely image of our Lord. The marginal reading (evermore) is also to be included. “He is able to save evermore.” Oh, how common is the fear with many that if they were to enter into the heavenly way, and that if they were to connect themselves with the people of God, that they should very soon fall from grace, and make shipwreck of faith and of a good conscience. Cannot Jesus keep you? Will not His grace prove sufficient for you? Will He not save you in your dying hour? Is He not an almighty Saviour? We may often reflect on that subject when you and I stand on the verge of eternity. But whom will Jesus save? “All them that come unto God by Him.” We can only come to God through His atoning blood; there is no other way. (G. Marsden.)
Christ’s power to save sinners
I. THE POWER OF THE LORD JESUS CHRIST TO SAVE SINNERS,
1. The perfection of His atoning sacrifice.
(1) The appointment of the Father.
(2) Immaculate purity.
(3) Voluntary substitution of Himself.
(4) The infinite majesty of His person.
2. The duration of His life, and the perpetuity of His office.
3. The prevalence of His never-ceasing intercession.
II. THE CHARACTER OF THOSE WHO ARE INTERESTED IN HIS INTERCESSION.
1. The expression, “to come to God by Him,” implies a practical conviction of the existence of the one true God, in opposition to the polytheism and idolatry of the heathen nations.
2. It implies a conviction of guilt and ruin, and a simple dependence on Him for acceptance before God.
3. It implies an ardent attachment to those ordinances which God, through this High Priest, has in mercy appointed. It is in His ordinances that He has promised to bless.
4. It implies a consecration to Jehovah.
III. THE VAST EXTENT TO WHICH HIS SAVING POWER REACHES.
1. He is able to save to the utmost limit of this world’s duration.
2. He is able to save from the lowest gulf of guilt and ruin.
3. He is able to save from the lowest depths of defection and apostacy.
4. He is able to save at the last moment.
Lessons:
1. The vast importance of the doctrine of the Atonement.
2. The vast importance of the essential deity of Christ.
3. The necessity of a personal application of the blood of the
Atonement.
4. The encouragement which this doctrine affords to the weeping, broken-hearted penitent.
5. The most astonishing display of the love of God to man. (W. Thorpe.)
The suitableness of Christ as a Saviour to all who believe in Him
I. THE GLORIOUS TRUTH DECLARED. “He is able to save to the uttermost.”
1. The extent of His atonement.
(1) Infinite in merit.
(2) God has promised to pardon the sins of those who believe in His only begotten Son.
(3) The invitations of Scripture to believe in Christ are universal--without regard to persons.
(4) All men are directly or indirectly commanded to believe in Christ, or encouraged to do so.
(5) The Scriptures evidently assert that unbelief is a sin, and a sin which is threatened with endless punishment.
2. He is able to save to the uttermost as it regards the perfection of the work. The work of salvation by Christ will be perfect in the highest degree. And this will appear more glorious when you consider the lengths to which some have gone in a sinful course towards misery before they were arrested by the poser of sovereign grace.
3. He saves to the uttermost as it regards the duration of the work. And this may be considered in two respects.
(1) As it regards the work in this world. To the progress of Divine grace in the heart, there is often much opposition made by temptations, trials, and the remaining corruptions of a sinful heart of unbelief: but through all, Jesus Christ, as our faithful High Priest, is engaged to carry on the work to perfection, even in the weakest and the humblest of His people.
(2) His saving to the uttermost, with regard to the duration of it, may be considered in reference to the world that is to come. This salvation will be eternal.
II. THE MANNER WHICH THIS SALVATION IS OBTAINED. “Them that come unto God by Him.”
1. Christ as a Mediator is the only way of worship.
2. This implies faith in Him as our great High Priest, whereby we become interested in His saving power Faith in Him enables the believer to feel and Heb_10:19-22). As He is the Legislator of the New Testament dispensation, as well as the only Priest, we must worship God in the way of His appointment. We are to come unto the Father in His name, seeking the influence of the Holy Spirit to help our infirmities. We must also come with affiance in His mediatorial office, as to the acceptance of every act of worship and obedience. Without this simple reliance and humble confidence we can have no saving interest in the blessings of redemption through Him (Joh_15:6).
