Feb 25
10
Before we can worship in peace of conscience and liberty of heart, we must know, on the authority of God’s Word and by the power of God’s Spirit, the entire question of sin has been forever settled by the blood of the Divine Sin offering. All of God’s claims and all our necessities as ruined guilty sinners have been forever answered. This gives perfect peace; and in the enjoyment of this peace we worship God. Because we have a perfect sacrifice, we have a perfect conscience. – Maurice Montgomery
The greatest glory of God is manifest, not in Creation, not in Providence, but in Redemption, in the salvation of guilty, helpless sinners. God brings more glory to Himself in saving one “dead dog” sinner (II Samuel 9:8), than in the creation or sustaining of this world. Therefore, it is not with reluctance that God saves sinners, but with joy and delight (Luke 15). I find this encouraging. What do you think? – Maurice Montgomery
Each mother’s infant?
(Henry Law, “The Healer”)
Let us remove the mask,
then, and
behold the multiform malignity of
this fiend, SIN.
Sin is a universal taint.
No child escapes it.
We tread this earth diverse
. . .
in climate,
in station,
in mental power,
in mould of temper,
and in frame of body.
But all who breathe life’s
breath
are spotted with this plague!
Adam’s foul fall infused
the evil
poison into human nature’s veins.
Each parent sows this seed.
No offspring is infection free.
Cain was conceived in sin.
The last babe born must be corruption’s heir.
Reader! your cradle may have
been wealth’s
downy pillow, or poverty’s harsh provisions.
You may have intellect to command a gazing
world’s applause, or you may crawl unknown
to an unknown grave. In these externals no
two may be the same.
But all are one in oneness of distempered soul.
Each mother’s infant is transgression’s child.
Sin is an all spoiling evil.
It is a weed which overruns the garden.
It stains all men, and every part in each.
It enters to pervade.
Its root is in the soul.
But its fibres and its branches spread through
each faculty of mind and body. See how it
masters the whole inner frame.
The heart first
sickens. This becomes harder
than the nether millstone, the nest of every
unclean bird, the den of lust’s vile brood.
The head soon
grows distempered. Hence error
and ignorance expel right judgment. The world
is worshiped as a rightful lord. Hell is derided
as some weak fable. Repentance is reserved
for dying moments. The glorious Word is
scorned as the bewildered page in which the
brainsick and fanatic glean delusions.
The eye is
blind to see the ‘chief among
ten thousand, the altogether lovely One.’
The ear hears nothing but discord in the Gospel melody.
The palate has no relish of healthful food.
The lips,
the mouth, the throat, the tongue,
are festered with contaminating sores. Alas!
how many words go forth to spread contagion
and to scatter death.
Thus the disease runs wildly through the whole man!
Sin is the union of all
spiritual maladies in
one compacted mass. It is no solitary evil.
It comes in troops, in flocks, in swarms!
Sin’s end is endless death.
Its course is sure.
The stream flows on until the ocean’s bed is
reached. Thus sin’s strong bias rushes to the
pit of hell.
Oh! mark those
writhing sufferers in the burning
lake! Ask them what brought them to their woe.
One wild shriek answers, Sin! Sin uncured, unchecked!
This sketch is dark.
The reality is far darker.
But why are these black
colours laid? The malady’s
malignity is drawn to show that one Physician
alone can avail.
“I am the Lord, who health thee.” Exodus 15:26
Thy People
Psalm 110:3
Don Fortner
Here are four things plainly revealed by God to the sons of men. All who believe rejoice in them.
1. GOD HAS AN ELECT PEOPLE IN THIS WORLD. There are some men and women who were chosen, ordained and predestinated unto salvation by God’s sovereign, immutable grace, before the world began. And those who were chosen by God before the world began must be with God when the world ends. God’s elect shall be eternally saved (II Thess. 2:13-14; Eph. 1:3-6; Rom. 8:28-30).
2. THE LORD JESUS CHRIST ACCOMPLISHED REDEMPTION FOR GOD’S ELECT BY HIS DEATH UPON THE CROSS. All those for whom Christ died as a Substitute at Calvary are redeemed, justified and sanctified in him. And they shall be glorified by him. Every person who was redeemed by Christ shall live forever with Christ in heaven (Rom. 5:19; Gal. 3:13; Heb. 9:12; 10:5-14).
