PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE

Hebrews 13: 7, 8; Luke 12: 48; Phil 1: 20-27; 2: 1-4

First of all a word as to the past. We are enjoined in this scripture to remember our leaders who have spoken to us the word of God. If we are conscious of having received the word of God through them they must ever live in our affections; now that they have passed away we can consider the end of their conversation, or manner of life. They have commended themselves to us, not only by their teaching, but by their manner of life. It was clear that the end of their conversation was Christ and His interest; they were not time-serving or self-seeking men, they had surrendered their prospects in this world, and devoted themselves to the prosperity of the saints, and to all that made for the glory of God in the saints. They acted in the light of unseen things and of the coming day, Christ’s day. We may therefore well consider the issue of their conversation, and seek to imitate their faith. But there is another thought in connection with this retrospect which is in the highest degree encouraging. These gifts and leaders are a witness of the grace and love of Christ to the church. If we look back, as many of us can, over a considerable number of years, we see one continuous line of grace and testimony. I am often amazed when I think, not only of the fact of the wonderful recovery of the truth in these last days, but of the manner and order in which it has been recovered, and how, in spite of our unworthy response, the Lord has patiently and continuously kept it before our minds. It all bears the stamp of divine wisdom and grace. Now this is full of the greatest encouragement for us. If leaders have passed away, as they must of necessity do, having completed the ministry for which the Lord raised them up, the grace which raised them up still remains. Jesus Christ has not passed away. He lives. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, to-day, and for ever. He is the living Head of the body, the One who has ever nourished and cherished the church by the gifts He has given. His love remains unabated, He will never fail those who count upon Him. So then, taking account of that grace of which we have had such blessed experience in the past, we may well be encouraged to go forward.

Luke 12: 48. Now a word as to the present. The reception of all the light and truth we have received involves serious responsibility. “To every one to whom much has been given, much shall be required from him, and to whom men have committed much, they will ask from him the more”. The question arises, what use are we going to make of all that has been committed to us? This for us is the testing time. How far have we received and appreciated what has been ministered to us so graciously through the Lord’s servants? How far have we been able to hold and use the truth for the good of the church? If the Lord has recovered the truth it is for the good of the church, not for any particular company of saints. How far has the testimony become living in our souls? How far have we been sanctified and formed by it? If it has not affected ourselves we cannot expect to be able to use it for the good of others. Testimony is the outcome of life. These serious considerations may well cause deep exercise, and cast us afresh on the grace of God. This is a day when Christendom is giving up everything that is divine and vital, and we may easily do the same unless we are maintained by the grace of God. Our brother Mr Stoney used to say that Satan’s purpose is always to make us surrender the top rung of the ladder, and if we give up our hold upon that we soon reach the bottom. The tendency is always to surrender the highest part of the truth, because of the demands it makes upon us, and if we yield to this, we may go on to giving up more and more. There can be no doubt that if a servant of Christ is indifferent to, or endeavours to depreciate any part of that which the Lord has recovered to us, he will fall out of the line of the Lord’s testimony and the support of the Spirit of God, as many a one has already done. If we seek to maintain the testimony at its full height, we shall no doubt find ourselves in the hottest part of the battle, but we shall enjoy the Lord’s approval and support. We need to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, and to pray unceasingly.

A word now as to the future. How are we going to walk together in unity, Phil 1: 20-27; 2: 1-4? It will only be possible as we are able to make Christ and the testimony of Christ paramount. If we are in the spirit and mind of Paul, we shall walk together in unity: “My earnest expectation and my hope, that … Christ shall be magnified in my body”. There was no thought of magnifying himself or his own service, Christ was paramount. In verse 7 he desires that all the saints might be identified with the gospel, and find in it a common interest and bond; not each one having his own separate interest, but all united in one common interest and bond, that they might be found striving together for the faith of the gospel. The gospel in this passage is not to be thought of in a restricted sense; it is not confined to what we generally understand by the gospel, namely, the gospel of the grace of God; it is the present testimony of God, the gospel of the glory of Christ—of all that God has established in Christ and is about to display in Him, hence it is the testimony of the Christ. It becomes the privilege of every saint (not only preachers) to be identified with this testimony as our paramount interest; then we should find it easy to walk together in unity, and by grace be able to esteem others as more excellent than ourselves, a very hard thing to do naturally. The secret for this is in each regarding not his own qualities or advantages but those of others; we are all inclined to attach undue importance to our own line of service, or to suppose that our own limited apprehension of the truth is the truth, and these things do not tend to unity. The Lord give us to abide more under the influence of His love, that He may dwell in our hearts by faith, and that we may find His testimony a truly uniting bond, drawing us closer together, that we may stand shoulder to shoulder in the maintenance and defence of the gospel.

From Food for the Faithful vol 7 (1904)