Preface

For more than a century, J. C. Ryle was best known for his clear and lively
writings on practical and spiritual themes.  His great aim in all his
ministry was to encourage strong and serious Christian living.  But Ryle
was not naive in his understanding of how this should be done.  He
recognized that, as a pastor of the flock of God, he had a responsibility
to guard Christ's sheep and to warn them whenever he saw approaching
dangers.  His penetrating comments are as wise and relevant today as they
were when he first wrote them.  His sermons and other writings have been
consistently recognized, and their usefulness and impact have continued to
the present day, even in the outdated English of the author's own day.

Why then should expositions already so successful and of such stature and
proven usefulness require adaptation, revision, rewrite or even editing?
The answer is obvious.  To increase its usefulness to today's reader the
language in which it was originally written needs updating.

Though his sermons have served other generations well, just as they came
from the pen of the author in the nineteenth century, they still could be
lost to present and future generations simply because, to them, the
language is neither readily nor fully understandable.

My goal, however, has not been to reduce the original writing to the
vernacular of our day.  It is designed primarily for you who desire to read
and study comfortably and at ease in the language of our time.  Only
obviously archaic terminology and passages obscured by expressions not
totally familiar in our day have been revised.  However, neither Ryle's
meaning nor intent have been tampered with.

                                                  Tony Capoccia


All Scripture references are taken from the HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL
VERSION (C) 1978 by the New York Bible Society, used by permission of
Zondervan Bible Publishers.




                                  FREEDOM

          "So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
                                 John 8:36

The subject before our eyes deserves our attention.  It should ring in the
ears of every person like the voice of a trumpet.  We live in a land which
is the very cradle of freedom.  But are we free ourselves?

The question is one which demands special attention at the present state of
public opinion.  The minds of many are absorbed in politics.  Yet there is
a freedom, within the reach of us all, which few, I am afraid, ever think
of--a freedom independent of all political changes--a freedom which the
prevailing government, nor the cleverest politician can bestow.  This is
the freedom about which I write this day.  Do we know anything of it?  Are
we free?

In opening this subject, there are three points which I wish to present.

I.  I will show, in the first place, "The general excellence of freedom."

II.  I will show, in the second place, "The best and truest kind of
freedom."

III.  I will show, in the last place, "The way in which the best kind of
freedom may become your own."

Let no reader think for a moment that this is going to be a political
paper.  I am no politician: I have no politics but those of the Bible.  The
only party I care for is the Lord's side: show me where that is, and it
shall have my support.  The only election I am anxious about is the
election of grace.  My one desire is, that sinners should make their own
calling and election sure.  The liberty I desire above all things to make
known, and further, is the glorious liberty of the children of God.  The
government I care to support is the government which is on the shoulder of
my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  Before Christ I want every knee to bow,
and every tongue to confess that He is Lord.  I ask for your attention
while I canvass these subjects.  If you are not free, I want to guide you
into true liberty.  If you are free, I want you to know the full value of
your freedom.

I.  The first thing I have to show is "The general excellence of freedom."

On this point some readers may think it needless to say anything: they
imagine that all men know the value of freedom, and that to dwell on it is
merely a waste of time.  I do not agree with such people at all.  I believe
that myriads of our countrymen know nothing of the blessings which they
enjoy in their own land: they have grown up from infancy to manhood in the
midst of freedom.  They do not have the least idea of the state of things
in other countries: they are ignorant alike of those two worst kinds of
tyranny--the crushing tyranny of a cruel military dictator, and the
intolerant tyranny of an unreasoning mob.  In short, many of us know
nothing of the value of liberty, just because we have been born in the
middle of it, and have never been without it for a moment.

I call on every one who reads this paper to remember that liberty is one of
the greatest earthly blessings that man can have on this side of the grave.

1.  We live in a land where our "bodies" are free.

So long as we don't hurt someone's body, or property, or character, no one
can touch us: the poorest man's house is his castle.

