PRIVILEGE AND RESPONSIBILITY
There is another article on this subject on page 123 but the two are different enough to include them both.
There will be no difficulty in seeing the following facts:—first, there is in Christianity that which may be described as privilege. Secondly, there is that which may be described as responsibility. It is a great thing to be simple and to accept these facts. There is such a thing as privilege conferred upon us by God in His grace as distinct and apart from responsibility. We should understand, too, the order of these things in Christianity. In the measure in which we are able to take account of the order in which God has set things in Christianity, in that measure we shall be greatly encouraged. The order is privilege first and then responsibility, and responsibility based upon and formed by privilege. Generally speaking, if we are marked by failure, that failure is due to our being deficient in our apprehension of privilege. I quote a scripture from the Old Testament to prove that the fulfilment of responsibility is dependent upon the enjoyment of privilege. “The joy of Jehovah” (that is, privilege) “is your strength”. If we are conscious of spiritual weakness, depend upon it, it can be traced to the fact that we are not in the “joy of Jehovah”.
I have thought of the difference between things in the Old and New Testaments. In the Old Testament God was dealing with man according to flesh, and that being so, responsibility had the first place. There was blessing—abundant blessing—promised on the part of God, but it was “if”—if you meet your responsibility. There it was—the blessing was there, but the enjoyment of it was suspended upon the “if” of responsibility. But law is no longer the prevailing principle of God’s dealings with man. Grace and truth have come by Jesus Christ. It is a period of grace, and all connected with Christianity is on the ground of pure, free grace on the part of God; and that being so, privilege has now the first place. It is a great thing for us Christians to avail ourselves of the privilege open to us. Naturally we are constructed on the lines of law and responsibility, and that is why we like that line. We are like the people who said, “All that Jehovah has spoken we will do” (Exod 19: 8); there is a readiness to accept the line of responsibility. We are all alike and are quite ready to accept responsibility. The arrangements of Christendom are all on that line. As we come to know God and His grace it becomes a surprise and a wonder to us that people are so blind and so foolish and so ready to accept obligation. Yet it is all around us. It is a prevalent idea still that everything hangs upon man meeting his obligation; but it is not so; everything hangs on our entering into privilege. God seeks to encourage us not on the line of accepting law, but in the direction of the acceptance of the privilege which His grace gives. This is affecting when it is seen. In the passage which I read God is encouraging us to draw near to Him: “Having therefore, brethren, boldness for entering into the holy of holies”. The language in this epistle, as you know, is the language connected with God’s earthly people in the wilderness. There was the tabernacle, and the highest privilege at that moment was to enter the holy of holies. When the tabernacle was constructed and established God entered into it, and He spoke to the people out of the tabernacle, not then from out of the smoke and thunderings and darkness and tempest of Mount Sinai, but from the tabernacle where He had taken up His abode among His people, whom He wanted to draw near to Him. The house of God is here now; God has not only redeemed His people, but He has taken up His abode in the midst of His people. He does not propose to dwell in loneliness; He wants His people to come near to Him. In the tabernacle the common people were kept far away—they could only enter the court of the tabernacle—only one family could go into the holy place, and only one man could enter into the holy of holies, and he was under restrictions—only once a year, and not without blood and a cloud of incense. But now God has taken up His abode in the midst of His people, but note, “Having therefore, brethren, boldness”—they are “brethren” because they are related to the High Priest, and, mark, “holy brethren”, too. “Having boldness”, that is, perfect liberty and right to enter the holy of holies. Oh, beloved friends, it is our portion to draw near to God—to come into the very presence of God. We need to be simple and to open our hearts to all this grace and blessed privilege on the part of our God. Mark further, it is “by the blood of Jesus”. It is taught in our day that there are Christians who have more title and advantage in connection with the blood of Jesus than others. The apostles John and Paul would not admit that claim for one moment. Boldness to enter is open to all “by the blood of Jesus”. It is common ground, and God speaks to us in these terms, indicating ground common to every believer. Get away from