Read Ebook: True Christianity A Treatise on Sincere Repentence True Faith the Holy Walk of the True Christian Etc. by Arndt Johann Schaeffer Charles Frederick Editor B Hm Anton Wilhelm Translator

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True Christianity consists solely in pure faith, love, and a holy life. This holiness of life springs from true repentance, sorrow, and self-knowledge; so that a man not only more and more feels his failings and imperfections, but amends them also, and, in this order, partakes of the righteousness and holiness of Christ by faith. 1 Cor. 1:30.

Of The True Worship Of God.

Not a Christian name, but a Christian life, evidences a true Christian: let this therefore be the care of the Christian, that in him Christ may be seen: and visibly appear unto others, in love, humility, and kindness! for he in whom Christ does not live, cannot be a Christian. And this holy life, having its roots within, in the spirit and heart of a man, must of necessity proceed from this inward principle--just as the fruit proceeds from the inherent virtue of the tree. For it is necessary that our life should be influenced by the Spirit of Christ, and fashioned after his example; according to that saying of the apostle: "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." Rom. 8:14. "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his" : for all life proceeds from spirit; and as is the spirit which inwardly acts, moves, and governs in a man, so will the man outwardly appear. Whence it is evident, how necessary the Spirit of God is to a truly Christian life; and, therefore, Christ has not only commanded us to pray for the Spirit, but has also promised unto us this gift. Luke 11:13. This Spirit is the Spirit of regeneration , by which we are quickened in Christ, into a new, spiritual, and heavenly life, and from the life and never-dying power of this Spirit of God, every Christian virtue must be derived. It is then that "the righteous man flourisheth as the palm tree, and groweth like a cedar in Lebanon." Ps. 92:12.

He Who, In Christ, Desires To Grow In Grace, Is Often Compelled To Withdraw From Worldly Society.

Thou actest wisely, if thou avoidest too frequent an intercourse with worldly men. For as it is never better for our bodies than when they are at home; so it is ever best with the soul, when it is at rest in its own habitation, which is God himself; from whom it derives life and being. To him, therefore, the soul must return again, if ever she is to enjoy rest, and find safety.

Of The Love Of God And Our Neighbor.

The Love Of Our Neighbor, More Particularly Considered.

Wherefore Our Neighbor Is To Be Loved.

"Wherewith shall I come before the Lord? Shall I come before him with burnt-offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my first-born for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?--He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." Micah 6:6-8.

Wherefore Our Enemies Are To Be Loved.

The first cause why enemies ought to be loved, is the express commandment of God by his Son; for which he gives this reason, "that we may be the children of our Father in heaven," that is, "of him that loved us when we were yet his enemies." Rom. 5:10. As if he had said, "Unless you love your enemies, you cannot be the children of the heavenly Father: and he that is not God's son, what father shall he have?" This commandment of the Lord is little practised; alas! how backward we are in bringing forth such fruits as become the children of God! If we be his children, truly we ought to study the great lesson of loving our enemies, that so, in some degree, we may express the character of our Father in heaven.

Showing How The Love Of The Creator Should Be Preferred To That Of All Creatures; And How Our Neighbor Is To Be Loved In God.

The heart of man is so constituted, that it cannot exist without love; it must love God, or the world, or self. If, therefore, man be under so strong a compulsion to love, let him direct his love to God, the supreme Good, and give up that affection to Him, who originally planted it in man, and kindled it by his good Spirit; and who is still ready, at our fervent request, to rekindle this flame in the soul. His love to us is still the great principle that produces our love to him: and if his love to us meet with a suitable return on our side, then his love will, day by day, more ardently embrace us. For love begets love, according to the words of the Lord: "He that loveth me shall be loved of my Father." John 14:21.

Of That Reconciliation To Our Neighbor, Without Which God Withdraws His Grace.

Every one who desires to be reconciled to God, must of necessity endeavor to reconcile himself to his neighbor; because God takes the injury which is offered to man, as offered to himself, and the evil done to man, as done to himself.

Of The Fruits Of Love.

Pride And Self-Love Corrupt And Destroy Even The Best And Noblest Gifts.

Lest any should wonder why St. Paul sets forth the virtue of charity with so many high and eminent praises; we are to consider that God is LOVE; and that, consequently, the same praise belongs to both: nor can there be a greater virtue in God or man, than love.

St. Paul, intending to describe a Christian in a few words, says: "The end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned." 1 Tim. 1:5. As if he had said: To be a Christian, and to render ourselves acceptable in the sight of God, requires nothing hard and lofty; no worldly wisdom, no human learning, no great parts, no gift of prophesying, no eloquence, no knowledge of tongues, no miracles: but only that a man have faith in Christ; that he do all things in love, and with a mind wholly resigned to God; and that he suffer himself to be led and governed by the good Spirit of God.

God Has No Respect To The Works Of Any One; But Judges Of Works According To The Heart.

When the prophet Samuel, by the commandment of God, went to anoint David king, he entered the house of Jesse, and offered to anoint his first-born: but the Lord said to him: "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him. For the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." 1 Sam. 16:7.