2.  We live in a land where our "actions" are free.

So long as we support ourselves, we are free to choose what we will do,
where we will go, and how we will spend our time.

3.  We live in land where our "consciences" are free.

So long as we are quiet about our beliefs, and do not interfere with
others, we are free to worship God as we please, and no man can compel us
to take his way to heaven.

4.  We live in a land where no foreigner rules over us.

Our laws are made and altered by people like ourselves, and our Governors
live by our side, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh.

In short, we have every kind of freedom to an extent which no other nation
on earth can equal.  We have personal freedom, civil freedom, religious
freedom, and national freedom.  We have free bodies, free consciences, free
speech, free thought, free action, free Bibles, a free press, and free
homes.  How vast is this list of privileges!  How endless are the comforts
which it contains!  The full value of them perhaps can never be known.  It
was well said by the Jewish Rabbis of long ago, "If the sea were ink and
the world parchment, it would never serve to describe the praises of
liberty."

The desire for this freedom has been the most fertile cause of misery to
nations in every age of the world.  What reader of the Bible can fail to
remember the sorrows of the children of Israel, when they were slaves under
Pharaoh in Egypt, or under the Philistines in Canaan?  What student of
history needs to be reminded of the woes inflicted on the Netherlands,
Poland, Spain, and Italy by the hands of foreign oppressors, or the
Inquisition?  Who, even in our own time, has not heard of that enormous
fountain of wretchedness, the slavery of the Negro race?  Certainly no
misery is so great as the misery of slavery.

To win and preserve freedom has been the aim of many national struggles
which have deluged the earth with blood.  Liberty has been the cause in
which myriads of Greeks, and Romans, and Germans, and Poles, and Swiss, and
Englishmen, and Americans have willingly laid down their lives.  No price
has been thought too great to pay in order that nations might be free.

The champions of freedom in every age have been justly esteemed among the
greatest benefactors of mankind.  Such names as Moses and Gideon in Jewish
history, such names as the Spartan Leonidas, the Roman Horatius, the German
Martin Luther, the Swedish Gustavus Vasa, the Swiss William Tell, the
Scotch Robert Bruce and John Knox, the English Alfred and Hampden and the
Puritans, the American George Washington, are deservedly embalmed in
history, and will never be forgotten.  To be the mother of many patriots is
the highest praise of a nation.

The enemies of freedom in every age have been rightly regarded as the pests
and nuisances of their times.  Such names as Pharaoh in Egypt, Dionysius at
Syracuse, Nero at Rome, Charles IX in France, bloody Mary in England, are
names which will never be rescued from disgrace.  The public opinion of
mankind will never cease to condemn them, on the one ground that they would
not let people be free.

But why should I dwell on these things?  Time and space would fail me if I
were to attempt to say a tenth part of what might be said in praise of
freedom.  What are the annals of history but a long record of conflicts
between the friends and foes of liberty?  Where is the nation on the earth
that has attained greatness, and left its mark on the world, without
freedom?  Which are the countries on the face of the globe at this very
moment which are making the most progress in trade, in arts, in sciences,
in civilization, in philosophy, in morals, in social happiness?  Precisely
those countries in which there is the greatest amount of true freedom.
Which are the countries this very day where there is the greatest amount of
internal misery, where we hear continually of secret plots, and murmuring,
and discontent, and attempts on life and property?  Precisely those
countries where freedom does not exist or exists only in name--where men
are treated as slaves, and are not allowed to think and act for themselves.
No wonder that a mighty Transatlantic Statesman declared on a great
occasion to his assembled countrymen, "Is life so dear, or peace so sweet,
as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty
God!  I do not know what course others may take; but as for me, give me
liberty or give me death!" [Patrick Henry, an American Statesman of the
last century].

