The Saviour's Will # 2
The garment which is ever new, always available, and the perfection of beauty - is freely bestowed upon all who renounce their own good works - and are willing to venture entirely, and without reserve, upon Jesus' word and work, for life and salvation. But it is only willed to the naked, the poor, and the destitute; and it is willed to all such. If you therefore feel that you are destitute of a righteousness; discover the absolute necessity of one for justification before God; and hunger and thirst for this blessing, as the hungry man for food - then for you it is intended, and to you it will certainly be given! You shall receive abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, that you may reign in life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Only believe - and this legacy is yours!
3. If any are troubled in mind on account of sin, or distressed with the perplexing circumstances of this earthly life, and make application in His name at the throne of grace - unto them Jesus has left the legacy of PEACE. "Peace I leave with you - My peace I give unto you." Tranquility of mind, flows from receiving His work, believing His word, and entrusting all our concerns to His care.
He invites us to commit all unto Him by faith, in prayer - and to leave all with Him - as with a wise, kind, and faithful friend. And so acting, He assures us that peace passing all understanding shall keep our hearts and minds. He does not wish that any who believe in Him - should be anxious, distrustful, or troubled with cares. He therefore provided for all their needs beforehand - and appointed every day's portion according to the day; and requires them to live and walk by faith; believing that He can and will supply all of their needs.
He bids them not to worry about food, clothing, or life; nor to look forward to tomorrow with alarm, or fear; but to seek the kingdom of God and His righteousness, with the assurance that every necessary good shall be added unto them. To set their hearts at rest - He has willed them a sufficiency for every day and all their days! This enables them to rejoice in God, and in all things to aim primarily at His glory.
Is His word true? Then it ought to be trusted!
Is He faithful? Then we ought not to doubt!
Was He ever proved false? Why then should we fear?
He will keep in perfect peace - all whose minds are stayed on Him, because they trust in Him.
Jesus is over all, possesses all, rules all, and directs all! And He bids us to cast all of our cares for body and soul, for time and eternity - on Him; assuring us that He will care for us. He gave His life for us - and He will not withhold one good thing from us! He will give us His peace - and we receive the legacy and enjoy it, to the praise of His grace.
4. To those who feel weak, timid, and fearful; those who have foes to face, difficulties to encounter, corruptions to mortify, temptations to resist, trials to endure, and troubles to pass through - he has left this valuable legacy, "My GRACE is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in your weakness." His grace, His strength - are to be employed for us, and to be used by us. The same grace which made Paul what he was, and by which all the martyrs triumphed - is left as a legacy to us! The legacy is payable now, and the proclamation from the high court of Heaven runs thus, "Come boldly to the throne of grace - that you may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need!" His grace enables you to conquer foes - sin, satan, world and self; to overcome difficulties - however numerous or peculiar; to resist temptations - however powerful, well-times, or deceitful; to endure trials - with fortitude, courage and patience; and to pass through troubles - without fear or distrust.
~James Smith~
(continued with # 3)
Saturday, February 29, 2020
Saturday, February 22, 2020
The Saviour's Will # 1
The Saviour's Will # 1
"For a will is in force only after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives" (Hebrews 9:17).
People who have property and riches, in the prospect of death, have long been in the habit of making a will, and bequeathing their riches, according to their pleasure, among their relations and friends. The will of the dead is considered sacred, and the executors are expected to perform their duty with fidelity and care.
The Lord Jesus Christ being in possession of unsearchable riches, and intending to bestow them upon a variety of classes of character; before He left this world to go unto the Father - made a will, and has left behind Him a will containing legacies of incalculable value! These legacies are payable upon application at the proper court, to each and every person entitled to them. The characters entitled are described, and the blessings to which they are entitled are stated with great clearness and perspiculty. The will is now put into our hands that we may make out our claim, apply for the blessings, and enjoy the blessings - to the praise of Him who has blessed us with His will.
1. The first class of beneficiaries, are those who have been guilty of crimes against the law, government, and majesty of God - who deserve to die, who are under sentence of death, and exposed to eternal wrath! All such characters discovering this to be their true condition, feeling alarm at their danger, and being willing frankly to confess their crimes - are promised a free, full, and everlasting pardon!
Jesus purchased a right to pardon, and in His will expresses His determination to give the pardons which He procured - to the vilest of the vile! If any man reflecting upon his conduct, surveying his thoughts, and examining his heart - finds that he has been a traitor from the beginning, and that even now his heart is the dwelling place of every abomination - yet even to such, a free pardon is promised upon confession! Through the infinite grace of the testator unto all such, is proclaimed "forgiveness of sins, and by Him, all who believe are justified from all things!" He says, "I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned against Me! He who confesses and forsakes his sin- shall find mercy."
he is Faithful and Just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness! he has willed the pardon, and it shall be enjoyed upon application - not on account of anything felt, feared, or done by the applicant - but solely out of His great love, rich mercy, and sovereign favor!
Are you then, my reader - a poor, sinful, wretched, condemned sinner? Are you filled with fears of hell, and trembling at the wrath of God? Are you desirous of escaping the curse, and enjoying the favor of Jehovah? Are you willing, heartily to confess your guilt, and His justice in your condemnation? If so, they you are one of the people named in the will of Jesus, there is a certain pardon for you!
But do not give way to fear or doubt, nothing can be plainer than that you are warranted to expect to be forgiven all trespasses for Jesus' sake! The Father honors the will of Jesus - when He pardons such as you; and the Holy Spirit glorifies the Saviour when He delivers that pardon to the praying soul!
