The Means of Grace

1Are there still religious ordinances today, now that life and immortality have been brought to light through the gospel? Under the Christian covenant, has God established specific practices to serve as regular channels of his grace? In the apostolic church, no one would have ever dreamed of asking such a question, unless they openly declared themselves to be a pagan. The entire body of early believers was fully agreed that Christ had instituted certain outward practices to convey his grace into the human heart. Their daily practice put the matter beyond all debate. As long as “all the believers met together in one place and shared everything they had” (Acts 2:44), “they continued steadfastly in the apostles' teaching, in breaking bread, and in prayer” (Acts 2:42).

2But as time passed and “the love of many grew cold,” some people began to confuse the means with the end. They placed true religion in performing outward rituals rather than having a heart renewed in the likeness of God. They forgot that the true aim of every divine command is “love from a pure heart, with sincere faith.” It means loving the Lord their God with all their heart and loving their neighbor as themselves, having their hearts cleansed from pride, anger, and evil desires through a faith that is empowered by the working of God. Others imagined that even though religion did not consist mainly in these outward practices, there was still something in these rituals that pleased God in and of themselves—something that would make them acceptable in his eyes, even while they neglected the weightier matters of God’s law: justice, mercy, and the love of God.

3Clearly, for those who abused these practices in this way, the ordinances failed to produce the purpose for which they were designed. Instead of bringing spiritual health, they became a stumbling block and an occasion for falling. Far from receiving a blessing, these people only brought judgment upon themselves. Instead of growing more heavenly in heart and character, they became twice as fit for hell as they were before. Seeing this, other people noticed that these outward practices brought no grace to such ungodly individuals, and from this specific misuse, they jumped to a sweeping conclusion: that these practices are not means of conveying God’s grace at all.

4Still, for a long time, the number of people who abused God’s ordinances was far greater than the number of those who rejected them. But eventually, certain influential leaders arose. They were men of great intellect, sometimes also considerably learned, who also seemed to be filled with love and possessed personal, firsthand experience of genuine inward religion. Some of them were burning and shining lights, renowned in their generation, who had rendered great service to the church of Christ by standing in the breach against the flood of godlessness.

We cannot imagine that these holy, respected leaders originally intended to do anything more than emphasize that outward religion is completely worthless without the religion of the heart. They rightly insisted that “God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth.” Therefore, external worship is a wasted effort unless the heart is truly devoted to God. God’s outward ordinances are of great value when they cultivate inward holiness, but whenever they fail to produce holiness, they become empty, useless, and lighter than vapor. Indeed, when people rely on them as a substitute for true holiness, they become an utter abomination to the Lord.

5Yet it is hardly surprising if some of these leaders—deeply grieved by the terrible desecration of God’s ordinances that had infected the church and nearly snuffed out genuine faith from the earth—spoke in their passionate zeal as if outward practices were utterly worthless and had no place whatever in the religion of Christ. In their burning desire for God’s glory and for rescuing souls from fatal self-deception, they may not always have expressed themselves with enough care. As a result, unsuspecting listeners could easily conclude that they condemned all outward practices as completely useless, denying that God ever designed them to be regular channels for pouring his grace into human souls.

Indeed, it is quite possible that some of these devout men eventually came to believe this themselves—especially those who, through God’s providence rather than their own choice, were cut off from all church ordinances. Perhaps they were refugees wandering from place to place with no fixed home, hiding in caves and dens of the earth. Experiencing God’s rich grace in their own hearts even while deprived of all external practices, they might have mistakenly concluded that God would grant the very same grace to people who deliberately choose to ignore them.

6Experience proves just how easily this mistaken idea spreads and takes root in people’s minds. This is especially true for those who have just been awakened from the spiritual sleep of death and have begun to feel the crushing weight of their sins as a burden too heavy to bear. People in this condition are usually desperate for relief. In their scramble to escape their guilt, they eagerly grasp at any new promise of peace or comfort. They have probably tried most outward religious practices and found no relief in them—perhaps only increasing remorse, fear, sorrow, and condemnation. How easy it is, then, to persuade them that they should abstain from all those outward means! They are already exhausted from what feels like useless striving and endless struggle. Naturally, they welcome any excuse to cast aside practices that bring them no joy, surrender the painful struggle, and sink into a lazy, passive slumber.