Let us beware of "undervaluing" the liberty we enjoy in this country of
ours.  I am sure there is need of this warning.  There is, perhaps, no
country on earth where there is so much grumbling and fault-finding as
there is in here.  Men look at the fancied evils which they see around
them, and exaggerate both their number and their intensity.  They refuse to
look at the countless blessings and privileges which surround us, or
underrate the advantages of them.  They forget that comparison should be
applied to everything.  With our faults and defects there is at this hour
no country on earth where there is so much liberty and happiness for all
classes, as there is here.  They forget that as long as human nature is
corrupt, it is vain to expect perfection here below.  No laws or government
whatever can possibly prevent a certain quantity of abuses and corruptions.

Once more then, I say, let us beware of undervaluing our liberty, and
running eagerly after every one who proposes sweeping changes.  Changes are
not always improvements.  The old shoes may have some holes and defects,
but the new shoes may pinch so much that we cannot walk at all.  No doubt
we might have better laws and government than we have: but I am quite sure
we might easily have worse.  At this very day there is no country on the
face of the globe where there is so much care taken of the life, and
health, and property, and character, and personal liberty of the average
inhabitant, as there is in our country.  Those who want to have more
liberty, would soon find, if they crossed the seas, that there is no
country on earth where there is so much real liberty as our own.

But while I bid men not to undervalue our liberty, so also on the other
hand I charge them not to "overvalue" it.  Never forget that earthly
slavery is not the only slavery, and earthly freedom not the only freedom.
What shall it profit you to be a citizen of a free country, so long as your
soul is not free?  What is the use of living in a free land like ours, with
free thought, free speech, free action, free conscience, so long as you are
a slave to sin, and a captive to the devil?  Yes: there are tyrants whom no
eye can see, as real and destructive as Pharaoh or Nero!  There are chains
which no hands can touch, as true and heavy and soul-withering as ever
crushed the limbs of a slave!  It is these tyrants whom I want you this day
to remember.  It is these chains from which I want you to be free.  By all
means value your earthly liberty, but do not overvalue it.  Look higher,
further than any earthly freedom.  In the highest sense let us take care
that "we are free."

II.  The second thing that I have to show is "the truest and best kind of
freedom."

The freedom I speak of is a freedom that is within the reach of every child
of Adam who is willing to have it.  No power on earth can prevent a man or
woman having it, if they have but the will to receive it.  Tyrants may
threaten and cast in prison, but nothing they can do can stop a person
having this liberty.  And, once our own, nothing can take it away.  Men may
torture us, banish us, hang us, behead us, burn us, but they can never tear
from us true freedom.  The poorest may have it no less than the richest:
the most unlearned may have it as well as the most learned, and the weakest
as well as the strongest.  Laws cannot deprive us of it: The Roman Catholic
Church cannot rob us of it.  Once our own, it is an everlasting possession.

Now, what is this glorious freedom?  Where is it to be found?  What is it
like?  Who has obtained it for man?  Who has got it at this moment to
bestow?  I ask my readers to give me their attention, and I will supply a
plain answer to these questions.

The true freedom I speak of is spiritual freedom--freedom of the soul.  It
is the freedom which Christ bestows freely on all true Christians.  Those
whom the Son makes free are free indeed, "Where the Spirit of the Lord is,
there is liberty." (2 Corinthians 3:17).  Let men talk what they please of
the comparative freedom of monarchies and republics; let them struggle, if
they will, for universal liberty, fraternity, and equality: we will never
know the highest style of liberty till we are enrolled as citizens in the
kingdom of God.  We are ignorant of the best kind of freedom if we have not
been set free by Christ.

Those set free by Christ are free from the "guilt of sin."  That heavy
burden of unforgiven sin, which lies so heavy on many consciences, no
longer presses them down.  Christ's blood has cleansed it all away.  They
feel pardoned, reconciled, justified, and accepted in God's sight.  They
can look back to their old sins, however black and many, and say, "You
cannot condemn me."  They can look back on long years of carelessness and
worldliness and say, "Who can hold me accountable for anything in my past?"
This is true liberty.  This is to be free.

