Jonathan Fisher
Sermon No. 2548
Bluehill Feb. l2, 1826

2 Tim. 1:12 I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him that day.

That of which the Apostle was not ashamed, to which he alluded in our text was the suffering which he sustained on account of the Gospel of Christ. When ha wrote this epistle he was a prisoner at Rome; the reason of his being a prisoner there was this: when he had gone up to Jerusalem for the last time, the Jews were greatly enraged against him because of his perseverance in preaching Jesus Christ, and through him the resurrection of the dead; they raised a tumult against him, and scourged him, unheard and uncondemned, and probably would have killed him, had not the Chief Captain of the Roman soldiers, who were stationed in the city rescued him at their hands, By the Chief Captain he was conveyed to Felix, then Governor in Judea; by moans of which he avoided the ambush that lay in wait to kill him, in case he should be sent to Jerusalem. For a season he remained in the care of Felix; but at length that wicked judge being removed, he came into the care of Portius Festus, and before him he had a partial trial. The Governor, not satisfied regarding the things alleged against him, asked him whether he would go up to Jerusalem and have his trial there; but Paul well knowing that he had nothing to expect but death, if he fall into the hands of the Jews, took advantage of his privilege as a Roman citizen, and appealed to the judgment of Caesar. This was Caesar Nero, one of the most wicked and cruel of all the emperors that over reigned at Rome. But Paul chose rather to trust himself in his hands, than in the hands of the exasperated Jews,

Tho finally he was condemned by Nero, and beheaded, he enjoyed a respite of several years, while a prisoner at Rome, During this respite he preached the Gospel freely, and is supposed to have been instrumental in the conversion of many, and among the rest some of the very household of Caesar. As prisoner, however, he wore a chain, which, the compared with what he had been suffering at the hands of the Jews was a light suffering, yet served to remind him of those sufferings, and of the reason of them. But of those sufferings he was not ashamed.

But why was he not ashamed? One good reason why, was, that he suffered those things innocently. Nor was it for any evil he had done, that he then wore a chain, and was subject to the watch of a soldier; when a person has done evil and suffers for it, he has reason to be ashamed, ashamed that he has made it needful for the community to hold him up, as an example, for the warning of others. When a person suffers for well-doing he has no cause to be ashamed, but rather to rejoice, especially when any one suffers afflictions and persecutions for a cause so worthy and commendable as that of preaching the gospel. of salvation to poor perishing sinners; instead of having cause to be ashamed, he has cause to glory in it.

The Apostle, as a reason why he was not ashamed of his sufferings, not only knew that he suffered wrongfully, being innocent of the things charged against him; but also knew that the occasion of his suffering was his fidelity in the service of a divine master, and in that kind of service which was the most important and which required the moat self denial of any service in which he could be engaged. As a reason for his rising above all shame, and even glorying in his afflictions, he knew whom he believed; in whose testimony he reposed that confidence which carried him forward in his work, in the face of all opposition and danger to which he was exposed. He knew that he whom he believed was God. He was actuated in his arduous labors by the belief which he entertained of the testimony of God the father concerning his son Jesus Christ; and by the belief of the testimony of Jesus Christ himself, His belief of the testimony of God concerning Christ was so well grounded, and so fixed, that he did not hesitate concerning the character of Christ; he dared to say who he was and what he was; he not only admitted that he was divine, God, as well as man, but knew it, and dared to affirm it. Yea, he has affirmed it repeatedly in his epistles. Knowing the Savior in whom he reposed his confidence for salvation to be truly God, he was well persuaded that he was able and willing to make him all desirable amends for all the sufferings he could sustain in his service.

As the Apostle says in our text, “1 know whom I have believed,” and as it is evident from the connection and context, that he alluded to his belief in the testimony of God and of Christ, the son of God; it follows that he was well persuaded that he really did believe the testimony of God, and of Christ effectually. There may be a general belief in our minds that there is a God, and a general belief that Jesus Christ is the only Savior, and that he is divine, but the belief of this may be so general and so little impressed, that we shall remain almost entirely uninterested during all the thoughts we entertain upon the subject; also we nay so reason to believe that there is a God and a holy God, and that Jesus Christ is a divine Savior, but the perception of this may be displeasing to us. In both these oases our belief is not like that of the Apostle, it is not effectual for any saving benefit to us. That belief of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ, which the Apostle entertains, and which supported him under his trials, was a belief which descended to particulars, a belief which took into view all parts of the character of God and of Jesus Christ, and all the loading parts of the testimony concerning Christ, and the way of salvation by him; and a belief of the fact of those things, attended with an interest in them, such as is proper to be excited by then; and further, attended with a heartfelt approval of the character of God, and of the son of God, and the way of salvation which God had revealed.

