There comes a time in the life of every believer where they must wrestle with what they truly trust in; where their hope lies, and what the only true object of saving faith is. This week's "thought" is a true account of the one man's journey along that road -- a road that led from misplaced faith and depression, to true faith and joy!
It
is not unusual (at least at the beginning of our life of faith) to have a faith
that when tested is found lacking or misplaced. Hopefully this testimony about
William Grimshaw's journey from trusting in the wrong thing, to being led by a
miraculous event to trust in the only true saving object of faith will be of
help to all -- either as a guide that takes you to where you need to be, or a reminder
not to stray from there. It comes from "The One Year Book of
Christian History" by Michael and Sharon
Rusten. Enjoy.
"William
Grimshaw was born in Lancashire, England, in 1708. He went to Christ's College,
Cambridge, intending to enter the ministry. During his third year he fell in
with the wrong crowd, becoming, in his own words, "as vile as the
worst." Still, he chose to enter the ministry, finding no
incongruity between his sinful lifestyle and his chosen profession.
Ordained in the Church of England in 1732, Grimshaw was assigned a church in
West Yorkshire. He married a young widow, but within four years she tragically
died, leaving him with two small children.
Already
a troubled soul, Grimshaw was plunged into a deep depression. He sent his
children away to be raised by relatives. All he could think about was his own
mortality and the necessity of making arrangements for his own funeral... In
his written instructions for his funeral he specified: "To attend my
funeral I desire that 20 persons be invited (of my next relations and
intimatest acquaintances) and be entertained in the following manner: Let 5
quarts of claret (a red wine from Bordeaux) ... be put in a punch bowl and be
drunk in wine glasses until it is all gone."
At
this time an itinerant preacher began rebuking Grimshaw for his legalistic view
of salvation [a view whereby he encouraged people to trust in their own
efforts, works, or aspects of their own performance for their acceptance with
God]. He said to Grimshaw, "You are no believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
You are building on the sand." Grimshaw tried to avoid the
man, but the words "you are building on sand" kept haunting
him. In 1741, while visiting a friend, Grimshaw saw a book on the table
and picked it up. As he opened it, and discovered it was by John Owen, a
Puritan theologian, a flash of heat flushed his face. Puzzled, he looked at the
fireplace, wondering if the fire had caused his sudden flush of heat.
Opening the book again, he read the title: "The Doctrine of Justification
by Faith." Suddenly a second flash of heat swept over him.
Astonished that it happened again, Grimshaw took it as a divine imperative that
he was to read the book.
Taking
the book back home, Grimshaw noted in the preface that Owen had written the
book for people suffering from the same anguish and distress of soul he was
experiencing. The book confronted the reader with the question of whether
he would 'trust in his own personal inherent righteousness (his own efforts and
religious or moral performances) or, in full renunciation of it, take to
himself the grace of God and the righteousness of Christ alone.' To Grimshaw
the choice was clear. As he would later confide to a friend,
"I was wiling to renounce myself, every degree of fancied
merit and ability, and to embrace CHRIST ONLY for my all in all. O what
light and comfort did I now enjoy in my own soul, and what a taste of the
pardoning love of God!"
His
ministry immediately changed, and he found peace and joy in his heart as well
as his soul. He fell in love with a local girl, married her, and brought his
children back home... He applied for a new parish and moved his family to
nearby Haworth, where he ministered powerfully and effectively until his death
in 1763 at the age of 55. Under his spiritual leadership the little-known
village of Yorkshire became one of the leading centers of the Christian faith
in all of England. His funeral was quite different from the one he had planned
years before. Vast crowds of loving parishioners followed his coffin to its
final resting place. The pastor who spoke summarized the faith of Grimshaw by
saying, "Upon Christ's atoning blood and justifying righteousness alone,
did EVERY HOPE of his soul's acceptance with God depend"
Upon
what does your hope rest? What is the object of your faith? What does
your hope or trust for pardon and salvation rest upon? Is it your efforts
at trying to be a "good" person? Is it a list of
accomplishments or a resume of cataloged good works? Is it a mix of faith
in Jesus plus your attempts to be righteous? Here it helps to remember that
when it comes to saving faith, Jesus plus anything nullifies Jesus. If you are
trusting in anything of your own, you are trusting in you, and thus not fully
(or for that matter, not at all) in Jesus. The Gospel's message is clear:
We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Add
anything into the mix and you disbelieve the Gospel, negate Jesus, will
struggle incessantly with emotional highs and lows, find the need to pretend,
have a fear of being open, honest and transparent about your sins, wrestle with
a sense of of frustration with God and self, fall into occasional depressions,
and a lack of assurance of God's forgiveness and complete acceptance.
Only
when one's hope for acceptance with God is in CHRIST ONLY -- only
when both eyes are glued on Jesus, instead of one on Jesus and the other on the
sin-stained performances of the self -- are they liberated from all
those afflicting things to experience peace, joy and release from the weight of
burdens too heavy to carry. John Owen was right in asking: "will
you trust in your own personal inherent righteousness [which is always stained
by sin and thus unrighteous or unacceptable righteousness], or in full
renunciation of it, take to yourself the grace of God and righteousness
of CHRIST ALONE."
Blessed
is the person who stops hoping and trusting in their own efforts, and
looks instead to Christ alone for their pardon and acceptance with God.
As one who fell into this Grimshaw's mistake, I can tell you from personal
experience what a blessed liberation comes as we get our eyes off us, and
simply, "fix our eyes (of faith) on Jesus..." (Heb.
12:2). And please notice it says "eyes" --
that is, both of them! Not one eye of faith fixed on what you do, and the
other one looking to what Jesus did, but BOTH OF THEM fixed
on Jesus. For He is the only true object of saving faith, and faith in HIM
ALONE is the only means of salvation or remedy for the countless
malady's of the soul.
Living
in the Grace of Jesus, Pastor Jeff