Those set free by Christ are free from the "power of sin."  It no longer
rules and reigns in their hearts, and overtakes them like a flood.  Through
the power of Christ's Spirit they restrain the deeds of their bodies, and
crucify their flesh with its affections and lusts.  Through His grace
working in them they get the victory over their evil inclinations.  The
flesh may fight, but it does not conquer them; the devil may tempt and
harass, but does not overcome them: they are no longer the slave of lusts
and appetites, and passions, and moods.  In all these things they are more
than conquerors through Him who loved them.  This is true liberty.  This is
to be free.

Those set free by Christ are free from the "cringing fear of God."  They no
longer look at Him with dread and apprehension, as an offended Maker; they
no longer hate Him, and hide from Him, like Adam did among the trees of the
garden; they no longer tremble at the thought of His judgment.  Through the
Spirit of adoption which Christ has given them, they look on God as a
reconciled Father, and rejoice in the thought of His love.  They no longer
feel His anger.  They feel that when God the Father looks down upon them,
He sees them in Christ, and unworthy as they are in themselves, is well-
pleased.  This is true liberty.  This is to be free.

Those set free by Christ are free from the "fear of man."  They are no
longer afraid of man's opinions, or care much what man thinks of them; they
are also indifferent to his favor or hatred, his smile or his frown.  They
look away from man who can be seen, to Christ who is not seen, and having
the favor of Christ, they care little for the condemnation of man.  "The
fear of man" was once a snare to them.  They trembled at the thought of
what man would say, or think, or do: they dared not run counter to the
fashions and customs of those around them; they shrank from the idea of
standing alone.  But the snare is now broken and they are delivered.  This
is true liberty.  This is to be free.

Those set free by Christ are free from the "fear of death."  They no longer
look forward to it with silent dismay, as a horrible thing which they don't
care to think of.  Through Christ they can look this last enemy calmly in
the face, and say, "You cannot harm me."  They can look forward to all that
comes after death--decay, resurrection, judgment, and eternity--and yet not
feel cast down.  They can stand by the side of an open grave, and say, "O
death, where is your sting?  O grave, where is your victory?"  They can
lay down on their death-beds, and say, "Though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." (Psalm 23:4)  "Not a hair of my
head will perish."  This is true liberty.  This is to be free.

Best of all, those set free by Christ are "free forever."  Once enrolled in
the list of heavenly citizens, their names shall never be erased.  Once
presented with the freedom of Christ's kingdom, they will possess it
forevermore.  The highest privileges of this world's freedom can only
endure for a lifetime; the freest citizen on earth must submit eventually
to death, and lose his privilege forever: but the privilege of Christ's
people is eternal.  They carry it down to the grave, and it still lives;
they will rise again with it at the last day, and enjoy the privileges of
it forevermore.  This is true liberty.  This is to be free.

Does anyone ask how and in what way Christ has obtained these mighty
privileges for His people?  You have a right to ask the question, and it is
one that can never be answered too clearly.  Give me your attention, and I
will show you by what means Christ has made His people free.

The freedom of Christ's people has been procured, like all other freedoms,
at a mighty cost and by a mighty sacrifice.  Great was the bondage in which
they were naturally held, and great was the price necessary to be paid to
set them free: mighty was the enemy who claimed them as his captives, and
it needed mighty power to release them out of his hands.  But, blessed be
God, there was enough grace, and enough power ready in Jesus Christ.  He
provided to the uttermost everything that was required to set His people
free.  The price that Christ paid for His people was nothing less than His
own lifeblood.  He became their Substitute, and suffered for their sins at
the cross: He redeemed them from the curse of the law, by being made a
curse for them. (Galatians 3:13)  He paid all their debt in His own person,
by allowing the punishment that would bring them peace to be laid on Him.
(Isaiah 53:5)  He satisfied every possible demand of the law against them,
by fulfilling its righteousness to the uttermost.  He cleared them from
every accusation of sin, by becoming sin for them. (2 Corinthians 5:21)  He
fought their battle with the devil, and triumphed over him on the cross.
As their Champion, He spoiled principalities and powers, and made a show of
them openly on Calvary.  In a word, Christ having given Himself for us, has
purchased the full right of redemption for us.  Nothing can touch those to
whom He gives freedom: their debts are paid, and paid a thousand times
over; their sins are atoned for by a full, perfect, and sufficient
atonement.  A Divine Substitute's death meets completely the justice of
God, and provides completely redemption for man.

