HOW often have we heard the above question asked, when God’s way of salvation has been set forth in the very language of holy Scripture “Is that all?” How little do those who ask such a question know what it sets forth! They know not that it involves a positive insult to God and His Christ. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:1616For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (John 3:16)). “Through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38, 3938Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: 39And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. (Acts 13:38‑39)). “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 6:31).
Here we have God’s blessed way of salvation set forth, in all its divine and heavenly simplicity. Christ is God’s salvation, ―Christ given from His bosom; Christ bruised on the tree; Christ raised from the dead; Christ crowned on the throne of the Majesty in the heavens. And yet man’s legal heart can presume to ask, “Is that all?”
The Eternal Son of God laid aside His glory; came down into this dark and sinful world; took upon Him the form of a servant; emptied Himself, and made Himself of no reputation; went to the cross, and there endured the wrath of a sin-hating God, ―the wrath which else should have consumed us in the flames of an everlasting hell! No created intelligence can ever conceive what it cost God to hide His face from His only begotten and well-beloved Son; or what it cost that blessed Son to undergo the awful judgment of God, ―to be made sin for us, and lose, for a moment, the light of that countenance, in which He had found His home and His delight from all eternity. And yet the one for whom all this was done can presume to ask, “Is that all?”
“Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:1818For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: (1 Peter 3:18)). “It pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief” (Isa. 53:1010Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:10)), “He hath made him to be sin for us, (he) who knew no sin that we might become the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:2121For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)). “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold ... but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was fore-ordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Peter 1:18-2018Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: 20Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you, (1 Peter 1:18‑20)). Thus we have the eternal counsels of God, the precious blood of Christ, and the imperishable testimony of the Holy Spirit, ―in a word, we have the divine Three in One presented to us in the glad tidings of salvation. And yet, in the face of all this, we are met by the monstrous inquiry, “Is that all?”
Yes; with intense delight and holy triumph we reply, that is all And, we may lawfully inquire, what more would you have? You have the heart of God, to make you welcome; the blood of Christ, to make you fit; and the eternal record of the Holy Spirit, to make you sure. Are not these enough? Is it possible you can still reiterate the audacious inquiry, “Is that all?” Do you want to throw into the scale your miserable doings, your prayers, your alms, your sacraments, your vows, promises, and resolutions; your self-improvement, your moral reform, your tears and sighs, your frames and feelings, ― in order to make Christ’s person, work, and offices of full weight in the judgment of God?
Say, fellow-sinner, is this what you mean by the question on which we are now commenting? Do you imagine for a moment that you can add aught to the finished work of Christ? Do you think God wants anything more? Was not He satisfied, when He raised Christ from the dead, set Him at His own right hand, and crowned Him with glory and honor? And if He is satisfied, why not you?
If He rests in Christ, why not you? If he has been eternally glorified about the great question of sin, why should not your heart and conscience find sweet and abiding repose? Give up, we beseech you, once and forever, all your legal struggles, all your unbelieving questions, all your self-occupation. Look up to the throne of God, and behold there the Man who hung as the sinner’s substitute upon the cursed tree; and as you gaze on Him, in simple faith, you will be able, from the very depths of your ransomed soul, to give a well-pronounced reply to the inquiry, “Is that all?” C. H. M.