Oct 23
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The monster! Spurgeon, “THE SAINT AND HIS SAVIOR” SIN is a madness, disqualifying the mind for sober judgment; a blindness, rendering the soul incapable of appreciating moral beauty; it is in fact such a perversion of all the faculties, that under its terrible influence men will ‘call evil good and good evil, and they put darkness for light and light for darkness, and put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter’ (Isa. 5:20). To us in our fallen condition demons often appear more favorable than angels, we mistake the gates of hell for the door of bliss, and prefer the garnished lies of Satan to the eternal truths of the Most High. Revenge, lust, ambition, pride, and self-will, are too often exalted as the gods of man’s idolatry. While holiness, peace, contentment, and humility, are viewed as unworthy of a serious thought. O sin, what have you done! or rather, what have you undone! You have not been content to rob humanity of its crown, to drive it from its happy kingdom, to mar its royal garments, and spoil its treasure; but you have done more than this! It was not enough to degrade and dishonor; you have even wounded your victim; you have blinded his eyes, sealed up his ears, intoxicated his judgment, and gagged his conscience; yes, the poison of your venom has poured death into the fountain! Your hostility has pierced the heart of mankind, and thereby you have filled his veins with corruption, and his bones with depravity. Yes, O monster, you have become a murderer, for you have made us dead in trespasses and sins! |
In II Corinthians 1:12, one of the things Paul rejoiced in was simplicity. The word means simple as opposed to complex or compound. We have a simple hope…Christ only. We have a simple object of faith…Christ only. We have a simple righteousness…the righteousness of Christ. We have a simple message…Him. We have a simple motive…His glory. We have a simple way of being saved…Grace. We have a simple ground of assurance…“It is finished.” We have a simple aspiration…to be found in Him. We have a simple doctrine. Christ is All. We have a simple fear…being corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
~Todd Nibert
CHRIST IS ALL
-Colossians 3:11
What does it mean to say, “Christ is all”? It means Christ is the one and only thing needful in this life. Christ is ALL of our salvation. Christ is ALL of our forgiveness. Christ is ALL of our mercy and grace. Christ is ALL of our hope and peace. He is ALL of our righteousness. He is ALL of our redemption. When it comes to everything that a sinner needs – Christ is all!
Christ is all that the Father needs for our acceptance with Him. Christ is all that the law needs for our fulfilment of it. Christ is all that Justice needs to declare us holy before it. Christ is all that Judgment needs to declare our condemnation and punishment complete.
Christ is all that heaven needs for the JOY of it. Christ is all that His kingdom needs for the MAJESTY of it. Christ is all that the Throne needs for the GLORY of it. Christ is all that His marriage union to His bride needs for the LOVE of it. For time and eternity, from this world to the world to come, Christ is (and will forever be) All! Thank God! Amen!
~Gabe Stalnaker
Christ died for the elect, those given Him before the foundation of the world, and they will all most assuredly be saved and only they will be saved. It is equally truth that, “Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved” and, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” These two truths are not contradictory. They are both essential to preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ. ~Todd Nibert
PERFECTION
God never said, “Do the best you can do.” God said, “Your best isn’t good enough, because it must be perfect to be accepted.” (Leviticus 22:21) Perfection can never come at the hand of the sinner. Perfection comes at the hand of Christ the perfect Saviour. That is why His grace is always sufficient. For His strength is made perfect in our weakness. (2 Corinthians 12:0) ~David Eddmenson
All Things are for God
Proverbs 16:4
Nothing is more delightful and nothing more comforting to God’s saints in this world than the realisation that all things are under the absolute control of our great and glorious God. And nothing inspires us to bear our trials and troubles, sicknesses, sorrows and bereavements here with patience like the fact that all things are for the glory of our God.
“The LORD hath made all things for himself: yea, even the wicked for the day of evil.” — I do not presently see what God is doing in all things; but I am assured that in all things the Lord is making for himself an everlasting and a glorious name. Isaiah tells us that the Lord God led Israel “by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them;” and he did so “to make himself an everlasting name.” He “led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble, as a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORD caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name” (Isaiah 63:12-14).
In everything that is, has been, or shall hereafter be the Lord our God is making himself an everlasting and glorious name. He who raised up Pharaoh and cast him down in the Red Sea for the glory of his own great name brings all things to pass exactly as he has purposed for the everlasting praise and glory of his great name. — All things are for God.
Frequently, people point to specific things and say, “How can that bring glory to God?” Unbelieving people point to sickness, war, famine, pestilence, crimes and other evils and say, “If there is a God in heaven, how can these things be?” Once, I even heard a preacher say, after considering a great disaster, “God has a lot of things to answer for.” What a horrible statement! The very thought of man calling God Almighty to the bar of human judgment is incredibly blasphemous!