3. This will enable us to judge whether we are among the number of those who are saved through Him. If we are, we know what it is to plead His all-sufficient atonement before the mercy-seat as the only ground of our acceptance with God.
III. The REASON which the apostle assigns in confirmation of this truth: “Seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for us.” This shows us
1. That the mediatorial work of Christ, while on earth, was accepted of God.
2. He lives to carry on the work of redemption. Though exalted at the right hand of the Majesty on high, yet He remembers His people below, and makes intercession for them above. (N. M. Harry.)
The almighty Saviour
I. First, let us look at THE OBJECT OF THE REDEEMER’S WORK. It is “to save.” What is it “to save”? To save implies much. It implies that it was the design of God that poor fallen man should be raised higher in felicity than he had sunk low in misery: “Who hath saved us, and called us, not according to our works, but according to His purpose and grace, which were in Christ Jesus, before the world began.” Then it implies that there is a Saviour; and who is that Saviour? And what is His name? And where does He dwell? If I turn to fallen man, he say, “Oh! He is not among us; I have not even righteousness enough to save myself.” If I turn to angels, they say, “He is not amongst us; we have no righteousness to spare.” If I turn to the sea, it says, “It is not in me.” If I turn to the earth, it brings me nothing but shame, and poverty, and want. And while I am musing and turning hither and thither, lo, a voice from the heavenly world arrests my attention, and says, “Behold My servant whom I uphold, Mine elect in whom My soul delighteth; I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He shall show salvation unto the Gentiles, His name shall be called Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” And it includes, as well as implies, mark you, what it is to save. To save is to deliver an individual from the curse and condemnation of sin, from the rule and slavery of sin “from the consequences and dismal end of sin.
II. But you say to me, “Yes, it is true that this is the salvation that I should desire to enjoy; BUT NOW CAN I BE SURE THAT CHRIST WILL SAVE ME?” Well, that matter is quite settled; but, just to bring it before you a little, let me illustrate it. There are three things that make this sure in the ability which He has to secure this object. First, it is ensured by the dignity of Hi-person; secondly, it is ensured by the perfection, of His work; thirdly, it is ensured by His never-failing success.
III. Then here are THE PEOPLE WHOM HE WILL SAW: “them that come unto God by Him.” Mark the phraseology, for it is peculiar. “Them that come to God.” Ah! here is a change; all the man’s life was going from God; now he is coming to God. Here is the prodigal coming home; here is the criminal coming to God for mercy. But how can a poor, wretched, lost, guilty, undone criminal expect to find mercy of God? “Coming to God by Him.” Ah! that explains the difficulty, and removes it out of the way. O Lord! I have no name to come in, but I come in the name of Thy Son; I have no righteousness to offer before Thee, but I come in the robe of Thy Son; I have no merit, but I come in the merit of Him who hung upon the tree.
IV. Finally, here is THE REASON WHY THIS SALVATION IS TO BE EXERCISED UPON THESE PERSONS. “Seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” And an important reason this is. The comparison is drawn here between the priests under the law and Himself. They died; and they had to make atonement for themselves, as well as for the people. He had none to make for Himself; and He “ever liveth.” Oh! what a mercy for me that I have a living Saviour; that He is not dead, but that He lives, and lives to plead tot me; that His voice is heard in heaven--“whom the Father heareth always!”--and heard for me! What an encouragement it is to know that you have some one who will introduce you into the presence of the King, who will speak well for you, and is not accustomed to be refused! And here is one that “ever lives to make intercession”! You recollect that about the throne of glory there are certain vials, and these are the “praters of the saints.” So precious are these prayers, poor and imperfect as you think them, that they are put into vials to keep them; and so high is the estimation of them that they are put into golden vials, and God Himself says they are used as odours in the heavenly world. And if the prayers of my father, and my mother, and my sister, and my brother are so precious in God’s estimation, what must my Saviour’s intercession be? (James Sherman.)
