The Scriptures And LOVE # 1

 The Scriptures And LOVE # 1

In earlier chapters we have sought to point out some of the ways by which we may ascertain whether or not our reading and searching of the Scriptures are really being blessed to our souls. many are deceived on this matter, mistaking an eagerness to acquire knowledge, for a spiritual love of the Truth (2 Thess. 2:10), and assuming that addition to their store of learning is the same thing as growth in grace.

A great deal depends upon the end or aim we have before us when turning to God's Word. If it is simply to familiarize ourselves with its contents and become better versed in its details - it is likely that the garden of our souls will remain barren. But if with the prayerful desire to be rebuked and corrected by the Word, to be searched y the Spirit, to conform our hearts to its holy requirements - then we may expect a Divine blessing.

In the preceding chapters we have endeavored to single out the vital things by which we may discover what progress we are making in personal godliness. Various criteria have been given, which it becomes both writer and reader honestly to measure themselves by. We hae pressed such tests as:

Am I acquiring a greater hatred of sin, and a practical deliverance from its power and pollution?

Am I obtaining a deeper acquaintance with God and His Christ?

Is my prayer life healthier?

Are my good works more abundant?

Is my obedience fuller and gladder?

Am I more separated from the world in my affections and ways?

Am I learning to make a right and profitable use of God's promises, and so delighting myself in Him that His joy is my daily strength?

Unless I can truthfully say that these are (in some measure) my experience, then it is greatly to be feared that my study of the Scriptures is profiting me little or nothing.

It hardly seems fitting that these chapters should be concluded until one has been devoted to the consideration of Christian love. The extent to which this spiritual grace is, or is not, being cultivated and regulated affords another index to the measure in which my perusal of God's Word is helping me spiritually.

No one can read the Scriptures with any measure of attention without discovering how much they have to say about love, and therefore it behooves each one of us prayerfully and carefully to ascertain whether or not his or her love is really a spiritual one, and whether it is in a healthy state and is being exercised aright.

The subject of Christian love is far too comprehensive to consider all its varied phases within the compass of a single chapter. Properly we should begin with contemplating the exercise of our love toward God and His Christ, but as this has been at least touched upon in preceding chapters we shall now waive it. Much too, might be said about the natural love which we owe to our fellow men, who belong to the same family as we do, but there is less need to write on that theme than on what is now before our mind. Here we propose to confine our attention to spiritual love to the brethren, the brethren of Christ.

1. We profit from the Word, when we perceive the great IMPORTANCE of Christian love. Nowhere is this brought out more emphatically than in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. There the Holy Spirit tells us that though a professing Christian can speak fluently and eloquently upon Divine things - if he has not love, he is like metal, which, though it makes a noise when struck, if lifeless. That though he can prophesy, understand all mysteries and knowledge, and has faith which brings miracles to pass - yet if he is lacking in love, he is spiritually a nonentity. Yes, that though he be so benevolent as to give all his worldly possessions to feed the poor, and yield his body to a martyr's death - yet if he has not love, it profits him nothing. How high a value is here placed upon love, and how essential for me to make sure I possess it!

~A. W. Pink~

(continued with # 2)

Christ Despised # 3

 Christ Despised # 3

Why was Christ "despised and rejected by men"? Second, because He demanded repentance. "Repent - and believe the Gospel" (Mark 1:15) was His claimant call - that order is unchanging, for it is impossible to savingly believe the Gospel until the heart is contrite. Repentance is taking sides with God against ourselves - it is the unsparing judgment of ourselves because of our high-handed rebellion. It is a ceasing to love and tolerate sin, and excusing ourselves for the commission of it. It is a mourning before God because of our transgressions of His holy Law. And therefore did Christ teach, "Unless you repent - you shall all likewise perish!" (Luke 13:3), for He would not condone evil. He came to save His people from their sins - and not in them.

Why was Christ "despised and rejected by men"? Third, because He insisted on the denial of self, and this at two principal points, namely, the indulging and the exalting of self. All fleshly lusts  are  to be unsparingly mortified, and self-righteousness is allowed no place under the Gospel scheme. This was made unmistakably plain by our Lord's teaching, "If any man will come after Me - let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." (Matt. 16:24). Yet nothing is more contrary to the desires of the natural man, and Christ's insistence upon these terms of discipleship causes Him to be "despised and rejected by men."

How is Christ "despised and rejected by men? In different ways and in varying degrees - professedly and practically, in words and in works. It is most important that this should be clearly recognized, for satan deceives a great many souls at this point. He deludes them into supposing that because they are not guilty of what pertains to the avowed infidel and blatant atheist, therefore they are innocent of the fearful sin of slighting and defying the Lord Jesus. Ah, my reader, the solemn fact remains, that there are millions of people in Christendom who though not atheists and infidels - yet despise and reject the Christ of Scripture! "They profess to know God, but they deny Him by their works. They are detestable, disobedient, and disqualified for any good works!" (Titus 1:16). That verse clearly enunciates this principle.

Christ's authority is "despised by those who disregard His precepts and commandments. Christ's yoke is "rejected" by those who are determined to be Lord over themselves. Christ's glory is "despised" by those who bear His name yet have no concern whether their walk honors Him or no. Christ's gospel is "rejected" by those who on the one hand affirm that sinners may be saved without repenting of and turning away from their sins, and on the other hand by those who teach that Heaven may be won by our own good works.

There are some who intellectually reject Christ, by repudiating His claims, denying that He is God the Son, assumed a holy amd impeccable humanity, and died a vicarious death to save His people from their sins. There are others who virtually and practically reject Christ. Just as there are those who profess to believe in the existence of God, own His power, and talk about His wondrous handiwork - yet who have not His fear upon them and are not in subjection to Him. So there are many who claim to trust in the finished work of Christ - yet their daily walk is no differnt from that of thousands of respectable worldlings. They profess to be Christian - yet are covetous, unscrupulous, untruthful, proud, self-willed, uncharitable; in a word, utterly unChristlike!

~A. W. Pink~

(The End)

Christ Despised # 2

 Christ Despised # 2

A solemn illustration of this occurs in John 7. To the Jews He said, "Did not Moses give you the Law? Yet none of you keeps the Law! Why do you want to kill Me?" (v. 19). And what was their response? This, "The people answered and said, You have a devil!" (v. 20). Who was so unwelcome here?

Third, the One who denounced human tradition in the religious sphere. Despite the Fall, man is essentially a religious creature - the image of God in which he was originally created, has not been completely destroyed. The world over, blacks and whites, reds and yellows - pay homage to gods of their own devising and there are few things on which they are more sensitive - than their religious superstitions - he who condemns or even criticizes the devotees of any religious belief or practice, will be greatly disliked. Now Christ drew upon Himself the hatred of Israel's leaders, by His denunciation of their religious inventions. He reproached them, "you nullify the Word of God by your traditions!" (Mark 7:13). When He cleansed the temple, the chief priests and scribes, "were indignant" (Matt. 21:15). Who was so unwelcome here?

Fourth, the One who repudiated an empty profession. Nothing so infuriated the Jews, as Christ' exposure and denunciation of their vain pretensions.

Being omniscient, it was impossible to impose upon Him; being inflexibly righteous, He could not accept deceptions; being absolutely holy, He must insist upon sincerity and reality. When they declared "Abraham is our father!" He answered, "If you were Abraham's children, you would do the works of Abraham!" When they added "we have one father, even God," He replied, "If God were your Father, you would love Me...you are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father you will do!" This so filled them, that they exclaimed, "Aren't we right in saying that You are a Samaritan and demon-possessed!" (John 8:39-48).

On another occasion the Jews asked Him, "How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly." (John 10:24). He at once exposed their hypocrisy by saying, "I did tell you but you do not believe. You do not believe because you are not My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." (John 10:25-27). So angered were at this that they "took stones again to stone Him." Men will not tolerate One who pierces their religious disguise, exposes their shams, and repudiates their fair but empty profession. It is the same today. Who was so unwelcome here?

