The Puritans, the Scottish Covenanters taught that there are
5 types of sinners. 1. The Careless Sinner. 2. The Awakened Sinner. 3. The
Anxious Sinner. 4. The Convicted Sinner. 5. The Converted Sinner. Modern Christians usually mistake the
Awakened Sinner for the Converted Sinner. The Awakened, the Anxious, and the
Convicted sinners are only under the Preparatory work of the Spirit. (It is
also called the “Work Of Humiliation” and “The Law Work.” During this work the
Holy Spirit uses the Law to convince the world (the unconverted) of sin,
righteousness, and judgment to come (John 16:8).
“And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin
and righteousness and judgment” (John 16:8 ESV). No one can possibly see his
need for Christ until he first sees that he cannot be good enough to save
himself. Once convinced, an infusion of light enters his heart by the Holy
Spirit. He is born again in that instant. It comes in the twinkling of an eye
and is instantaneous.
William Perkins (1558-1602) The first Puritan
“William Perkins taught
that the Holy Spirit by the ministry of the gospel (and especially the law)
prepares a sinner for regeneration. Perkins’ massive work, The
Cases of Conscience was
published posthumously in 1606. In a chapter entitled, "What Must a Man Do
That He May Come Into God’s Favour And Be Saved?" Perkins writes that God
usually guides the sinner through several stages before regeneration takes
place:
God gives man the
outward means of salvation, especially the ministry of the word, and with it he
sends some outward or inward cross to break and subdue
the stubbornness of our nature that
it may be made pliable to the will of God … this done, God brings a man to a
consideration of the Law … he makes a man particularly to see and know his own
peculiar and proper sins whereby he offends God … he smites the heart with a
legal fear … he makes him to fear punishment and hell and to despair of
salvation in regard of anything in himself.[1]
Perkins therefore taught
that before regeneration the stubbornness of the sinner’s nature is subdued,
his will is made pliable to God’s will, and the dead sinner is made to see and
experience the extent of his depravity. He then comes under a legal fear so
that he despairs of salvation. However, insisted Perkins, these actions upon
the sinner’s nature, emotions and will are not necessarily fruits of
regeneration, for, he adds "these four actions are indeed no fruits of grace, for a reprobate
may go thus far." They are only "works of preparations going
before grace."[2]
John Owen - “Ordinarily there are certain previous and preparatory works,
or workings in and upon the souls of men, that are antecedent and dispositive
unto it [i.e. regeneration]. But yet regeneration doth not consist in them, nor
can it be educed out of them.”[3]
William Guthrie (1620-1665), whose The
Christian’s Great Interest was highly esteemed by John Owen, is
less insistent on preparationism, although he also makes room for it in his
theological system
. He concedes that "we are
not to speak of it … as if none might lay claim to God’s favour who have not
had this preparatory work."[4]
. He concedes that "we are
not to speak of it … as if none might lay claim to God’s favour who have not
had this preparatory work."[4]
It will be hard to give sure essential differences
between the preparatory work on those in whom afterwards Christ is formed, and
those legal stirrings that are sometimes in reprobates.[5]
I shall offer some things which rarely shall be found in the stirrings of
reprobates, and which are ordinarily found in that law-work which hath a
gracious issue.[6]
That one qualifying word "rarely" speaks
volumes. Guthrie cannot offer the anxious soul any infallible mark of
regeneration because those marks can also be found (albeit rarely) in
reprobates. What advice does Guthrie offer to the unconverted? In words very
similar to Alleine, he writes, "work up your heart to be pleased with and
close with that offer [of the gospel], and say to God expressly that you do
accept of that offer."[7]
Guthrie expostulates with objectors thus:
“Or will any say, you cannot close with Christ? what
is this you cannot do? Can you not hunger for Him, nor look to Him, nor be
pleased with that salvation, nor open your mouth that He may fill it? Do not
difficult the way to heaven, for it derogates much from all He hath done.”[8]
So, we see, that Guthrie believed that the
unregenerate sinner could make himself be pleased with the gospel
"offer," could hunger after Christ and could therefore "close
with" the Saviour. However, such a sinner, pleased with Christ, and
hungering after Him, may nevertheless perish.
[Ron Smith says, “This guy does
not understand neither Guthrie nor the nature of saving conversion. He seems to
think we can ‘name and claim salvation’ somewhat like claiming a Cadilac. When
one is truly converted his focus is no longer on self. He now does not worry
about going to heaven. He now focuses on glorifying God and enjoying Him
forever.”]
Dutch Reformed
divine, Wilhelmus à Brakel (1635-1711) reveals
a belief in preparationism. He speaks of "preparatory convictions"56
and urges the unconverted to entertain hope because God "grants [them]
conviction and a desire for repentance and salvation."57 His
advice is to attend diligently on the means. "You have reason to hope …
Wait, therefore, for the least movement of the Spirit, respond to it, and be
careful you do not resist it." However, such a desire, granted to some of
the unconverted who use the means of grace, does not guarantee salvation. It is
not a sign of regeneration, but may lead
to it.[9]
Spurgeon called it, “The Withering Work Of The Spirit.”
Whitefield
“Before you can
speak peace to your hearts, 1. You
must be made to see, made to feel, made to weep over, made to bewail, your
actual transgressions against the law of God…Before you can ever speak peace to
your hearts, you must be brought to see, brought to believe, what a dreadful
thing it is to depart from the living God… Allow me to ask you, in the presence
of God, whether you know the time, and if you do not know the exact time, do
you know there was a time, when God wrote bitter things against you, when the
arrows of the Almighty were within you?
Did you ever see that it would be fair for God’s wrath to fall upon you,
… Were you ever in all your life sorry
for your sins? If not, for Jesus
Christ’s sake, do not call yourselves Christians … 2. Before you can ever speak
peace to your hearts, conviction must go deeper; you must not only be convinced
of your actual transgressions against the law of God, but likewise of the
foundation of all your transgressions. I
mean original sin… If you have never felt the weight of original sin, do not
call yourselves Christians… The indwelling of sin in the heart is the burden of
a converted person; it is the burden of a true Christian. He continually cries out, ‘O! Who will deliver me from this body of death,’
this indwelling corruption in my heart?
You must not only be troubled for the sins of your life, the sin of your
nature, but also for the sins of your best duties and performances… You must be
brought to see that God may damn you for the best prayer you ever put up; you
must be brought to see that all your duties – all your righteousness are as
filthy rags… … If you never felt the deficiency of your own righteousness, you
will not come to Jesus Christ. 4. Before you can speak peace to your
souls, there is one particular sin you must be greatly troubled for…the sin of
unbelief. Before you can speak peace to
your heart, you must be troubled for the unbelief of your heart…”
For
further understanding on this valuable teaching, I will send you Solomon
Stoddard’s book at no charge, “The Nature Of Saving Conversion.” He was the grandfather
of Jonathan Edwards who laid the foundation for the First Great Awakening – Ron Smith, scronnie@aol.com
churchofthekingmcallen.org
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