CHAPTER III: SHEWING HOW A PRINCIPLE OF GRACE IS FROM THE SPIRIT OF GOD.

I. That this holy and Divine principle, which we have strewn does radically and summarily consist in Divine Love, comes into existence in the soul by the power of God in the influences of the Holy Spirit, the Third Person in the blessed Trinity, is abundantly manifest from the Scriptures.

Regeneration is by the Spirit: John iii. 5, 6--" Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." And verse 8 - " The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit."

The renewing of the soul is by the Holy Ghost: Titus iii 5-- " Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost."

CHAPTER II.
SHEWING WHEREIN ALL SAVING GRACE DOES SUMMARILY CONSIST

THE next thing that arises for consideration is, What is the nature of this principle in the soul that is so entirely diverse from all that is naturally in the soul ? Here I would observe,--

1. That that saving grace that is in the hearts of the saints, that within them [which is] above nature, and entirely distinguishes 'em from all unconverted men, is radically but one--i.e., however various its exercises are, yet it is but one in its root; 'tis one individual principle in the heart.

'Tis common for us to speak of various graces of the Spirit of God as though they were so many different principles of holiness, and to call them by distinct names as such,--repentance, humility, resignation, thankfulness, &c.

Jesus was dead, and I mean really dead, on a cross, but he's not anymore.

That's how my son Timothy, a few years ago when he was three, explained to neighbors why he was so excited about Easter. No one referred me to a therapist, or to a cognitive development seminar. Those around me didn't see the horror of what I was doing to my children. Neither did I.

We didn't know that the Gospel, like Ginsu knives and blood pressure medicine, ought to be kept out of the reach of small children.

At least that's what one church was told recently, by a publisher of children's Sunday school curricula, according to Two Institutions, a blog about family and church matters.

The pastors at this church in Raleigh, North Carolina, were perplexed when they saw the Holy Week Sunday school lessons for preschoolers from "First Look," the publisher of the one to five year-old Sunday school class materials. There wasn't a mention of the resurrection of Jesus. Naturally, the pastors inquired about the oversight.

CHAPTER I.
[SHEWING] THAT COMMON AND SAVING GRACE DIFFER, NOT ONLY IN DEGREE, BUT IN NATURE AND KIND.

SUCH phrases as common grace, and special or saving grace, may be understood as signifying either diverse kinds of influence of God's Spirit on the hearts of men, or diverse fruits and effects of that influence. The Spirit of God is supposed sometimes to have some influence upon the minds of men that are not true Christians, and [it is supposed] that those dispositions, frames, and exercises of their minds that are of a good tendency, but are common to them with the saints, are in some respect owing to some influence or assistance of God's Spirit. But as there are some things in the hearts of true Christians that are peculiar to them, and that are more excellent than any thing that is to be found in others, so it is supposed that there is an operation of the Spirit of God different, and that the value which distinguishes them is owing to a higher influence and assistance than the virtues of others.

Their foot shall slide in due time.
Deuteronomy 32:35

In this verse is threatened the vengeance of God on the wicked unbelieving Israelites, who were God's visible people, and who lived under the means of grace; but who, notwithstanding all God's wonderful works towards them, remained (as vers 28.) void of counsel, having no understanding in them. Under all the cultivations of heaven, they brought forth bitter and poisonous fruit; as in the two verses next preceding the text. -- The expression I have chosen for my text, their foot shall slide in due time, seems to imply the following things, relating to the punishment and destruction to which these wicked Israelites were exposed.

Question 126 - What is the fifth petition?

Answer - And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. That is: For the sake of Christ's blood, do not impute to us, wretched sinners; any of our transgressions, nor the evil which still clings to us,¹ as we also find this evidence of Thy grace in us that we are fully determined wholeheartedly to forgive our neighbor.²

Who wants to read about stuffy old law, anyway? Jesus came and we have grace and love now, right? Jani Ortlund, the wife of Ray Ortland Jr., and author of His Loving Law, Our Lasting Legacy would graciously counter that grace was given to the Israelites before the law, and that the law was a gift of love from God, not slavery. In her interview she discusses her love of the Bible and commands that are not only in the Old Testament, but the New. She informs us that the law is meant to point us to Jesus as we cannot live up to its standards. Jesus cleanses us and frees us to love him back, and the law is a picture of what God is like. Formerly a school teacher, Jani saw the removal of the Ten Commandments from the walls of her school. With a deep love for Jesus and the law that God gave, she was burdened to share with families the practical teaching of the Ten Commandments as conduits to Christ and a gift of life to be passed on to the next generation. This wise and gracious woman clearly loves Jesus and clearly loves the Word.

Observe: Those only who are ready and prepared in this life for Christ, shall enjoy eternal and immediate communion with Christ; those only who are fitted shall partake of his fellowship; for of all these virgins (though many of them were otherwise very well qualified) only those which were ready did enter in with the bridegroom, which readiness in these wise virgins was not, nor is not, any Popish preparation, either meritorious, or congruous or wrought by the power of corrupted or adorned nature; but divine and glorious, wrought by the power of Christ, out of his eternal love to the vessels of glory, as an antecedent, not moving cause of this eternal fellowship; it is the first degree of our resurrection with Christ. Rom. ix. 23, "Vessels of glory prepared unto glory;" the same word which is used here, there are two ends God hath appointed all men to, either to be vessels of wrath; who are those? verse 22, "Those that are fitted for destruction;" others of glory; who are those? "Prepared unto glory." 2 Cor. v. 5, with 8. How comes Paul and all the saints to know, and groan for to be out of the body, and to break the cage, and to be with the Lord? one reason is, they are wrought and moulded, and fashioned for that condition by the hand of a merciful God, even as one may know what vessels are for especial use, by their metal, and curious engravings upon them.

In May 2007, Resurgence had the opportunity to participate in and record the content from the first Gospel Coalition conference. In this breakout session from the conference, listen as Phil Ryken talks about Justification and Union with Christ.