Fifth, the One who exposed and denounced sin. Ah, this explains why Christ was not wanted here. He was a constant thorn in their sides! His holiness condemned their unholiness. Men wish to go their own way, to please themselves, to gratify their lusts. They want to be comfortable in their wickedness - therefore they resent one who searches the heart, pierces the conscience, rebukes their evil. Christ was absolutely uncompromising. He would not wink at wrong-doing, but unsparingly denounced it, in whoever it was found. He boldly affirmed, "For judgment I have come into this world" (John 9:41), that is, to unveil men's secret characters, to prove they are blind in spiritual things, to demonstrate they loved darkness rather than light. His Person and preaching tried everything and everyone He came into contact with.

Why was (and is) Christ "despised and rejected by men?"

First, because He required inward purity. Herein is the great difference between all human religions and the Divine religion. All human religions concern themselves with external performances - but the Christian religion is only concerned with the source of all conduct. "Man looks on the outward appearance - but the Lord looks on the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7). It was Christ's exposition and enforcement of this truth, which made Him so unpopular with the leaders. "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness!" (Matthew 23:25-28).

~A. W. Pink~

(continued with # 3)

Christ Despised # 1

Christ Despised # 1

 "He is despised and rejected by men." (Isaiah 53:3).

Our text forms part of one of the Messianic predictions, in which God made known long beforehand the treatment which His Son would receive when He became incarnate.

The prophecy of Isaiah was in the hands of the Jews seven hundred years before the Lord Jesus was born at Bethlehem - yet so exactly did it describe what befell Him that it might well have been written by one of the Apostles. Therein is supplied one of the incontrovertible proofs of the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures, for only One who knew the end from the beginning, could have thus written history beforehand.

It might well have been supposed that the advent to earth of such a One as the Lord of Glory, would meet with a warm welcome and reverent reception, the more so in view of His appearing in human form, going about doing good. Since He came not to judge - but to save; since His mission was one of grace and mercy, since He ministered to the needy and healed the sick - will not men gladly receive Him? Many would naturally think so - but in so thinking they overlook the fact that the Lord Jesus is "the Holy One," and none but those who have the principle of holiness in their hearts, can appreciate ineffable Purity. Such an assumption as the one we have just mentioned, ignores the solemn fact of human depravity - the heart of fallen man is "desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9). How can the Holy One appear attractive to those who are full of sin? Nothing so clearly evidences the condition of the human heart, and so solemnly demonstrates its corruption, as its attitude toward the precious Saviour.

There is much recorded against man in the Old Testament Scriptures, as for example in Psalm 14:1-4; yet dark as is the picture there drawn of fallen human nature, it fades into insignificance before what the New Testament sets before us. "The carnal mind is enmity against God." (Romans 8:7), and never was this so frightfully patent, as when Jesus was manifested in flesh. "If I had not come," declared Christ, "and spoken unto them, they had not had sin - but now they have no cloak for their sin." (John 15:22). The appearing of Christ has fully exposed man, bringing to light as nothing else ever has - the desperate wickedness of his heart!

Now let us ask and supply answer to three questions - Who was (and still is) "despised and rejected by men?" Why is He so grievously slighted? In what way is He scorned? Who was so unwelcome here?

We answer, first, the One who pressed upon men the absolute sovereeignty of God. Few things are so destasteful to the proud human heart, as the truth that God does as He pleases, without in any ways consulting with the creature; that He dispenses His favors entirely according to His imperial will. Fallen man has no claims upon Him, is destitute of any merit, and can do nothing whatever to win God's esteem. Fallen man is a spiritual pauper, entirely dependent upon Divine charity, and in the bestowal of His mercies God is regulated by nothing but His own "good pleasure." "Is it not lawful for Me to do what I will with My own?" (Matt. 20:15) is His own unanswerable challenge - yet, as the context there shows, man wickedly murmurs against this.

Now the Lord Jesus came here to glorify His Father, and therefore we find Him maintaining His crown-rights and emphasizing His sovereignty. In His first message, in the Capernaum synagogue, He pointed out that though there were many widows in Israel during the days of Elijah, when there was a great famine throughout all the land, unto none of them was the Prophet sent, except unto one at Zarephath. And that though there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha, none of them were healed - yet distinguishing mercy was shown unto Naaman the Syrian. The sequel was, "When they heard this, everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They got up, drove Him out of town, and brought Him to the edge of the hill their town was built on, intending to hurl Him over the cliff!" (Luke 4:28, 29). For pressing the truth of God's absolute sovereignty, Christ was 'despised and rejected by men." Who was so unwelcome here?

Second, the One who upheld God's Law. Therein is the Divine authority expressed, and complete subjection thereto is required from the creature; and therefore did Christ pressed the demands of God's Law upon man. Said He, "Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them." (Matt. 5:17; "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets." (Matt. 7:12). But fallen men resent restraints, and want to be a law unto themselves, and their language concerning God and His Christ is "Let us tear off their chains and free ourselves from their restraints." (Psalm 2:3). Because the Lord Jesus enforced the requirements of the Decalogue He was "despised and rejected by men."

~A. W. Pink~

(continued with # 2)

The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 10

 The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 10

Use 2. EXAMINATION and self-trial. "Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves." (2 Cor. 13:5). Oh friends! how much does it concern you and I to examine our standing, that we may be able to stand in the day of God's wrath, which is coming so fast upon us.

Examine yourselves, and try your selves! Examine your faith, whether it is true! Examine your knowledge, whether it is sanctified! Examine your hope, whether it is purified! Examine your love, whether it is sincere! Examine your evidences, whether they are sound! Examine your hearts, whether they are gracious! Examine your desires, whether they are holy! Examine your lives, whether they are heavenly!

And all that you may be able to stand in the day of God's wrath, in the day of death, and in the day of judgment!

Use 3. EXHORTATION. I hope you will not think the time long - for this may be the last sermon that I may preach, or you may hear. Well, beloved, is it so, that the greatest part of men and women will not be able to stand in the great day of God's wrath? Let me therefore to exhort you to these three things:

First, Let me therefore to exhort who are lost sinners, to repent of your sins. "He who conceals his sins shall not prosper - but whoever confesses and renounces them shall find mercy. Blessed is the man who always fears the Lord - but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble." (Proverbs 28:13-14).

Oh, sinners! you have grievously sinned against God! You have deserved as many hells as you have committed sins! You have sinned against His mercies! You have abused His patience! You have resisted His Spirit! Oh, sinners! all this have you done - and yet the Lord has spared you. Oh, let His goodness lead you to epentance, that you do not die in your sins. Consider what I say! Why will you die - seeing God will have you live? Why will you damn yourselves? Why will you go to hell - seeing God would have you go to heaven?

Secondly, Let me exhort you to get a saving interest in the Lord Jesus, that you may be able to stand in the day of His wrath. There will be no standing before Christ without a saving interest in Christ. His Spirit is ready to assist you, and His angels are ready to attend you, and heaven itself is ready to receive you! 

Thirdly, and lastly, Let me now exhort you, who have turned from sin, are separated from the world, are espoused to Christ, are reconciled to the Father: to "walk worthy of God, who has called you to His kingdom and glory!" (1 Thess. 2:12). Oh, precious saints! let me exhort you to keep your lamps burning, your loins girded, your lives holy, your hearts upright, your judgments sound, your consciences pure, and your garments unspotted!

Therefore, O precious saints, you ought to be quiet, and to submit to the will of God, and to say as David, "I was silent; I would not open my mouth - for you are the one who has done this!" (Psalm 39:9).

Now, I beseech you, both saints and sinners, to consider of these things. May the God of heaven give you understanding in all things which concern His glory, and your eternal good.

~William Dyer~

(The End)

The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 9

 The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 9

Objection: But, beloved, it may be you will say, "If none of these are able to stand, who then will?"