Let us take a good look at this glorious plan of redemption, and be careful
that we understand it.  Ignorance on this point is one great secret of
faint hopes, little comfort, and ceaseless doubts in the minds of
Christians.  Too many are content with a vague idea that Christ will
somehow save sinners: but how or why they cannot tell.  I protest against
this ignorance.  Let us set fully before our eyes the doctrine of Christ
dying in our place--His substituted death, and rest our souls upon it.  Let
us grasp firmly the mighty truth, that Christ on the cross:

  -- Stood in the place of His people
  -- Died for His people
  -- Suffered for His people
  -- Was counted a curse and sin for His people
  -- Paid the debts of His People
  -- Made restitution for His people
  -- Became the insurance of His people
  -- Became the representative of His people

And in this way Christ procured His people's freedom.  Let us understand
this clearly, and then we will see what a mighty privilege it is to be made
free by Christ.

This is freedom which, above all others is worth having.  We can never
value it too highly: there is no danger of overvaluing it.  All other
freedom is an unsatisfying thing at the best, and a poor uncertain
possession at any time.  Christ's freedom alone can never be overthrown.
It is secured by a covenant ordered in all things and sure: its foundations
are laid in the eternal councils of God, and no foreign enemy can overthrow
them.  They are cemented and secured by the blood of the Son of God
Himself, and can never be destroyed.  The freedom of nations often lasts no
longer than a few centuries: the freedom which Christ gives to any one of
His people is a freedom that will outlive this material universe.

This is the truest, highest kind of freedom.  This is the freedom which in
a changing, dying world, I want men to possess.

III.  I have now to show, in the last place, "the way in which the best
kind of freedom is made our own."

This is a point of vast importance, on account of the many mistakes which
prevail about it.  Thousands, perhaps, will allow that there is such a
thing as spiritual freedom, and that Christ alone has purchased it for us:
but when they come to the application of redemption, they go astray.  They
cannot answer the question, "Who are those that Christ truly sets free?"
And because they are lacking in any real knowledge about the answer, they
sit still in their chains.  I ask every reader to give me his attention
once more, and I will try to throw a little light on the subject.  Useless
indeed is the redemption which Christ has obtained, unless you know how the
fruit of that redemption can become your own.  In vain have you read of the
freedom by which Christ makes people free, unless you understand how you
yourself may have an interest in it.

We are not born Christ's freemen.  The inhabitants of many a city enjoy
privileges by virtue of their birthplace.  Paul, who drew his first life-
breath at Tarsus in Cilicia, could say to the Roman Commander, "I was born
free."  But this is not the case with Adam's children, in regards to
spiritual things.  We are born slaves and servants of sin: we are by nature
"children of wrath," and destitute of any claim to heaven.

We are not made Christ's freemen by baptism.  Every year many are solemnly
baptized in the name of the Trinity, who serve sin like slaves, and neglect
Christ all of their days.  Wretched indeed is that man's state of soul who
can give no better evidence of his citizenship of heaven than the mere
naked fact of his baptism!

We are not made Christ's freemen by mere membership of Christ's Church.
There are Companies and Corporations whose members are entitled to vast
privileges, without any respect to their personal character, if their names
are only on the list of members.  The kingdom of Christ is not a
corporation of this kind.  The grand test of belonging to it is personal
character.