spiritual classes. It is not to the fathers as over and above the young men, nor to the young men as over and above the babes. Oh, no! it is brethren: “Having therefore, brethren”. There must be no questioning as to the blessed privilege being open to all, by the blood of Jesus. It is, I repeat, common ground, and in view of it we “having boldness for entering into the holy of holies”. What is the blood of Jesus? It is the “new and living way”, and it is the way in. The rent veil when Christ died was to show that God had come out in the revelation of His grace and love, but here it is our side and for entering in. What has God done by the blood of Jesus? He has given us boldness for entering the holy of holies. It is that blood which is the new and living way. There is just the one new and living way that God has dedicated, and it is for all the brethren. I need hardly say that when I speak of brethren I have in my thoughts the whole Christian company—they are the holy brethren and partakers of the heavenly calling. Further, “and having a great priest over the house of God”. Nothing is lacking; in the exercise of your boldness there is nothing to hinder any of the brethren from approaching. Approaching what? Approaching God. He loves us to come near to Him—like Joseph with his brethren. Joseph had no misgivings in his heart toward them; he said to them: “Come near to me”, Gen 45: 4. God wants us to approach and to come near to Him. There is a strange spiritual shyness about us! God says, ‘I want you to come near, and there is nothing to hinder’. “Let us approach with a true heart”. That is the kind of heart a Christian has. A young believer may not be well up in doctrine, but God wants a “true heart”, and that is a heart responding to His grace by drawing near. Then, too, “in full assurance of faith”, there is no reason why we should have doubts, if we believe God—“Abraham believed God”. We are called believers, and why? Because we have believed. Abraham believed God, and why should not we? “Sprinkled as to our hearts from a wicked conscience”. There is no such thing as an unsprinkled believer. All the sons of Aaron could have had these terms applied to them in a ritual way, and so every true believer can have these terms applied to him. Every son of Aaron had the washing and the sprinkling of the blood and the anointing with oil. All were alike. The devil is behind it when the believer does not take up the common ground of his privilege, and the devil’s object is to hinder him from approaching and drawing near to God.
When you enter the holy of holies, you find there the ark and the mercy-seat and all that was contained in the ark. These refer to Christ, and all that is found in Him in relation to the purposes of God; purposes which are very wide. In the holy of holies we come into the light of Christ, not in relation to ourselves, but in relation to God’s purposes. All is settled for us. He has made purgation for sins, and it is our privilege, as believers, to draw near to God in the apprehension of Christ as to all that He is in the purposes of God.
I do not stop at myself in Christianity; there are the “holy brethren” and Christ in relation to the purpose of God. Let us get out into the greatness of that. We are speaking of that which has a wonderful relation to our path down here. If you are at all educated, it is not difficult to recognise another who is educated, and, beloved, entering into the holy of holies is your spiritual education, and then you come out in your path here and take up your responsibilities in the light of what you have learnt there. People say, What do you do in the holiest? Nothing! Nothing! You learn Christ there as the ark of the covenant, and that means that God is going to have a universe where His will will be done as it is done in heaven. How will it be brought about? In Christ—in Him who was typified in that wooden box containing the tables of the covenant and the rod which budded and the pot of manna. God’s law was within His heart. Life was inherent in Him—the power of resurrection was there. God is going to bring in a universe on the principle of resurrection. These things relate to Christ, not to us. We shall never be great in ourselves, we shall only be great in the apprehension of what is great, great in the apprehension of the One in whom the power of resurrection is inherent, of the One who could say, “I am the resurrection and the life”. There is power of life from the dead in that One, and He was the One, too, who had God’s law in His heart. There was a golden pot of manna, too. That has reference to all the grace that was in that blessed One. God is to have a memorial of that which will have an abiding place in that universe of bliss. People say, “I want to know a Saviour”. Well, we have to know Him thus, but are you going to sit there all your life? Are you always to be occupied with yourself? May the Lord get us out into the largeness and appreciation of Christ according to what He is in the purpose of God! We are not going to stay in a state