The ability of Jesus Christ to save to the uttermost
In the text two things engage us: first, the character of the persons to whom it relates, “Those that come to God by Jesus Christ”; and, secondly, the ability of Jesus Christ to save such, and the extent of that ability, “He is able to save such to the uttermost.”
I. THE CHARACTER IS THAT OF THOSE WHO COME TO GOD BY JESUS CHRIST. The grand assumption of Christianity consists of two parts: first, that we stand in a natural relation to God; and, secondly, that we have violated this relation. The idea of coming to God seems to be taken from the practice of the Israelites as coming to the temple in their local worship: it is no longer now a local approach, it is a mental approach, a movement of the mind, a turning of the heart to God. This coming may be regarded under two aspects: we must come as subjects to obey God, and come as suppliants to enjoy God. Whoever so comes is the character that has t e comfort of the text, has a share in the redemption of Jesus Christ. But all that come to God must come by Jesus Christ.
II. THE ABILITY OF JESUS CHRIST TO SAVE SUCH, AND ITS EXTENT, “TO THE UTTERMOST.”
1. His ability.
(1) He alone is appointed by God: “Him hath God the Father sealed” to dispense the bread of life to dying sinners.
(2) He actually shed His blood as an atonement for sin.
(3) It is a clear evidence of His ability to save that God has raised Him up to sit at His own right hand.
(4) Since “He ever liveth in heaven to make intercession for them,” therefore He must be able to save believers. Whether His intercession is actual or merely virtual, literal or merely figurative, we may not be able to determine: probably it is the former; probably, as He interceded on earth for His followers, so He does in heaven; He continues the priesthood which commenced from His sacrifice and ascension: this seems implied in His words, “I will pray the Father.” He stands as a High Priest before the throne of God.
2. His ability to save extends “to the uttermost.”
(1) Every kind and degree of guilt is here included. The sins of men are very various; every man’s conscience reads a different history to him, peculiar to himself; every one that knows the plague of his heart is apt to suppose that he must be a greater sinner than all beside; must be, as the apostle considered himself, “the chief of sinners”; though this can be strictly true of only one of so many aggravations of sin present, themselves to his view, so many chicks and resolutions broken, so much light and grace resisted, so many mercies despised; surely no other offender ever equalled himself! But let these aggravations be what they may, the blood of Jesus Christ is adequate. And Jesus Christ saves “to the uttermost,” not only in regard to the first conversion of the sinner: there remains much yet to be effected aft-r his conversion, and Jesus Christ effects it.
(2) The extent of His ability through all duration is everywhere asserted. His blood, so to speak, is just as warm and fresh as when it was first shed; it has an undecaying virtue. (R. H Calf, M A.)
The power of Christ to save
I. As to the ability of Christ to save--this is considered under two different aspects: as to its extent or range, and as to its intrinsic efficacy. IT EXTENDS TO ALL THOSE WHO COME TO GOD BY HIM. For though the word “all” does not occur in the passage, it is of course implied. The phrase is precisely analogous to our Lord’s own words: “Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out,” which is equivalent to saying, “Every one that cometh to Me shall certainly be received.” And this is a source of absolute and unqualified encouragement. For if you wish to come to God at all, how are you to come unless it be by Christ? His interposition as a third person is not the introduction of a harrier that arrests or impedes your approach On the contrary, as it is the aim of this Epistle to show, it is the one thing that makes that approach possible, and prevents it from being vain. For you cannot come to God in Himself just as you are. He is a remote impalpable presence, who retires in proportion as you advance, and who evades and eludes the embrace of the human heart. He may be a bright vision or an awful presence, but He will always remain above and beyond yet, a Being with whom you can have no fellowship, and who renders you no conscious help in the hour of temptation or the article of death. Besides, you are sinful, and the more earnestly’ you try to reach Him, the clearer to your own consciousness becomes the gulf between you, and the strength of the power that holds you back. You must either renounce the hope of reaching Got at all, and suffer Him gradually to vanish from your sight; or you must become content with a vague sentiment which will never quicken or sustain the heart, though it may invest your life with a