1In this sermon, I propose to examine thoroughly whether there are, in fact, any means of grace established by God.

By “means of grace,” I mean outward signs, words, or actions instituted by God and appointed for this specific purpose: to serve as the ordinary channels through which he conveys his prevenient grace (grace that goes before us), his justifying grace, or his sanctifying grace to human hearts.

I use this phrase, “means of grace,” because I know of no better term, and because it has been widely recognized throughout the Christian church for centuries. In particular, our own Church of England directs us to thank God both for “the means of grace and for the hope of glory.” It also teaches us that a sacrament is “an outward and visible sign of an inward and spiritual grace, and a means through which we receive that grace.”

The primary means of grace are: prayer, whether in private solitude or gathered with the congregation; searching the Scriptures, which includes reading, hearing, and meditating on God’s Word; and receiving the Lord’s Supper, eating bread and drinking wine in remembrance of him. We believe these practices were instituted by God himself as the ordinary channels for pouring his grace into our lives.

2At the same time, we readily admit that the entire value of these means depends completely on whether they actually serve the true goal of religion. Consequently, whenever these practices are separated from that goal, they become completely worthless and empty. If they do not genuinely lead us to know and love God, they are not pleasing to him. In fact, they are an offense and an abomination in his sight; he is weary of bearing them! Most terrible of all is when people use these rituals as a substitute for the heartfelt faith they were meant to support. Words can hardly express the sheer folly and wickedness of turning God’s own gifts against him—using the very practices designed to welcome Christ into the heart as a barrier to keep him out!

3Furthermore, we gladly acknowledge that all outward practices, if divorced from the Spirit of God, are completely powerless. On their own, they cannot help us in the slightest degree to know or love God. Beyond all dispute, whatever good is accomplished on the earth, God does it himself. It is he alone who, by his almighty power, produces in us what pleases him. Without his active presence working in and through them, all outward ceremonies are merely weak and useless elements. Anyone who imagines there is any magical or inherent power in these practices is deeply mistaken, understanding neither the Scriptures nor the power of God. We know there is no supernatural power inherent in the syllables we utter in prayer, in the words of Scripture we read, in the sound of those words when we hear them, or in the physical bread and wine of the Lord’s Supper. God alone is the Giver of every good gift and the Author of all grace. Any power that conveys a spiritual blessing to our souls through these practices comes entirely from him. We also know that God is fully capable of pouring out the exact same grace even if there were not a single outward ordinance left on the face of the earth. In this sense, from God’s perspective, there is strictly no need for means at all, since he can accomplish whatever he pleases through any instrument or through none whatsoever.

4We acknowledge further that using every spiritual discipline in the world will never atone for a single sin. It is the blood of Christ alone that reconciles any sinner to God, for there is no other sacrifice for our sins and no other cleansing fountain for our sin and uncleanness. Every true believer in Christ is deeply convinced that all merit belongs to him alone. There is zero merit in any of our own works—not in reciting prayers, not in studying the Scriptures, not in listening to God’s Word, and not in eating the bread or drinking the cup of Holy Communion. Therefore, if someone says, “Christ is the only means of grace,” meaning simply that Christ is the sole meritorious foundation and cause of our salvation, no one who understands the grace of God would ever disagree.

5We must also admit—sad though it is—that a vast number of professed Christians still abuse the means of grace today to the ruin of their own souls. This is undoubtedly true of everyone who settles for an outward form of godliness without its living power. They foolishly assume they are already true Christians simply because they observe these religious routines, even though Christ has never been revealed in their hearts and the love of God has never been poured out within them. Or else they imagine that practicing these rituals will automatically save them. They daydream—perhaps without even realizing it—that these practices possess an automatic power that will somehow make them holy eventually, or that performing them earns merit in God’s sight, obligating him to grant them holiness or to accept them without it.

6How little do such people understand the foundational bedrock of the entire Christian faith: “God saved you by his grace!” You are rescued from your sins—both from their guilt and from their tyrannical power—and you are restored to God’s favor and remade in his likeness, not because of any good deeds, merit, or deserving of your own, but purely by God’s unmerited favor and lavish mercy through the merits of his beloved Son. You are saved not by any power, wisdom, or strength found in yourself or any other created being, but solely through the grace and power of the Holy Spirit, who produces everything good in all of us.