of spiritual babyhood all our lives, are we? “When for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have again need that one teach you what are the elements of the beginning of the oracles of God” (Heb 5: 2), the apostle said. Let us go on to the privilege of drawing near to God in the apprehension of Christ as He is in relation to the purpose of God. Oh, what it meant to God to have that blessed One down here! But He is now up there, and as sure as He is up there, God is going to bring to pass all His purposes. May we enter into our privilege, and so enter into the greatness of Christ as He is, as the One who will give effect to all the purposes of God; then we shall be able to come out and carry out our responsibilities! We shall “hold fast the confession of the hope”. People maybe interested in things here, but let us, beloved, hold fast the confession of the hope. The hope is the coming of the Lord, when He will bring in His system of things and turn this world upside down. Christ is coming, He will appear the second time apart from sin unto salvation—not salvation of the soul, but salvation in a universal way. We should go dead against the current here, and be separate from the world, and be like one in regard of whom a brother wrote the following lines:
“A stranger with such strange ways,
A peculiar light in his eyes;
A far-off look a kind, of a daze,
Unheeding what round him lies”.
Such an one, not in touch with things here, either scientifically, educationally, politically or religiously. The psalmist could say, “Then understood I their end”, Ps 73: 17. Are you walking apart from everything here—are you walking in the light of Christ here and of the time when righteousness will be on the throne? Righteousness will reign, and peace will reign, and joy will reign. Are these things real to you? Do you reckon thus? Let us encourage one another, and by so much the more as we see the day drawing near. Note, “unwavering”—not this way and that way, but you go straight on. “Hold fast the confession of the hope unwavering, for he is faithful who has promised”. This is your encouragement, that He has promised and He is faithful. Will He not bring it all to pass? Will He not? Thus you are apart from the current of things here, you are holding fast the confession of the hope. That is in regard of the world, but what now in regard of the Christian company? “Let us consider one another”, and see what the faults of the brethren are. No, no, consider them “for provoking to love and to good works”. You have been in the holy of holies, your spiritual education has been well looked after; thus there is separation from the world and you are encouraged by the faithfulness of the Lord to His promises; you know He will fulfil His promise and now you are on the line of considering to provoke to love and to good works. Then we are not to forsake the assembling of ourselves together as the manner of some is. We have to learn Christ in the holy of holies, and to come into the understanding of what He is before God, and then the effect will be that we shall be in accord with these exhortations and on the line of valuing the assembling of ourselves together—the Christian company becoming increasingly precious to us; and further “encouraging one another”. The word is really “encouraging one another”. It is our relations to the brethren which are in question here. See the marks of having been inside—near to God. You are separate from the world, and as to the brethren you are not indifferent to them; there is consideration for one another, provoking to love. How? By loving them. That is the art of it. You provoke them by loving them and doing the good works. The new commandment is to love one another. It is not for them to love you. You will be loved if you love. It is a great thing to see to it that we do not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. This latter is one of the features of our spiritual education as “having entered into the holy of holies”, of being in the apprehension of Christ according to God’s purpose. Let us encourage one another.
Receive these simple remarks. There is your privilege and there is your responsibility. Take up your privilege and you will be marked by these features which I have drawn attention to. May God enable us to take up our privilege and thus to come into the apprehension of all that that blessed One is, not to us, but to God in relation to His purposes. Then we shall come out according to the features indicated here. Do you not see the day is approaching? Now is the time, “Let us hold fast the confession of the hope without wavering”. Do not lose one opportunity of provoking to love and good works, encourage one another, and do not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. I do not know where you live if you file a bill of complaint against your brethren. May the Lord make these things good in our souls in the appreciation of Christ, and that thus we may come out in the manner indicated.
WALLINGTON
April 1912
From The Believer’s Friend 1912