Be Thankful for the Grace Within You
The sermon emphasizes the importance of dependence on Christ for salvation and happiness.
Samuel Rutherford emphasizes the importance of depending on Christ and His grace for salvation, rather than relying on free will to keep or dispose of it. He compares Christ to a wise tutor, a good shepherd, and a skilled pilot, highlighting the need for lost souls to trust in Him for their salvation. Rutherford stresses that Christ knows the destiny of all He has redeemed and encourages believers to find happiness in depending on His strength.
Text
Thank God for any good thing that thou hast, and that thou art kept in a good estate. They never kent [knew] Christ's help well who put man in such a tutor's hand as free-will, to be kept by it; who say that Christ has conquershed [acquired] salvation to all, and when He has conquershed [acquired] it, He puts it in the hand of free-will to be disposed of as it pleases, to keep or not to keep it. This is to make Christ a fool merchant, and not to take accompt [account] whether it be misspent or not; but Christ is not so. He knows what shall become of all whom He has bought. You know it is evermore the happiness of the weaker to depend upon the stronger.
So it is the happiness of the poor soul to depend upon Christ and upon free grace.
The happiness of the ship stands in that to have a good pilot; the happiness of the lost weak sheep depends on a good shepherd to seek it in again, and to keep it from the enemies thereof; the happiness of the weak, witless orphans depends in a good, wise tutor. Even so the happiness of lost and tint [perishing] souls depend on this, to lippen [trust] to Christ and His strength for their salvation, and not to such a changing tutor as their free-will is.
Sermon Outline
- The Importance of Dependence
- The Folly of Free-Will
- The Happiness of Dependence
- Dependence on Christ brings peace and security
- Christ is a reliable and trustworthy pilot
Key Quotes
“You know it is evermore the happiness of the weaker to depend upon the stronger.” — Samuel Rutherford
“The happiness of the ship stands in that to have a good pilot;” — Samuel Rutherford
“Christ is not so. He knows what shall become of all whom He has bought.” — Samuel Rutherford
Application Points
- We must learn to trust in Christ's strength for our salvation.
- Dependence on Christ brings peace and security in our lives.
- Free-will is not a reliable means of keeping salvation, so we must rely on Christ.