7But the vital question still remains. Someone under deep conviction might say: “I realize that this salvation is entirely God’s gift and God’s work. But how can I receive it?” If you answer, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved!” he replies, “That is true, but how am I to believe?” If you say, “Wait on the Lord,” he asks, “How should I wait? Should I wait by using the means of grace, or by staying away from them? Am I to wait for God’s saving grace by participating in these practices, or by casting them aside?”

8It is unthinkable that God’s Word would offer no guidance on such a crucial matter, or that the Son of God—who came down from heaven for us and our salvation—would leave us in the dark on a question so intimately tied to our eternal destiny.

And in truth, he has not left us uncertain; he has clearly shown us the path we should take. We only need to consult the Scriptures, seeking what is written in God’s holy Word. If we simply stand by its verdict, not a shadow of doubt can remain.

1According to the clear verdict of Holy Scripture, everyone who desires God’s grace must wait for it through the channels he has appointed—by actively using them, not by setting them aside.

First of all, everyone who longs for the grace of God must wait for it through prayer. This is the explicit command of our Lord himself. In the Sermon on the Mount, after thoroughly explaining what true religion is and describing its main aspects, Jesus added: “Ask, and it will be given to you. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7, 8). Here we are told in the plainest possible language to ask as the means of receiving; to seek in order to find the grace of God, that pearl of great price; and to knock—to persist in asking and seeking—if we wish to enter into his kingdom.

2To remove every lingering doubt, our Lord emphasized this point with extraordinary care. He appealed directly to human experience: “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father”—the Father of angels and humanity, the Father of the spirits of all flesh—“give good gifts to those who ask him?” (Matthew 7:9-11). Or as Jesus stated on another occasion, summing up all good gifts in one: “How much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” (Luke 11:13). Notice carefully here that the people commanded to ask had not yet received the Holy Spirit! Yet our Lord instructed them to use this very means of prayer and promised that it would be effective—that as they asked, they would receive the Holy Spirit from the One whose mercy extends over all his creation.

3The absolute necessity of using this means of prayer if we hope to receive any gift from God becomes even clearer in the remarkable passage right before those words. Jesus said to his disciples, whom he had just been teaching to pray: “Suppose one of you has a friend, and you go to him at midnight and say, ‘Friend, lend me three loaves of bread.’ And suppose he answers from inside, ‘Don’t bother me. I cannot get up and give you anything.’ But I tell you this—though he won’t do it for friendship’s sake, if you keep knocking long enough, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your persistence. And so I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you” (Luke 11:5, 7-9). Notice: “Even if he won’t get up out of friendship, he will get up and give you whatever you need because of your persistence.” How could our blessed Lord state more plainly that through persistent prayer—by using this very means—we will receive from God blessings that we would never receive otherwise?

4Jesus also told a parable to teach that people “ought always to pray and not to faint” until, through this appointed means, they receive from God whatever they ask: “There was in a city a judge who neither feared God nor respected people. And there was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, ‘Grant me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect people, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will see that she gets justice, so that she doesn’t wear me out by her continual coming!’” (Luke 18:1-5). Our Lord applied the parable himself: “Hear what the unjust judge says!” Because she continued to ask and would take no denial, he granted her justice. “And will not God grant justice to his chosen ones who cry out to him day and night? I tell you, he will grant justice to them speedily”—if only they pray and do not faint.

5Our Lord gave an equally direct and unmistakable instruction to wait for God’s blessings in private prayer, accompanied by a clear promise that we will receive our requests through this means: “When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in secret; and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you openly” (Matthew 6:6).

6If any command could be clearer, it is the one God gave us through the apostle James concerning prayer of every kind—both corporate and private—and the blessing attached to it: “If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault” (provided they ask, for otherwise “you do not have because you do not ask,” James 4:2), “and it will be given to you” (James 1:5).

