Jun 11
3
The “illuminated” Bible?
You may read the Bible continuously and yet never learn
anything by it, unless it is illuminated by the Spirit.
Then the words shine forth like stars. Then the book seems
made of gold leaf; every single letter glitters like a diamond.
Oh! it is a blessed thing to read an “illuminated Bible”
lit up by the radiance of the Holy Spirit.
Have you read the Bible, and yet have your eyes been
unenlightened? Go and say, “O Lord, illuminate it; shine upon
it; for I cannot read it to profit, unless You enlighten me.”
Blind men may read the Bible with their fingers,
but blind souls cannot.
We need a light to read the Bible by;
there is no reading it in the dark. Spurgeon
—
One continued dream and delusion
(Thomas Boston, “Human Nature in its Fourfold State“)
“There is no one who understands.” Romans 3:11
“They are darkened in their understanding and separated
from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in
them due to the hardening of their hearts.” Ephes. 4:18
The natural man’s apprehension of divine things is corrupt.
The understanding, that leading faculty, is despoiled of
its primitive glory, and covered over with confusion.
Tell them how they may advance their worldly wealth, or how
they may gratify their lusts—and they will quickly understand
these things. But it is very hard to make them know how their
souls may be saved, or how their hearts may find rest in Christ.
They are very stupid and unteachable in the matters of God.
What woeful delusions prevail over them! Do we not often see
those, who in other things are the wisest of men—yet are
notorious fools with respect to their soul’s interest?
Many who are eagle-eyed in the trifles of time—yet are like
owls and bats in the light of eternal realities. Nay, truly, the
life of every natural man is but one continued dream and
delusion, out of which he never awakes, until either, by a
divine light darted from heaven into his soul, he comes to
himself—or, in hell he lifts up his eyes in torment!
Sin has closed the windows of the soul; darkness covers the
whole. The prince of darkness reigns there, and nothing but
the works of darkness are framed there. We are born spiritually
blind—and cannot be restored without a miracle of grace.
“For though your hearts were once full of darkness, now
you are full of light from the Lord!” Ephesians 5:8
—
THE LORD’S JEWELS
by Spurgeon-
Goldsmiths make exquisite forms from ‘precious materials’.
They fashion the bracelet and the ring from gold.
But God makes His precious things out of ‘base materials’.
From the black pebbles of the defiling brooks He has
taken up stones which He has set in the golden ring of
His immutable love, to make those gems to sparkle on
His finger forever!
—-
Nothing can tame savage hearts!
Oh, the human heart is deep in its corruptions,
deep in its self-deceptions. “The human heart
is most deceitful and desperately wicked. Who
really knows how bad it is?” Jeremiah 17:9
Nothing can tame savage hearts, but the
regenerating power of the blessed Gospel.
“I will cleanse you from all your impurities
and from all your idols. I will give you a
new heart and put a new spirit in you; I
will remove from you your heart of stone
and give you a heart of flesh. And I will
put My Spirit in you and cause you to
follow My decrees and be careful to
keep My laws.” Ezekiel 36:25-27
—
Paying for admittance into heaven
(Horatius Bonar, “Bible Thoughts and Themes”)
“He saved us–not by works of righteousness that
we had done, but according to His mercy.” Titus 3:5
Ritualism, or externalism, or traditionalism
are all different forms of self-righteousness; man’s
self-invented ways of pleasing or appeasing God,
or paying for admittance into heaven. These
forms of self-righteousness are a human apparatus
for procuring God’s pardon. They are the means by
which the performer of them hopes to win God’s
favor–perhaps, also, man’s praise–most certainly,
his own esteem.
Every act, or performance, or ceremony, which honors self,
exalts self, or gives prominence to self–is an accursed thing.
It is an abomination in the sight of God–however religious,
or sacred, or solemn, or devout, it may seem to man.
It is to self-righteousness in some form or other, that man
is always tending. Man attempts to make up for this badness,
or to cover it over, by works, and devotions, and ceremonies.
All this is pure self-righteousness.
The religion of self-righteousness in our day consists
of works, feelings, fancies, music, rites, festivals, fasts,
gestures, postures, garments. It is something which
gratifies self; which pleases the natural man; which
makes a man think well of himself; which gives a
man something to do or to feel in order to earn
pardon and merit heaven. Pride, religious pride, is
at the root. Ritualism is man’s expression of rejection
of Christ. It was self-righteous religion which crucified
the Son of God. All human rites and ceremonies are
man’s ways of getting rid of Christ. What can all
these things do? Can they save?
Can religious postures save?
Can religious garments save?
Can religious candles save?
Can religious music save?
Can religious architecture save?
Can religious cathedrals save?
No! They lead away from Jesus! They make void
the cross, and trample on His blood!
“He saved us–not by works of righteousness that
we had done, but according to His mercy.” Titus 3:5
—
Is My God The God?
Isaiah 41: 21-29
An idol is an image made to represent God (Deuteronomy 4: 15-19). But idolatry is man worshipping himself (Romans 1: 22-25). Just as an image is the work of man’s hand, every man whose salvation is in some aspect dependent upon what he has done is worshipping himself regardless of if he worships an image or not. The god of man’s imagination truly has no hands but man ’s hands and no feet but man’s feet because the god of man’s imagination is no greater than himself.
The God of heaven and earth saves whom he will apart from the sinner’s contribution (Romans 9: 16). No child born of Adam has power to save himself (Psalm 14: 2-3). The very term “salvation” declares that the one being saved has no power to save. If one has power to save himself then he does not need to be saved. But the one being saved is entirely dependent upon another to save him. “Salvation-is-of-the-Lord” (Jonah 2: 9; Acts 4: 12). The God of heaven and earth calls on every man to answer this question, “Is My God THE God?”-Clay Curtis