certain measure of mystery and reverence. “No man cometh unto the Father but by Me.” Now this definite knowledge of God, which otherwise we lack, and this restraint which is exercised by the power of our sin, is precisely what the intervention of Christ on the one hand provides, and on the other removes. In Him God becomes manifest in such a why as to be present clearly and powerfully to our thoughts. He is no longer an assemblage of qualities such as holiness, justice, goodness, and truth, which we painfully try to group together and cement into some sort of cohesion in our own mind. But in Christ all these receive their highest and purest conceivable expression, and are combined into the unity of a living Person, whose history lives before us in the pages of the Evangelists, and is impressed with an individuality at once most definite, unique, and indelible. Indeed, if you choose, you can know Christ better than those who are nearest to you on earth, and can have a much greater certainty as to His will. Moreover, in Him the mercy of God towards sinners, of which we have otherwise no assurance, workout for itself a perfectly free and unambiguous channel. In His sacrifice the claims of justice are satisfied, and satisfied by a love that willingly submits to the last extremity to achieve its beneficent end. His atonement opens His arms to the whole world, and presents Him in the attitude of an inviting and pitiful Saviour. Not to strike is His hand reached forth, but to help. Not to avenge is His arm uplifted, but to bring salvation, and beckon the weary and heavy laden to His rest. As One who will without fail bring you to God, as One who can forgive all your iniquities, and heal all your diseases, He calls you to Himself. When He cries it is God’s mercy that cries, a mercy that is boundless because it rests on a propitiation for the whole world. And if you wish to come to God there is nothing to hinder and everything to help you. Christ does not block the way, but opens it. “I am the door.” No one is met with a refusal, for every possible ground of refusal He has Himself abolished. None have failed of salvation because Christ could not save them. No one has come to Him and found that while He could bring every one else to God there was something in his case that baffled His power, or made him an exception to the free and universal offer of His help. But Christ’s ability to save not only meets us at the threshold, as it were, of our approach to God, and assures us of its sufficiency to bring us into His fellowship, it also assures us of His power to complete the process which He thus begins. He is able to save to the uttermost. This does not mean to the end of life, or up to the time of the Second Advent, though that is no doubt involved in the words. Nor does it mean that Christ’s power extends so far as to reach and include those that have gone even to the farthest verge or extremity of wickedness, for that has already been implied in the words we have just considered. The idea rather is that His power is adequate to secure the perfect salvation of all who come to Him, so that nothing shall be requited mr its completeness which He is unable to supply. And this is the assurance that we need. The smouldering fires of half-extinguished passion flicker up on the slightest provocation and strive to resume their old ascendancy. Evil habits reassert themselves at times, and seem as stubborn and unyielding as they ever were. Subtle currents of envy and malice betray their presence in the most humiliating ways, and a deep-seated pride and s If-righteousness refuses to acknowledge the power of the Cross. Not only so, winds of doctrine carry you about, spectres of doubt start up to trouble you. A dull indifference to Divine things, a sullen reluctance to rise to higher heights of holiness or consecration to God, baffles you and holds you down as with a dead weight. Indeed, there is so much in you that is opposed to God, and that seems to resist the influence and supremacy of grace, a perfect salvation, seems to you an almost impossible consummation. Now the successful issue of the process of salvation depends on what Christ is able to provide and to do. If there is any limit to His power, or any defect attaching to it, there will be a corresponding risk. If in any respect He is incompetent, then you may anticipate disaster. But in Him dwells all the fulness of Divine grace. Everything that we lack and require to have we find in Him and in its infinite perfection,. There is no weakness which He cannot develop into strength, no spiritual emptiness which He cannot fill, no darkness which He cannot enlighten. There are no hindrances so determined that He cannot carry you triumphantly over them, no temptations so insidious or strong but that He can make a way of escape so that you shall be able to bear them.