Someone may object: “But this instruction does not apply to unbelievers—to those who have not yet experienced God’s pardoning grace. For the apostle adds, ‘But let him ask in faith,’ and says that otherwise ‘he should not expect to receive anything from the Lord.’” I answer that the meaning of the word “faith” in this passage is defined by the apostle himself, as if deliberately answering this objection in the very next words: “Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering”—doubting nothing (mēden diakrinomenos). That is, not doubting that God hears his cry and will fulfill his heartfelt longing. The gross, blasphemous absurdity of taking “faith” here in its full Christian sense becomes obvious: it would mean that the Holy Spirit instructs a person who knows he lacks this faith (which is here called wisdom) to ask God for it with an absolute promise that “it will be given to him,” and then immediately adds that it will never be given unless he already possesses it before asking! Who could bear such an absurd contradiction? From this Scripture, therefore, as well as those cited above, we must conclude that everyone who desires the grace of God must wait for it through prayer.

7Second, all who desire the grace of God are to wait for it by searching the Scriptures.

Our Lord’s command regarding this second means is likewise plain and direct. “Search the Scriptures,” he said to the unbelieving Jews, “for they testify of me” (John 5:39). Jesus directed them to search the Scriptures for this very purpose: so that they might believe in him. The objection that this is not a command but only a statement that they did search the Scriptures is plainly false. I ask those who raise it to explain how a command could be expressed more clearly than in the Greek words Ερευνατε τας γραφας (ereunate tas graphas, “search the Scriptures”). It is as forceful a command as words can make it.

The rich blessing that God pours out through the use of this means is shown in what is recorded about the Bereans. After listening to Paul, they “searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Therefore many of them believed”—finding the saving grace of God in the very way he had ordained (Acts 17:11, 12; the source gives the reference as Acts 27:11, 12).

It is quite probable that among those who had “received the word with all readiness of mind,” faith came, as the apostle Paul says, “by hearing,” and was only confirmed by reading the Scriptures. But as we noted earlier, the general practice of searching the Scriptures includes hearing the Word preached, reading it personally, and meditating on its truths.

8That Scripture is a means through which God not only gives, but also confirms and deepens true wisdom, we learn from Paul’s words to Timothy: “From childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 3:15). This same truth—that Scripture is the great instrument God has ordained for conveying his manifold grace to humanity—is delivered in the fullest possible manner in the words that immediately follow: “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God,” and consequently all Scripture is infallibly true, “and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,” to the end “that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17).

9Notice that Paul was speaking primarily and directly of the Scriptures Timothy had known since childhood—which had to be those of the Old Testament, for the New Testament had not yet been written! How far Paul was from dismissing the Old Testament, even though he was not in the least inferior to the chief of the apostles, and therefore, I presume, not behind anyone now on earth! Behold this, lest you one day marvel and perish, you who make so little account of one half of the oracles of God! Yes, that very half of which the Holy Spirit explicitly declares that it is profitable, as a means ordained of God, for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be fully mature and thoroughly equipped for every good work.

10Nor is this profitable only for God's people who already walk in the light of God’s presence; it is also valuable for those who are still in darkness, seeking the Lord whom they do not yet know. As the apostle Peter wrote: “We have also a more sure word of prophecy”—literally, “and we have the prophetic word made more sure” (kai echomen bebaioteron ton prophētikon logon), confirmed by our being eyewitnesses of his majesty and personally hearing the voice from the excellent glory. Peter called the Holy Scriptures this prophetic word, adding: “You do well to pay close attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns, and the Day-star arises in your hearts” (2 Peter 1:19). Therefore, let everyone who desires that day to dawn upon their hearts wait for it by searching the Scriptures.

11Third, all who desire an increase of God’s grace are to wait for it in partaking of the Lord’s Supper, for this is a direction Jesus himself has given. “The same night in which he was betrayed, he took bread, and broke it, and said, ‘Take, eat; this is my body’”—that is, the sacred sign of my body—“‘this do in remembrance of me.’ In the same way, he took the cup, saying, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood’”—the sacred sign of that covenant—“‘this do in remembrance of me.’” Paul continues, “For as often as you eat this bread, and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes” (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). By these visible signs, you openly exhibit his death before God, angels, and men, solemnly commemorating his sacrifice until he comes in the clouds of heaven.

Only “let a person examine himself” first, considering whether he understands the nature and design of this holy institution, and whether he sincerely desires to be conformed to the death of Christ; and so, without lingering in doubt, “let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup” (1 Corinthians 11:28). Here the direction first given by our Lord is expressly repeated by the apostle: “Let him eat; let him drink” (esthietō, pinetō—both in the imperative mood). These words do not imply a bare permission only, but a clear, explicit command! It is a command given to all who are already filled with peace and joy in believing, as well as to all who can truly say: “The remembrance of our sins is grievous to us, and the burden of them is intolerable.”

