"Now the end of the commandment is charity (love) out of a pure heart, and a good conscience and faith unfeigned." (i Tim. 1:5.)
The end of the commandment, charge, or exhortation, is "love out of a pure heart."" God is love, and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him."Naturally, we do not love each other any further than another ministers to our desires. We love ourselves, and we love our wives, children, brothers, sisters, friends, and neighbors only in proportion as they gratify or please us in some manner. Our natural love is then wholly selfish. But love that is according to God-like any thing else in Christianity-is from Himself and by the Spirit. It is through His love shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit which He has given unto us, that we love others "out of a pure heart." A pure heart is one in subjection to God, and such an one God dwells in by His Spirit, and His love goes out through him to others. It is of God, and, like every thing else in Christianity, all of God.
A heart truly in subjection to God is one over which He reigns and in which He rules, and, consequently the rule is in love, for He is love, and the love which is of Him must be out of a pure heart. In 2 Tim. 2:22, we are commanded to "follow righteousness, faith, love, peace with them that call on the Lord out of a pure heart." Here it is the same thought, out of a heart so in subjection to God that He has, so to speak, His own way with it. When all hearts in an assembly are so in subjection we have the "unity of the Spirit," and we are all of one mind for "we have the mind of Christ." " Love out of a pure heart" also manifests itself in fellowship with others who are alike in subjection and so manifests itself that each realizes the subjective condition of his fellow. Therefore we are admonished to associate ourselves with them that call upon the Lord out of a pure heart.
"A good conscience." This can only be maintained through walking in the light. We are the children of light. God has introduced us into His light by Jesus Christ, and to keep a good conscience we are to walk in the light as He is in the light, and there we have fellowship one with another, and the blood, not the walk, cleanseth us from all sin. That is, we realize this by faith. We have the full consciousness of the fact. Thus we keep a good conscience. "If we say we abide in Him, we ought so to walk even as He walked." We are exhorted by Paul " not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God by which we are sealed unto the day of redemption," and to fail in this brings with it a bad conscience. But the end of the commandment is " a good conscience." This, then, can only be maintained while walking in fellowship with the Father and with His Son Jesus Christ. In this fellowship and communion there is, there can be, no sin; but when we fall out of that place, and begin to walk as men in the world, that moment sin comes in and we grieve the Holy Spirit and get a bad conscience. "My little children, these things write I unto you that ye do not sin ; and if any man (saint) do sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous One ; and He is the propitiation for our sins." "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." This is restoring grace for failing saints, and again brings us into His presence with no conscience of sins. So is ample provision made for both keeping a good conscience and restoring it when lost through failure ; the work of the Righteous One still going on for us in grace. Let His name be praised by all His saints to the ages of the ages. Amen.
"These things write I unto you that ye sin not." This, dear brethren, is the primary word for us. The Word of God does not contemplate us as practicing sin. "He that committeth sin is of the devil."
'' Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin, for His seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin because he is born of God." "Whosoever abideth in Him sinneth not." This alone is the place of security. Abiding in Him is the place where there is no sin, and there alone can we keep continually a good conscience. It is a double abiding. He abides in us as life, the new life, and our place of strength is abiding in Him by faith where He is. May God our Father keep us so abiding by His Holy Spirit.
" And faith unfeigned." Faith unfeigned implies feigned faith. A man may say he has faith and yet not be born of God. Such a faith is a feigned faith, or man's own work, of his own volition; but unfeigned faith is the gift of God, and comes to man only when he has come to the end of himself. See the case of the man with the withered hand. The Lord Jesus commanded him to stand forth before the whole assembly in the synagogue (see Mark 3:). He obeyed, and stood there while the Master spoke to the assembly; at the end He said unto him, " Stretch forth thy hand," and he immediately stretched forth the hand that he could not stretch forth. There was faith unfeigned, and it came from God as a free gift by Jesus Christ when the man was ready to receive it. "As many as received Him, to them gave He the power (privilege) to become the sons of God," even to them that believe on His name, which were born of God. Unfeigned faith, then, is of God, and comes to every willing, submissive soul. '' If any man will do His will he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God."
Mr. Darby somewhere says that '' faith is this power of God working in a man," and this is the truth, and only this is unfeigned faith. It is an old saying that " man's extremity is God's opportunity," and so when a man comes to the end of himself before God and is fully subject, then God takes him up. Faith unfeigned is, so to speak, the instrument by which God works salvation in man by Jesus Christ. "Dost thou believe on the Son of God ? Who is He, Lord, that I might believe on Him ? Thou hast both seen Him and it is He that talketh with thee; and he said, Lord, I believe, and he worshiped Him." He was willing, he was submissive, and at once the Lord made him a worshiper.
May our God keep us full of love out of a pure heart, and with a good conscience, and a faith that is unfeigned for His ever blessed Son's sake. Amen. J. S. P.