II. This saving ability of Christ rests upon THE FACT OF HIS EVER LIVING TO MAKE INTERCESSION. In this respect He presents a contrast to the Levitical priesthood. It passed from one to another as death removed the successive occupants of the office. But Christ abideth for ever, and there is no interruption to the continuity of His mediation. At no point does it cease even for a moment so that those He represents can possibly have their interests imperilled. Unbroken, it prolongs itself from age to age, unchanging in its character, and unintermittent in duration. For He is made a priest, not “after the law of a carnal commandment, but after the power of an endless life.” It is not, then, on the fact of a past atonement, but on the power of a bring Saviour your safety depends. That Christ died would be of no use to us if He were not alive now, and alive, so to speak, more mightily than He ever was before. Other men death removes from their intercourse with the world It brings Their direct influence and agency to an end. But death did not so affect Him. It produced no change in His activity, except to widen its range and intensify its energy. And now the whole of His priestly functions are taken up and absorbed in this one attitude or act of intercession How it proceeds it is difficult for us to say, anti it is not necessary that we should know. But He has left us an illustration in the prayer which He offered in the days of His flesh of how it was accomplished then, “and translating this into the modes of heavenly communion so far as we can imagine them we may perhaps form some conception of its character.” Of this at least we are assured--that it embraces and takes into account the whole sum of our necessities, and provides effectually for their supply. Our strongest and most earnest prayers, our confused and importunate petitions, our dumb and mute appeals, when the weight and pressure of life lie too heavily upon us, and we groan being burdened--all receive their pure, articulate, and prevailing expression in Him who is touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and knows the frailty of our frame. Again, we may gather that the power of Christ’s intercession springs from His atonement. This is, so to speak, the basis on which it proceeds, the great argument which makes it conclusive. And what can make it more so? It is true our sins cry out for vengeance, but Christ’s blood cries still louder mercy. And its cry continues sustained, penetrating through all obstructions, resistless, clear, never failing to enter into the ears of God. (C. Moinet, M. A.)
Christ’s saving ability
I. CHRIST’S SAVING ABILITY.
1. The nature of this ability. Jesus possesses
(1) Meritorious ability.
(2) Official ability.
(3) Efficient ability.
(4) Gracious ability. He is as willing as able.
2. The extent of Christ’s saying ability. He is able to save “to the uttermost”
(1) From all the present and future consequences of sin.
(2) Into all the positive enjoyments of the Divine favour.
(3) From the lowest depths of sin and misery.
(4) At the last extremity of life.
(5) From the beginning to the end of our world’s duration.
(6) All and every man within our world’s circumference.
(7) Into all the inconceivable glories of eternal life.
II. THE CHARACTERS WHOM THIS SALVATION EMBRACES. Those who come unto God by Christ. This implies
1. Our distance from God. And in coming to God we must be sensible of it, feel it, deplore it, &c.
2. The movement of the heart towards Him.
3. The reception of God’s favour through Jesus Christ.
Application: Here see
1. The greatness of the salvation of the gospel.
2. Supreme dignity and power of the Redeemer.
3. The only way to obtain eternal life. (J. Burns, D. D.)
Why not be saved?
“Man’s extremity is God’s opportunity.” To convert the youthful soul which has never yet yielded to the fascination of sinful indulgence is a great work of God; but to save the man who knows the pleasures of sin and whose chief delight is to drink from its cup so that he shall loathe it as an abominable thing, is a greater miracle than the creation of the world. Now, the gospel is specially addressed to those who have given up all hope of being able to save themselves. Its chief statement is very startling, namely, that God loves the sinner. Let any man believe this fact, and salvation is half done already.
