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HOLINESS THE GREATEST BLESSING
THE ground on which the Jews rejected our blessed Lord was, that, in their estimation, he opposed Moses. The Apostle Peter therefore referred to Moses and the prophets, to shew that Jesus was the very person whose advent they had all predicted: and that Moses, in particular, had required them to believe in Him, as the only possible means of ever obtaining acceptance with God: “A prophet shall the Lord God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me: Him shall ye hear, in all that he shall say unto you. And it shall come to pass, that every soul which will not hear that prophet shall be destroyed from among the people.” Then, in my text, he tells them, that “God, having raised up his Son Jesus, had sent him to them first, in order to bless them, in turning away every one of them from their iniquities.” In opening these words, I will shew,
I. Why Christ was preached first to the Jews—
This was done by a special appointment of Almighty God,
1. Because with them primarily was the covenant made—
[To Abraham and his seed were the promises given: and the covenant was renewed with Isaac and with Jacob, his lineal descendants. From these the whole Jewish nation sprang; and consequently they were regarded as heirs of the blessings which had been so limited. To them this privilege had been confined for two thousand years. The law of Moses, which forbad all unnecessary intercourse with the Gentiles, tended to confirm them in the idea that the blessings belonged exclusively to them. Our Lord’s own declaration, that he was “sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel;” and his directions to his Disciples, “not to go into the way of the Gentiles, or into any city of the Samaritans, but only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” yet further established this sentiment in their minds; and that so strongly, that they could not divest themselves of the idea, that they were to confine their ministrations to the Jews. Hence we find, six years after the day of Pentecost, the Apostle Peter needed repeated visions, and an express revelation from Heaven, to remove his prejudices, and to prevail on him to preach the Gospel to Cornelius. And so strong was the same prejudice on the minds of all the Apostles, that in full conclave, as it were, they called him to account for going to a Gentile; and were with difficulty persuaded that, in so doing, he had not sinned against God [Note: Act_10:15-16; Act_11:17-18.]. Even St. Paul, till the Jews were incurably obstinate in their rejection of his message, always addressed himself in the first instance to the Jews [Note: Act_13:46.]: and in this he conformed to that express command, to “preach the Gospel unto all nations, beginning at Jerusalem [Note: Luk_24:47.].” The reason for this preference being shewn them, is assigned by the Apostle in the verse before my text: “Ye are the children of the prophets, and of the covenant which God made with our fathers; and therefore unto you, first, has God sent his Son to bless you.
2. Because the offer of the Gospel to them, in the first instance, would shew that Christianity could stand the test of the severest examination—
[Had it been made to the Gentiles first, the hearers would naturally have said. “These preachers are vile impostors and deceivers. Their Head and Leader has been put to death by the laws of his own country; and they come and persuade us that he was a divine person, dying for the sins of men. If they could bring any proof of what they say, why do they not persuade their own people first, and establish their religion in the place where these transactions came to pass? The reason is obvious: they know that their assertions will not stand the test of inquiry: and therefore they come to palm their falsehoods upon us, who cannot so easily detect them.” This would be a reasonable ground for rejecting all they said. But, when they first of all addressed themselves to the Jews, who knew all that had taken place, and therefore were good judges of the question before them, it seems at least that the preachers of this strange doctrine defied detection as impostors, and were persuaded of the truth of their own assertions. Had they not fully believed that Jesus was the Messiah, and that they could prove it beyond contradiction, they would never have thought of attempting to convince the very persons who had so lately put him to death, and the very persons to whom their statements must of necessity be so galling and offensive. As far as their judgment went, it is clear they must have thought their ground tenable against the whole world.]
3. Because the reception of it amongst them would stamp its truth beyond contradiction—
[Within fifty days of our Saviour’s crucifixion, thousands were, by one single address, converted to his religion; and from that day forward were multitudes overpowered by a conviction that was irresistible. At last, even their most bitter enemy, who had sought and laboured to extirpate Christianity, embraced it, and became the most zealous, active, and successful of all its advocates. Could this religion, established as it was without human power, and in the face of the most bitter persecution, be false? Had the powers of this world been engaged in its favour, or had force been used for the propagation of it, or had its doctrines sanctioned the indulgence of our corrupt appetites, it might possibly have succeeded, as the Mahometan delusion afterwards did. But it opposed all the passions and prejudices of mankind, and yet prevailed over them by the mere force of truth and the weight of evidence; and that not only over the poor and ignorant, but over multitudes who were fully competent to the task of examining its claims. The reception of it therefore, by them, was a public seal to its truth, and a recommendation of it to the very ends of the earth,]
4. Because the rejection of it justified the Apostles in offering it to the Gentiles—
[The Apostles, as we have seen, felt a backwardness to go to the Gentiles: but the obstinacy of the Jews compelled them: and this was their apology for so doing [Note: Act_18:6; Act_28:28.]. No doubt, if it had so pleased God, both Jews and Gentiles might have grown to any extent upon the same stock. But God, in his inscrutable wisdom, had determined otherwise: and therefore “the Jews were broken off, that we Gentiles might be graffed in [Note: Rom_11:19.]:” and in this was God’s righteous dealing manifest. As many as would walk in the steps of Abraham, were received to mercy: but when the proffered mercy was rejected and despised, the day of mercy closed upon them, and they were left to reap the fruit of their impenitence and unbelief.]
