Jun 22
26
Upon a life I did not live, upon a death I did not die; another’s life, another’s death, I stake my whole eternity.
~Horatius Bonar
The Gospel
The gospel is not a plan to be followed, or a program to be practiced. It is not a precept or a principle to be understood. The gospel is a person. The second person of the triune Godhead, who bore the sins of God’s elect and by the sacrifice of Himself put them away once and for all. He was raised from the dead, ascended into glory, and is right now seated at the right hand of the majesty on high. He is the sovereign Saviour of sinners. He is the Substitute and Surety for His people. His name is Jesus, for He has saved His people from their sins. He is Faithful and True to all His promise. What “good news” (gospel) it is for the soul of a sinner to know they have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous One. He himself is the sum and substance of the gospel.
Greg Elmquist
By nature, all men are idol-maker. Like Demetrius the Silversmith, he labours in the idol factory of his own darkened imagination to forge his false gods. Like the little statues of Diana, these gods have eyes, but they do not see, ears have they, but they hear not… They that make them are like unto them. They are always looking for physical evidences of their god.
In the new birth the Lord crushes all our idols. We set our affections on things above, where Christ sittith on the right hand of God. Col 3:1. Minding the things of the spirit, we look to the eternal things which cannot be seen. They say, “where is your God?” We say; “our God is in the heavens: and He hath done whatsoever He hath pleased.” Ps 115:2-3 We look through the eyes of faith into the eternal counsel of God. We find our hope in that it pleased the Lord to bruise the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world. Our God is in the heavens sat down, for His works were finished from the foundation of the world.
Greg Elmquist
Like Him
1 John 3:2
“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet
appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is.”
O how I wish that I could love Christ as He loves me, and love others as He loves me. If I could but just one time be as gracious to others as my heavenly Father is to me and forgive them as He has forgiven me. If my Lord would grant me just one time to be as faithful to Him as He has been to me and trust Him as He deserves to be trusted, I would be a happy man for that moment. But thanks be to His great and holy name, Christ does all these things perfectly for me. My greatest hope and earnest expectation is that one day when He appears, I will clearly see Him as He is, and I shall be like Him! ~David Eddmenson
The Power of Grace
The grace of God makes all men who feel its power to be BRETHREN! We are one family in Christ. Grace makes the prosperous give his hand and help to the poor. Grace makes the healthy to reach out and care for the weak and sickly. Grace makes the learned and the intellectual to stoop from their so-called dignity and embrace the ignorant and the unlettered. Grace makes the important to be polite and considerate of the lesser. Grace makes the elder to be understanding and patient with the impulsive youth. Grace makes the offended to forgive the offender and to forget the offense. Let the grace of God lay hold of a man’s heart; then pride, envy, and bitterness go to their graves! ~Henry Mahan
Splendid sins!
(Charles Spurgeon)
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the
faith of Jesus Christ!” Galatians 2:16
See the uselessness of mere morality. Honesty, morality and such
things may be very good among men. But all these things put together, without
faith, do not please God.
Without saving faith, all moral virtues are but splendid sins!
You will as surely be lost if you trust to your good works, as if you had
trusted to your sins!
Trust Jesus, and you are saved.
Trust self, and you are damned.
Unbelief nullifies everything!
It is the dead fly in the ointment!
It is the poison in the pot!
All the moral virtues,
all the benevolence of philanthropy,
all the kindness of unselfish charity,
—give no title to Divine acceptance, for “without faith it is impossible
to please God.” Hebrews 11:6
The cardinal error against which the gospel of Christ has to contend, is the
tendency of the human heart to rely on salvation by its works,
or morality, or virtues.
The poor sinner trying to be saved by his morality or good works, is like a
blind horse going round and round a mill, and never getting a step further, but
only being whipped continually.
Doctrines floating in the brain?
J.C.Philpot
He would have given thee living water.” John 4:10
How blessed a thing is vital godliness! That is the thing I always wish to contend for. Not for forms and ceremonies, or doctrines floating in the brain—but for the life of God in the soul. That is the only thing worth knowing—the only thing to live by—and the only thing to die by. How different is vital godliness received into the heart and conscience, by the operation of God the Spirit! How different is this fountain of living water from the ‘stagnant, dead water’ of lip service, formality, and hypocrisy! We cannot now be satisfied with lip religion, pharisaical religion, doctrinal religion, a name to live while dead, the form of godliness without the power. A living soul can no more satisfy his thirst with mere forms and ceremonies—than a man naturally thirsty can drink out of a pond of sand. He must have living water—something given by the Lord Himself, springing up in his soul.
A thousand different shapes & colors
J.C.Philpot
False religion takes on a thousand different shapes and colors. All false religion, just in proportion as it seizes hold of the mind—blinds it to the truth—fills it with prejudice—sears the conscience—hardens the heart—inflames it with party zeal—and makes every faculty boil over with hatred, fury and bigotry against all who don’t see as it sees!
Until our eyes are divinely opened
J.C.Philpot
“And their eyes were opened, and they knew Him.” Luke 24:31
What we know savingly, experimentally, feelingly—we know only by divine teaching. We cannot see Jesus until our eyes are divinely opened. The sun may shine in all its glory—does that communicate light to the eyes of the blind? or warm the corpse lying in the coffin? The blind see not—the dead hear not. The living, the living alone see and know the Son of God.
