Introduction⤒🔗

Of all the ministers who served the Church of Scotland during the seventeenth century, the name of William Guthrie stands out as one of the most popular and respected. As a preacher he was much sought after and wherever he ministered the Word the church was filled to capacity. As a pastor he also excelled in being dili­gent and faithful.

Yet Guthrie's fame as an experimental divine stems largely from a little book he wrote: The Christian's Great Interest. First published in 1658, the book went through many editions and was translated into several languages, including Dutch. Most libraries in Scotland had at least one copy of it, and even among the humble cottagers, if they owned but three books, one was likely to be The Christian's Great Interest, and the other two were the Bible and Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress.

Though written in a simple style and aimed at the common people, the book was nevertheless highly esteemed by learned theologians. The great Dr. John Owen thought so much of the little treatise that he carried a copy of it wherever he went. To a Presbyterian colleague he once remarked: "Guthrie is the greatest divine that ever wrote ... I have written several fo­lios, but there is more divinity in The Chris­tian's Great Interest than in them all".

And Dr. Chalmers of Edinburgh wrote this to some friends: "I am on the eve of fin­ishing Guthrie, which I think is the best book I ever read relating to a subject in which we are all deeply interested, and about which it is my earnest prayer, that we may all be found on the right side of the question".

Purpose of This Book←⤒🔗

Why is this book so important? Listen to what Guthrie says in his introduction:

Since there are so many people living under the ordinances, pretending, without ground, to a special interest in Christ ... And since many who have good ground or claim to Christ, are not established in the confidence of His favour, but remain in the dark without comfort, hesitating concerning the reality of godliness in themselves ... I shall speak a little respecting to things of the greatest concern. The one is, How a person may know if he doth lay just claim to God's favour and salvation. The other is, in case a person fall short of assurance in this trial, what course he should take.

Guthrie's treatment of these difficult questions is a model of balance. While clearly showing how the true believer's experience differs from that of the hypocrite he resists the temptation to raise the minimum standard necessary for salvation higher than Scripture does. Guthrie main­tains, first of all, that it is of the utmost importance for a man to be savingly in covenant with God, and he rebukes those who will not take any pains to discover their true position. Quoting 2 Cor. 13:5 and 2 Peter 1:10 he continues, "Be ashamed, you who spend so much time in reading of romances, in adorning of your persons, in hawking and hunting, in consulting the law concerning your outward state in the world, and it may be in worse things than these ... Be ashamed, you who spend so little time in search of this, whether ye be an heir of glory or not."

Some Marks of Grace←⤒🔗

How can we tell whether a person has a valid title to life eternal? There are, says Guthrie, various characteristics peculiar to the children of God, and he selects for consideration "two great and principal marks" from among these: justifying faith and personal renewal in holiness.

The Function of the Law in Preparing for Faith←⤒🔗

Before dealing with justification and sanctification, however, Guthrie first pauses to discuss the law-work which, he says, the Lord usually uses in preparing His own way in men's souls.

Not all experience such law-work. Some are called from the womb (as John the Baptist) or in early childhood (as Timothy). Others are brought to Christ in a sovereign gospel way ... by some few words of love as Zacchaeus and others, who, upon a word spoken by Christ, did leave all and follow Him: and we hear nothing of a law-work dealing with them before they close with Christ Jesus (p. 39). All these, however, are deeply convicted of sin after coming to faith, as Zacchaeus' case shows. Others, again, are called on their deathbeds, but only a few are saved this way. Ordinarily, however, a clear and discernable law-work of conviction and humiliation precedes faith.

This work may be violent, as in the case of Paul and the Philippian jailer (p. 43). But, says Guthrie, the Lord sometimes carries on this work more calmly, softly and gradually, protracting it so that the several steps of man's exercise under it are very discernable (p. 44). He is convinced first of certain particular sins, then of more sins and of sin itself and of his own unbelief and real ungodliness. He is now preoccupied with the quest for salvation. He is frightened of dying unsaved. He may be tormented with fear of having committed the unpardonable sin, and be tempted even to suicide; but God upholds him, "quietly and underhand supporting him; and this by infusing into his mind the possibility of salvation" (p. 47). He seeks salvation by his own works; but hereupon "the Lord makes a new assault upon him," convincing him yet more thoroughly of the spirituality of the law, his own utter corruption, and the filthiness of his fancied righteousness. He withdraws from company to seek God: in self‑abhorrence and despair and grief for his past contempt of true Christians and abuse of the mercifully long-suffering of God, he begins to pray. "Now," says Guthrie, "it is about the dawning of the day with the man" (p. 52).