Answer: All those who shall be found having on their wedding garments, and in the Spirit of the Lamb, will be able to stand in this day, and they are these: First, those who overcome, (Revelation 2:11; 3:21; 12:11; 21:7. Second, those who keep the commandments of God, and the testimony of Jesus Christ, (Revelation 12:17; 1:9. Third, those who stand with the Lamb, (Revelation 14:1; 17:14). Fourth, those who have their Father's name written on their foreheads, (Revelation 14:1). Fifth, those who sing a new song, (Revelation 14:3). Sixth, those who are redeemed from the earth, (Revelation 14:3). Seventh, those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes, (Revelation 14:4). Eighth, those who are not defiled with the pollutions of the whore of Babylon, and in their mouths is found no lies, (Revelation 14:5).

Now, beloved, these are those who will be able to stand in that great day of God's wrath, when others will not be able - but call "to the mountains and the rocks - fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!"

I shall now proceed, in the fourth place, to the use and PRACTICAL APPLICATION of the point.

Use 1. INFORMATION. If it is so, that the greatest part of men and women will not be able to stand in this great day of God's wrath - then this may inform us of three things:

1. As men have had their day - so God will have His day. Men have had their day of sinning - God will have His day of punishing. Men have had their day of treasuring up wrath - God will have His day of pouring out of His wrath. Men have had their day of defiling - God will have His day of refining. Men have had their day of fornication - God will have His day of indignation. "The day of the Lord is near for all nations. As you have done - so it will be done to you. All your evil deeds will fall back on your on own heads!" (Obadiah 1:15).

2. Though God bears with sinners in the day of His patience - yet He will not bear with them in the day of His wrath! "Go through the city, and smite. Show no mercy; have no pity!" (Ezekiel 9:5). Oh, beloved! in the day of God's patience He bears with you, and waits to be gracious. Oh, how many hundred years has God borne with the whore of Babylon, notwithstanding of her great provocations and wickedness? But now in the day of His wrath, the Lord will not spare her, nor show pity on her - but pour out His wrath and indignation upon her to the utmost! "Therefore, these plagues will overtake her in a single day - death and mourning and famine. She will be completely consumed by fire, for the Lord God who judges her is mighty!" (Revelation 18:8).

Oh, see that terrible word, "The Lord will march forth like a mighty man; He will come out like a warrior, full of fury. He will shout His battle cry and crush all His enemies! For a long time I have kept silent, I have been quiet and held Myself back. But now, I will destroy and devour at once!" (Isaiah 42:13-14).

Do you see this, sinners, how God is resolved to proceed against you in the day of His wrath, though He bears with you in the day of His patience!

3. This day of God's wrath will be a very dreadful and terrible day to the wicked, as appears by what has already been said. Oh, sinners! It will be a day of astonishment, a day of terror, a day of distress, a day of contempt, a day of destruction, a day of wrath! Oh! it will be "a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds, and thick darkness," (Joel 2:2). "The great day of the Lord is near - near and coming quickly. Listen! The cry on the day of the Lord will be bitter, the shouting of the warrior there. That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness!" (Zephaniah 1:14, 15). Oh, who is able to express the terror of the Almighty, in the day of His wrath! Oh, that every soul that hears me this day, would lay it to heart, and consider with themselves, that they may be able to stand in this day of of God's wrath. So much for this use of information.

~William Dyer~

(continued with # 10)

The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 8

 The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 8

Mark also what our Lord Jesus Christ says of idle shepherds, and blind guides, "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men's faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to! For a pretense you make long prayers; therefore you shall receive the greater damnation!" (Matthew 23:13-14).

Thus you see, beloved, that the Scriptures with open mouth - speak forth the desolations and calamities which will befall false shepherds, and blind guides in that day. If they cannot stand when His wrath is kindled but a little, oh! what will they do when wrath shall come upon them to the utmost, even the fierceness of His wrath? Then will they not be able to stand.

Sixthly, such as are hypocrites, will not be able to stand in this day of God's wrath - but desire, if it were possible, to hid themselves, in the dens and caves of the earth! "The sinners in Zion are terrified; trembling grips the hypocrites! Who of us can dwell with the consuming fire? Who of us can dwell with everlasting burning?" (Isaiah 33:14).

"Such is the destiny of all who forget God; the hypocrite's hope shall perish. What he trusts in is fragile; he is leaning on a spider's web - but it gives way; he clings to it, but it does not hold!" (Job 8:13-15).

Oh, you hypocrite, whoever you are, notwithstanding you have got the talking part of the religion, and make a show of godliness - yet all this while you are a hypocrite in your heart! God hates hypocrisy, and will punish them with great punishments! "He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!" (Matthew 24:51). Do you hear this, you who are hypocrites?

Seventhly, and lastly, all who do not love the Lord Jesus Christ in truth and sincerity, will not be able to stand in this day of God's wrath! Whether they are Turks or Jews, Papists or Protestants, bond or free - if they do not love the Lord Jesus Christ, they will not be able to stand! (1 Corinthians 16:22). "If anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed!" Oh, beloved, all those who shall be found unbelievers, unconverted, and unregenerate in this day of God's wrath - be they kings, or great men, or rich men, or nobles, or mighty men - they shall cry to the mountains, and rocks, saying, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb - for the great day of His wrath has come!"

Thus, beloved, I have showed you briefly, in seven particulars, who they are, who will not be able to stand in the day of God's wrath.

1. The openly wicked.

2. The ignorant.

3. Those who side with antichrist against Christ.

4. The formal professor.

5. The idle shepherds and blind guides.

6. The hypocrites.

7. All who do not love the Lord Jesus Christ.

~William Dyer~

(continued with # 9)

The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 7

 The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 7

All that cursed brood of Rome, with all its hellish crew, will not be able to stand in this great day of God's wrath - but will be consumed like fuel, and devoured as fully dry stubble! "Why are you scheming against the Lord? He will destroy you with one blow; He won't need to strike twice! His enemies, tangled like thorn bushes and staggering like drunks, will be burned up like dry stubble!" (Nahum 1:9-10). So that all who have assisted antichrist against Christ, against his government, against His gospel, against His Spirit, against His worship, against His ministers, against AHis members, and against His glorious cause - I say, they will not be able to stand in this great day of God's wrath - but "cry to the rocks and the mountains to fall on them, and to hide them from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb@" (Revelation 6:16).

Fourthly, such as have only a form of godliness, but deny its power, will not be able to stand in this great day of God's wrath!" (2 Timothy 3:5). All idle and slothful professors, who have nothing of God, nor anything of Christ, nor anything of the Spirit, nor anything of the power of the Word in them - who having only a notional or formal profession; such, I say, will not be able to stand in this great day.

Romans 2:17:20. "Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and brag about your relationship to God; if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of infants, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth." But mark what God says to such, "Your are so proud of knowing the law, but you dishonor God by breaking it. No wonder the Scriptures say - the Gentiles blaspheme the name of God because of you!" (Romans 2:23-24).

Oh! are there not many among us who profess God in words - but deny Him in works; who have a name to live - but are dead; who have a form of godliness - but not the power; who have and external religion - but not an internal piety! Like those spoken of by Christ, "Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in your Name drive out demons and perform many miracles?" Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from Me, you evildoers!" (Matthew 7:21-23).

Fifthly, such as are idle shepherds, and blind guides, will not bre able to stand in that great day of God's wrath - but will "cry to the rocks and mountains to fall on them, and to hide them from the wrath of Him who sits on the throne, and from the face of the Lamb!"

"Prophesy against the shepherds, the leaders of Israel. Give them this message from the Sovereign Lord: What sorrow awaits you shepherds who feed yourselves instead of your flocks. Should not the shepherds feed their sheep? You drink the milk, wear the wool, and butcher the best animals - but you let your flocks starve! You have not taken care of the weak.You have not tended the sick or bound up the injured. You have not gone looking for those who have wandered away and are lost@" (Ezekiel 34:2-4).

