Andrew Grey - For Jesus Christ is Precious to Believers (Part 2)

Part 1 - http://dailypuritan.blogspot.com/2015/08/Grey.html

Jesus Christ is Precious to Believers (Sermon 1)

Secondly, I would say, that a Christian may have much visible fruitfulness, when there is much unfruitfulness in his soul, and so may be a barren Christian. By visible fruitfulness, we mean or understand, the going about the exercise of outward duties, when within there is nothing but barrenness in the exercise of inward duties. And there are these four words that I would say to you concerning a natural conscience.

(1) A natural conscience will challenge more for the want of outward sanctification, than for the want of inward sanctification. It will challenge more for pollution in the outward man than for the pollution of the inward man.

(2) It will challenge more for the neglect of the outside of a duty, than for the neglect of secret prayer.

(3) A natural conscience will challenge more for the commission of sin, than for the omission of duty. If he swear, it will challenge him more for that than if he had neglected secret prayer ten times.

(4) A natural conscience will challenge a person more for the want of sanctification, than for the want of justification.

Now for shutting up our discourse upon this, I would, first, say this to you, O Christians. Can ye read the scriptures and not be constrained to blush? I say, are ye not made to blush when we read of holy Enoch, and of Abraham, David, Paul, and of patient Job? When ye look unto their holy walk and conversation, are ye not made to blush, O Christians? What! think ye the way to heaven more easy then, when they lived, than it is now in our days, under the glorious manifestation of the gospel? No, certainly it was not. It is reported of the heathens, when reflecting upon the famous acts of their predecessors, it bereaved them of their night‘s rest; and ought not the famous acts of our predecessors bereave us of our sleep also? I must say, if Christ bring many of the Christians of this generation to heaven, surely there must be a stronger exercise of His power exercised towards us than

it was before.

There is this secondly that I would say, and it is this, that faith is the predominant grace of a Christian while he is here below, and love shall be the predominant grace when he shall be above. Faith and hope fight the battle, and love divides the spoil. Faith may be called Asher, that is, royal dainties; and it may be called Joseph, in respect of its mother, that is, fruitfulness.

There is this, thirdly, I would say, that there are three idols that are a great difficulty for a Christian to be mortified to:

(1) It is a difficulty for him to be mortified to the applause of the world.

(2) It is a difficulty for a Christian to be mortified to the pleasures of the world.

(3) It is a great difficulty to be mortified to the reproaches of the world. But applause is so far from being a blessing, that it is a woe, Luke vi, 26, “Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you!” Applause of the world is an unconstant thing. It will cry “Hosanna” today, and “Crucify Him” tomorrow.

Now, to speak to the second part of the words, the advantages that come to one from the exercise of faith. We told you that there were two advantages, and now we shall first speak to this, what it is to have Christ precious to our souls. And, we conceive, it comprehends these things:

(1) It imports this for a Christian to have an high account and estimation of Christ above all things in the world, and to cry out, “Whom have I in heaven but thee, or in the earth that I desire besides thee.”

(2) It imports this, for the soul to be much in the exercise of love to Christ, and that is, to have Christ precious.

(3) To have Christ precious is to have communion and fellowship with Him.

But, secondly, we shall speak to this, how faith makes Christ precious to the soul. And the first way is, faith is the spy of the soul; it takes a sight of the comeliness and beauty of Christ, and it cries out, “Thou art all fair, my love, and altogether lovely”; and presently on the back of that, Christ is precious. The second way how faith makes the soul take up Christ to be precious, is this; faith is that grace that makes up our interest and communion with Christ. It is the believing Christian that has most communion and fellowship with Christ. There is this third way whereby faith makes Christ precious to the soul, and it is this; faith is that grace that believes the promises which God hath made to the soul, and that makes Christ precious to the soul. When a Christian shall read I John iii, 2, and faith believes it sweetly, ye shall be constrained to cry out, “O what a matchless one is Christ.” We shall be constrained to wonder at the love that He has had towards us. There is this fourth way how faith makes Christ precious to the soul. It presents to the Christian the crown of glory, and lets him see all the joys and excellencies of heaven. O believe it, a broad sight of that crown, even of that glorious and immortal crown, would exceedingly commend Christ to your souls. And there is, fifthly, this last way how faith describes and makes Christ precious to the soul. It discovers and presents to you the absolute necessity of embracing Jesus Christ, and that makes Christ precious to the soul.

There is this, thirdly, that we would speak to, and it is this, to propose some evidences and marks whereby ye may know whether Christ be precious unto you.

There is this first evidence whereby ye may try it. These to whom Christ is precious will have a desire to His image, that is, they will have a desire after holiness. Psalm Ii, 10, ‘Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.” O Christians, do you not desire to bear the image of the second Adam, as ye have borne the image of the first Adam?

There is this second evidence. These, to whom Christ is precious, will desire to make a continual and constant use of Christ for justification, that they may be purged, and have the precious lineaments of Christ drawn upon them; and they will make use of Him for wisdom, that they may be directed aright through this wilderness; and they will make use of Him for redemption, that they may be set free from their spiritual enemies. O Christians, durst ye ever say, that ever an idol did assault you, that ye did not embrace? Oh! I fear there are many that may assent unto this truth.