Guthrie reaffirms that this preparatory law-work is not experienced by all, nor by all who do experience it to the same degree of intensity, or for an equal length of time. "The main thing that we are to look unto in these legal awakenings is, if the Lord reach those ends for which usually these stirrings and convictions are sent into the soul" (p. 56), namely, self-despair, fear of sin, a high valuation of Christ and the Gospel, and a readiness patiently and thankfully to submit to His saving lordship. "If the Lord have driven these out of thyself, and commended Christ to thy heart above all things, and made thee resolve in His strength to wage war with every known transgression and thou art in some measure as a weaned child, acquiescing in what He doth unto thee ... then thy conviction of sin and misery is sufficient" (p. 59).

Justifying Faith←⤒🔗

Guthrie now turns to the first of his two "principal marks" of a saving interest in Christ, namely, justifying faith.

Faith, he argues, is discernable in two ways: by the heart's closing with Christ in the Gospel, and by the heart's satisfaction with God's plan of salvation through Christ. Faith is not a "difficult, mysterious thing, hardly attainable ... if men have but an appetite, they have it; for they are 'blessed that hunger after righteousness' ... Is it a matter of such intricacy and insuperable difficulty earnestly to look to that exalted Saviour (Isa. 45:22), and to receive a thing that is offered, held forth, and declared to be mine, if I will but accept and take it? (Ps. 81:10)" Faith is a matter of the heart as well as of the understanding of; of accepting Christ, as well as of acquiescing in the truth about Him. Faith may be weak, but the weakest faith is saving, and may be known to exist (p. 72).

Guthrie gives a very helpful summary of the various ways in which faith is described in Scripture.

In addition to desiring and looking, faith is described as willing — "Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17); trusting in or staying on God — "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee" (Isa. 26:3); waiting — "They shall not be ashamed that wait for me" (Isa. 49:23); persevering — (the Syro Phoenician woman in Matt. 15).

Guthrie also explains how Christ meets every need of sinners. To the naked soul, destitute of a covering to keep it from the storm of God's wrath, He is fine raiment (Rev. 3:17, 18). Faith's activity here is to "put on the Lord Jesus" (Rom. 13:14). For the soul that is hungry and thirsty after something that may satisfy permanently Christ is 'milk, wine, water, the bread of life and the true manna' (Isa. 55:1, 2; John 6:48, 51). Here the work and exercise of faith is to "go, buy, eat, and drink abun­dantly" (John 6:53, 57; Isa. 55:1). For the soul that is pursued by the law because it cannot answer its charges, Christ is the City of Refuge and faith's task here, accordingly, is to flee to Him for refuge and to lay hold on the hope set before us (Heb. 6:18).

Guthrie concludes this section by pointing out how Christ is everything we need and how faith focusses on Him accordingly to the way Scripture presents Him in His offices:

If He be a Bridegroom, faith will go out in a marriage relation; if He be a Father, faith pleads the man to be a child; if He be a Shepherd, faith pleads the man may be one of His sheep; if He be a Lord, faith calls Him so, which none can do but by the Spirit of Jesus; if He be dead, and risen again for our justification, faith 'believeth God hath raised Him' on that account (Rom. 10:9). Wherever He be, there faith would be; and whatsoever He is, faith would be somewhat like Him; for by faith the heart is laid out in breadth and length for Him; yea, when the fame and report of Him goes abroad in His truth, although faith sees not much, yet it `believeth on His Name', upon the very fame He has sent abroad of Himself (John 1:12). (p. 68)

Personal Renewal←⤒🔗

Guthrie now moves on to his second "principal mark", namely the renewal of the whole man in holiness.