I. ALL MEN NEED SALVATION FROM SIN. YOU may exclaim, “Am I not as God made me?” You are not. He made you in His own image; but you have defaced that likeness by your own doing. Men give evidence against each other in the witness-box at the court of justice, but God is in each heart witnessing there to the sinner himself. God’s witness is true. We sometimes think it is our own better nature which warns us to avoid sin, but it is the voice of the Holy Spirit of God. A minister was preaching one day about the certainty of judgment, and sail, “I have warned you faithfully and earnestly, but if you do not hear my words, there is another voice which shall summon you to judgment.” At that moment a soldier jumped up, crying, “Oh, sir, stop! do not go any further” The Lord was speaking in that soldier’s soul, and showing him the vileness of his sins until he could sit still no longer. He thought the minister was speaking specially to him, and he cried out for fear of his sins. If there be sorrow for sin in your heart, let me repeat that it is caused by the Spirit of God. You say, “But I feel such an awful sinner!” I tell you in reply that it is the Lord who gives you the knowledge which makes you feel you are so wicked. Is it not an evidence of His love? You may be saved to-day. But, perhaps, you may tell me that you never have done anything wicked enough to send you to hell. In reply, I ask you to look at the record of your life. Does not that show you have done things of which you would be utterly ashamed if I were to mention them in your ear? If you have not done wickedly, why try so carefully to hide it from others? The Lord, through me, is now reminding you of sins which He saw you do. Likewise, God cannot allow you to enjoy any peace until you have confessed your sins to Him. Why have you continued in sin so long? Is it not because you think you can continue to hide it? It is often the greatest kindness God can do us when men discover and punish us for our sin. A few weeks ago, walking down Lower King Street, I saw one of our detectives place his hand upon the shoulder of a man who was looking into a shop window. When the thief turned his face and saw who had touched him, he was so startled as to jump in fear. The thief knew that he had broken the law, and he was afraid of the discovery. But you hay, sinned against God, and His Word is now the spiritual detective which lays hold of you. You tremble, but, remember, God lays hold of you to save you. He does not come to punish you, but to bless you. Instead of taking you to the prison of hell, He leads you to the Cross of Jesus to receive a full and everlasting pardon. Then He gives you grace to sin no more. But, others may tell us that they have never done any wickedness either in secret or in public. You have indeed much for which to be thankful. I should like to have you for my master or for my servant. But if you have done nothing that you think is wicked, have you not forgotten to attend to the wants of your suffering neighbour? If you have loved God with all your heart and your neighbour as yourself, you do not need any Saviour. But have you not been selfish? Let me exhort you to cry to God for salvation to-night. You do not intend always to be wicked and selfish. Then, why not seek for salvation at once? Why delay? Will you not cry to God for pardon and mercy at once? We say sometimes, “It is a long lane that has no turning.” Stop! Cry for mercy! A friend of mine some time ago, through the carelessness of one of his men had a serious accident at his works through the bursting of a boiler. I said to him, “I suppose you will not employ the same man again.” He replied, “Oh yes, because he will always take good care in the future; and we shall not have a ,other explosion.” No doubt that man would be careful. But in)our case, you have not only sinned once and twice, but your life has been a continual fall. Ought not God to give you up? Surely He will be weary of trying to save you. But no, the Lord answers, “How can I give him up for whom I died?” Confess your sins to God. Say to Him, “Father, I am an unsaved wretch; I am Thy wicked child who begs for mercy!” Behold, the Lord calls you to come to Him for mercy, for pardon, and for peace. Come and trust. Him.
II. CHRIST IS ABLE TO SAVE ALL WHO COME UNTO GOD BY HIM.
1. The words and teaching of Christ tell us the truth. If we believe the word of Christ concerning God to be the truth we cannot help but love God. He tells us that God is our Father. Christ tells us that God has compassion on the penitent, and this makes us glad to come to Him. If He really loves us, why stay away?
2. The death of Jesus is the way by which God saves us from the penalty of sin. He is the Good Shepherd who layeth down His life for the sheep. Behold Him bearing our sins in His own body on the Cross! Behold the Lamb of God on the Cross and you shall be saved.
3. He ever liveth to intercede for us. The body of Jesus Christ is somewhere in the universe an evidence of God’s willingness to save sinners. Where is He? Is He not speaking to you and saying, “I died for thee”? Our Father needs no persuasion to look upon us with compassion. But there is one thing that is necessary--it is that God should come to you and persuade you to be saved. To-night, the Lord is not afar off, but near to all of us, and if you will read the words of Jesus you will clearly perceive that there is salvation to the very uttermost. (W. Birch.)