"Even the priests and prophets are ungodly, wicked men. I have seen their despicable acts right here in My own Temple, says the Lord. Therefore, the pathsd they take will become slippery. They will be chased through the dark, and there they will fall. For I will bring disaster upon them at the time fixed for their punishment. I, the Lord, have spoken!" (Jeremiah 23:11-12).

"The more priests there are - the more they sin against Me. They have exchanged the glory of God for the shame of idols. When the people bring their sin offerings, the priests get fed. So the priests are glad when the people sin! Like people - like priests. So now I will punish both priests and people for their wicked deeds!" (Hosea 4:7-9).

~William Dyer~

(continued with # 8)

The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 6

 The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 6

3. I shall now come, in the third place, to show you - WHO they are, who will not be able to stand in this great day.

First, such as are openly wicked and profane, will not be able to stand in this great day. "They will say to the mountains, 'Fall on us!' and to the hills, 'Cover us!'" (Luke 23:30). "There will be trouble and calamity for everyone who keeps on doing what is evil." (Romans 2:9).

Oh, you profane ones! You who now wallow in your sins, as the pig in the mire, and eat up sin, as they eat bread, and drink up iniquity like water; Oh! let me tell you, you will not be able to stand in the day of wrath, nor the day of judgment - but destruction will be your end, and everlasting misery your portion! Oh! that such would but consider these two places of Scripture, "Whose end is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose glory is their shame, who mind earthly things." (Philippians 3:19). "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).

These men may now live with a high hand, and boast, "We have struck a bargain to  cheat death, and have made a deal to dodge hell. The coming destruction can never touch us, for we have built a strong refuge made of lies and deception!" Yet, "I will test you with the measuring line of justice and the plumb line of righteousness. Since your refuge is made of lies, a hailstorm will knock it down. Since it is made of deception, a flood will sweep it away. I will cancel the bargain you made to cheat death, and I will overturn your deal to dodge the grave. When the terrible enemy sweeps through, you will be trampled into the ground!" (Isaiah 28:15-18).

Secondly, such as are ignorant, will not be able to stand in this great day of God's wrath. "When the Lord Jesus appears from heaven, He will come with His mighty angels, in flaming fire, binging judgment on those who do not know God and on those who refuse to obey the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with eternal destruction, forever separated from the Lord and from His glorious power!" (2 Thess. 1:7-9). Oh, you who are ignorant of God and His Gospel - do you hear this? You are some of those who will not be able to stand in this great day - but say to the rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb!"

Beloved, ignorance is one of those cursed sins that bars and bolts Christ out of the heart; it is that which shuts them out from having mercy and favor with the Lord. (Isaiah 27:11). "They are a foolish and stupid nation, for its people have turned away from God. Therefore, their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor."

Thirdly, such as have sided with antichrist against Christ, will not be able to stand in this great day. Such as have drunk of the whore's cup of fornication, shall drink of the cup of God's indignation, which is poured out without mixture! "A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: "If anyone worships the beast and his image and receives his mark on the forehead or on the hand, he, too, will drink of the wine of God's fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of His wrath! He will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment rises for ever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and his image, or for anyone who receives the mark of his name!" (Revelation 14:9-11). Oh, beloved! all those who have been partakers with her in sinning - shall be partakers with her in suffering! Therefore, "come out of her my people, that you be not partakers of her sins, and that you receive not of her plagues!" (Revelation 18:4).

~William Dyer~

(continued with # 7)

The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 5

 The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 5

"Swing the sickle, for the harvest is ripe! Come, trample the grapes, for the winepress is full and the vats overflow - so great is their wickedness! Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision! For the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision!" (Joel 3:13-14).

So in Revelation 14:15 the angels are appointed to reap down the earth. "Take the sickle and reap, because the time to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is ripe!" Oh, let everyone who hears or reads these sayings, let them hear and fear, and tremble at them! for this will be a day of great destruction to the wicked and ungodly.

Sixthly, and lastly, this will be a GREAT day of wrath, as it is said in the words of my text. "For the great day of His wrath has come!" Who may abide the day of His coming? Who shall stand when He appears? For He is like a refiner's fire. Oh, beloved! this is not the day of man's wrath. Men have had their day of reigning and raging, and despising God - but that is over and gone, and now God's day has come! This is the day of His wrath -and woe to the wicked, and woe to the whore of Babylon, for the hour of her judgment has come.

Oh, beloved! God's GREAT wrath will be very terrible to the wicked!

1. God's great wrath will tear them in pieces like a lion! "I will be like a lion to Israel, like a strong young lion to Judah. I will tear them to pieces! I will carry them off, and no one will be left to rescue them!" (Hosea 5:14). Consider this, all you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with none to rescue you!" (Psalm 50:22).

2. God's great wrath will consume them like fire! "The Lord Almighty says - The day of judgment is coming, burning like a furnace. On that day the arrogant and the wicked will be burned up like straw. They will be consumed - roots, branches, and all." (Malahi 4:1). "I will pour out My wrath upon you and breathe out my fiery anger against you!" (Ezekiel 21:31).

3. God's great wrath will swallow up all His enemies! "You will capture all your enemies. Your strong right hand will seize all who hate You. You will throw them in a fiery furnace when You appear. In His wrath the Lord will swallow them up, and His fire will consume them!" (Psalm 21:8-9).

Oh! the wrath of the Almighty is that which tears like a lion, consumes like a fire, and swallows up like a dragon; and therefore it is called in the Scripture "the fierceness of His great wrath!" (2 Kings 23:26). "The fierceness of His anger, wrath, and indignation!" (Psalm 78:49).

"The fury of His wrath!" (Revelation 16:19).

Thus, beloved, I have shown you the nature and property of this great day, spoken of in my text:

1. A day of astonishment.

2. A day of terror.

3. A day of distress.

4. A day of contempt.

5. A day of destruction.

6. A day of wrath.

~William Dyer~

(continued with # 6)

The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 4

 The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 4

"The great day of the Lord is near - near and coming quickly. Listen! That day will be a day of wrath, a day of distress and anguish, a day of trouble and ruin, a blackness. I will bring distress on the people and they will walk like blind men, because they have sinned against the Lord. Their blood will be poured out like dust and their entrails like filth. Neither their silver nor their gold will be able to save them on the day of the Lord's wrath. In the fire of His jealousy the whole world will be consumed, for He will make a sudden end of all who live in the earth!" (Zephaniah 1:14-18).

Oh, the distress that ungodly men will be in, in that day, which will make them cry to the rocks and mountains to fall on them, and hide them from the face of Him who sits on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb! The God of heaven will bring distress upon all the ungodly, and their honor shall not deliver them, for their gold deliver them, nor their silver deliver them, nor the greatness of their multitudes deliver them - but distress will come upon them, as it did upon Saul, (1 Samuel 28:15), "I am in great distress!" See Luke 21:23, "And there shall be a great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people!" Can you hear this, and not tremble at it, oh you who are profane?

Fourthly, this day of God's wrath will be a day of great CONTEMPT to the ungodly. "The Lord Almighty has purposed it, to stain the pride of all glory, and to bring into contempt all the honorable of the earth!" (Isaiah 23:9).

Oh, the enemies of the Lord, and such as oppose His truth, will be then hissed at. Oh, do but see that place, (Jeremiah 11:37), "And Babylon shall become heaps, a dwelling-place for dragons, an astonishment, and a hissing!" The Lord will pour contempt upon all ungodly men, who have sided with the whore of Babylon, and drunk of her cup; they will not know where to go, nor where to hide their heads - but everyone will hiss at them, and have them in derision, saying, these are those who said, "it is in vain to serve the Lord; and walking mournfully before the Lord Almighty?" who counted saints to be sots, and godliness to the madness. Therefore will they be contemptible before the Lord, angels, and holy men. Oh, think of this, you who speak proudly and blasphemously against God and His people! Know assuredly, that God will speak to you in His wrath, and vex you in His sore displeasure, "The One enthroned in heaven laughs! The Lord scoffs at them!~ (Psalm 2:4).

