4 Considerations To Falling In Love With Jesus All Over Again By Thomas Vincent
4 Considerations To Falling In Love With Jesus All Over Again:
#1 Persuasion That There Is Such A Person As Jesus Christ
If you would attain this love unto Jesus Christ, whom you have never seen, you must get a thorough persuasion that there is such a person as Jesus Christ and that He is such a person indeed as the Scriptures have revealed Him to be. The reason why heathens are without love for Christ—is because they have never heard of Him. The reason why many who have heard of Christ are without love for Him—is because they are not really persuaded that there is, or ever was, such a person as Jesus Christ in the world. If you would attain this love, you must give a firm assent to this truth (which is the greatest of all, and the very pillar and foundation of the whole Christian religion), that Christ really is, and that the history of Him is no cunningly devised fable.
If you have reason to believe that there was such a person as Alexander the Great, that there was such a person as Julius Caesar, both of whom lived before Christ’s time, you have more reason to believe that there was and is such a person as Jesus Christ. You have an only secular history for the former—but you have also sacred history for the latter. You have only the writings of men to testify the one—but you have the Word of God in the Holy Scriptures to testify the other. You have as much reason to believe the history of the gospel—as to believe any other history, and you have more reason to believe the history of the gospel than to believe any other history. I shall suggest one reason among many, which might be mentioned.
The history of the gospel was believed by as learned men as any in the world, in and near the time of their writing; which belief some of them sealed with their blood, which they would never have done had they found any reason to suspect the truth of this history, which (had there been any reason of suspicion) they might easily have found out in those times if such a grand fable as this could not possibly have gained credit among wise and inquisitive men; especially when it would have been their greatest worldly interest, the preservation of their estates and lives, to have disbelieved and disowned it.
If, besides the Apostles, all the learned church fathers (whose works are extant among us, who lived near the apostles’ times, and some of whom suffered martyrdom for Christ’s sake) saw reason to believe that there was such a person as Christ, surely you have reason to believe, and no solid reason to discredit the report of Him in the history of the gospel. And, when you have attained a firm assent unto this, get a full persuasion that Jesus Christ is such a person as the Scriptures record and testify Him to be. Be persuaded of His personal excellencies—His amiableness, His greatness, His holiness, His wisdom, His faithfulness, His fullness, His kindness. Be persuaded of the relation He stands in to the Father, His only begotten and dearly beloved Son, the relation He stands in to His people, especially in His offices of Prophet, Priest, and King, as I have set Him forth in the motives to stir up love. Acquaint yourselves with the history of His birth—so wonderful, of His life—so holy, of His works—so powerful, of His doctrine—so heavenly, of His sufferings—so great, of His death—so painful (and yet so voluntary), of His resurrection, ascension, session and intercession at the right hand of God—so needful for us, as you have this history upon record in the New Testament. The assent to this in your minds will be a preparative for the attaining of true love to Jesus Christ in your hearts.
#2 Get Conviction Of Sin, And A Sense Of Your Need Of Christ
If you would attain true love unto Jesus Christ, you must get a conviction of SIN, and a sense of your NEED of Christ. The prevailing love and relishing of sin is inconsistent with true love unto Jesus Christ. Such as love Christ hates sin, and such as love sin have enmity against Christ. While your hearts go after your covetousness or your wickedness, your hearts cannot be set upon Christ.
Before you can love Christ, your hearts must be taken off from sin. Get, therefore, a conviction of sin as the greatest evil in the world. Be persuaded what evil and a bitter thing it is, to transgress God’s law and, thereby, to affront the high Majesty, the great King of glory! Look into the Word of God—and see what is there required, and what is there forbidden; and then look back upon your lives, or look into the register of your consciences, that you may find out what your sins of omission and commission have been. Take a view of your transgressions of the law, and of your disobedience also unto the gospel; and, as you are guilty before God, so labor for clear sight and a deep sense of your guilt; how you are under the curse for your disobedience, how you are liable to ruin and eternal destruction for your sins!
Look upon sin as the evilest and harmful thing in the world. If there is any evil in any temporal calamities which befall men; yes, if there is any evil in future miseries, in the extremity and eternity of hell’s plagues and punishments, be persuaded that there is far eviler in sin, which is the cause of all. Think how miserable you are, while under the guilt and reigning power of sin; that the worm is not so vile—as your sins; that the toad is not so full of deadly poison—as your sins; that the filth of the earth is not comparable unto the filth of your sins! Think how base and hypocritical you have been! Think how monstrously ungrateful to your Maker and Benefactor! Think what traitors and rebels you have been to your Supreme King and Sovereign!
Think what peril and danger you are continually in—of death and hell! Think how weak the thread of life is, which ties soul and body together, which may be suddenly cut when you are least aware when you are most secure; and then, if you are found in a Christless state, your souls will be conveyed immediately unto a place of remediless and eternal misery! Be persuaded, that you are irrecoverably undone—unless the Lord Jesus Christ saves you, that you cannot escape the dreadful vengeance of God—but must be tormented most horridly and everlastingly among the devils and the damned in hell—unless the Lord Jesus Christ delivers you from the wrath which is to come!