A man in Christ is a 'new creature' (2 Cor. 5:17); he has put on the 'new man' and consequently is renewed in some measure in the image of Christ (Col. 3:10) (p. 76). His understanding is renewed, so that he recognizes the gospel to be the wisdom of God, and discerns the reality of the things of God. His heart and affections are renewed; the law of God is written within him, so that he loves God and God's image in His saints, and hates sin and all that robs God of His glory. With this, the very outward members of the man are renewed the tongue, the eye, the ear, the hand and the foot, so that those members which were once abused ... are now improved as weapons of righteousness unto holiness (Rom. 6:19) (p. 80).

The evidence of the Christian's renewal appears:

1. in his interests; for now his supreme concern is to be found in Christ and to obey Him;
2. in his worship; for now he seeks to worship in the newness of the Spirit ... do­ing and saying truly and not feignedly when he worships (p. 81);
3. in his calling; for now he does his work diligently, as 'unto the Lord', and seeks to keep up some intercourse (commu­nion) with God as he does it;
4. in his relationships; for now he becomes more dutiful as a husband, father, brother, master, servant or neighbour;
5. in his use of lawful liberties; for now he studies to make the proper use of meat, drink, sleep, recreation, apparel, with an eye to God, labouring not to come under the power of any lawful things ... nor to give offense to others in the use of these things ... 'doing all to the glory of God' (p. 83).

Such are the tests which Guthrie would apply for ascertaining whether one possesses a saving interest in Christ.

The Faith of Hypocrites and True Saints Compared←⤒🔗

We turn now to what Guthrie says about the hypocrites who may, to a certain extent, have a counterfeit of all these marks: great stirrings of conscience about sin, a sort of faith and a real change in his manner of life. Yet there is a difference between the experience of the hypocrite and that of the true child of God at each point.

1. The Hypocrite's Conviction: Guthrie recognizes the difficulty of giving the sure distinction here, but he mentions three things rarely found in the stirrings of repro­bates but generally found in the person who becomes a true believer:

• hypocrite's convictions are usually ei­ther about a few gross sins only (as Saul admits no more than persecuting David, or Judas than betraying innocent blood), or else of sinfulness in general without any specific sins; but the law-work which has a gracious ending comprehends both (p. 89);
• the hypocrite's convictions seldom reach the recognition of inner corrup­tion, inability and helplessness; so that they still 'go about to establish their own righteousness' by works (Rom. 10:13);
• the hypocrite's convictions are often put right out of mind by other matters (Cain goes and builds a city and no more is heard of his convictions; Felix waits till a more convenient time and we hear no more of his trembling). Or, if conviction grows, it produces utter despair of relief (thus Judas hanged himself).

2. The Hypocrite's Faith: Hypocrites may reach a kind of faith, but:

• they never abandon works, forsaking every ground of confidence to close with Christ alone;
• they never receive Christ as anointed to be a King, to rule over a man in all things; a Priest to procure pardon and to make peace; a Prophet to be wisdom, and a teacher and counsellor in all cases to man;
• they are seldom prepared to accept all the inconveniences that result from fol­lowing Christ, but shy back at certain points.

3. The Hypocrite's Reformation: Hypocrites may appear changed men, having much knowledge (Heb. 6:4), receiving the Word with joy (Matt. 13:20), avoiding many sinful practices and giving themselves to religious duties like the Pharisees (Luke 18). They may have a great deal of profession, talking of the law and the covenant (Ps. 50:16), confessing their sin (1 Sam. 26:21), humbling themselves (1 Kings 21:27), giving much, perhaps all of their goods to God and to the saints (Acts 5:2; 1 Cor. 13:3), and submitting even to martyrdom (1 Cor. 13:3). They may have striking experiences and 'castings of the good word of God' (Heb. 6:4), 'the powers of the world to come working powerfully on them' (p. 90).

In fact, says Guthrie, they may have counterfeits of all saving graces. Yet they lack the three great essentials of religion:

1. They are not broken in heart, and emptied of their own righteousness, so as to loathe themselves.
2. They never took up Christ Jesus as the only treasure and jewel that can enrich and satisfy.
3. They never in earnest close with Christ's whole yoke without exception.

Therefore, Guthrie says, whoever you are, if you can lay clear and just claims to these things, you are beyond the reach of all atheists, hypocrites and reprobates, since you have answered the great ends and intents of the law and gospel (p. 94).