Fifthly, this day of God's wrath will be a day of great DESTRUCTION. "The wicked are reserved to the day of destruction; they shall be brought forth to the day of wrath!" (Job 21:30). In this day the Lord will destroy both evil people, and evil things, men and their idols, men and their inventions. Every plant which is not of God's planting, shall be plucked up, human pride will be humbled, and human arrogance will be brought down. Only the Lord will be exalted on that day of judgement. Idols will completely disappear. When the Lord rises to shake the earth, His enemies will crawl into holes in the ground. They will hide in caves in the rocks from the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty. On that day of judgment they will abandon the gold an silver idols they made for themselves to worship. They will leave their gods to the rodents and bats - while they crawl away into caverns and hide among the jagged rocks in the cliffs. They will try to escape the terror of the Lord and the glory of His majesty as He rises to shake the earth!" (Isaiah 2:17-21).

All false ways, false worship and false doctrines, shall fall in that day! This will be a reaping day; God will empty the earth, as the prophet Isaiah speaks, "Look! The Lord is about to destroy the earth and make it a vast wasteland. He devastates the surface of the earth and scatters the people. Priests and people, servants and masters, maids and mistresses, buyers and sellers, lenders and borrowers, bankers and debtors - none will be spared! The earth will be completely emptied and looted. The Lord has spoken!" (Isaiah 24:1-3).

~William Dyer~

(continued with # 5)

The Great Day of God's Wrath # 3

 The Great Day of God's Wrath # 3

1. First of all, this day will be a day of ASTONISHMENT to the wicked and ungodly, as it is said, Deuteronomy 28:28, "The Lord shall smite them with madness and blindness, and astonishment of heart!" Oh, it will be with the wicked, as it was with Nebuchadnezzar, who was astonished to behold the works and wonders of God which the Lord wrought for the deliverance of those that put their trust in Him, "Then King Nebuchadnezzar leaped to his feet in amazement and asked his advisors, "Weren't there three men that we tied up and threw into the fire?" They replied, "Certainly, O King." He said, "Look! I see four men walking around in the fire, unbound and unharmed, and the fourth looks like a son of the gods." (Daniel 3:24-25).

Oh, sinners! do but see here how this proud Nebuchadnezzar was astonished at the beholding of this sight! Here are three things which astonished this great king:

First, to see the fire, whose nature is to burn and consume, to have no power to seize upon the bodies of these men. Fire is one of the cruelest creatures; it is a merciless creature, and therefore the torments of hell are set forth by fire, "Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!" (Matthew 25:41).

The second thing which astonished Nebuchadnezzar, was, to see the servants of the Lord walking in the fiery furnace, "Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire." These were cast in bound - but now they are loose; now, that the fire should have power on their bonds, and not on their bodies, oh, this caused astonishment in Nebuchadnezzar.

The third thing that astonished him, was, to see their number not decreased - but increased, "Did not we cast in three men bound into the fire? Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire; and the form of the fourth is like unto the Son of God." Now this astonished this great king. Now, as it was with Nebuchadnezzar here, so will it be with the wicked in this great day. Oh, you who now speak proudly, look highly, and walk contemptuously, it will astonish you to see God's judgments poured out upon you, and His wrath wax hot against you, until there is no remedy. Oh, do but see that text, "Babylon will be a heap of ruins, a haunt of jackals, an object of horrow and scorn!" (Jeremiah 51:37). Thus it will be with the ungodly at that day.

2. It will be a day of TERROR to those who know not God, and that obey not the gospel of Christ! The terror of God will be upon such, as it was upon those cities, (Genesis 35:5). "Then they set out, and the terror of God fell upon the cities all around them so that no one pursued them." Oh, you graceless people who now have no fear of God, nor tremble at His Word - He will make you then tremble, as He did Belshazzar, when he beheld the hand-writing on the wall, (Dan. 5:6). "His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his knees knocked together and his legs gave way!" Oh! you drunkards and swearers, you who despise reproof, and hate instruction, and scorn all God's counsel; know this, that the day of God's wrath will be a day of terror to you, which will make your hearts to sink within you, your countenance to change, your joints to be loosed, and your ears to tingle, when the terrors of the Almighty God set themselves in array against you! Therefore, says the apostle, "Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men." (2 Corinthians 5:11).

3. This day of God's wrath will be a day of DISTRESS to the wicked. "I in turn will laugh at your disaster; I will mock when calamity overtakes you - when calamity overtakes you like a storm, when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind, when distress and trouble overwhelms you!" (Proverbs 1:26-27).

~William Dyer~

(continued with # 4)

The Great Day Of God's Wrrath! # 2

 The Great Day Of God's Wrath # 2

The words of my text contain two things - a reason and a question.

1. The former part is the ground or reason of this outcry here made by the kings and great men of the earth, together with every bond man and every free man, "For the great day of His wrath has come!"

2. The latter part is a question proposed about standing at that day, "And who shall be able to stand?"

The point of doctrine, which I shall lay down from these words, is this:

DOCTRINE: That the greatest part of men and women will not be able to stand in the great day of God's wrath.

In handling of this point, I shall show you four things:

1. There are some days greater than others.

2. The nature and property of this great day.

3. Who they are that will not be able to stand in the day of God's wrath.

4. The use and application.

In the first place I shall show you, beloved - that there are some great days spoken of in the Scripture.

The first great day you have in Jeremiah 30:7, "How awful that day will be! None will be like it! It will be a time of trouble for Jacob, but he will be saved out of it."

The second great day you have in Hosea 1:11. "What a great day that will be - the day of Jezreel - when God will again plant His people in His land."

The third great day in have in Joel 2:31, "The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before the great and terrible day of the Lord comes."

The fourth great day you have in Mal. 4:5. "Behold I will send you Elijah the prophet, before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the Lord."

The fifth great day is this in my text, "For the great day of His wrath has come - and who shall be able to stand?" (Revelation 6:17).

The sixth great day you have in Revelation 16:14, "They are demonic spirits who work miracles and go out to all the rulers of the world to gather them for battle against the Lord on that great judgment day of God Almighty."

The seventh and last great day you have in the Epistle of Jude, verse 6, "And the angels who did not keep their positions of authority but abandoned their own home - these He has kept in darkness, bound with everlasting chains for judgment on the great day."

Thus, beloved, you see, that there are some days which are greater than others, which the Scripture calls "great days," because of the greatness of the work which God does, and will do, in those days.

2. I shall now show you the nature and properties of this great day in my text. Oh, my brethren! this will be a very dreadful and terrible day to the wicked, who call evil good, and good evil; who put darkness for light, and light for darkness, and put far from them the evil day, which is now hastening upon them.

~William Dyer~

(continued with # 3)

The Great Day Of God's Wrath! # 1

 The Great Day Of God's Wrath! # 1

"For the great day of His wrath has come - and who shall be able to stand!" (Revelation 6:17).

Every man's thoughts run now like Nebuchadnezzar's - with a desire to know what shall come to pass hereafter, or what things the future will bring forth, "As you were lying there, O king, your mind turned to things to come, and the revealer of mysteries showed you what is going to happen." (Daniel 2:29).

There is nothing in the womb of time - but what was first in the womb of God. Now, this book of the Revelation shows us these three things:

1. The state and condition of the true church of God upon earth, under the power and reign of antichrist.

2. The rise, the reign, and the rage of antichrist in the world.

3. The quiet, blessed, and glorious state and condition of the true church here below, after the ruin and downfall of antichrist, "whom the Lord Jesus will overthrow with the breath of His mouth and destroy by the splendor of His coming!" (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

This chapter out of which my text is taken (Revelation 6), shows us seven things:

1, You may see what God's dreadful judgments are, by which He cuts off and destroys the inhabitants of the earth, for their sin and wickedness; they are likened and compared to horses, as you may see from verse 4 to verse 8. Here you have:a white horse, war; a red horse, the sword; a black horse, the famine; a pale horse, the pestilence, or plague, which leads to death.