Let these things sink into our minds.  Far be it from me to narrow the
extent of Christ's redemption: the price He paid on the cross is sufficient
for the whole world.  Far be it from me to undervalue baptism or Church-
membership: the ordinance which Christ appointed, and the Church which He
maintains in the midst of a dark world, neither of them ought to be lightly
esteemed.  All I am contending is the absolute necessity of not being
content with either baptism or Church-membership.  If our religion stops
short here it is unprofitable and unsatisfying.  It needs something more
than this to give us an interest in the redemption which Christ has
purchased.

There is no other way to become Christ's freemen than that of simply
believing.  It is by faith, simple faith in Him as our Savior and Redeemer,
that men's souls are made free.  It is by receiving Christ, trusting
Christ, committing ourselves to Christ, placing our whole weight on 
Christ--it is by this, and by no other plan, that spiritual liberty is made 
our own.  Mighty as are the privileges which Christ's freemen possess, they 
all become a man's property in the day that he first believes.  He may not 
yet know their full value, but they are all his own.  He that believes in
Christ is not condemned, rather he is justified, is born again, is an heir
of God, and has everlasting life.

The truth before us is one of priceless importance.  Let us cling to it
formally and never let it go.  If you desire peace of conscience, if you
want inward rest and consolation, then lock on to the truth that faith is
the grand secret of an interest in Christ's redemption.  Take the simplest
view of faith: beware of confusing your mind by complicated ideas about it.
Follow holiness as closely as you can: seek the fullest and clearest
evidence of the inward work of the Spirit.  But in the matter of an
interest in Christ's redemption remember that faith stands alone.  It is by
believing, simply believing, that souls become free.

There is no more perfect doctrine than this to ideally suit the ignorant
and the unlearned!  Visit the poorest and humblest person who knows nothing
of theology, tell him the story of the cross, and the good news about Jesus
Christ, and His love to sinners; show him that there is freedom provided
for him, as well as for the most learned in the land--freedom from guilt,
freedom from the devil, freedom from condemnation, freedom from hell.  And
then tell him plainly, boldly, broadly, unreservedly, that this freedom may
be all his own, if he will but trust Christ and believe.

There is no more perfect doctrine than this to ideally suit the sick and
dying!  Go to the bedside of the vilest sinner, when death is coming near,
and tell him lovingly that there is a hope even for him, if he can receive
it.  Tell him that Christ came into the world to save sinners, even the
worst of them; tell him that Christ has done it all, paid it all, performed
all, purchased all that the soul of man can possibly need for salvation.
And then assure him that he, even he, may be freed at once from all his
guilt, if he will only believe.  Yes, say to him, in the words of
Scripture, "If you confess with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in
your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved." (Romans
10:9)

Let us never forget that this is the point to which we must turn our own
eyes, if we would know whether we have a saving interest in Christ's
redemption.  Do not waste your time in speculations whether you are elect,
and converted, and a vessel of grace.  Do not stand poring over the
unprofitable question whether Christ died for you or not.  Settle your
thoughts on this one simple question, "Do I really trust in Christ, as a
humble sinner?  Do I throw myself at His feet?  Do I believe?"  Do not look
to anything else.  Look at this alone.  Do not fear to rest your soul on
plain texts and promises of Scripture.  If you believe, you are free.

(1)  And now as I bring this paper to a conclusion, let me affectionately
press upon every reader the question which naturally grows out of the whole
subject.  Let me ask one plain question: "Are you free?"

I don't know who or what type of person is reading this paper.  But this I
do know, there never was an age when the question I press upon you was more
thoroughly needed.  Political freedom, civil freedom, commercial freedom,
freedom of the press--all these, and a hundred other kindred subjects, are
swallowing up men's attention.  Few, very few, find time to think of
spiritual freedom.  Many, too many, forget that no man is so thoroughly a
slave, whatever his position, as the man who serves sin.

Yes! there are thousands in this country who are slaves of beer and
alcohol, slaves of lust, slaves of ambition, slaves of political party,
slaves of money, slaves of gambling, slaves of fashion, or slaves of
temper!