Our next inquiry must be,
II. What was the blessing which he was sent to impart?
The Jews expected a temporal Messiah, who should deliver them out of the hands of all their enemies, and exalt them to a state of unrivalled power upon earth. And, no doubt, to those who could see nothing beyond the literal sense of prophecy, the prophetic writings appeared strongly to justify this expectation. But this was not God’s purpose respecting them: it was a spiritual, and not a temporal kingdom, that Christ came to establish. Sin and Satan were the enemies that were to be subdued: and a kingdom of righteousness was to be established throughout the world. Holiness was the blessing which Christ was sent to impart:
Holiness, I say, was that which Christ was sent to bestow—
[He was not only to “make reconciliation for iniquity, but to make an end of sin, and to bring in everlasting righteousness [Note: Dan_9:24.].” “He gave himself for us, that he might redeem us, not merely from perdition, but from all iniquity also, and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works [Note: Tit_2:14.].” In truth, his very name was intended to designate this special appointment: “He shall be called Jesus, for he shall save his people from their sins [Note: Mat_1:21.].” And the whole Scriptures bear witness to this, as the great object which he came to accomplish [Note: Eze_36:25-27. Eph_5:25-27.] — — —]
And, as it was the end, so has it also invariably been the effect, of the Gospel—
[There can scarcely be conceived a more just representation of the Gospel and its blessings than that which the miracle in the preceding context affords us. A man was lame from his birth. By the Apostle Peter he was healed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And immediately you find the use which be made of the mercy vouchsafed unto him: “He, leaping up, stood, and walked, and entered with them into the temple; walking, arid leaping, and praising God [Note: ver. 8.].” Here you see a man previous to his reception of the Gospel: never has he stirred one step in the ways of God. Here also you behold him as soon as the word came with power to his soul: in the sight of all, he rises to newness of life. The House of God is the first place that he affects, in order that he may honour his heavenly Benefactor; and there, with a joy unknown before, he puts forth all his energies in the service of his God. Thus it was in the day of Pentecost: and thus it will be, though in different degrees, in all who truly believe in Christ.]
And what is blessedness, if this be not?
[If the healing of the man’s body was such a source of joy, what must the healing of the soul be? The truth is, that s n is the one source of all the misery that is upon earth: and the restoration of men to a measure of their pristine holiness in Paradise will restore them also, in the same proportion, to their pristine happiness. Holiness, in so far as it is wrought in the soul, is the commencement of heaven upon earth.]
See then here,
1. What Christianity really is—
[It is thought, by the generality, to be plan devised and executed for the salvation of men from destruction. But this is a very low and contracted view of Christianity. It is a plan for the remedying of all the evil which sin has done: for restoring the Divine image to the soul, as well as for rescuing it from perdition. I pray you, brethren, to view it in this light; and to remember, that heaven itself would be no blessing to you, if sin had possession of your soul — — —]
2. What is the blessing now offered unto you—
[If Jesus was sent, in the first place, to the Jews, he is now sent to you: and the blessing which he first offered to them, he now offers to you. It is in this sense that “men are to be blessed in him; and for this shall all nations call him blessed [Note: Psa_72:17.].” Do not, I entreat you, suffer your minds to be drawn aside by earthly vanities. What have they ever done for you? or what can they do? If you were elevated to the highest rank, and put into possession of all that the world could give you, what would it all effect in a way of permanent and solid happiness? You would soon be forced to give the same testimony respecting it as Solomon did, that it is all “vanity and vexation of spirit.” But where did you ever find a person give such a testimony respecting holiness? Where did you ever find a man who was not happy in proportion as his in-dwelling sins were mortified, and all heavenly graces were exercised in his soul? O that you could be prevailed upon to try what this blessedness is! You would soon find that “the peace flowing from religion passeth all understanding,” and that “its joys are unspeakable and glorified.”]