12That Holy Communion is also an ordinary, established means of receiving the grace of God is evident from the apostle’s words in the preceding chapter: “The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not the communion”—or the sharing—“of the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ?” (1 Corinthians 10:16). Is not eating that bread and drinking that cup the outward, visible means through which God conveys into our souls all that spiritual grace, that righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, which were purchased by the body of Christ once broken and the blood of Christ once shed for us? Therefore, let all who truly desire the grace of God eat of that bread and drink of that cup.

1But as plainly as God has pointed out the way in which he will be sought, people who are wise in their own eyes have constantly raised countless objections against it. It may be necessary to consider a few of these—not because they carry any real weight in themselves, but because they have so often been used, especially in recent years, to turn the lame out of the path. Indeed, they have been used to trouble and overthrow people who had been running well until Satan appeared to them disguised as an angel of light.

The first and chief of these objections is: “You cannot use these means (as you call them) without trusting in them.” Tell me, where is this written? I expect you to show me plain Scripture for your assertion. Otherwise, I dare not accept it, because I am not convinced that you are wiser than God! If it were truly as you claim, Christ certainly would have known it. And if he had known it, he surely would have warned us and revealed it long ago. Therefore, because he has not done so, and because there is not a single trace of this idea in the entire revelation of Jesus Christ, I am as fully assured that your claim is false as I am that this revelation comes from God. But then you say, “Set them aside for a short time, just to see whether you were trusting in them or not.” So I am supposed to disobey God in order to know whether I am trusting in my obedience! Do you truly stand behind this advice? Do you deliberately teach people to “do evil so that good may come”? Tremble at the judgment of God against such teachers! Their condemnation is entirely just.

“Well,” they argue, “if you are troubled when you leave them off, that proves you were trusting in them!” By no means. If I am troubled when I willfully disobey God, it simply proves that his Holy Spirit is still striving with me. But if I am not troubled at willful sin, it proves that I have been given over to a hardened, reprobate mind.

Furthermore, what do you mean by “trusting in them”? Do you mean looking to receive God’s blessing through them? Do you mean believing that if I wait in this appointed way, I will receive what otherwise I would not receive at all? If so, then yes, I do! And so I will continue to do, with God as my helper, to my life’s end. By the grace of God, I will thus trust in them until the day of my death. That is, I will believe that whatever God has promised, he is faithful also to perform. And since he has promised to bless me along this path, I trust that it will be done according to his word.

2A second objection is raised: “This is seeking salvation by works.” Do you understand the meaning of the words you use? What is seeking salvation by works? In the writings of the apostle Paul, it means either seeking to be saved by observing the ritual works of the Mosaic law, or expecting salvation for the sake of our own works, by the merit of our own righteousness. But how could either of these be implied when I simply wait in the path God has ordained, expecting that he will meet me there because he has promised to do so?

I fully expect that he will fulfill his word—that he will meet and bless me in this way. Yet I expect this not for the sake of any works I have done, nor for the merit of my own righteousness, but entirely through the merits, the sufferings, and the love of his Son, in whom he is always well pleased.

3A third objection has been vehemently urged: “Christ is the only means of grace!” I answer that this is a mere play on words. Explain your terms, and the objection completely vanishes. When we say that prayer is a means of grace, we mean a channel through which God’s grace is conveyed. When you say that Christ is the means of grace, you mean he is both the sole price paid for grace and the one who purchased it, and that “no one comes to the Father except through him.” Who denies that? But that is completely beside the point.

4A fourth objection argues: “Doesn’t the Scripture direct us to wait for salvation? Doesn’t David say, ‘My soul waits upon God; from him comes my salvation’? And doesn’t Isaiah teach us the same thing, saying, ‘O Lord, we have waited for you’?” None of this can be denied! Since salvation is the gift of God, we must certainly wait on him for it. But how are we to wait? If God himself has appointed a path, can you find a better way of waiting for him? We have already demonstrated at length that God has appointed a way, and what that way is. The very words of the prophet Isaiah that you cite settle the matter beyond all dispute. The complete sentence reads: “In the way of your judgments”—your appointed ordinances—“O Lord, have we waited for you” (Isaiah 26:8). David waited in this very same way, as his own words abundantly testify: “I have waited for your salvation, O Lord, and I have kept your law. Teach me, O Lord, the way of your statutes, and I will keep it to the end.”