Horses are creatures which run to and fro - and so do God's judgments from house to house, from street to street, from city to city, from town to town, and from one place to another. "Show no mercy; have no pity!" (Ezekiel 9:5).

Horses are creatures which are very swift in their motion, they run many miles in a little time. Likewise, God's judgments are also very swift, they do much execution in a little time. "So the Lord sent a plague on Israel, and seventy thousand men of Israel fell dead." (1 Chron. 21:14).

You may also see a proof of this, by what God has done to London, where more than a thousand died in one day.

2. You may see here where all the holy martyrs and witnesses of Jesus Christ are, who have been slain for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus; they are under the altar, that is, under the glorious protection of Christ in heaven, "They are before the throne of God, serving Him day and night; and the Lamb leads them to the living fountain, and God wipes away all tears from their eyes." (Revelation 7:15, 17).

3. You may see also the cause for which these blessed saints were slain; it was "for the Word of God, and for the testimony of Jesus Christ." (Chapter 6:9).

4. Here you may see that all the saints' precious blood, which has been spilt from time to time by the whore of Babylon, cries aloud, day and night, to God for vengeance upon Babylon. Chapter 6:10).

5. You have here the answer of God in relation to the saints' cry, "And it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow-servants also, and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled." (Chapter 6:11)

6. You may here see what dreadful and terrible things followed upon the opening the sixth seal, verse 12, 14. "And lo, there was a great earthquake. The sun became as dark as black cloth, and the moon became as red as blood. Then the stars of the sky fell to the earth like green figs falling from a tree shaken by a strong wind. The sky was rolled up like a scroll, and all of the mountains and islands were moved from their places." There are the visible judgments of God, which are come upon the anti-christian crew.

And, lastly, this chapter shows us what will be the state and condition of those men at that day, who are found enemies to God and His people, "Then everyone - the kings of the earth, the rulers, the generals, the wealthy, the powerful, and every slave and free person - all hid themselves in the caves and among the rockes, "Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!" (Rev. 6:15-16).

Now this brings me to the words of my text, which shows us the reason of this great out-cry, "For the great day of His wrath has come- and who shall be able to stand?" (Revelation 6:17).

~William Dyer~

I Found Him Whom My Soul Loves! # 2

 I Found Him Whom My Soul Loves! # 2

It generates humility, deep and adoring humility. Humility, which makes us lovable, and fires us with love to all about us. Humility which fills us with profound admiration of the conduct and condescension of our Lord, and lays us in the dust at His feet. Humility, which inspires us with lofty expectations, of seeing more of His beauty, enjoying more of His presence, and of being ravished always with His love.

O the blessedness of find that loved One again, and once more enjoying His presence, and the assurance of His love!

Believer, when Jesus is not enjoyed by you - He is not far from you. He only stands behind the wall. "My lover is like a gazelle or a young stag. Look! There He stands behind our wall, gazing through the windows, peering through the lattice." (Song of Songs 2:9). He is just beyond the watchmen. We are not far from finding Him when we feel and lament His absence. He will soon turn again, and have compassion upon us. If therefore you are seeking Him, though discouraged for a time, press on, persevere - for you are sure to find Him. "Everyone who seeks - finds."

The lost sinner who have never enjoyed His presence, if he seeks - will find; and the backslider who has sinned away His presence - shall have it restored again. Seek, seek then, for none can seek His face in vain.

When Christ is found after long seeking, and after deep searching of heart, He is more precious, than as if found at once. We value that most - which costs us most. We enjoy that most - which is only gained by much labor and effort. Never does the sun appear so bright, as after the long, cold, dreary night. Never is health so prized, as after a long season of painful sickness. Never is water so sweet, as when the tongue fails for thirst. Just so, never is Jesus so precious, as after the long night of guilt, gloom, and desertion. Never is Jesus so precious, as after we have suffered from broken bones, a wounded spirit, and a troubled conscience. Never is Jesus so precious, as when the fire of God's wrath has seemed to dry up our vital moisture, and the firey law has almost brought us into the dust of death!

The trumpet of Jubilee, was not so sweet to the bankrupt Israelite; the act of emancipation, was never so delightful to the manacled slave; the proclamation of pardon, was never so precious to the doomed criminal, who expected to the executed in the morning; as is Jesus to the soul, when He manifests Himself once more, after a long dreary season of desertion.

Reader! Are you seeking Jesus? Whatever may be your case, circumstances, or discouragements, never give up until you have found Him. Find Him you will, you must - if you seek for Him with all your heart. And when you have found Him, do not fear to own it, or neglect to acknowledge it - but in the language of the delighted spouse, exclaim, "I have found Him whom my soul loves!"

~James Smith~

(The End)

The Rights and Duties of Laymen # 1

 The Rights and Duties of Laymen # 1

"Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus - To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons" (Phillipians 1:1).

This opening verse of Paul's Epistle to the Philippians is a very remarkable text of Scripture. I suspect it receives far less attention from Bible readers than it deserves. Like the gold of California, men have walked over it for centuries, and have not observed what was under their feet. In fact, if some Anglican divines had stood at the Apostle's elbow when he wrote this verse, I believe they would have hinted that he had made a mistake.

Now what do I mean by all this? What is the remarkable point to which I refer? The point on which I place my finger is Paul's mention of "the saints" before the "bishops and deacons." He places the laity before the clergy when he addresses the Philippian Church. He puts the body of the baptized in the front rank, and the ministers in the rear.

There is no room for dispute about the various readings of manuscripts in this case. It was unmistakably given by inspiration of God, and written for our learning. As such, I see in it the germ of a great truth, which demands special notice in the present day. In short, it open up the grave subject of the rights and duties of the lay members of a Christian Church.

I approach the whole subject with a deep sense of its delicacy and difficulty. I disclaim the slightest sympathy with those revolutionary counselors who want us to throw overboard Creeds, and turn the Church into a Pantheon, in the vain hope of buying off invaders. I desire nothing but scriptural and reasonable reforms, and I know no reform so likely to strengthen the Church as that of placing her laity in their rightful position. One of the best modes of promoting effective Church defense in this day - is to promote wise Church reform.

What then, was the position of the lay members of Churches in the days of the Apostles? Let us imagine ourselves paying a visit to the baptized communities at Rome, or Corinth, or Ephesus, or Thessalonica, or Jerusalem, and let us see what we would have found, and what Scripture teaches about them. In this, as in many other matters, we have a right to ask, "What light can we get from the New Testament?"

This is an inquiry which deserves special attention, and I am much mistaken if the result does not astonish some people, and make them open their eyes.

I say then, without hesitation, that you will not find a single text in the New Testament in which the ordained ministers alone are ever called "the Church," or ever act for the Church without the laity uniting and co-operating in their action.

Are the deacons appointed? The apostles recommend their proposal, but "the whole multitude" choose (Acts 6:5). Is a council held to consider whether the heathen converts should be circumcised, and keep the ceremonial law? The decision arrived at is said to come from "the apostles, and elders, and brethren," with "the whole Church" (Acts 15:22-23). Are inspired Epistles written by Paul to particular Churches? In eight cases they are addressed to "the Church, the saints, the faithful brethren" - and they are addressed to "the Church, the saints, the faithful brethren" - and in only one case (the Epistle to the Philippians) is there any mention of overseers and deacons" in the opening address. Does Paul send instructions to the Church about the Lord's Supper, and about speaking with tongues? He sends them to "them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus" not to the ministers. Is discipline exercised against an unsound member? I find Paul giving directions to the saints at Corinth, without mentioning the ministry, "Put away from among yourselves that wicked person" (1 Co. 5:13). Is a man "overtaken in a fault" to be restored to communion? Paul tells those who are "spiritual" among the Galatians to do it, and does not refer to their ministers (Gal. 6:1). Is an Epistle written to the Christian Hebrews? Not a word is said about "rulers" until you come to the last chapter. Does James write a General Epistle? He addresses the "twelve tribes," and only names "teachers" in the third chapter. Does Peter write a General Epistle? He writes to the whole body of the elect, and says nothing to the "elders" until he arrives at the last chapter, and even then he is careful to remind them that they are not "lords over God's heritage." As for the Second Epistle of Peter, and the Epistles of John and Jude, they never touch the subject of the ministry at all.