You may not see their chains with the naked eye, and they themselves may
boast of their freedom: but for all that they are thoroughly slaves.
Whether men like to hear it or not, the gambler and the drunkard, the
covetous and the passionate, the glutton and the sensualist, are not free,
but slaves.  They are tied hand and foot by the devil.  "Everyone who sins
is a slave of sin." (John 8:34)  He that boasts of freedom, while he is
enslaved by lusts and passions, is going down to hell with a lie in his
right hand.

Wake up and see these things, while health, and time, and life are granted
to you.  Don't let political struggles and party strife make you forget
your precious soul.  Take any side in politics you please, and honestly
follow your conscientious convictions; but never, never forget that there
is a freedom far higher and more lasting than any that politics can give
you.  Don't rest till liberty is your own.  Don't rest till YOUR SOUL IS
FREE.

(2) Do you feel and desire to be free?  Do you find any longing within you
for a higher, better freedom than this world can give--a freedom that will
not die at your death, but will go with you beyond the grave?  Then take
the advice I give you this day.  Seek Christ, repent, believe, and be free.
Christ has a glorious liberty to bestow on all who humbly cry to Him for
freedom.  Christ can take burdens off your heart, and remove the chains off
your inward man.  "If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed."
(John 8:36).

Freedom like this is the secret of true happiness.  None go through the
world with such ease and contentment as those who are citizens of a
heavenly country.  Earth's burdens press lightly upon their shoulders;
earth's disappointments do not crush them down as they do others; earth's
duties and anxieties do not drink up their spirit.  In their darkest hours
they have always this sustaining to fall back on, "I have something which
makes me independent of this world: I am spiritually free."

Freedom like this is the secret of being a good politician.  In every age
Christ's freemen have been the truest friends to law and order, and to
measures for the benefit of all classes of mankind.  Never, never let it be
forgotten that the despised Puritans, two hundred years ago, did more for
the cause of real liberty than all the Governments which ever ruled this
land.  The root of the most genuine patriotism is to be one of those whom
Christ has made free.

(3)  Are you spiritually free?  Then rejoice, and be thankful for your
freedom.  Don't worry about the scorn and contempt of man: you don't have
any reason to be ashamed of your religion or your Master.  He whose
citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), who has God for his Father,
and Christ for his Elder Brother, angels for his daily guards, and heaven
itself for his home, is one that is well provided for.  No change of laws
can add to his greatness: no extension of right or privilege can raise him
higher than he stands in God's sight.  "The boundary lines have fallen for
me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance" (Psalm
16:6).  Grace now, and the hope of glory hereafter, are more lasting
privileges than the power of voting in countries.

Are you free?  Then stand firm in your liberty, and don't be entangled
again in the yoke of bondage.  Don't listen to those who by good words and
fair speeches would draw you back to the Roman Catholic Church.

-- Beware of those who would try to persuade you that there is any mediator
but the one Mediator, Christ Jesus

-- Beware of any one who would try to persuade you that there is any
sacrifice but the one Sacrifice offered on Calvary

-- Beware of any one who would try to persuade you that there is any priest
but the great High Priest Emmanuel.

-- Beware of any one who would try to persuade you that there is any
additions needed in worship but the savor of His name who was crucified.

-- Beware of any one who would try to persuade you that there is any rule
of faith and practice but God's Word.

-- Beware of any one who would try to persuade you that there is any
confessional but the throne of grace.

-- Beware of any one who would try to persuade you that there is any
effectual absolution but that which Christ bestows on the hearts of His
believing people.

-- Beware of any one who would try to persuade you that there is any
purgatory [place where man is to pay for his sins] but the one fountain
open for all sins, the blood of Christ, to be used only while we are alive.

