JOHN WICKLIFFE, who has often been styled the morning star of the Reformation, was born in a Yorkshire village in the year 1324. England was in great darkness at the time. Converted to God, he soon grew in His knowledge and enjoyed a much fuller apprehension of the precious fundamental truths of the gospel than the mass around him. Thousands were seeking to attain heaven through their own fleshly religiousness and good works, and the free grace of God was very little known. The doctrine of human merit oft fell on Wickliffe’s ear, when he is reported to have been wont to give emphatic testimony by uttering the short prayer, “Heal us gratis, O Lord!”
Thank God for these precious words of His dear servant. A mine of blessing is wrapped up in that one word “gratis.” Men are very slow in their apprehension of it. Self-righteousness is very deeply rooted in the human heart. To have my soul healed gratis makes nothing of me and my merit, and is very humiliating. But each one must come to it, who desires to have part in the blessing announced in the gospel.
GRATIS. Have you ever weighed what that signifies? Ponder over it now. You will never have a better opportunity. Gratis means free, for nothing. God in His great grace heals us freely. He demands nothing whatever on our part in the way of merit. And why? For the simple reason that the required payment for sin, if we may so put it, has been made long, long ago. Man often tried hard under law to meet God’s requirement, but only exposed himself and his own inability. Are you still so foolish as to think that you can do better? Dear friend, it is no question of what you can do, but what God has done. He has clearly shown that human merit, whatever form it may take, is utterly unavailing. But in due time in His great love He sent His Son. Having become Man, perfect, holy Man, He met and solved the whole question of sin. And God hath made Him, Who knew no sin, to be sin for us. The ransom price for sinners was His precious blood. It was shed on Calvary’s cross. By it full payment was made. God has been glorified in His Son, and on the ground of His finished work heals sinner’s gratis.
These are His terms, the only ones. Men in their folly and blindness and self-conceit seek to make their own terms. God will have none of them. Would you dare to offer a bag of base coin for the discharge of a debt at the Bank of England? And what percentage of your doings do you think are without alloy? Has not God said that “in all your doings your sins do appear”? Do you not perceive that the moment you offer anything to God as the ground or part of the ground of your acceptance, you are denying the finished work of Christ, and making salvation of, or partly of, works, when God has said it is “not of works, lest any man should boast”? (Eph. 11: 9). Would you dare to make a boast of what you have done in the light of His holy presence? “Heal us gratis, O Lord,” said Wickliffe. He, wise man, knew what God’s terms were. And in a more simple way he could scarcely have expressed them. Are you so deceived, through the boasted progress and surrounding infidelity of the twentieth century, as to be too proud to learn from God’s dear servant of nearly six centuries ago? Well, if you are, you will find when it is too late that he is in the kingdom of God and you are shut out. You will lament your folly then. God heals “gratis,” whatever any man may say, or think, or write. God offers salvation freely, not to every one that worketh, but to every one that believeth (Acts 16:3131And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house. (Acts 16:31); Rom. 4:5-85But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. 6Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works, 7Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. 8Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. (Romans 4:5‑8)). You, poor sinner, may be healed gratis this day (Rom. 5:15-2115But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by one man, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. 16And not as it was by one that sinned, so is the gift: for the judgment was by one to condemnation, but the free gift is of many offences unto justification. 17For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. 19For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous. 20Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound: 21That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. (Romans 5:15‑21)).
But some reader may say, “You shut out works altogether.”
Far be the thought.
But you say, “Salvation is gratis.”
So it is. But that does not shut out good works. It certainly and scripturally shuts them out as the ground of it. But the free and abounding grace of God is the very best of teachers. “The grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world,” etc. (Titus 2:11-1211For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, 12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; (Titus 2:11‑12)). The finished work of Christ needs no addition of any works of ours, either before we believe on Him, or after, as a partial ground of our acceptance. But faith without works is dead (James 2:1717Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. (James 2:17)). Hence, if there be no works as the fruit of your faith, take earnest heed lest your faith is dead, and you are deceiving yourself.
The healing of the soul gratis is the precious truth. May God in His grace give many who may read these lines to apprehend it, that they be healed. E. H. C.