5“Yes,” some reply, “but God has appointed another way: ‘Stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord!’”

Let us examine the Scriptures to which you refer. The first passage, along with its context, reads as follows:

“And when Pharaoh drew near, the people of Israel lifted up their eyes, and they were terrified. And they said to Moses, ‘Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you took us away to die in the wilderness?’ And Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid; stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.’ And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Tell the people of Israel to move forward! Lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it, so that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground’” (Exodus 14:10-16). This was the salvation of God that they stood still to see—by marching forward into the sea with all their might!

The other passage where this phrase occurs reads: “Messengers came and told Jehoshaphat, ‘A vast army is coming against you from beyond the sea.’ Jehoshaphat was afraid and set himself to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. And Judah gathered together to seek help from the Lord; from all the towns of Judah they came to seek the Lord. And Jehoshaphat stood in the assembly, in the house of the Lord. Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Jahaziel, and he said, ‘Do not be afraid or discouraged because of this great multitude. Tomorrow go down against them. You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord.’ And they rose early in the morning and went out. And when they began to sing and to praise, the Lord set ambushes against the men of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir; every one helped to destroy another” (2 Chronicles 20:2-23).

Such was the deliverance that the people of Judah saw! But how does any of this prove that we ought not to wait for the grace of God in the means he has ordained?

6I will mention just one more objection. It does not strictly belong under this heading, but because it has been so frequently urged, I must not pass it by completely.

“Does not the apostle Paul say, ‘If you died with Christ, why are you subject to ordinances?’ (Colossians 2:20). Therefore a Christian, someone who has died with Christ, does not need to practice ordinances any longer.”

So you are claiming, “If I am a Christian, I am not subject to the ordinances of Christ!” Surely, the absurdity of this must show you at first glance that the ordinances mentioned here cannot possibly be the commands of Christ. They are clearly the Jewish ceremonial ordinances, to which a Christian is no longer subject.

This becomes undeniable from the words that immediately follow: “Do not handle, do not taste, do not touch”—all clearly referring to the ancient dietary and ceremonial regulations of the Mosaic law.

So this objection turns out to be the weakest of them all. Despite every argument, that great truth stands unshaken: all who desire the grace of God are to wait for it in the means which he has ordained.

1Having established that all who desire the grace of God are to wait for it through his appointed means, we may now ask how these means should be used—both in their sequence and in their spirit. Regarding the sequence, we may observe that God himself is generally pleased to follow a certain progression when bringing a sinner to salvation. A careless, unthinking person goes along his own selfish way, not having God in any of his thoughts, when God suddenly interrupts him—perhaps through an awakening sermon or conversation, perhaps through a striking providence, or perhaps through an immediate conviction of the Holy Spirit without any outward instrument at all. Awoken to a desire to flee from the coming wrath, he now intentionally goes to hear how this may be done. If he finds a preacher who speaks directly to his heart, he is amazed and begins searching the Scriptures to see whether these things are so. The more he hears and reads, the deeper his conviction becomes, and the more he meditates on God’s Word day and night. Perhaps he discovers another book that explains and reinforces what he has heard and read in Scripture. Through all these means, the arrows of conviction strike deeper into his soul. He also begins to talk about the things of God, which now fill his thoughts; and even more, he begins to talk with God in prayer, although fear and shame make him feel he barely knows what to say. Yet whether words come easily or not, he cannot help praying, even if it is only in groans that cannot be expressed in words. Still, wondering whether the high and lofty One who inhabits eternity will truly notice such a sinner, he longs to pray with those who know God, joining the faithful in the great congregation. While there, he notices others going up to the Lord’s Table. He reflects: “Christ said, ‘Do this!’ Why do I hold back? I am too great a sinner. I am not ready; I am not worthy.” After wrestling with these hesitations for a time, he breaks through. And so he continues in God’s appointed path—hearing, reading, meditating, praying, and partaking of the Lord’s Supper—until God, in his own time and way, speaks to his heart: “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.”