I readily acknowledge that I do not see and cannot explain how isolated events, considered by themselves will bring glory to God. But I do understand what God says in his Word; and I rejoice to believe him. Somehow, when everything that must be has been, when all the purpose of our great God has been perfectly fulfilled, everything will render praise and honor to him.
In Ephesians l:10-11 the Holy Spirit informs us that all things are disposed of by God in time according to his own purpose of grace in eternity in divine predestination. Everything that comes to pass in time was predestinated by God in eternity, and is brought to pass according to God’s purpose for the salvation of his elect and the glory of his own great name. Happy is that soul which has learned to trust and rests in the purpose and providence of God. All things come to pass exactly according to the eternal purpose of our God for the glory of our God.
Don Fortner
Miserable suicide of my own soul!
From Spurgeon’s sermon, “Warning Neglected”
Let every man remember that if he perish after having
heard the Gospel, he will be his own murderer.
Sinner, you will drive the dagger into your heart yourself.
If you despise the Gospel, you are preparing fuel for your
own bed of flames, you are hammering out the chain for
your own everlasting binding; and when damned, your
mournful reflection will be this–
“I have damned myself,
I cast myself into this pit;
for I rejected the Gospel;
I despised the message;
I trod under foot the Son of Man;
I would have none of his rebukes;
I would not hearken to his exhortations,
and now I perish by mine own hand,
the miserable suicide of my own soul.”
If hell must be filled
From Spurgeon’s sermon, “The Wailing of Risca”
Oh, my brothers and sisters in Christ,
if sinners will be damned, at least
let them leap to hell over our bodies.
And if they will perish, let them perish with our
arms about their knees, imploring them to stop,
and not madly to destroy themselves.
If hell must be filled, at least let it be
filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let
not one go there unwarned and unprayed for.
Attitude Toward Others
by Henry Mahan
Nothing reveals the true state of my heart, my relationship with God, and my understanding of the gospel quite like my daily, general ATTITUDE toward others, toward God’s providence, and toward my lot in life. It is one thing to be discouraged occasionally, to get upset, to disagree with someone, to feel neglected, or even to withdraw for a time to reflect on the matters at hand. But it is quite another thing to CONTINUE in a negative attitude, pouting and feeling sorry for myself, neglecting to exhort and encourage others, and showing by my countenance and conduct that I am not happy with the way things are.
“Let not the sun go down on thy wrath,” clearly teaches that we are NOT to allow wrath, misunderstanding, nor bad feelings to continue! Let it be over when the day is over. Forgive as you are forgiven and give of yourself to make this difficult journey easier for others. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is a family working together, living together, and functioning as one body for the glory of God and the good of the whole. It is very important that every member of that body be in harmony. I believe if a member is in harmony with the HEAD, he will certainly be in harmony with the rest of the body. Christ is not divided! “He that hath ears to hear, LET HIM HEAR.”
*The Christian shall gain that which he cannot lose—by parting with that which he cannot keep.
*Out of Christ’s condemnation—flows our justification!
Out of His agony—comes our victory!
Out of His pain—comes our ease!
Out of His stripes—comes our healing!
Out of His gall and vinegar—comes our honey!
Out of His curse—comes our blessing!
Out of His crown of thorns—comes our crown of glory!
Out of His death—comes our life!
O what a melting consideration is this!
*Christ is not sweet—until sin is made bitter to us!
*If God should damn you to all eternity—your eternal sufferings could not satisfy for the evil that is in one vain thought! O the depth of the evil of sin! (and the depth of Mercy found only in the Lord Jesus Christ).
John Flavel
When Is a Man Truly Saved?
“…when it pleased God…”
(Galatians 1:15-16)
Someone asked, “When is a man truly saved?” Well, my friend, to be saved is more than to believe in one God, the demons believe that! It is more than just trembling under the preaching of the Word, Felix did that! It is not only to hold an office in the church, Judas did that! It is not submitting to the ordinance of baptism, Simon Magus did that! It is not only to weep over sin, Esau did that! It is not just respecting the preacher, Herod did that! It is not to keep company with outstanding believers, Demas did that. To be saved is to know God and Jesus Christ Whom He hath sent. It is to be a new creature in Christ Jesus, regenerated and converted by the power of God. It is to believe on Christ with the heart and confess Christ with the mouth. It is a miracle and deliverance accomplished through the preaching of the gospel and the work of God’s Spirit. ~Henry Mahan