3. THE HOLY SPIRIT SAVES ALL OF GOD’S ELECT BY HIS IRRESISTIBLE GRACE. All who were chosen of God in eternity and redeemed by Christ at Calvary are regenerated, born again, called, converted, sealed and preserved in Christ unto everlasting life by the sovereign, effectual, irresistible power and grace of God the Holy Spirit at God’s appointed time (Ps. 65:4; Eph. 1:14; 2:1-4). “It is the Spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profitteth nothing” (John 6:63; 1:12-13). All who are called by the Holy Spirit to Christ shall come to Christ and be with Christ forever.
4. EVERY SINNER IN ALL THE WORLD WHO TRUSTS THE LORD JESUS CHRIST SHALL BE SAVED (John 3:14-16, 36; Acts 16:31; Rom. 10:9-13). You and I have a responsibility to trust Christ. God commands us to trust his dear Son. He does not invite us to do so. He commands us! And he promises salvation to all who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. God is as good as his word. If we believe on Christ, we are eternally saved. That means, we have been chosen of God, redeemed by Christ and called by the Holy Spirit. Faith in Christ is the fruit and evidence of these things.
“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8
You will make no advance in the divine life, if your eye is ever upon yourself instead of Christ. What though the experience of today is the opposite of the experience of yesterday- yesterday all brightness, today all cloudiness; yesterday your soul like a well-tuned psalm, today every string loosed and breathing no melody; yesterday, Jesus felt to be so near and precious, today seeming to awaken not a loving emotion in your heart; yesterday, communion with God so sweet, today, none whatever; yesterday, desiring to walk uprightly, holily, and humbly, today detecting so much that is vacillating, weak, and vile. Nevertheless, Jesus is not changed. The work of Christ is the same- your acceptance in Him is the same- His intercession in heaven for you is the same; then, where should you fly to spiritual experiences for support, strength, and consolation- rising when they rise, falling when they fall- when all your standing, joy, peace, and hope are entirely out of yourself, and are solely in Christ? What though you change a thousand times in one day? He never changes. God may vary His dispensations- He may alter His mode of dealing- He may change the nature of His discipline – He may vary the lesson, but His loving-kindness and His truth are as unchangeable as His very being. He may dry up the earthly cistern, but He will never seal up the heavenly fountain! -that will flow on in grace through all time, and in glory through all eternity.
Octavius Winslow
“The Blood Of The Everlasting Covenant”
Hebrews 13:20
The force of a testament, or covenant, is the death of the testator (Heb. 9:16-17). Even so, with regard to the everlasting covenant, its benefits and blessings flow to chosen sinners only upon the condition of Christ’s death as our Substitute. This was the ultimate stipulation of the covenant. But once fulfilled, the covenant was ratified by blood and its blessings cannot, upon any grounds, be withheld from those whose names are written in the book of life from eternity. I see a fivefold connection between the shed blood of Christ and the covenant of grace.
1. WITH REGARD TO GOD THE SON, the shedding of his blood fulfilled everything the Father required and everything the Son agreed to for the salvation of his people. At the close of his earthly life the Son of God had finished the work of establishing a righteousness to be imputed to us (John 17:4). When he died at Calvary, our Substitute, by the sacrifice of himself, finished the work of atonement and satisfaction (John 19:30).
2. WITH REGARD TO GOD THE FATHER, the shed blood of his darling Son puts the Almighty under obligation, inescapable obligation, to save all the redeemed, pardon all the ransomed, and give grace and glory to all for whom atonement was made. Both the oath of God (Heb. 6:17-18) and the justice of God (Rom. 3:24-26) compel him to save every soul for whom Christ shed his blood.
3. WITH REGARD TO GOD THE HOLY SPIRIT, the blood of Christ is that which he sprinkles and effectually applies to the hearts of chosen sinners in effectual calling (Heb. 9:12-14), by which he proclaims peace.
4. WITH REGARD TO BELIEVERS, the sin-atoning blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is the solitary ground of peace and assurance before God. His blood is God’s token to us for good (Rom. 8:32).