A fleshly religion
J.C.Philpot
“Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” John 1:13
The flesh, however high it may rise, can never rise above itself. It begins in hypocrisy—it goes on in hypocrisy—and it never can end but in hypocrisy. Whatever various shapes it puts on—a fleshly religion never can rise above itself. There is—no brokenness of heart—no contrition of spirit—no godly sorrow—no genuine humility—no living faith—no spiritual hope—no heavenly love shed abroad in the heart by the Holy Spirit—in those that are “born after the will of the flesh.” No abasing views of self—no tender feelings of reverence towards God—no filial fear of His great name—no melting of heart—no softening of spirit—no deadness to the world—no sweet communion with the Lord of life and glory—ever dwelt in their bosoms!
The flesh, with all its workings, and all its subtle deceit and hypocrisy—never sank so low as self abhorrence and godly sorrow—and never mounted so high as into communion with God. The depth of the one is too deep—and the height of the other too high for any but those who are “born of God.” This birth by “the will of the flesh,” leaves a man just where it found him—dead in sin—destitute of the fear of God—and utterly ignorant of that divine teaching, which alone can save his soul from eternal wrath.
“The Works That I Do Bear Witness Of Me”
John 5:36
All the marvellous works performed by and ascribed to our dear Saviour declare his eternal Godhead. His works are an abiding, constant witness to his Deity. CREATION: He who created all things out of nothing is God. And Jesus Christ is our Creator (John 1:2-3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:10; 3:4; 11:3). PROVIDENCE: That One who sovereignly rules over all things with absolute power is God. And he who rules the universe is Jesus Christ our Lord (John 17:2; Col. 1:17; Heb. 1:3). MIRACLES: The supernatural miracles performed by our Lord while he walked upon the earth proclaimed, “This Man is God” (Matt. 11:4-5). He made the lame to walk, the blind to see, the deaf to hear, and the dead to live. He calmed the raging sea and multiplied the loaves and fishes. Who but God could do these things by his own power, in his own name? REDEMPTION: No man, but a Man who is God, could redeem us from the curse of the law and the bondage of sin. The Man Christ Jesus is God, for he has redeemed us (John 19:30; Gal. 3:13; Heb. 9:12). “If he was not the mighty God, he could never have been able to have wrought and obtained the redemption and salvation of his people by his own arm. What gave virtue and efficacy to his blood to purchase his church and people, and cleanse them from their sins, is his Deity; and so to his righteousness to make it a justifying one before God; and to his sacrifice to make it expiatory of sin, and acceptable to God” – (John Gill). It is the eternal Deity of Christ that makes him an able Savior, makes his righteous obedience to the law meritorious, his blood effectual, his sacrifice acceptable, and secures a place in heaven for sinners. PARDON: None but God can forgive sin. And Christ does forgive the sins of his people (Mk. 2:7-10). JUSTIFICATION: Only God can justify the ungodly. And Christ justifies his elect (Isa. 53:11). RESURRECTION: Certainly the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ raised himself from the dead and shall raise all from the dead is proof that he is God (Rom. 1:4; John 2:19; 10:18; 5:28-29; I Thess. 4:16-17). And JUDGMENT: At the last day Christ will demonstrate his eternal Deity by his judgment of all men in the great and terrible day of the Lord. None but God can judge all the world in perfect righteousness. And that God who is the Judge is Jesus Christ (John 5:22; Matt. 25:31-46; II Cor. 5:10).
Don Fortner
“What Think Ye Of Christ?”
Matthew 22:42
Don Fortner
Most people go to hell asking questions about religious matters. One of Satan’s most deceptive snares, whereby the souls of men are blinded to the glory of Christ, is religious curiosity. The Herodians asked, “Is it lawful to give tribute unto Caesar?” The Sadduccees were curious about the resurrrection body. The Pharisees asked, “Which is the great commandment in the law?” The point is this – Most People avoid dealing with the real soul-searching issues of the gospel by giving themselves up to vain questions about religion. Religious people are still asking the same questions as the Herodians, Sadducees, and Pharisees. Who will be the greatest in heaven? What kind of body will we have in the resurrection? Who are the guests at the marriage feast? What does the law say? And they are, like their predecessors, going to hell, because they miss the one issue which is of eternal consequence – WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? My friend, your eternal destiny hinges upon your ability to answer that question properly.
We must have A BIBLICAL ANSWER TO THAT QUESTION. We think that Jesus Christ is the perfect and eternal God. We think he is the perfect representative man. He came to this earth with a mission to accomplish. He came here to save his people. The God-man was born at Bethlehem to die at Calvary. We think that Jesus Christ actually accomplished the redemption of his people, through his one sacrifice for sin. We think according to the Scriptures, that he now sits upon the throne of glory as the sovereign Lord of all things. To think anything less than this of Christ is to think contrary to God’s revelation.
But our text speaks of more than mere doctrinal knowledge. We must have AN EXPERIMENTAL ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION. How do you think of Christ? Those who are truly born-again have been taught of God, and learned to think properly of Christ. We think that Christ alone is precious. Christ is our only hope of acceptance with God. We think of Christ with all confidence, expectation, and desire. He is all. Christ is all to be trusted, all to be loved, all to be preached, all to be hoped for. He is all in earth and all in heaven, all in time and all in eternity. Jesus Christ is all in all!