PERFECT LOVE CASTETH OUT FEAR - Robert Murray Mcchene
“There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love. We love Him, because He first loved us. If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar; for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from Him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.”—1 JOHN 4:18–21.
Doctrine.—Perfect love casteth out fear.
I. The state of an awakened soul.—“Fear hath torment”
There are two kinds of fear mentioned in the Bible very opposite from one another. The one is the very atmosphere of heaven, the other is the very atmosphere of hell.
(1.) There is the fear of love.—This is the very temper of a little child: the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. This was the mind of Job. “He feared God and hated evil.” Nay, it is the very spirit of the Lord Jesus. On Him rested “the spirit of the fear of the Lord, and made Him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord.”
(2.) There is the fear of terror.—This is the very temper of devils: “The devils believe and tremble.” This is what was in Adam and Eve after the Fall; they fled from the voice of God, and tried to hide themselves in one of the trees of the garden. This was the state of the jailor when he trembled, and sprang in and brought them out, and fell at their feet, saying, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved!” This is the fear here spoken of— tormenting fear. “Fear hath torment.” Some of you have felt this fear that hath torment. Many more might feel it this day; you are within reach of it. Let me explain its rise in the soul.
1st, A natural man casteth off fear, and restrains prayer before God. “They have been at ease from their youth, and settled down upon their lees; they have not been emptied from vessel to vessel, therefore their taste remains in them, and their scent is not changed.” They are like fallow-ground that has never been broken up by the plough, but is overrun with briers and thorns. Are there not some among you that never trembled for your soul? You think you are as good as your neighbours. Ah! well, your dream will be broken up one day soon.
2d, When the Spirit of God opens the eyes, He makes the stoutest sinner tremble. He shows him the number of his sins, or rather that they cannot be numbered. Before, he had a memory that easily forgot his sins; oaths slipped over his tongue, and he knew it not; every day added new sins to his page on God’s book, yet he remembered not. But now the Spirit of God sets all his sins straight before him. All unpardoned, long-forgotten enormities, rise up behind him. Then he begins to tremble. “Innumerable evils have compassed me about.”
3d, The Spirit makes him feel the greatness of sin, the exceeding sinfulness of it. Before, it seemed nothing; but now, it rises like a flood over the soul. The wrath of God he feels abiding on him; a terrible sound is in his ears. He knows not what to do; his fear hath torment. Sin is seen now as done against a holy God; done against a God of love; done against Jesus Christ and his love.
4th, A third thing which awfully torments the soul is corruption working in the heart. Often persons under conviction are made to feel the awful workings of corruption in their heart. Often temptation and conviction of sin meet together and awfully torment the soul, rending it in pieces. Conviction of sin is piercing his heart, driving him to flee from the wrath to come; and yet at the same moment some raging lust, or envy, or horrid malice, is boiling in his heart, driving him towards hell. Then a man feels a hell within him. In hell there will be this awful mixture: there will be an overwhelming dread of the wrath of God, and yet corruption, boiling up within, will drive the soul more and more into the flames. This is often felt on earth. Some of you may be feeling it. This is the fear that hath torment.
5th, Another thing the Spirit convinces the soul of, is his inability to help himself. When a man is first awakened, he says, I shall soon get myself out of this sad condition. He falls upon many contrivances to justify himself. He changes his life; he tries to repent, to pray. He is soon taught that “his righteousnesses are filthy rags”—that he is trying to cover rags with filthy rags; he is brought to feel that all he can do signifies just nothing, and that he never can bring a clean thing out of an unclean. This sinks the soul in gloom. This fear hath torment.
6th, He fears he shall never be in Christ. Some of you perhaps know that this fear hath torment. The free offer of Christ is the very thing that pierces you to the heart. You hear that He is altogether lovely—that He invites sinners to come to Him—that He never casts out those that do come. But you fear you will never be one of these. You fear you have sinned too long or too much—you have sinned away your day of grace. Ah! this fear hath torment.
Some will say, “It is not good to be awakened, then.”
Ans. 1. It is the way to peace that passeth understanding.—It is God’s chosen method, to bring you to feel your need of Christ before you come to Christ. At present your peace is like a dream! when you awake you will find it so. Ask awakened souls if they would go back again to their slumber. Ah, no; if I die, let me die at the foot of the cross; let me not perish unawakened.
Ans. 2. You must be awakened one day.—If not now, you will afterwards, in hell. After death, fear will come on your secure souls. There is not one unawakened soul in hell; all are trembling there. The devils tremble; the damned spirits tremble. Would it not be better to tremble now, and flee to Jesus Christ for refuge? Now, He is waiting to be gracious to you. Then, He will mock when your fear cometh. You will know to all eternity that “fear hath torment.”
II. The change on believing.—“There is no fear in love.” “Perfect love casteth out fear.”
(1.) The love here spoken of is not our love to God, but His love to us; for it is called perfect love. All that is ours is imperfect. When we have done all, we must say, “We are unprofitable servants.” Sin mingles with all we think and do. It were no comfort to tell us, that if we would love God perfectly, it would cast out fear; for how can we work that love into our souls? It is the Father’s love to us that casteth out fear. He is the Perfect One. All his works are perfect. He can do nothing but what is perfect. His knowledge is perfect knowledge; his wrath is perfect wrath; his love is perfect love. It is this perfect love which casteth out fear. Just as the sunbeams cast out darkness wherever they fall, so does this love cast out fear.
