Andrew Fuller Conference: Thomas Wilcox and His A Choice Drop of Honey From the Rock Christ- Stephen Yuille

The Christocentric Piety of Thomas Wilcox

- little known about him except for what we know from the sermon at hand- he could say with John the Baptist, "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30)
- this is not the same Thomas Wilcox who addressed the British Parliament and was imprisoned in the 16th century
- Wilcox was known to preach to and alongside a broad range of Christian believers
- was grieved by the wind of doctrine in his day that would add to the righteousness of Christ

- a call to examine oneself
- a call to battle despair
- a call to look to Christ

- examine if one is self-sufficient and looking to one's own righteousness
- "Christ is a Rock who stands higher than righteousness and sin, and hony drops from Him that satisfies one's soul"
- a heart is humbled and bruised by the Spirit applying the law to sinners
- when a heart is bruised, it is ready for faith as the Spirit shows him his need for Christ and causes him to look to Christ for pardon, grace, and salvation
- "Nature's spinning must be unraveled before Christ's righteousness can be put on"

- despair because of doubt causes people not to close with Christ
- it is Christ's entrance into God's presence that promises a sinner may enter into forgiveness
- sanctification, while helpful in analyzing one's faith, should never become one's foundation for assurance

3 potential misapplications of the Puritan doctrine of assurance
- introspection- can become a gloomy self-evaluation
- despair- anxiety can be thought of as a sign of piety
- moralism- God's grace can become trivialized and forgotten

call to consider Christ
- applying Christ's blood
- seeking Christ's presence
- prizing Christ's righteousness
- contemplating Christ's priesthood

- "Keep not sin in the conscience but apply Christ's blood immediately"
- two-fold value of Christ's blood: justification before God and sanctification by application
- Christ is in union with His people by indwelling them by His Spirit
- two part of Christ's priesthood: oblation and intercession
- Christ's intercession in heaven is the promise that all the things gained by Christ's death and resurrection are ours
- "Rejoice in the ruins of thine own righteousness"

PDF's of the entire text of Wilcox's sermon are found here:

A Choice Drop of Honey from the Rock Christ #1
A Choice Drop of Honey from the Rock Christ #2