The Great Transition
“Old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.”—2 Corinthians 5:17
In stepping over the threshold of another year and into another century, ’tis well to pause and ask ourselves where we stand. The rapid march of time bears us irresistibly onward, but what is our goal? Has there been such a change in us, that the words which stand at the head of our meditation are true of our inner experience and our life? If so, the opening century will add to our joy, “For now is our salvation nearer than when we believed; “our redemption draweth nigh; eternity’s morn is already breaking upon us, that day which will know no sunset in the new heavens and the new earth for evermore.
We have here a blessed experimental fact. This is known and felt in the soul, “That old things have passed away.” The darkness which once filled the mind, and hid our true state from us as sinners; our ignorance of God and His glorious Gospel, this has passed away. The deadness and apathy of soul to all that was pure and heavenly; the love of this present world which once predominated our lives, these are things of the past. Where there was once in our hearts no appreciation of the value of Christ, and no love to His Person, there now reigns a supreme affection. The rebellion and alienation from God which was once so apparent in our lives has passed away, to be replaced by a filial fear and devotion to His service. The antagonism we felt toward His people has gone for ever. a regard for their persons, and a desire for their company, is now felt in the soul. That dread which once filled the mind when a judgment day was brought forcibly before us, has now departed, and its near approach can now be contemplated without fear. Those frivolous pursuits which once occupied time and all our thoughts are now abandoned for higher pleasures and loftier aims. That unrest and dissatisfaction which was felt so keenly in the heart is gone, and a deep peace, abiding and real, fills the soul.
We have a complete change in condition. Once condemned and under the curse of a broken law, but now justified from its exacting claims and terrific penalty; once without Christ, but now vitally and eternally united to Him; once destitute of an interest in anything spiritual, but now heirs of God, and joint-heirs with the Lord Jesus Christ in all spiritual and eternal blessings; once with hearts impure, but now sanctified by the Holy Ghost, and the conscience purged with the precious blood of Christ; once having no righteousness, but now complete in Christ in spotless robes, our filthy garments for ever laid aside; once our religious services were a mockery to a holy God and not acceptable, but now our persons and services are ”accepted in the Beloved,” and we stand as worshippers whose praises and prayers come up before God through the merits and intercession of our Great High Priest with acceptance continually.
Once we had no standing in the family and among the people of God, but now one with them in all those sacred ties which bind the whole family of God together, sharing their sentiments, faith, hope, and joys, with all the vast privileges which belong to God’s children here on earth: also bearing those features and characteristics which mark, distinguish the people of God from all others.
We have a glorious prospect. We argue from the present to the future. If the charge now here on earth is so great, what will the consummation of God’s divine work upon us be? If this is but the earnest, what will the full fruition be of all our hopes and expectations? The present is but a pledge and foretaste. “It doth not yet appear what we shall be.” ”We know now but in part, we see through a glass darkly.” Knowledge is very imperfect now of what we shall be yet, when we have been completely changed body, soul, and spirit; formed perfectly into Christ’s likeness, made glorious like our Lord. Of this we have but a dim conception as yet, but God has revealed it in some measure to us by the Holy Ghost. A new creature needs a new sphere to fully develop in. The new song which God has put into our mouths needs heaven’s high vaults for its full melody to be heard. The new dignities into which we have been called need heaven’s glory for their full splendour to be seen. The vast capacities of the renewed soul need heaven’s wide domain to stretch all their powers: the vast desires and aspirations of the new heart cannot reach their full gratification here below. The heavens of bliss and perfect service will alone give range for that holy ceaseless activity in which the ransomed will for ever delight to wait upon their God, where all things will be for ever new.
Edwin White (1846-?) was a Strict and Particular Baptist preacher. His first pastorate was with the church meeting at Orphington (1877-1879). After two years, the communion question cropped up, the majority of members deciding to throw the Table open. He forthwith resigned his office. His second pastorate was with the church meeting at Clare, Suffolk (1881-1887). After six years of blessed ministry, he resigned the office due to health reasons. His third pastorate was with the church meeting at Woolwich, Enon Chapel (1891-1919). In 1911 was elected president of the Metropolitan Association of Strict Baptist Churches.