Showing That God Alone, Without Any Human Aid, Is The Author Of Our Salvation, And That We Are To Submit Unreservedly To His Grace; Also, That Christ's Merit Is Not Imputed To The Impenitent.

All Wisdom, Arts, And Sciences, Yea, Even The Knowledge Of The Whole Scripture, Are Vain, Without A Holy And Christian Life.

Since in Love are contained all the duties of a Christian, and since the whole life of Christ was nothing but the purest and most cordial love, therefore St. Paul, under the name of charity or love, has comprehended the whole life of a Christian. 1 Cor. 13:1.

He Who Does Not Live In Christ, But Gives His Heart To The World, Has Only The Outward Letter Of The Scriptures, But He Does Not Experience Their Power, Or Eat Of The Hidden Manna.

He Who Does Not Follow Christ In Faith, Holiness, And Continued Repentance, Cannot Be Delivered From The Blindness Of His Heart, But Must Abide In Eternal Darkness; And He Cannot Have A True Knowledge Of Christ, Or Fellowship With Him.

That we may the better understand the nature of light and darkness, it is necessary first to give heed to the description of the light, as it is originally.

Showing That An Unchristian Life Leads To False Doctrine, Hardness Of Heart, And Blindness; Also, Treating Of The Eternal Election Of Grace.

Since Christ, and faith in him are denied, and almost wholly extirpated by an ungodly life, what shall his doctrine profit us? For his doctrine, with the Word and Sacraments, is delivered to us for no other end, than that it be inwardly digested, and converted, as it were, into our very life and spirit. As from a good seed springs up good fruit, so from the Word and Sacraments should spring up within us the noble life of regeneration, or the new birth; the new, holy, and spiritual man; or, to speak all in one word, a true and real Christian. For he that is a Christian, must needs be born again of the Spirit, the Word, and the Sacraments, and believe and live in Christ, as in the primary principle of the life of grace. As certainly as a child is begotten by his father, so truly must the Christian be begotten of God and of Christ, through faith. James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:23; John 3:3, 5; Titus 3:5.

It is very necessary, that the purity of doctrine, and the truth of the holy Christian faith, should be maintained and defended against all false teachers. For this we have the example of the holy prophets, who, with great zeal, preached against false and idolatrous prophets under the old law; of the Son of God, who sharply disputed against the Pharisees and scribes at Jerusalem; of St. John, the Evangelist, who wrote his Gospel against the heretical Ebionites and Cerinthus, and the Revelation , against the false church of the Nicolaitans and others.

Sundry Rules For Leading A Holy Life.

The Whole Of Christianity Consists In The Restoration Of The Image Of God In Man, And The Destruction Of The Image Of Satan.

I regard it as necessary, before I conclude this Book, to call the reader's attention to several points.

For, none of these gifts are thine, but God's only, without whose illumination and all-quickening power, thou art but a lifeless lump of clay. These gifts are no more thine, than the light and heat of the sun are the earth's, which is warmed and penetrated by them. Thou art, at the best, but the casket to hold the jewels; and the glory of these no more belongs to thee, than the lustre of a precious stone belongs to the box in which it is kept. Is it not, therefore, great folly to boast of the goods of another, which are laid up in thee?

Thou art to consider, that, as the lord of a treasure may lodge his treasure wherever he pleases, and remove it as he thinks fit; so God, in like manner, may deposit his heavenly treasure in thee, and take it away again, as he sees proper. Him, therefore, thou oughtest to fear with holy reverence, and at the same time carefully beware of spiritual pride and presumption: for this would issue in the inevitable loss of the celestial jewel committed to thy trust. "Be not high-minded, but fear." Rom. 11:20.

Thou art, further, to consider, that the righteous God will call thee to an exact account of all he has intrusted to thy care. The more thou hast received, the more will he require at thy hands.

In the midst of all thy gifts, do not think that thou hast received all that the Lord has in store for his children. Ah! beloved Christian! be thy attainments ever so high and excellent, they are hardly the beginning; there is yet much which thou lackest.

These are the two parts into which any useful prayer-book or method of prayer may be fitly digested; an order which is clearly exhibited in the prayer of our Lord, so far as it respects those heavenly and eternal benefits and gifts which we are directed to seek. Nay, in the Lord's Prayer, all the treasures both for soul and body, and all the things which we need both for this life and that which is to come, are summed up. And there is no question, but that the Father in heaven, according to his paternal compassion, will readily grant, what the Son of his love has so strongly commanded us to ask.

Preface To The Second Book.

God grant that we may all be true followers of Christ, not ashamed of his holy life; but follow the Lamb whithersoever he goeth, and be led at last to the living fountains of waters, where the Lord will wipe away all tears from our eyes! Amen.

JOHN ARNDT, General Superintendent in the Principality of L?neburg.

