Is it right to cry "Lord forgive me" and doubt you're forgiven?

The following is an extract from a book entitled "An Inquiry into the Scriptural Character of the Revival of 1859" by the Rev. William Hamilton, written between 1859 and 1865 and concerning the Revival that occured then in Northern Ireland. Lord willing I will write a review of this excellent book soon.

This extract is of particular interest due to the prevailing Puritan view of assurance, whereby it is supposedly possible to (savingly) believe in Christ but yet not have assurance.

I am sharing this mainly for my beloved friends who struggle with assurance, of whom there are not a few. May the Lord use this so that you can answer the question, "What is thy only comfort in life and death?" with:

"That I with body and soul, both in life and death, am not my own, but belong unto my faithful Savior Jesus Christ; who, with his precious blood, hath fully satisfied for all my sins, and delivered me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me that without the will of my heavenly Father, not a hair can fall from my head; yea, that all things must be subservient to my salvation, and therefore, by his Holy Spirit, he also assures me of eternal life, and makes me sincerely willing and ready, henceforth, to live unto him." (Heidelberg Catechism Q1)

Here, then, is the extract:

[The converts] cry earnestly for mercy, such as, "Come, Jesus." "Lord Jesus, have mercy on my soul;" and they continue in great distress for a longer or shorter time. This is greatly prized by the friends of the movement.

Are we in a dream? What are we thinking of? Where are our Bibles and our Catechisms? Have they given place to the multitudinous publications of "Messenger" character with which the land abounds and the churches are so occupied? But we turn to Scripture; and, first of all, we beg attention to the perfect freeness, as well as fulness, of grace for sinners in such Scriptures as Isa. 55:1 - "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money: come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money, and without price." [all bold emphasis is mine - MK] John 7:37 - "Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink." Acts 16:31 - "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." John 3:14-15 - "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." This emblem being palpable to the senses, a visible and a tangible one - the serpent of brass, by looking to which, without any other ceremony or addition, the wounded one was healed - places the way of salvation in so clear a light that were it not accounted for by the blindness of our fallen nature, the difficulty would be how it could be misunderstood. Further, 2 Cor. 5:18-21 - "God... hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Lifted up on the cross, as the serpent in the wilderness; the Lamb slain, reconciling the world unto God; and the ministry, since we remember, calling upon us to look and be saved. One feels ashamed to dwell so on these very first principles of our holy religion. It appears like bringing students from college to learn the parts of speech; but the great Revival constrains us. They still cry for mercy.

The true state of the case is this, from our earliest recollection we have been taught - and the crying ones are not an exception - that we are sinners, and also that there is a Saviour able and willing to save, and the blessed God, in infinite grace, freely bestows this salvation; and, as a matter of fact, we have been all of us entreated and urged constantly to accept pardon and salvation, so that even at the very time these stricken ones are crying for mercy, as well as before it, mercy is held forth to them. They cry for mercy, it is all the while being offered; still they cry and shout, and will not accept it.

Take an illustration. A man professes to be perishing from thirst. He cries incessantly for water; but a number of individuals are present, willing and able to give water in abundance, nay, it is being held to his very lips, with many kind words entreating him to drink; still he will not drink, but shout and cry more and more. Is he a hypocrite, or is he insane? Surely he must be the one or the other. And what of those who rejoice in and encourage such scenes? The emblem cannot be refused: it is perfectly Scriptural. The free, full, overflowing waters of life - salvation in Christ Jesus - have been, and still are being, kept before the mind of all our people in the Word and ordinances; and the Spirit's work is to cause the sinner to understand and obey the word that reveals this mercy, and not to plunge him into distress, and keep him crying for a longer of shorter time for that which Father, Son, and Holy Ghost freely bestows on the simple ground, Believe.

We conclude, therefore, that these cries for mercy are not in accordance with the free grace revealed in the Gospel. It may be objected, many true Christians have been in great distress because of sin, previous to believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. This is easily accounted for, as we hope to make plain when we come to consider the work of the First Person of the Trinity in his distinctive character. Meanwhile, we only affirm, as true of all, that previous to believing, the existing depravity of heart opposes the truth, erroneous teaching and Satanic influence increase the opposition, and the consequence is such as that referred to. The Spirit brings the word to the mind, the mind resists under this threefold influence; hence the inward struggle, which struggle, whatever may be the issue, is itself sinful, because it is resistance to the truth, which ought to be at once received; but in no respect is distress for sin, neither crying for mercy previous to believing, required by our Heavenly Father nor acceptable to him. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and shew forth the sincerity of your belief by your obedience. Such is the way of salvation.