The sight and sense of sin, your miserable condition thereby, and of your indispensable need of Christ, will make way for your love of Him.
Suppose that you were in great debt unto a severe creditor and had not one penny to discharge it, and you were threatened by him to be thrown into prison where you must lie and rot, starve and die, without hopes of relief or release—unless you could make payment of the debt. And if you should hear of such a rich man who was willing and offered to be your surety and to pay all for you—surely you would have an endeared love to such a friend and benefactor.
Just so, your sins are debts beyond the vastest sum of money that ever was owed or paid—and you are not able to pay one farthing, to give the least satisfaction unto God unto whom you are indebted. God is strictly just, and, without full satisfaction to His justice, will throw you into a worse prison than the nastiest dolesome prison on earth! I mean, into the prison of hell—where you must lie without the least relief or any hopes of release! The Lord Jesus Christ offers to be your surety, to pay off all for you, and to give you a full discharge. Were you sensible what a debt sin is, and what a prison hell is—surely it would work your hearts into an endeared love of such a friend and surety who alone can keep you out of this dolesome dreadful prison, into which without Him, you will certainly, and may suddenly—be thrown!
If any of you were sick of a death-threatening distemper, and you had made use of many physicians but none could do you good, and if you should hear of one physician who could assuredly, and would readily and freely cure your disease and save your life—surely you would thankfully make use of this physician, and his kindness would exceedingly engage your love. Just so—sin is the soul’s sickness; you are sick unto death. Sin, when it is finished, will bring forth death, not only temporal—but eternal. It is the Lord Jesus Christ alone, who can cure you of this deadly sickness, who can remove your sin and, thereby, deliver you from this death of deaths. Get a sense of the dangerous sickness of sin—and you will prize, and use, and love the Lord Jesus Christ, who is the only physician of value in this case!
If any of you were guilty of murder, or theft, or high treason, or some other heinous breach of the law of the land—for which you were apprehended, arraigned, accused, and condemned to be hanged or burned, or to a more tormenting death than either; and if you should hear of a prince at court that had begged the pardon of such crimes for such malefactors and had obtained it, and should he send to you to signify his willingness to do the like for you—surely you would thankfully accept of such an offer, and would love this prince as your life, who should thus preserve you from death! Just so—you are all guilty of high treason and rebellion against the King of heaven in your breach of His law, and you are condemned by this law, not to be hanged for it or beheaded—but to be burned for it—to be burned in the fire of hell, which is unquenchable! The Lord Jesus Christ is the Prince of glory, a friend in the court of heaven, who has procured a pardon for many such malefactors and sends to you to signify His willingness to procure your pardon if you will make use of Him. Surely, if you have a sense of your crime and danger—you will apply yourselves unto Christ to save you—and you will not withhold your love from such a one as should show you such unparalleled favor!
#3 Get A Saving Interest In Christ And Lay Hold On Christ By Faith
If you would attain true love unto Christ—you must get a saving interest in Christ. You must lay hold on Christ by faith, so that you may be united to Him and related to Him. It is faith that works love. To those who believe, Christ is precious! But, by unbelievers, He is slighted and cannot be loved. Without a union to Christ, you will have no affection for Christ. The foundation of love is laid in the relation to the beloved. And this union to, and interest in, Christ—is only by faith. If then, you would embrace Christ in the arms of love, you must first lay hold on Christ and receive Him by the hand of faith. Whatever motives and attractions of love there are in Jesus Christ, there will be none to you without this saving interest and relation.
Christ is most beautiful, most lovely, and amiable—but He will not be so in your eyes—as long as you are without the eye of faith. He is great and powerful—but so much the worse for you because, without a saving interest in Him, His power is engaged against you! He is pure and holy—and while in your sins, you are, therefore, the more odious in His sight. He is wise and knows all things, therefore, He is privy to all your sins. He is most true, and therefore, will fulfill His threatenings against such as go on still in their trespasses. He is full—but you, without a saving interest in Him, have no share in His fullness.
He is kind—but it is to those who are related to Him; but what is this to you who are unbelievers? He is a Shepherd to His sheep—but you are goats! He is a Captain to His soldiers—but you are enemies! He is a Teacher to His disciples—but you are the devil’s scholars! He is a gracious Sovereign to His subjects—but you are rebels! He is a Priest to His people, having made atonement for their sin, and makes intercession for them—but you trample His blood under your feet! He is a Friend and Benefactor to His people—but you are strangers! He is a Brother and a Husband to His people—but you stand in none of these relations! He is a Redeemer to His people—but you are slaves and captives to Satan!