On all these points stand firm, and be on your guard.  Scores of misguided
teachers are trying to rob Christians of Gospel liberty, and to bring back
among us exploded superstitions.  Resist them completely, and do not give
way for a moment.  Remember what the Roman Catholic Church was before the
blessed Reformation.  Remember at what mighty cost our martyred Reformers
brought spiritual freedom to light by the Gospel.  Stand firm for this
freedom like a man, and labor to hand it down to your children, whole and
unimpaired.

Are you free?  Then think everyday you live of the millions of your fellow-
creatures who are yet bound hand and foot in spiritual darkness.  Think of
the millions of heathens who never yet heard of Christ and salvation.
Think of the Jews [also lost and condemned to Hell] who are still waiting
for their Messiah.  Think of the millions of Roman Catholics who are still
in captivity under the Pope, and know nothing of true liberty, light, and
peace.  Think of the myriads of your own fellow-countrymen in our great
cities, who, without the influence of Christ, are in reality heathens, and
whom the devil is continually leading captive at his will.  Think of them
all, and feel for them.  Think of them all, and say often to yourself--
"What can I do for them?  How can I help to set them free?"

What!  Shall it be proclaimed at the last day:

-- that Pharisees and Jesuits have traveled the sea and land to make
proselytes?

-- that politicians have united and labored night and day to obtain worldly
freedom and free trade?

-- that philanthropists have travailed in soul for years to procure
suppression of Negro slavery?

And shall it appear at the same time that Christ's freemen have done little
to rescue men and women from hell?  Forbid it!  Forbid it!  Surely if the
children of this world are zealous to promote earthly freedom, the children
of God ought to be much more zealous to promote spiritual freedom.  In the
past, suffice it to say, we have been selfish and lazy in this matter.  For
the rest of our days let us use every effort to promote spiritual freedom.
If we have tasted the blessings of freedom, let us spare no pains to make
others free.

Are you free?  Then look forward in faith and hope for good things yet to
come.  Free as we are, if we believe on Christ, from guilt and power of
sin, we must surely feel every day that we are not free from its presence
and the temptations of the devil.  Redeemed as we are from the eternal
consequences of the fall, we must often feel that we are not yet redeemed
from sickness and infirmity, from sorrow and from pain.  No, indeed!  Where
is the freeman of Christ on earth who is not often painfully reminded that
we are not yet in heaven?  We are yet in the body; we are yet traveling
through the wilderness of this world: we are not at home.  We have shed
many tears already, and probably we shall have to shed many more; we have
got yet within us a poor weak heart: we are yet liable to be assaulted by
the devil.  Our redemption is begun indeed, but it is not yet completed.
We have redemption now in the root, but we do not have it in the flower.

But let us take courage: there are better days yet to come.  Our great
Redeemer and Liberator has gone before us to prepare a place for His
people, and when He comes again our redemption will be complete.  The great
jubilee year is yet to come:

-- A few more Christmas and New Year's Days
-- A few more meetings and partings
-- A few more births and deaths
-- A few more weddings and funerals
-- A few more tears and struggles
-- A few more sicknesses and pains
-- A few more Sundays, Baptisms, and Lord Suppers
-- A few more preachings and prayings
-- A few more, and the end will come!

Our Master will come back again.  The dead saints will be raised.  The
living saints will be changed.  Then, and not till then will we be
completely free.  The liberty which we enjoyed by faith will be changed
into the liberty of sight, and the freedom of hope into the freedom of
certainty.

Come, then, and let us resolve to wait, and watch, and hope, and pray, and
live like men who have something laid up for them in heaven.  The night is
far spent, and the day is at hand.  Our King is not far off: our full
redemption draws near.  Our full salvation is nearer then when we first
believed.  The signs of the times are strange, and demand every Christian's
serious attention.  The kingdoms of this world are in confusion: the powers
of this world, are everywhere reeling and shaken to their foundations.
Happy, thrice happy, are those who are citizens of Christ's eternal
kingdom, and ready for anything that may come.  Blessed indeed are those
men and women who know and feel that they are free!


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