Marks of the Church of God

Here the apostle setteth down three especial marks by which the children of God are known: the first is the joy of their hope; the second, the assurance of it; the third, the constancy and perseverance unto the end. And let us not think but that God hath done thus with us, whom He hath chosen to eternal life. He hath prepared our hearts to know and feel His unspeakable gift which He hath given us; for if we should bestow any gift upon men, we are not so unwise to give a precious thing unto him that knows not what it is; we would not give him a diamond that would think it to be a piece of glass, nor we would not give him a pearl that would think it to be a grain of salt, for we should lose both our labour and our thanks. And shall we think the Lord will so bestow His heavenly blessings? Will He give His gifts to those that know them not, who cannot give Him again the praise of His goodness? No, He will never do it; but, as Peter saith, He hath taken us for His own people to the end we should show forth His virtues that hath called us out of darkness into His marvellous light; and therefore, if we be in the covenant of His grace, appointed to the inheritance of His glory, it is impossible we should not feel the comfort of it, and know the height and breadth of His great mercy and grace. Another thing here to be learned, if we will know ourselves to be this house and Church of God, is, that as we hold this hope, so we must hold it steadfast and without wavering unto the end, for so, the apostle saith, we must have steadfast assurance of our hope; he calleth it in the sixth chapter "a frill persuasion of hope." St. Paul calleth it his intentive hope, a hope in which he shall never be frustrate. So that this assurance is in a true and living hope, and it casteth out mistrust and wavering, even as faith doth, for faith and hope cannot be separate, neither in nature nor property; but if you have faith, you have hope, and as your faith is, so is your hope — a sure faith, a lively hope; a wavering faith, a blind hope; for our faith is a persuasion of the love of God in Christ, and our hope is an apprehension of the glory which by that love is given unto us. It cannot be that we should know the love and grace of God, which is our faith, but we must know the fruit of His love, that is, His glory and eternal life, which is our hope; if therefore we be sure that God doth love us in Jesus Christ, we are also sure that God will glorify us through Jesus Christ; and as our faith rejoiceth in God's favour, so our hope rejoiceth in God's glory; and as our faith is sure that nothing shall separate the love of God from us, so our hope longeth after the incorruptible inheritance which we feel and know is laid up in heaven. So this constancy and boldness of our hope, without wavering, laid up in our breasts, and crying still within us, "Come, Lord Jesu," this hope is our warrant we be the house of God. Now, the third thing which we must here mark for our instruction is perseverance, for so he saith, "We must hold our rejoicing continual unto the end." A most necessary thing, and such as without which all our labour is lost, but a thing hard to attain unto, know it by the experience of it, for scarce one of a great many doth grow up into fervency of zeal. and so continueth unto the end. And therefore the more danger is unto us in this behalf, the more watchful we must be to avoid the peril. The greatest enemy we have to make us fall, that we should not hold this constancy to the end, is our own flesh. And if it may have any rule in this work we are undone, for flesh will like of nothing long. Even as Solomon saith, the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear with hearing; but be the tune never so sweet, at last we desire another.

E. Deering, B. D.