The light which He gives is most sweet—but you are darkness. The life which He imparts is most excellent—but you are dead in sins and trespasses. He gives pardon of sin—but you are under guilt. He gives peace of conscience—but your consciences are still wounded and seared. He gives the joys of the Holy Spirit—but you are in danger of eternal woes. The robes of His righteousness are most rich—but you are naked. The riches of His grace are inestimable—but you are still poor. The dignity of being made the sons of God is most admirable—but you are children of the devil. He gives access unto God in prayer—but you are still at a distance. He gives a title to the kingdom of heaven—but, if you continue in your present state, you will be shut at last out of the palace which is above—and be thrust down into the prison of hell which is below!
What, then, are all these motives to draw forth love to Christ? It is union and relation unto Christ and saving interest in Him by faith—which puts life into these motives, that they may indeed attract love. O then, be persuaded, without further delay, to endeavor after this saving interest in Christ! You must have it or you are lost irrecoverably, and you will be miserable eternally! Yet you may attain this interest. Others have attained it who are as evil and as vile as yourselves, and you are called unto Christ. O be persuaded, then, to come unto Christ, and join yourselves by faith unto Him, so that you may have a saving interest in Christ, and in all His benefits!
If you ask “What is this faith, which gives a saving interest in Christ? What it is to believe?” I answer out of John 1:12 that it is to receive Christ; “To as many as received Him, to them gave He the power to become the sons of God, even to those who believe on His name.” Be persuaded, then, to receive Christ, and accept Him upon the terms of the gospel. Receive and take hold of Christ by the hand of faith and, that you may do this:
(1) You must let go of your hold of SIN. If you hug sin in your bosom, if you harbor base lusts in your hearts—you cannot receive and give entertainment to Christ there. You must thrust sin out—if you would let Christ in!
(2) You must let go of your hold on the WORLD. I do not say you must let it go out of your hands, and throw away the estates which God has given unless you are called to leave all rather than to forego Christ or any of His truths, but you must let the world go out of your hearts. The world must not sit upon the throne of your hearts; that seat must be reserved for Christ. Chief love and inordinate love to the world and things in the world must be taken off.
(3) You must let go of your hold of SELF. Your own righteousness and all self-confidences must be parted with! You must be humbled and emptied of yourselves—if you would be prepared for the receiving of Jesus Christ, and receiving of that fullness which there is in Him.
And then, receive Jesus Christ as your High Priest to reconcile you unto God, trusting alone in His merits and mediation. Receive Jesus Christ as your Prophet to instruct and lead you in all truth by His Word and Spirit. Receive Jesus Christ as your Sovereign Lord and King to rule you. Receive Jesus Christ as your Captain to tread down your spiritual enemies under your feet. Receive Jesus Christ in all His relations of Shepherd, Friend, Brother, and especially in the relation of a Husband; and join yourselves to Him, and makeover yourselves to be guided, guarded, provided for, and governed by Him. This is to receive Christ, and this is to believe. This gives union, and relation, and saving interest in the Lord Jesus. And if you do thus join yourselves to Christ by faith, you will quickly feel love to Christ to spring forth, to work and act, and that vigorously; and to bring forth such fruit in the life as shall evidently show that love to Christ is rooted in the heart!
#4 Be Diligent In The Use Of All The Means Of God
If you would attain true love unto Christ—be diligent in the use of all those MEANS which God has appointed for the working of it. I shall instance only in two means:
(a) Be diligent in hearing the WORD preached. As faith comes by hearing, so love to Christ is wrought by the same means. “Hear, and your souls shall live!” said the Prophet, Isaiah 55:3; and, I may say, “Hear that your hearts may love!” The ears may affect the heart with love to the Lord Jesus. While Lydia was hearing Paul preach, her heart was opened, Acts 16:14, and while you are hearing ministers preach of Christ, your hearts may be opened to receive Him and to embrace Him in the arms of your dearest love. See Acts 11:15, “As I began to speak, the Holy Spirit fell on them!” While Peter was preaching, and the Gentiles were hearing—the Holy Spirit was sent down from heaven and fell upon them. Just so, while you are hearing the Word, God may give forth His Spirit, to work this grace of love to Jesus Christ in your hearts.
(b) Be diligent and earnest in PRAYER unto God for this love. Confess and bewail before Him your lack of this love; tell Him you deserve a double anathema because you do not love Christ; and, withal, tell Him you cannot, of yourselves, love Him, that you can as easily lift up a mountain to heaven—as lift up your hearts unto Christ; but that you desire that He would draw up your love to Christ by His Spirit. Beg Him that He would put out the fire of lust, and all inordinate creature-love, and that He would kindle a fire of love in you to this most lovely Jesus, which no corruption in your hearts may be able to extinguish! And, in your prayers, present your hearts to the Lord Jesus. Offer them up freely to Him, and desire that He would accept them, that He would take hold of them and take possession of them, and erect His throne in them as an everlasting habitation for Himself.
This article is edited from “The True Christian’s Love to the Unseen Christ” by Thomas Vincent. Check our collection of articles on this topic in the related posts, alternatively, you can get a copy of the book from Amazon.