2By observing this divine order, we can understand which means of grace to recommend to any particular soul. If anything will reach a careless, hardened sinner, it is probably hearing the Word preached or a personal conversation. We should recommend these whenever such a person shows any thought about salvation. For someone who begins to feel the weight of his sins, not only hearing the Word of God but reading it as well—and perhaps other thoughtful spiritual books—can deepen his conviction. Should you not also encourage him to meditate on what he reads, so that it may have its full impact upon his heart? Yes, and urge him to speak openly about these truths without shame, especially among fellow travelers walking the same road. When grief and heaviness overwhelm him, should you not then earnestly urge him to pour out his soul before God, always praying and not giving up? And when he feels how poor and unworthy his own prayers are, are you not to cooperate with God by reminding him to go to the house of the Lord and pray with all who revere him? If he does this, the command given by his Lord before his death will soon be brought to his remembrance—a clear sign that the Holy Spirit is prompting him, and that we should encourage him to come to the Lord’s Table. In this way, we may lead a seeker step by step through all the means God has ordained—not according to our own rigid scheme, but following wherever the providence and Spirit of God lead the way.

3Yet because Scripture gives no command for any specific order to be followed, neither do the providence and Spirit of God adhere to one pattern without variation. The means to which different individuals are drawn, and through which they find God’s blessing, are varied, rearranged, and combined in countless different ways. Our wisdom is always to follow the leadings of his providence and Spirit. In our own pursuit of God’s grace, we should be guided partly by outward circumstances—which grant us the opportunity to use now one means, now another—and partly by our own spiritual experience, noting through which channels the Holy Spirit is most pleased to work in our hearts. Meanwhile, the sure and general rule for all who yearn for God’s salvation is this: whenever the opportunity arises, make use of all the means God has ordained! For who knows through which channel God will meet you with his saving grace?

4As to the spirit and manner in which we use them—upon which everything depends as to whether they convey any grace at all—we must, first of all, constantly maintain a living awareness that God is far above all means. Beware of limiting the Almighty! He does whatever he pleases, whenever he pleases. He can convey his grace either through the means he has appointed, or entirely apart from them. He may do so at any moment, for “who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” Look for his appearing at every moment! Look for him while you are engaged in his ordinances, or before, or after, or even when you are hindered from using them. God is never hindered! He is always ready, always able, and always willing to save. “He is the Lord; let him do what seems good to him!” Second, before engaging in any practice, let this truth sink deeply into your soul: there is no inherent power in this ritual. In itself, it is a poor, dead, empty thing. Separated from God, it is merely a dry leaf, a passing shadow. Nor is there any merit in my using it—nothing that inherently pleases God or earns the slightest favor from his hands, not even a drop of water to cool my tongue! But because God commands it, I do it. Because he directs me to wait along this path, I wait here expectantly for his free mercy, from which alone my salvation comes.

Settle this firmly in your heart: the opus operatum—the mere outward performance of the deed—accomplishes nothing. There is no power to save except in the Spirit of God, and no merit except in the blood of Christ. Consequently, even the practices God himself ordained convey no grace to the soul if you do not place your trust in him alone. On the other hand, anyone who truly trusts in him cannot fall short of the grace of God, even if they were cut off from every outward ordinance and locked away in the very center of the earth.

Thirdly. In using all means, seek God alone. In and through every outward practice, look singly to the power of his Spirit and the merits of his Son. Beware of getting stuck in the ritual itself; if you do, it is all wasted effort. Nothing short of God himself can ever satisfy your soul. Therefore, keep your eyes on him in all things, through all things, and above all things.

Remember also to use all means strictly as means—appointed not for their own sake, but in order to the renewal of your soul in righteousness and true holiness. If they actually lead toward this, wonderful; but if not, they are nothing more than worthless rubbish.

Lastly. After you have used any of these, take care how you congratulate yourself, as if you had accomplished some great thing! That is turning the medicine into deadly poison. Instead, think: “If God was not there, what did this accomplish? Have I only been adding sin to sin? How long, O Lord? Save me, or I perish! Do not hold this sin against me!” But if God was truly present—if his love flooded your heart—you will practically forget the outward ritual. You will see, know, and feel that God is all in all. Humble yourself deeply before him. Bow low in his presence, and give him all the praise. “May God be glorified in all things through Jesus Christ.” Let your whole being cry out: “I will sing of the loving kindness of the Lord forever! With my mouth I will proclaim your truth from generation to generation!”