“To the uttermost”
I was once reading to a blind and aged Christian the verse in chap. 7.: “Wherefore He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever liveth to make intercession for them,” and he stopped me with the remark: “I like that word uttermost; it seems to me to have in it everything that a poor sinner can want.” (Sir E. Bayley, B. D.)
God offers a whole salvation
He comes to us with a whole salvation, with healing, cleansing, vivifying grace, which will grow in us, and develop us into perfectness. It is not the finger of direction, but the hand of help He gives us. (A. Raleigh, D. D.)
God’s illimitable power to save
There is no limit to the power of the grace of God, save that which is imposed by ourselves. (Bp. Thorold.)
Salvation to the uttermost
Suppose I were drowning, and you drew me out of the deepest water, just in time to save my life, but then left me wet and shivering and exhausted on the bank, to run the more than risk of wretched after-effects of cold and rheumatism, from which I might never entirely recover! That would not be saving “to the uttermost” in this sense of the word. But if you did the thing completely,--carrying me home, and doing everything necessary to restore me and avert evil effects, and that effectually; never relaxing in care and effort, nor letting me go, till you had me safe and well, however long and difficult it might be, then you would have saved me “to the uttermost,” in the true meaning of it. This is what Jesus is able to do for you. Having saved you from destruction, His very name is the guarantee that He will not leave you to struggle helplessly with your sins, much less to “continue” in them, but that He shall save you from them. You will find it a daily continual salvation, by which He will keep you by the power of God through faith, unto the consummated salvation of body and soul, “ready to be revealed in the last time.” (F. R. Havergal.)
Christ’s saving power
The Emperor Theodosius, having on a great occasion opened all the prisons, and released his prisoners, is reported to have said. “And now, would to God I could open all the tombs, and give life to the dead!” But there is no limit to the mighty p wet and royal grace of Jesus. He opens the prisons of justice and the prisons of death with equal and infinite ease: He redeems nut the soul only, but the body. (C. Stanford.)
Salvation in Christ
Our salvation is in Christ and with Him, but not apart from Him. When a bank note or a gold coin is put into my hands, my money is in that, not apart from it. When a deed is signed, sealed, recorded, and delivered to me, my title is in my deed, and not apart from it. My bank note or gold coin will pay my debt and pay my journeying expenses. My deed will ensure me my farm. Even so in Christ I have my debt cancelled, my journeying support, and my heavenly inheritance all secure. (W. E. Boardman.)
A tested remedy
It is related that Bishop Kavanagh was one day walking when he met a prominent physician, who offered him a seat in his carriage. The physician was an infidel, and the conversation turned upon religion. “I am surprised,” said the doctor, “that such an intelligent man as you should believe such an old fable as that.” The Bishop said, “Doctor, suppose years ago some one had recommended to you a prescription for pulmonary consumption, and you had procured the prescription and taken it according to order, and had been cured of that terrible disease, what would you say of the man who would not try your prescription?” “I should say he was a fool.” “Twenty-five years ago,” said Kavanagh, “I tried the power of God’s grace. It made a different man of me. All these years I have preached salvation, and wherever accepted have never known it to fail.” What could a doctor say to such a testimony as that? And such testimonies are what men need to turn them from the error of their ways, to the personal experience of the saving power of the Lord Jesus Christ. “How would you prove the Divinity of Christ?” said some ministers to a young backwoods preacher whom they were examining. “What?” said be, puzzled by their question. “How would you prove the Divinity of Christ?” “Why, He saved my soul,” was the triumphant reply. But to give” this answer one must be saved, and know it in his heart, and show it in his life, and he then becomes a living epistle known and read of all men.