~J. C. Ryle~

I Have Found Him Whom My Soul Loves! # 1

I Have Found Him Whom My Soul Loves! # 1

No healthy Christian can be happy without the presence of Christ. For what the sun is to the day, the moon to the night, or the rain to the soil - that is Jesus to the soul. What a day would be without the sun, or the night without the moon, or the earth without moisture, that would the soul of the believer be without Christ. And yet we often lose a sense of the presence of Jesus, and sin away the enjoyment of His love. As the church of old who retired to bed, when she should have been actively employed for Him, and then complained, "By night on my bed, I sought Him whom my soul loves, I sought Him but I found Him not." Jesus will not indulge idleness, nor sanction sloth. Therefore she had to arise, go about the city, and inquire of the watchmen,k nor could she again enjoy His presence - until she had passed by them all, and then with a glad heart she exclaimed, "I found Him whom my soul loves!" (Song of Solomon 3:4).

Here is a pleasing fact, the lost Saviour may be found; or the forfeited presence of Jesus may be regained. When convinced of our folly, when humbled under a sense of our sin, when sighing, and crying, with ardent longing, we seek Him - then He will giveus a fresh manifestation of His love - His great love. Again will He appear to us, disclosing the glories of His person, the beauty of His character, and the excellency of His salvation. Then we afresh perceive His glory, and beauty, and exact adaptation to us, and our love is drawn out to Him anew.

Glorious as He appeared at first, every new manifestation of His grace seems to enhance His glory, and bring out some fresh and richer beauty. Then, our sense of our interest in Him is sweetly renewed and deepened, and we claim Him with confidence as our beloved, our Saviour, and our friend. The heart glows with the richest enjoyment, the bosom heaves with ecstatic delight, and the soul overflows with the most pleasurable emotions. Oh, how precious is Jesus now! How wonderful His love. How glorious His grace. How tender His mercy. How efficacious His blood. How magnificent His righteousness. Christ, and everything in Christ - Christ, and everything connected with Christ - is unspeakably beautiful and glorious; so that we lack words to express our thoughts, and we lack thoughts to embody our feelings, which are exquisitely delightful. Who can describe the rapture of a soul, which has been walking in darkness, mourning for the Saviour - but can now exclaim, "I have found Him whom my soul loves!"

The delightful EFFECTS of it are many and various.

It gives us satisfaction; the desires find the object they have been seeking, and the soul glides into a calm and delightful repose. We seem to want no more - but only the perpetuation of what we are now enjoying.

It produces tenderness. We become more cautious and careful, and avoid everything likely to grieve Him, or disturb our enjoyment. We become more watchful over ourselves, and against temptations which may lead us astray.

We are more prayerful, spending more time with Him alone, pouring out our hearts before Him. And this tenderness of conscience, watchfulness of spirit, and prayerfulness of soul - will preserve and keep us from innumerable evils.

It awakens gratitude - deep and soul stirring gratitude. Such gratitude as inspires us with the strongest confidence, fills us with the warmest love, animates us with glowing zeal, and makes the soul eloquent in His praise.

~James Smith~

(continued with # 2

Victory! # 7

Victory! # 7

Take the advice I give you, as a friend, this day. Ask the Lord Jesus Christ to come and dwell in your heart by faith, and to "deliver you from this present evil world" (Gal. 1:4). Ask Him to pour out His promised Spirit on you, and to make you willing to bear His easy yoke without further delay, an to resist the world. Strive, in the strength of Christ, to get the victory over the world, whatever it may cost you. Be ashamed of being a slave, however gilded the chains may be. Be ashamed of the mark of the collar. Resolve to play the man and be free. Liberty is the greatest of blessings, and deserves the greatest struggles. Well said the Jewish rabbis in ancient days, "If the sea were ink, and the earth parchment, it would never serve to describe the praises of liberty!" For freedom's sake, Greeks, and Romans, and Germans, and Poles, and Swiss, and Scotchmen, and Englishmen, have often cheerfully fought to the bitter end, and laid down their lives. Surely, if men have made such sacrifices for the freedom of their bodies, it is a disgrace to professing Christians if they will not fight for the liberty of their souls. This day, I repeat, resolve in the strength of Christ, that you will fight the good fight against the world; and not only fight, but overcome. "If the Son shall make you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:36).

(c) Finally, let us all remember that the Christian soldier's best time is yet to come. Here, in this world, we are often injured and hindered in our warfare. There are many hard things to be done and born. There are wounds and bruises; there are watchings and fatigues; there are reverses and disappointments. But the end of all things is at hand. For those who "overcome" there will be a conqueror's crown.

In the warfare of this world, the muster on the morning after a victory is often a sorrowful sight. I pity the man who could look at Miss. Thompson's famous picture of the Roll-call without deep emotion. Even when peace is proclaimed, the return of victorious regiments is an occasion of very mingled feelings. That man must have had a cold heart who could see the Guards march back into london after the Crimean war without a sigh or a tear.

Thanks be to God, the review day of Christ's victorious army will be a very different thing. There will be none missing in that day. It will be a meeting without regret. It will be "a morning without clouds" and tears! It will make rich amends for all we have suffered in resisting and overcoming the world!

He who saw our gracious Queen distributing the Victoria Cross at the Horse Guards during the Russian war might well be stirred and moved at the sight. But he who saw her come down from her seat to meet a wounded officer who could not walk, and, with her own royal hands, pin his decoration on his bosom, will probably remember it as long as he lives.

But, after all, it was nothing compared to the transactions of that great day, when the Captain of our salvation and His victorious soldiers shall at length meet face to face. What gongue can tell the happiness of that time when we shall lay aside our armor, and "say to the sword, Rest, and be still!" What mind can conceive the blessedness of that hour when we shall bee the King in His beauty, and hear these words, "Well done, good and faithful servant and soldier, enter you into the joy of your Lord"? For that glorious day let us wait patiently, for it cannot be far off. In the hope of it let us work, and watch, and pray, and fight on, and resist the world. And let us never forget our Captain's words - "In the world you shall have tribulation - but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world!" (John 16:33).

~J. C. Ryle~

(The End)

Victory! # 6

Victory! # 6

But time would fail me if I brought forward all the evidence that might be adduced on this subject. Let us look at our own age. Let us consider the men who have made the greatest mark on the world for Christ's cause in the last hundred years. Let us remember how clergymen like Whitefield, and Wesley, and Romane, and Venn stood alone in their day and generation, and revived English religion, in the face of opposition, slander, ridicule, and real persecution from nine-tenths of the professing Christians in our land. Let us remember how men like William Wilberforce, and Havelock, and Henry Lawrence, and Hedley Vicars, and George Moore, the Christian merchant, have witnessed for Christ in the most difficult positions, and displayed Christ's banner even in the House of Commons, in the camp, at the regimental mess table, or in the counting-house in the city. Let us remember how these noble servants of God were neither frightened nor laughed out of their religion, and won the respect even of their adversaries. These all had one principle, "Give me," said that strange dictator who rode rough-shod over England's Church and Crown in the seventeenth century. "Give me men that have a principle." These Christian soldiers of our own day had a principle, and that ruling principle was faith in an unseen God and Saviour. By this faith they lived, and walked, and fought the good fight, and overcame.

Does any one who reads this paper desire to live the life of a true Christian, and overcome the world? Let him begin by seeking to have the principle of victory within. Without this, all outward show of spirituality is utterly worthless! There is many a worldly heart under a monk's cowl. Faith, inward faith, is the one thing needful. Let him begin by praying for FAITH. It is the gift of God, and a gift which those who ask shall never ask in vain. The fountain of faith is not yet dry. The mine is not exhausted. He who is called the "Author of faith" is the same yesterday, today, and forever; and waits to be entreated (Hebrews 12:2). Without faith you will never war a good warfare, never set down your foot firmly, never make progress on the ice of this slippery world. You must believe if you would do. If men do nothing in religion, and sit still like uninterested spectators of a show, it is simply because they do not believe. Faith is the first step towards heaven.