Still some will say, are we not to cry for mercy? Did not David cry in bitterness of heart? Whether we consider David in his typical character, or as an ordinary believer, or indeed the case of any other godly person, there is no difference. All such cases are identical in principle. There is misapplication. The error arises from not understanding, or forgetting, the essential difference between the state of the believer and of the unbeliever. Remember the state of the unbeliever; he is by nature a child of wrath, an heir of misery; but the fulness of salvation is for him. Pardon, peace, eternal life in the Crucified One, these are constantly held forth in the ministry of the Word. He is invited, nay, commanded, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and in doing so, eternal life is secure. No need, therefore, we say, to cry for mercy; it is freely offered, let it be received as freely, and that free receiving is the best, indeed the only way, under the circumstances, of honouring the gracious bestower.

The state of the believer is, however, very different. He has, by accepting the offered mercy, come into a new relationship. He is a child of God, an heir of eternal life; the inheritance is his. Hence he has come under the discipline of his Heavenly Father, and now, because of his sins of heart and life, he is taught daily to pray, "forgive us our trespasses;" and often is he brought under the rod, and many and sore afflictions lie upon him, the needful chastenings of ever-watchful love; and then, in self-loathing and self-abasement, and in a deep sense of the fearful demerit of his sins in the sight of his gracious Father, he will, and does in bitterness of heart exclaim, Have mercy upon me! Oh have mercy upon me! All the while he has confidence in his Father's love, through the blood-shedding of the Lamb, and he knows, however corrected, however sore or long-continued the affliction, he will not be finally cast away. Blessed be his name for such a hope!

Zec. 12:10-14, has been referred to as an illustration of the state of the stricken ones in their distress for sin; but the least attention to the passage will shew that it is not applicable. It is identical in principle with what we have just stated concerning the believer. It describes, as may be seen from the context, part of the fulfilment of the prophecy of Joel, which had its primary fulfilment, Acts, second chapter, and, as you see from the passage itself, followed their receiving the Man of Nazareth as the Messiah. Even as the descent of the Spirit, in Acts, followed believing, so here, Israel restored, Jerusalem re-built, the nations cut off, the Delieverer having come, the spared remnant are now blessed, and the Spirit of grace and supplication largely poured out upon them, - hence their self-loathing and bitterness of spirit.

The great error is the popular belief that sorrow for sin precedes, whereas it follows, believing, i.e., trusting in the Saviour. It is terror, fear of hell, dread of future misery, that believing, and is in itself the first fruits of the undying worm, which, if grace prevent not, will in course come to its fulness. It is self that is the great concern, the great moving principle; and so in the stricken ones, but not so in the portion before us. They shall look upon me, whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him as one mourneth for an only son, and shall be in bitterness for him []. The true believer, the more he advances in holiness the greater the light of the Spirit in his heart, the more he knows of the Word of God and of himself, so much the deeper will be his sense of sin, his hatred to it, his sorrow for it, his sense of his own unworthiness on its account, and his earnest efforts and constant watchfulness finally to overcome, and perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord. So the house of David and inhabitants of Jerusalem are grieved for him, that they had so long dishonoured him, the only Saviour, that he had been so long despised and set at nought by them.

We have dwelt the longer on this part of our subject because it is so popular, so plausible, and yet not true. What is required of the unregenerate is, not to cry for mercy, but to receive mercy. The work of God which they are commanded to do is, to believe on him whom he hath sent, John 6:2, and to continue in his Word, and then are they his disciples indeed.

For more reading on assurance, I would highly recommend this article and the first article in this booklet.

A great article on the Christian usage of Facebook

Here it is. I recommend it.

P.S.: This is my shortest blog entry to date :)

The Beauty of Biblical Church Discipline

Today in the morning service we heard a beautiful sermon on church discipline, based on Mat 18:15-18.

You might think, how does the word "beautiful" go together with "church discipline"?

Well, generally speaking, all the Lord's commands are beautiful (Ps 119:111,129) and not grievous (1Jn 5:2). But in particular, I found this morning's sermon so beautiful because of the great love, longsuffering and care that the way in which churches in my denomination exercise church discipline shows.

To summarise the start, when a brother sins in doctrine or in walk privately, the offended believer or the believer who witnessed the sin, must lovingly and humbly confront the sinning church member in private (Mat 18:15); not gossip about it or immediately go to the consistory (the elders of the church). The one who is doing the confronting must do it out of love and concern, not thinking himself better (Gal 6:1). If the brother/sister does not repent, one or two witnesses must be brought along and the sinning brother/sister confronted again, because every charge must be established "in the mouth of two or three witnesses" (Mat 18:16). If he/she still does not repent, it must be told the "church" (Mat 18:17). This is done by telling the representatives of the local church, the consistory. Just like the American President saying he has told Germany such and such, doesn't necessarily mean that every German has heard it, but that the representatives (e.g. the German embassy in Washington) were informed. The reason it is not yet told every member will become apparent below.