As our distemper is exceedingly great, mortal, damnable, and out of the power of any creature to remove; therefore it is needful that we should have a remedy proportioned to the disease; a high, a divine, an everlasting, remedy and help, entirely derived from the pure mercy of God. As our original disease was caused by the wrath, hatred, and envy of the devil : so God, in tender compassion, was moved to heal the mortal wound of our sin by his infinite mercy. And as Satan had used his utmost endeavors and subtlety, in order to infect, slay, and condemn us, God was pleased, in his infinite wisdom, to give us his beloved Son, in order to restore us to that life, happiness, and salvation which we had lost. Hence he has made the precious blood of Christ to be the grand restorative of our nature, and the cleanser from all the contagion of sin. He hath given us his quickening flesh, to be our bread of life; his holy wounds, as a sovereign balsam to heal our wounded condition; and his precious death, to be an abolition of our death, both temporal and eternal. 1 John 1:7; Acts 20:28; John 6:32, etc.; Isa. 53:5; 25:8.

CHRIST is become the true medicine of thy soul, to restore thee--thy meat and thy drink, to refresh thee--thy fountain of life, to quench thy thirst--thy light, in darkness--thy joy, in sadness--thine advocate, against thy accusers--wisdom, against thy folly--righteousness, against thy sin--sanctification, against thy unworthiness--redemption, against thy bondage--the mercy-seat, against the judgment-seat--the throne of grace, against thy condemnation--thy absolution, against thy fearful sentence--thy peace and rest, against an evil conscience--thy victory, against all thine enemies--thy champion, against all thy persecutors--the bridegroom of thy soul, against all rivals--thy mediator, against the wrath of God--thy propitiation, against all thy trespasses--thy strength, against thy weakness--thy way, against thy wandering--thy truth, against lying and vanity--thy life, against death. He is thy counsel, when thou hast none to advise thee--thy power, in the midst of thine infirmities--thy Everlasting Father, when thou art forsaken and fatherless--thy Prince of Peace, against the adversary--thy ransom, against thy debt--thy crown of glory, against thy reproach--thy teacher, against thy ignorance--thy Judge, against thy oppressor--thy King, to destroy the kingdom of Satan--thine everlasting High Priest, to intercede for thee.

How canst thou have a more excellent, a more valuable present? It is a present of greater worth than thou thyself, than all mankind, and all the world besides. It is a present that infinitely surpasses all the sins, miseries, and calamities of the whole world. Christ hereby is all our own, both as to his divine and his human nature. It was by sin we had forfeited the richest of all treasures, the Sovereign Good, even God himself: and it is by Christ, that all is made up again, and God himself given to us as our property. And for this reason, Christ is called Immanuel , , that in him we might have both a God and a Brother.

This is the great and infinite gift, which God has so freely bestowed upon mortal men.

As a skilful builder, when he is about to raise a lofty structure, takes care to lay first a deep and solid foundation, so the merciful and compassionate God, when he was to erect the high and everlasting palace of our salvation and righteousness, thought fit to lay the foundation thereof, in the depth of his mercy, upon the Person and office of his dear Son Christ Jesus, as on the true rock of salvation. This is the promise recorded by the prophet: "Behold, I lay in Zion for a foundation, a stone, a tried stone, a precious corner-stone, a sure foundation: he that believeth shall not make haste." Isa. 28:16. This stone was indicated by Christ, when he declared to Peter, that "thereon he would build his church;" a church so firmly and surely sustained, that "the very gates of hell should not prevail against it." Matt. 16:18.

Showing That Saving Faith In The True Christian Produces Manifold Fruits Of Righteousness, And That These Must Proceed From The Depth Of The Heart; Also, That The Character Of Our Outward Works, Depends, In The Judgment Of God, Upon The State Of The Heart.

The first is, "Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him;" that is, whilst thou art on this side of eternity: for our life indeed is nothing else but a perpetual motion towards death and the grave. If in this life thou art not freed from the bonds of wrath, thou shalt remain a captive to them, yea, to the devil himself, throughout all eternity.

The second argument is, "lest at any time the adversary deliver thee to the judge." It is an awful thing to be summoned to the tribunal of God, and before so tremendous a judgment-seat, to plead our cause against an accusing adversary. Whereas, whatever is pardoned, settled, and forgiven in this life, the same will also be forgiven and eternally pardoned in the next. Whence we may gather how much God regards the love of our neighbor, since he will have it by no means separated from the love of himself; and therefore refuses to admit of our love to him, unless it be linked to that of our neighbor. And why? Because God is Love itself, and loveth man as his own soul.

The third argument is, "lest thou be cast into prison, whence thou canst not come out till thou hast paid the uttermost farthing." It is agreeable to the divine justice, so to deal with us there, as we have dealt with our neighbor here; and "with that measure we have meted withal, to measure to us again." Luke 6:38. Wherefore if thou refusest to forgive any brother his faults, the judgment of God is this: That in like manner no sin shall be remitted to thee. This will prove a burden heavy indeed. For the man that dies in this bitter, irreconcilable temper, must, in hell, continue a debtor to all eternity, and this without any hope or prospect of ever lessening the debts which he has here contracted.

Showing That The Evidence Of True Christianity Does Not Consist In The Knowledge And The Hearing Of God's Word, But That He Is A Christian, In Whose Life God's Word Is Manifested, And Who Beseeches God In Sincerity That This Word, As A Divine Seed, May Be Quickened In Him, And Bear Fruit.

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