All these things are of God
Once again, to conclude this summary, all the
actions of the new nature are of God. See yonder missionary,
leaving house and home, and all the comforts of his native land,
to go and do battle for Christ among a people who will scorn
him, mistrust his motives, and repay his self-denial with
persecution. Do you see him with his life in his hand venturing
even auto death? That man, oppressed with fever incidental to
the land in which he has come to live, as he lays on his bed,
with a melancholy interval for reflection, never repents of the
step which he had taken. He recovers strength enough to crawl
out beneath a tree and there he stands, and instead of recanting
the vows he made of dedication to his Master, he confirms them
yet afresh, by once again preaching the Word. He continues to
labor until worn out, he commits his body to the earth far from
his father-land and the homestead of his native land, a witness
against the unbelievers, that God hath sent the gospel to them.
Shall we applaud the man? Shall we with
clamorous songs sing his praise? Let us give him his reward of
tribute, he hath done valiantly. But let us remember that
everything in him that was good, was of God. He would have been
idle and indifferent, and careless to the souls of men had not
God made him what he was. Does the martyr burn at the
stake? Does the confessor lie and rot in the dungeon? Does the
heroic child of God do battle against the current of his times,
and seem to stem the flood with his own strong arm? Are
Christians prepared to suffer contumely and scorn, and rebuke
and reproof, for Jesus’ sake? Surely all
these things are of God. Is there a Christian munificent
(liberal in giving), generous, thoughtful of the woes of others?
Is there another mighty in prayer and diligent in service? Can
you meet with a third who lives so near to Christ that his face
seems to thine with the luster of Jesus’ love, —
all these things are of God.
Set down no virtue to man. Good
things are exotics in the human heart. They are not like the
weeds which spring up naturally in such poor soil as human
hearts are made of but they are rare choice flowers brought down
of the Spirit’s hand from above and then planted in this
unkindly soil. Oh! let us ever know that
anything we can ever do or feel or think that is right, is of
God. My brethren, discard for ever with detestation and
abhorrence any doctrine which would lead you to think that any
work, or grace, anything just, pure, lovely, or of good report,
in man, is of man himself. Depend
upon it, though it come to you in the garb of earnestness, and
paint its cheeks, and look fair enough to you, it is the harlot
of Popery in another dress. Only let such doctrine be pushed to
its fair conclusion, and you come at once to
salvation by works.
- C. H. Spurgeon, High Doctrine