(2.) But where does this love fall?—On Jesus Christ. Twice God spake from heaven, and said, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” God perfectly loves his own Son. He Sees infinite beauty in his person. God sees himself manifested. He is infinitely pleased with his finished work. The infinite heart of the infinite God flows out in love towards our Lord Jesus Christ. And there is no fear in the bosom of Christ. All his fears are past. Once He said, “While I suffer thy terrors I am distressed;” but now He is in perfect love, and perfect love casteth out fear. Hearken, trembling souls! Here you may find rest to your souls. You do not need to live another hour under your tormenting fears. Jesus Christ has borne the wrath of which you are afraid. He now stands a refuge for the oppressed—a refuge in the time of trouble. Look to Christ, and your fear will be cast out. Come to the feet of Christ, and you will find rest. Call upon the name of the Lord, and you will be delivered. You say you cannot look, nor come, nor cry, for you are helpless. Hear, then, and your soul shall live. Jesus is a Saviour to the helpless. Christ is not only a Saviour to those who are naked and empty, and have no goodness to recommend themselves, but He is a Saviour to those who are unable to give themselves to Him. You cannot be in too desperate a condition for Christ. As long as you remain unbelieving, you are under his perfect wrath—wrath without any mixture. The wrath of God will be as amazing as his love. It comes out of the same bosom. But the moment you look to Christ, you will come under his perfect love—love without any coldness—light without any shade—love without any cloud or mountain between. God’s love will cast out all your fears.
III. His love gives boldness in the day of judgment, ver. 17.— There is a great day coming, often spoken of in the Bible—the day of judgment—the day when God shall judge the secrets of men’s hearts by Christ Jesus. The Christless will not be able to stand in that day. The ungodly shall not stand in the judgment. At present, sinners have much boldness; their neck is an iron sinew, and their brow brass. Many of them cannot blush when they are caught in sin. Amongst ourselves, is it not amazing how bold sinners are in forsaking ordinances? With what a brazen face will some men swear! How bold some ungodly men are in coming to the Lord’s table! But it will not be so in a little while. When Christ shall appear,—the holy Jesus, in all his glory,—then brazenfaced sinners will begin to blush. Those that never prayed will begin to wail. Sinners, whose limbs carried them stoutly to sin and to the Lord’s table last Sabbath, will find their knees knocking against one another. Who shall abide the day of his coming, and who shall stand when He appears? When the books are opened,—the one the book of God’s remembrance, the other the Bible,—then the dead will be judged out of those things written in the books. Then the heart of the ungodly will die within them; then will begin “their shame and everlasting contempt.” Many wicked persons comfort themselves with this, that their sin is not known—that no eye sees them; but in that day the most secret sins will be all brought out to the light. “Every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give an account thereof in the day of judgment.” How would you tremble and blush, O wicked man, if I were now to go over before this congregation the secret sins you have committed during the past week,—all your secret fraud and cheating, your secret uncleanness, your secret malice and envy,—how you would blush and be confounded! How much more in that day, when the secrets of your whole life shall be made manifest before an assembled world! What eternal confusion will sink down your soul in that day! You will be quite chop-fallen; all your pride and blustering will be gone.
All in Christ will have boldness—
(1.) Because Christ shall be Judge.—What abundant peace will it give you in that day, believer, when you see Christ is Judge!—He that shed his blood for you—He that is your Surety, your Shepherd, your all. It will take away all fear. Yon will be able to say, Who shall condemn? for Christ hath died. In the very hand that opens the books yon will see the marks of the wounds made by your sins. Christ will be the same to you in the judgment that He is now.
(2.) Because the Father himself loveth you.—Christ and the Father are one. The Father sees no sin in yon; because, as Christ is, so are you in this world. You are judged by God according to what the Surety is; so that God’s love will be with you in that day. You will feel the smile of the Father, and you will hear the voice of Jesus saying, “Come, ye blessed of my Father.”
Learn to fear nothing between this and judgment. Fear not— wait on the Lord, and be of good courage.
IV. The consequences of being in the love of God
(1.) “We love Him, because He first loved us,” ver. 19.— When a poor sinner cleaves to Jesus, and finds the forgiving love of God, he cannot but love God back again. When the prodigal returned home, and felt his father’s arms around his neck, then did he feel the gushings of affection toward his father. When the summer sun shines full down upon the sea, it draws the vapours upward to the sky. So when the sunbeams of the Sun of Righteousness fall upon the soul, they draw forth the constant risings of love to Him in return.
Some of you are longing to be able to love God. Come into his love, then. Consent to be loved by Him, though worthless in yourself. It is better to be loved by Him than to love, and it is the only way to learn to love Him. When the light of the sun falls upon the moon, it finds the moon dark and unlovely; but the moon reflects the light, and casts it back again. So let the love of God shine into your breast, and you will cast it back again. The love of Christ constraineth us. “We love Him, because He first loved us.” The only cure for a cold heart is to look at the heart of Jesus.
Some of you have no love to God because you love an idol. You may be sure you have never come into his love—that curse rests upon you: “If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema maranatha.”
(2.) We love our brother also.—If you love an absent person, you will love their picture. What is that the sailor’s wife keeps so closely wrapped in a napkin, laid up in her best drawer among sweet-smelling flowers? She takes it out morning and evening, and gazes at it through her tears. It is the picture of her absent husband. She loves it because it is like him. It has many imperfections, but still it is like. Believers are the pictures of God in this world. The Spirit of Christ dwells in them. They walk as He walked. True, they are full of imperfections; still they are true copies. If you love Him, you will love them; you will make them your bosom friends.
Are there none of you that dislike real Christians? You do not like their look, their ways, their speech, their prayers. You call them hypocrites, and keep away from them. Do you know the reason? You hate the copy, because you hate the original; you hate Christ, and are none of his.
ST PETER’S, 1840.