Salvation to the uttermost
Mr. Carl Steinman, who in 1846 made a trip to Iceland, thus describes a visit to the crater of Mount Hecla. On the brink he was prostrated by an eruption of the crater, and held a prisoner by the lava surrounding him. He says, “Oh, the horrors of that awful realisation! There, over the mouth of a black and heated abyss, I was held suspended, a helpless and conscious prisoner, to be hurled downward by the next great throe of trembling Nature. ‘Help! help! help! for the love of God, help!’ I shrieked in the very agony of my despair. I had nothing to rely upon but the mercy of Heaven, and I prayed to God as I never prayed before, to blot out my sins, and not let them tallow me to judgment. All at once I heard a shoot; and looking around. I beheld, with feelings that cannot be described, my faithful guide hastening down the side of the crater to my relief. ‘I warned you!’ he said. ‘You did!’ cried I, ‘but forgive and save me, for I am perishing.’ He reached out his hand and took me, and set my feet on solid ground. I was free, but still on the very verge of the awful pit.” Reader, is the lava of hell beginning to flow about you? are your feet already being entangled? Oh! make haste to reach out your hand to your Saviour and Guide, who is able to set your feet on the solid rock, and to stablish your ways. Oh! that you could see your danger, and seek refuge before it is too late. (C. W. Bibb.)
That come unto God by Him
Coming to God
A friend of one of the Imperial Caesars came to him with sad face and murmuring voice on account of the many troubles that oppressed him, but the Emperor replied, “Do not complain of thy misfortune so long as thou hast Caesar for thy friend.” Though most of us know what it is to suffer pain and grief, and often are overwhelmed by seas of trouble, yet we do not complain so long as we have the great King of kings for our friend. His kindly eye beholds every movement of our daily lives, and His sympathising mind numbers the very hairs of our head; His strong arm holds us in the narrow path of righteousness, and when we are weary His loving heart seeks to draw us to the pillow of His breast. Having God for our Friend, none need despair.
I. THE TEXT IMPLIES A SEPARATION FROM GOD. This separation is not of the body, but rather of the spirit within us, which directs our thoughts and actions.
1. It is a want of sympathy with God. Like a Christian father who has a wayward son. How near the two bodies are when the father grasps his son’s hand! Alas, what a distance there is between their souls!
2. It is a separation from communion with God. There has been a time in your life when, kneeling in your chamber, you have communed with God in prayer; you have sought a blessing and have obtained it; and your daily life was a continual walking with God. But sin like a mighty ocean, has separated you from the companionship of your Heavenly Father.
3. It is also a rebellion of heart. Oh, sinner, remember that though you have ceased to love your God, He still yearns over you, and even as a mother always keeps the image of her erring son in her heart, so your God never forgets you.
II. THE TEXT SPEAKS OF COMING TO GOD.
III. THE TEXT DIRECTS US HOW TO COME TO GOD.
1. We come to God, by Christ, as our Saviour. We, therefore, have full liberty to come to God, seeing that Jesus has saved us from the penalty due to us on account of our transgressions of the law.
2. Jesus is to us as our Priest bringing us nigh to God. He did not seek the blood of an angel to present it to God for us; but He, the Lamb of God, presented Himself as a sacrifice for us.
3. Christ also is our Deliverer; breaking the fetters of sin and opening the door, so that we may come to God.
IV. THIS TEXT COMFORTS US WITH A SWEET FACT. “He ever liveth to intercede for us.” Christ’s work is not yet done. We sometimes say, “It is finished.” True, His sufferings for you are finished; but His work is not yet completed until He has saved you from your sins. ‘Tis a great work to create a world, but ‘tis a greater to make you a holy child of God. Well, we are comforted by the assurance that “He ever liveth for us.” (W. Birch.)
All who come
I. UNLIMITED SALVATION. “All”--whole human race, without respect to nationality, attainments, or character.
II. NECESSARY ACTION. “Come.” Sitting still will not save.
III. GLORIOUS ANTICIPATION. Salvation--safety, satisfaction, joy.
IV. IMPORTANT RESPONSIBILITY. We may be left behind. How needful to regard the warning! (T. Heath.<
