In the same book of sermons mentioned in the previous post we find this
Rhufeiniaid V. 19 Felly trwy ufudd-dod un y gwneir llawer yn gyflawn.
Romans V. 19. So by the obedience of one many shall he made righteous.
I Will endeavour to show you, my dear friends, the substance of the truths I intended to have advanced from these words; but you must not expect talent or fluency from me in the English tongue.
There is not, nor can there he anything of such importance, to us lost and guilty sinners, as to he justified before God ; and there is no danger so great, as the danger of mistaking in this point. To he right or wrong in this, is to all of us of eternal consequence. The doctrine of Justification, my friends, is a vital doctrine, and to he right therein is of eternal moment ; and therefore, it is that the evil one is more active to deceive us in this point, than any other. But yet, we have no reason to despair, as it is our great privilege to have the positive testimony of God in his word, concerning this most important truth : and a valuable part of that testimony, is contained in our text :—" By the obedience of one many shall he made righteous." I have no time for much Introduction, and therefore, I shall proceed to the consideration of the doctrines contained in these words. In the words of the text, we find the following things, or shall make the following remarks from them.
I. By the words made righteous, we understand that we are not righteous by nature.—All men by nature are unrighteous, yea, even those many whom Christ redeemed, else whence the necessity for making them righteous. We are unrighteous in a three-fold sense ;—
1. As transgressors of God's covenant with Adam, in whom we were by representation.
2. We are unrighteous in principle.—We are trespassers from the womb, through possessing a principle of enmity towards God ; and therefore, unrighteous from the womb : for, what greater unrighteousness, than being enemies to the just God, or to be in arms against the fountain of all good.
3. We are unrighteous by our actions, for we are enemies in mind; and that is proved by our evil works and actions throughout our lives. " We have done that which we ought not to have done, and left undone that which we ought to have done, and therefore, there is no health in us; "and that is the character of every one by nature: that is, they are unrighteous, by being guilty of unrighteous actions:— yea, even the most moral and best educated, and however respectable and elevated may he his sphere in life, and however equitable in his dealings towards his neighbour, nevertheless is guilty of the greatest unrighteousness towards God, hy his daily forgetfulness of God, and of his duty to him, and disregard and neglect of his name and glory ;—there is no one righteous hy nature.
II. We cannot make ourselves righteous, or justify ourselves in the sight of God by anything we possibly can do or suffer. We cannot by our tears, our sufferings, or hy any works or scheme of our own, make ourselves righteous hefore the Judge of all the earth. Therefore we must either be made righteous by another, or otherwise remain unrighteous forever; and if we remain unrighteous, we cannot enter into the kingdom of God, but must stand guilty and in our sins, before the Judgment seat of Christ, and for our sins suffer his wrath and the punishment for them for ever and ever.
III. We find by the text that there is One, that is, the Lord Christ, who in His infinite grace and mercy can make a guilty sinner righteous before his throne.—The declaration of these tidings is the Gospel; and the substance of that declaration is this: that God, although infinitely just, and the Judge of all the Earth, can make a guilty sinner righteous : he just and justify them that are of Jesus' faith.
IV. We see also in the text the way by which God, the righteous Judge, doth justify a guilty sinner, and that is "by the Obedience of One," by imputing to the believer the righteousness of that One.—That is the only way provided by God for our justification. One! a wonderful One indeed ! anid this One is our blessed Lord Jesus Christ; and He is such a One that there is none like Him. I now request your attention to three or four things from the text.
1. An Eminent Person, Named "One."—That One is no other than the eternal Son of God, united to human nature, horn of a woman in the fulness of time.
2. A Description Of The Perfect Obedience Of That One.—"So by the Obedience of One," &c.—It is very needful that the mind should he enlightened, as to the nature of Christ's obedience. Christ was by nature, or in his person, as the eternal and blessed God, above every Law, and above every Judge ; hut for our sakes he humbled himself, by becoming our surety or substitute, and in order that he might stand in our room and stead, he was made under the law, and then, and in that capacity, he obeyed perfectly in body and soul, in every thought, word, and deed, to every commandment of the holy law ; and after a life of holiness and perfect obedience to the law, and to his Father, he suffered a most painful and ignominious death, and made a most perfect and satisfactory sacrifice, for us and all our sins, without which there could he no salvation; hence we see the infinite value of the perfection of his obedience.
3. That Through This Obedience Many Shall Be Made Righteous.—Millions of sinners, in all ages and nations of the world, shall he savingly justified thereby. God will impute this obedience to all those who believe in Christ, and impute it to them as righteousness. He was made under the law, that he might redeem them that were under the law, under its condemnation. He was made sin for them, that they might be made the righteousness of God through him.
4. A FEW WORDS OF EXHORTATION AND APPLICATION FROM SERIOUS AND IMPORTANT TRUTHS.—To the Serious enquirer: Dear Friends, are there any of you here tonight anxious to hear, and ready to ask with Job, how shall a man, especially such as I, he justified before God? I, a guilty and miserable sinner; I, who hare transgressed against all God's holy law and commandments, and therefore deserved his wrath and indignation for ever and ever? How shall I he justified before God ? To such I say,—- by believing in Christ.— It is through him and his obedience that you can he made righteous. He has made and worked out a complete and sufficient atonement and satisfaction, for you and all your sins; and also, a mantle of righteousness, that will for ever corer your nakedness, before the purity of the holy God. Believe, then, in Christ, and you shall be justified, and released from the power and dominion of sin, and consequently from the guilt and penalty thereof.
My dear hearers, beware of neglecting this only way to he made righteous; if you refuse to rest upon the obedience of Christ for your righteousness, you cannot be justified, for there is no other way; and then how shall you escape? In that event you must remain m your sins, and die in your sins, and stand in your sins in the Judgment to come, and remain in your sins to all eternity, enduring the wages of sin which is the eternal death,—oh! what an awful idea.
Therefore suffer me, dear friends and fellow-travellers to the eternity of spirits, to invite you to come,— to come now, — to come as you are,— to Jesus the only one, when you can he saved, and who is able and willing to save to the uttermost all them that come to God through him ; there is a full, free, ready, and complete salvation in him.
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