The Word of God tells us to discipline our children; but it doesn't tell us how exactly to discipline them; and so, in order to do everything in order and to prevent chaos, homes should establish rules in terms of how exactly this discipline is carried out. In the same way, a local church must establish rules so that it can govern itself in order (1Co 14:40) and fulfill its biblical calling.

The exact way that Protestant Reformed churches conduct this part of church discipline is set out in the Church Order, Articles 72-78. It goes like this, and this is the part I found so beautiful.

When a member of the church approaches the consistory to inform them of the sinning member, everything is done very slowly, carefully and considerately. First, everyone involved is interviewed by the consistory, including the suspected church member, in order to establish the facts as clearly as possible and prevent misunderstandings. Then, once his/her guilt is established, the consistory begins meeting with the guilty church member, to plead with him/her to come to repentance, and to try and help him/her in any way possible to see their error. If this is still unsuccessful, the guilty member is denied the Lord's Supper, the baptism of his/her children and a voice and vote in church meetings. If he/she continues impenitent, there is the 1st public announcement.

An announcement is given in the church, describing only in as much detail as necessary, the nature of the sin, without revealing the identity of the guilty member. This statement is written out beforehand and agreed on by the whole consistory, for the sake of accountability and so that neither too much nor too little information is given out. At this stage, the whole church is asked to pray for the guilty member, that the Lord would bring him/her to repentance. If he/she continues impenitent, the consistory brings the matter to the classis (meeting of several consistories from neighbouring sister churches), in order to get their advice and input; in this meeting, it will be ascertained that everything reasonably possible has been done for the good of the erring church member before the next step is taken, the 2nd public announcement.

This announcement is made in the church service, in which the erring member is finally identified. At this stage, the church is called on to lovingly talk to the impenitent, to plead with him/her to repent, and to pray for his/her repentance. All this time, the consistory continues working with him/her, in the hope of bringing him/her to see his/her error. Finally, a 3rd announcement is made, in which the church is told that the erring member will be excommunicated if they continue in their error.

If they are still unrepentant, the final step is taken. In a worship service of the church, the unrepentant member is excommunicated, according to Mat 18:17b. This is done in PR churches by reading out the Form for Excommunication (forms are simply written documents which walk through the administration of certain actions of the church such as administration of the Lord's Supper, Baptism, Excommunication, etc., and explain the doctrines behind them, to ensure everything is done "decently and in order" and to promote church unity in a local church and between churches).

The reason I think this is so beautiful is because of the extreme care taken to do everything possible to bring the impenitent sinner to repentance. The time period between the consistory first being contacted and eventual excommunication, on the rare occasion that it goes this far, takes I am told often several months, all throughout which the church prays for their restoration and pleads with him/her, and the consistory continuously meet with him/her and try to work things through.

This manner of carrying out church discipline is also great because it prevents the horrible abuse this has received in some churches in the past.

The act of excommunication is a very difficult thing for each member of the church, because it constitutes treating the excommunicated as a "publican and a heathen" (Mat 18:17); that is, the members of the church are not to have fellowship with him/her, neither should any other church receive him/her into membership. That is because in excommunication, the impenitent is declared outside the kingdom of Christ, unless and until they repentent (1Co 5:4-5). This is part of the excercise of the keys of the kingdom by the church (Mat 18:18ff).

The purpose of excommunication is three-fold:

1. For the glory of God: That it might be clear to the whole world that God is a God of holiness, whose eyes do not behold evil and who is pure from sin (Hab 1:13). (It is an absolute disgrace how many churches nowadays allow adulterers, fornicators, God-cursers, false teachers and heretics to remain in fellowship; these churches have lost their zeal for God. They are a disgrace to the cause of Christ. And once impenitent members are allowed remain, the apostasy of that church follows soon. May the Lord be pleased to keep us from similar error).
   
2. For the holiness of the church: For "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump", and if an unrepentant member is allowed to continue in the church, the whole church will become corrupt, 1Co 5:5-7.
3. For the good of the impenitent sinner: For the hope of the church in excommunication is always the restoration of the impenitent, and the church prays that the Lord would use the excommunication to bring him/her to repentance, 1Co 5:5.

May the Lord be pleased to restore churches to biblical church discipline, for the sake of His Name and His beloved children, which He leads as a shepherd.