The question may be here usefully introduced, how shall we know whether we really do believe the testimony of God and of Christ with that saving belief, which the Apostle entertained. If the heart of man were not exceedingly deceitful, and as the Scriptures declare, deceitful upon all things and desperately wicked, and wore it not that we frequently moot with the case of those who are confident that they arc the subjects of saving faith, who afterward show very manifestly that they were not; the difficulty for a believer in Christ, to know that he is a true believer would not be near so much as it is. But there is so much deceit in the natural heart, and so much remainder of the old man about the most perfect saint, while remaining in this world, that it is not an easy thing to attain to a well grounded assurance that we do savingly believe in Christ, or so believe the testimony of God concerning Christ, that our belief shall be accompanied in the end with salvation. On this account it may be in many cases true modesty and humiliation in the real believer to say, I think my faith in Christ is genuine, I trust it is saving faith; and often it might savor of pride to say, I know it is saving faith, I am sure that I so perceive the character of Christ and so trust in him, that I shall not be lost.

But to have such evidence that our faith is saving as may preclude all doubt is truly desirable, and the Apostle Peter exhorts to give all diligence to make our calling and election; he cannot moan, to make it a fact that we are called and elected, for our election, to say the least, took place before the foundation of the world, if ever we shall become the subjects of election; the moaning thon seems to be this, that we should use all duo diligence to make it entirely evident to ourselves that we are called effectively, or regenerated, and that we may infer from this with certainty that we are of the number of God’s elect.