Would any one who reads this paper fight the Christian battle with constantly increasing success and prosperity? Then let him pray daily for a continual growth of faith. Let him abide in Christ, get closer to Christ, tighten his hold on Christ every day that he lives. Let him never forget the prayer of the disciples, "Lord, increase our faith." Let him watch jealously over his faith, and never let its fire burn low. According to the degree of his faith will be the measure of his peace, his strength, and his victory over the world.

(a) And now let us leave the whole subject with the solemn self-inquiry - "What do we know of that great test of religion which this text supplies? What do we know of overcoming the world? Where are we? What are we doing? Whose are we, and whom do we serve? Are we overcoming or being overcome? Alas, it is a sorrow fact, that many know not whether they are Christ's freemen - or the world's slaves! The "fetters of the world" are often invisible. We are dragged downward insensibly, and are like one who sleeps in a boat, and knows not that he is drifting, gently drifting, towards the falls. There is no slavery so bad as that which is unfelt. There are no chains so really heavy as those which are unseen. Wise is that petition in our matchless Litany - "From all the deceits of the world, good Lord, deliver us."

I press this inquiry in all affection on my younger readers. You are just at that generous and unsuspecting age when the world seems least dangerous and most inviting, and it stands to reason you are most likely to be ensnared and overcome. Experience alone can make you see the enemy in his true colors. When you have as many grey hairs on your heads as I have, you will place a very different estimate on the praise or the hatred of this world. But even you, remember my caution - "If you love your souls, hold the world at arm's length. Beware of the world."

(b) Reader, you and I meet over this paper for once in our lives, and are parting in all probability to meet no more. You are perhaps launching forth on the waves of this troublesome world. My heart's desire and prayer to God is, that you may have a prosperous voyage, and be found at length in the safe haven of eternal life.

But, oh, take heed that you are well equipped for the stormy waters you have to cross, and see that you have a compass to steer by, that you can depend on, and a pilot who will not fail! Beware of making shipwreck by conformity to the world. Alas, how many put to sea in gallant trim, with colors flying, and brilliant prospects, and are lost at last with all on board! They seem at first to begin with Moses, and Daniel, and the saints in Nero's household; but they end at last with Balaam, and Demas, and Lot's wife! Oh, remember the pilot and the compass! No compass like the Bible. No pilot like Christ!

~J. C. Ryle~

(continued with # 5)

The Great White Throne Judgment - What Is It? # 2

The Great White Throne Judgment - What Is It? # 2

Kant reasoned that meant there must be a judgment in the next life of all who have ever lived. And, said Kant, that judgment must be perfect.

But for that judgment to be perfect, Kant said there must be a perfect judge, one who knows all the facts or every case, and that means the judge must possess all knowledge so that no fact escapes his awareness.

That, however, still isn't enough to have true justice. Kant remarked that a judge may know all the facts about a case, but he he is corrupt, justice may not be done. Therefore, the judge must also be righteous.

Yet that still isn't enough to have true justice. The all-knowing and righteous judge, Kant said, must also be in a position where there is no force that can oppose his action and ruling. He must have unlimited power and nothing must be able to resist him, so that he can ensure justice is done.

Even though Kant did not believe the Bible to be the revealed Word of God, he described a judgment which takes place after life in this world is over and which has an omnipotent omniscient, righteous, perfect and holy Judge examining every person's life and ensuring that justice is finally done. Without knowing it, Kant perfectly described Revelation's Great White Throne Judgment.

It is important to note that the first doctrine of God to be denied was judgment. When Eve received God's warning about the result of her disobedience, satan denied what God said. satan told her, "You will surely die" (Genesis 3:4). But that lie resulted in the first couple's disobedience, God's judgment being handed down to Adam and Eve, and the introduction of sin into the human race.

Unless a person puts his faith in Christ, he will stand before Jesus at His Great White Throne and be judged unworthy of spending eternity with God. Speaking 2,000 years ago to a group of unbelieving philosophers on Mars Hill in Athens, Paul said, "because He has fixed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom He has appointed; and of this He has given assurance to all by rising Him from the dead" (Acts 12:31).

If you haven't yet received Christ as your Saviour and Lord, pray to Him now, ask for forgiveness, and escape the certain judgment that is to come.

~Compelling Truth~

(The End)

The Great White Throne Judgment - What Is It? # 1

The Great White Throne Judgment - What Is It? # 1

In the Bible's book of Revelation, the Apostle John is given visions that explain what will take place in the future. One of the visions John receives is recorded in Revelation 20 and concerns a judgment that will take place after Christ's second coming.

After Jesus returns, the devil is imprisoned for 1,000 years, and during that time Christ will rule as King upon the earth (a time that is often referred to as the millennial reign of Christ). Once the 1,000 years are completed, satan is released, the last human rebellion against God is crushed, and satan is consigned forever to what the Bible calls the lake of fire.

The Bible describes what happens next: "Then I saw a great white throne and Him who was seated on it. From His presence earth and sky sled away and no place was found for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done. And the sea gave up the dead who were in it. Death and hades gave up the dead who were in them, and they were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:11-15).

This event is often referred to as the Great White Throne Judgment. Revelation pictures Jesus as the judge over all the living and the dead, a role He predicted during His earthly ministry: "The Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son" (John 5:22). It is the final judgment of God upon humankind. After this event, there will never again need to be a trial, and God will never again need to act as judge.

The prophet Daniel also wrote of this time in a vision he was given hundreds of years earlier: "As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of Days took His seat; His clothing was white as snow, and the hair of His head like pure wool; His throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire. A stream of fire issued and came out from before Him; a thousand thousands served Him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood before Him; the court sat in judgment, and the books were opened" (Daniel 7:9-10).

No one knows for certain what is contained in the books mentioned in Daniel and Revelation. Many theologians speculate that they contain a record of sins committed in this life, and the resulting debt owed by each person to those they have wronged, including God, the ultimate target of all sin.

In the first century, every criminal who was crucified had a piece of paper detailing his crimes nailed to the cross above his head. Those who were imprisoned often had a list of their crimes posted outside their cell so all would know what they were guilty of. For these reasons, Bible commentators think the books at the Great White Throne Judgment are records of every person's "spiritual crimes" against other people and God.

More is known about the book of life that is mentioned. According to Scripture, the book of life contains the names of all who have trusted in God for their salvation and have been saved from God's judgment. Paul mentions the book of life in one of his epistles: "Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these....whose names are in the book of life" (Phil. 4:3).

The Bible makes it clear that no person will spend eternity with God based on his works and that it is only faith in Christ that saves a person (Eph. 2:8-9). John records that those whose names are NOT found in the book of life are consigned to the lake of fire based on their deeds. Our works cannot save us, but they may condemn us.

Believers in Christ escape the Great White Throne Judgment because their debts and transgressions have been paid for by Christ, a fact that Paul mentions: "And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This He set aside, nailing it to the Cross" (Col. 2:13-14).

In the end, the Great White Throne Judgment underscores the fact that God's justice will be done and that, outside of Christ, that justice will be terrifying, sure, and final.

Hundreds of years ago, the Prussian philosopher, Immanuel Kant asked the question, "What would it take for ethics to be truly meaningful?" For humanity to have true ethics, andfor there to be meaning in ethics, Kant said that there must be true justice. Kant reasoned that if good people suffer and the unjust prosper, there is no practical reason to be ethical; in other words, crime does indeed pay.

But Kant then asked another question: "What does it take for justice to be truly real?" Kant observed that this world shows that justice doesn't always prevail, so Kant said for justice to be real, there must be live after death where true justice is meted out.

~Compelling Truth~

(continued with # 2)