“His oath, His covenant and His blood
Support me in the whelming flood!”
5. WITH REGARD TO GUILTY SINNERS, the shed blood of Jesus Christ, the sinner’s Substitute, is the only way of access to God (Heb. 10:22). But it is a sure way of access to him! Come to God through the blood and he cannot refuse you!
Don Fortner
Election!
Redemption!
Calling!
Justification!
Preservation!
>From Octavius Winslow’s, “The Divine Attributes
Entwining Around the Tempted and Trembling Believer”
The doctrine of God’s eternal, sovereign, and
unconditional election of a people; his redemption
of them by the sacrifice of his Son Jesus Christ;
his particular and effectual calling of them by the
Eternal Spirit; their complete pardon and justification,
and their preservation to eternal glory; these are
God’s truths, and not to be rejected. They come
from God, and, when received in the heart, they
lead to God; they have their origin in him, and to
him they draw the soul.
Precious truths!
How they abase the sinner!
How they exalt the dear Redeemer!
How they glorify God!
How they empty, humble, and sanctify the soul!
The redeemed are held and
secured by a threefold cord which can never be broken!
1. By God the FATHER, who . . .
has loved them with an everlasting love,
has chosen them in Christ,
has secured them in the covenant of grace,
has given them saving grace,
keeps them by His power,
and will give them eternal glory!
2. By the SON, who . . .
has undertaken the work of salvation for them,
has redeemed and purchased them,
prays and intercedes for them,
makes preparations in Heaven for them.
They are built on Him, united to Him, and are His jewels, whom He
cherishes and will preserve.
3. By the HOLY SPIRIT . . .
whose grace is incorruptible,
whose personal indwelling is forever,
who Himself is the pledge and seal of their heavenly inheritance,
who having begun, will finish the good work of grace. (John
Gill)
Five devilisms!
Preached at Providence Chapel, Eden Street, London,
on Tuesday Evening, July 30, 1850, by J. C. Philpot
As regards sin in its workings, we may say
there are five devilisms from which we need
to be saved . . .
1. The GUILT of sin.
2. The FILTH of sin.
3. The LOVE of sin.
4. The DOMINION of sin.
5. The PRACTICE of sin.
1. We need the application of Christ’s precious blood
to our conscience, to take away the guilt of sin.
2. We need the Spirit of Christ to sanctify and
to wash the soul in the fountain, to cleanse
from the filth of sin.
3. We need the love of Christ shed abroad in
our hearts, to take away the love of sin.
4. We need the power of Christ, to rescue
us from the dominion of sin.
5. We need the grace of Christ, to preserve
us from the practice of sin.
It is feeling sin in its various workings, which
makes us value Christ! Strange mysterious way!
O, strange path! that to be exercised with sin,
is the path to the Saviour!
Very painful, very mysterious, very inexplicable
—that the more you feel yourself a wretched,
miserable sinner; the more you long after Jesus,
who is able to save you to the uttermost!
Thus, we shall find that we need all that Christ is.
For we are no little sinners; andHe is no
little Saviour!
We are great sinners!
He is a Saviour—and a great one!
“He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by
Him!” Hebrews 7:25
For the ungodly!
(Henry Law, “Awakening and Inviting
Calls”)
“Christ died for the ungodly!” Romans 5:6
To redeem poor sinners, Jesus . . .
came down from heaven,
put on the rags of our mortality,
agonised,
bled,
died.
Jesus is made His people’s . . .
substitute,
burden-bearer,
sin-remover,
guilt-sustainer.
Their debt is placed to His account.
His riches pay the full amount.
Sin is removed from the sinner,
and placed on the Sinless!
Their curse is rolled on Him, and He
endures it, until no more remains!
God deals with Jesus as the guilty one!
He, as spotless Deity, receives imputed
sins, and fully expiates them all. In the
vicarious victim, God’s justice is satisfied,
and wrath expires!
Jesus, in His life, in the garden, on the cross .
. .
suffers their sufferings,
dies their death,
and so becomes their uttermost salvation!
His pains are their pardon!
His stripes are their healing!
His agony is their recovery!
“Christ died for the ungodly!” Romans 5:6