Now what course shall we take to attain to this assurance?-- I would propose the following steps.-- 1. Let us endeavor to divest ourselves of all vain curiosity regarding our state, let us not wish to be assured of our election that we may be proud of our state, nor that we may be the subjects of loss solicitude how to live to the glory of God.-- 2. let us desire to attain an assurance that we may be more abundantly exercised with thankfulness to God for the richness of his grace in calling us into a state of spiritual life, and that we may go to God with the greatest confidence in him as our heavenly father, and may go forward in Christian duty with the loss embarrassment.-- 3. Let us look at the holiness and justice of God, and at the purity of the character of the Lord Jesus Christ, and at the great object of his coming into the world, namely to save from sin, and not merely from suffering. If in the view of this we do feel conscious to ourselves that we are well pleased with the holiness and justice of God, well pleased with the character of Christ, and with the nature of his salvation, this is good measure of evidence that our faith is genuine.-- 4. Let us look upon the commandments of God, particularly, one by one, and let us try our feelings by them; do we not only in our judgments, but also in our hearts approve those judgments; and do we feel as if it would be our choice to conform to those commandments, tho we should know that we would not suffer if we should transgress them; tho we indeed find sometimes a backwardness to a compliance with some parts of the commandments, do we generally find satisfaction in complying with them, and do we desire that all this backwardness to keeping them may be removed?-- 5. While we do feel pleased with the matter of the divine commandments, and take pleasure in obeying them, do we contemplate the fact that having already transgressed them, we must repose no confidence in any measure in our obedience to them for salvation, but must lean for this entirely upon the merit Christ; and do we fool no habitual willingness then to lean upon Christ? If we perceive that in the inward man of the heart we do thus love the matter of the commandments, but that our whole reliance for salvation is on Christ: this is good evidence that our faith is genuine.-- 6. Let us endeavor to come into the habit of having God always in view, in the eye of our faith, when we attempt to pray, and endeavor to ask the things we need in the belief that he takes a favorable notice of our prayer for Christ's sake. To attain to this habit we must watch and strive, as well, as daily use the form of prayer; such a habit of having God in our view, when we pray, and such a habit of bringing our hearts into that frame before him, that we can believe that he hears and approves us, will carry with it good evidence that our faith is unfeigned.-- 7. To have assurance that we believe on God and on the Lord Jesus Christ with a saving faith, we must upon a review of the general state of our affections be conscious to ourselves that we sot them supremely upon heavenly things; or we must go into the labor of withdrawing them from earthly things and setting them on things above, till we find that, in the general habit of our minds, our best affections are on heavenly things.-- Such a tendency of the affections is a fruit of having a life hid with Christ in God.-- But what is it to have a life hid with Christ in God? It is to have a now spiritual life begun in us by the spirit of God in our regeneration; a spiritual life which conforms in some good measure to the life of Christ in his human nature, so that we have it in common with him; it is hidden from the view of the world because it consists especially in spiritual exercises; and it is hidden in God, because it subsists as in the midst of God, contemplating him on ovary side in all his works, and drawing nourishment from him. If our affections are supremely on heavenly things, we are the subjects of this spiritual life; if the subjects of this spiritual life, we are effectively called, and are of the number of God's elect, and our faith is unfeigned, our salvation sure.-- 8. If in the review of a past portion of our lives we perceive that the grand object in which our most serious meditations generally center is the advancing of the cause and kingdom of Christ; if we perceive that we have been often studying how to promote that cause, and if we are conscious, upon most careful judgment of our views and feelings that we have desired the advancement of this cause from a higher, and more glorious end, than merely that we be safe in the safety of that cause; that is good evidence that our faith is unfeigned,-- Once more, if we are conscious to ourselves that we have committed our souls under a deep sense of their diseased state into the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ, as our spiritual physician, and that we do repose confidence in him to mould and form them at his pleasure; this is evidence of unfeigned faith; if we doubt whether we have thus committed them; let it be our serious endeavor now to commit them thus into his hand; the more con (corrigible?) and unreserved we find ourselves able to do it, the more full our assurance may be that we shall be saved Having well satisfied ourselves that we do believe in the God of the holy Scriptures, father, son, and holy spirit, with that belief in the heart, which i8 connected with salvation; that we may the more perfectly know whom we believe, let us labor by contemplating the works of God, and searching the holy Scriptures, and by meditating on the work of redemption, to rise to a more and more perfect knowledge of the being and attributes of the great Jehovah, and of the several persona in the God-head,

In this course we may perceive, that God is infinitely able to keep us and all we may have committed to him, in perfect safety, till the day of final decision; that his wisdom is infinitely adequate to the devising of every needful purpose to make us completely happy, and to disappoint all the designs of our spiritual enemies. That his benevolence is such that he must delight in our happiness as far as it may be consistent with infinite wisdom to restore us to his favor, and that his truth is such, that we, being brought within the condition of his precious promise shall never, never find them to fail in one iota.

We may find that the Lord Jesus Christ is truly God, as well as man; that he has made a real and an adequate atonement for sin, so that God can pardon penitent believers in him, consistently with maintaining the full honor, dignity and authority of his law, We shall find that Christ was able to make this atonement for sin by means of that dignity of person, when he. suffered, which resulted from the union of the divine with the human nature, We shall find that Jesus Christ is of infinite compassion, and that he effectually intercedes for all true believers in him, that he has promised to raise up all such at the last day, and that his promise is of a nature never to fail, We shall find that the holy spirit is a divine person, operating in perfect unison with the father and son, and in a holy and benign influence, making applications of the work of redemption to all the elect of God; convincing them of sin, causing them to perceive their undone state by nature, changing their hearts, by restoring to them a principle of holy love, and also carrying on in their souls a progressive work of sanctification, by setting home from period to period some portion of the word of God, to their hearts and consciousness, by means of which their hatred of sin and their love of holiness is increased; by means of which their views and affections are drawn away more and more from the world, and raised more and more to things heavenly and divine; and by means of which they become more and more desirous to depart this world that they may be with Christ.

Perceiving that, and a thousand things more concerning the great Jehovah, in connection with unfeigned faith, and finding a calm satisfaction in the contemplation of these things, is to know in whom we have believed; and knowing him will be attended with the persuasion that he is able to keep our souls to the day of the redemption.