2. Another class of beneficiaries, are those who are stripped of self, and find themselves wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. To them - Jesus wills the gift of His perfect RIGHTEOUSNESS! He labored to fulfill the precept of the law, and died to pay its penalty; that He might produce a righteousness which would justify God in justifying an ungodly sinner. This righteousness is infinitely glorious, and answers all the claims of law and justice! It honors the divine government, and exalts the possessor to glory, honor, immortality, and eternal life! It is all that the law can demand, and just what a sinner needs.
This righteousness was Jesus' own working, and was therefore His own personal property - and he wills to every ungodly sinner who believes on His name. His Father is well-pleased with it, and has agreed that it shall be imputed to all, and be worn by all who have believed, without any difference.
~James Smith~
(continued with # 2)
"For a will is in force only after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives" (Hebrews 9:17).
People who have property and riches, in the prospect of death, have long been in the habit of making a will, and bequeathing their riches, according to their pleasure, among their relations and friends. The will of the dead is considered sacred, and the executors are expected to perform their duty with fidelity and care.
The Lord Jesus Christ being in possession of unsearchable riches, and intending to bestow them upon a variety of classes of character; before He left this world to go unto the Father - made a will, and has left behind Him a will containing legacies of incalculable value! These legacies are payable upon application at the proper court, to each and every person entitled to them. The characters entitled are described, and the blessings to which they are entitled are stated with great clearness and perspiculty. The will is now put into our hands that we may make out our claim, apply for the blessings, and enjoy the blessings - to the praise of Him who has blessed us with His will.
1. The first class of beneficiaries, are those who have been guilty of crimes against the law, government, and majesty of God - who deserve to die, who are under sentence of death, and exposed to eternal wrath! All such characters discovering this to be their true condition, feeling alarm at their danger, and being willing frankly to confess their crimes - are promised a free, full, and everlasting pardon!
Jesus purchased a right to pardon, and in His will expresses His determination to give the pardons which He procured - to the vilest of the vile! If any man reflecting upon his conduct, surveying his thoughts, and examining his heart - finds that he has been a traitor from the beginning, and that even now his heart is the dwelling place of every abomination - yet even to such, a free pardon is promised upon confession! Through the infinite grace of the testator unto all such, is proclaimed "forgiveness of sins, and by Him, all who believe are justified from all things!" He says, "I will pardon all their iniquities whereby they have sinned against Me! He who confesses and forsakes his sin- shall find mercy."
he is Faithful and Just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness! he has willed the pardon, and it shall be enjoyed upon application - not on account of anything felt, feared, or done by the applicant - but solely out of His great love, rich mercy, and sovereign favor!
Are you then, my reader - a poor, sinful, wretched, condemned sinner? Are you filled with fears of hell, and trembling at the wrath of God? Are you desirous of escaping the curse, and enjoying the favor of Jehovah? Are you willing, heartily to confess your guilt, and His justice in your condemnation? If so, they you are one of the people named in the will of Jesus, there is a certain pardon for you!
But do not give way to fear or doubt, nothing can be plainer than that you are warranted to expect to be forgiven all trespasses for Jesus' sake! The Father honors the will of Jesus - when He pardons such as you; and the Holy Spirit glorifies the Saviour when He delivers that pardon to the praying soul!
2. Another class of beneficiaries, are those who are stripped of self, and find themselves wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. To them - Jesus wills the gift of His perfect RIGHTEOUSNESS! He labored to fulfill the precept of the law, and died to pay its penalty; that He might produce a righteousness which would justify God in justifying an ungodly sinner. This righteousness is infinitely glorious, and answers all the claims of law and justice! It honors the divine government, and exalts the possessor to glory, honor, immortality, and eternal life! It is all that the law can demand, and just what a sinner needs.
This righteousness was Jesus' own working, and was therefore His own personal property - and he wills to every ungodly sinner who believes on His name. His Father is well-pleased with it, and has agreed that it shall be imputed to all, and be worn by all who have believed, without any difference.
~James Smith~
(continued with # 2)
Saturday, February 15, 2020
The Godhood of God # 8
The Godhood of God # 8
How far away have the present-day admirers of Spurgeon departed from the teaching of this prince of preachers! Mark carefully the next sentences. "Our text, however, puts the prerogative upon the one sole ground of Lordship, and we prefer to come back to that. "Unto God the Lord belong the issues of death." It is a doctrine which is very unpalatable in these days, but one nevertheless which is to be held and taught - that God is an absolute Sovereign, and does as He wills. The words of Paul must be noted: "Nay, but O man, who are you that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it; Why have you made me thus?" The Lord cannot do amiss. His perfect nature is a law unto itself. In his case, the King is the law."
Is God partial? Certainly He is. And has He not the right to be? Shall He not dispense His favors as He wills - and bestow His gifts on whom He pleases? But it is reasonable to suppose that God who is Love has created millions of creatures to be lost? seeing that His elect constitute but a "remnant," a few in comparison with the great multitudes who die unsaved? We reply, it is not a question of reason - but of revelation.
There are many things revealed in Scripture which are contrary to reason. Is it reasonable to think that God would give His only begotten Son to die for sinners? Ah, reason is ruled out entirely here. And so in many other things. If it lay within the power of the reader, would you allow your worst enemy to be eternally tormented? And if you are honest, you will promptly answer, "No!" But God will deal thus with His enemies, and the sentence will be a righteous one, whether we can now discern its justice or not, for the Judge of all the earth will do right. How far asunder then is carnal reasoning, from the teaching of Holy Writ concerning Eternal Punishment!
Once more: here is satan, the age-long enemy of God - the one who has wrought incalculable evil,securely imprisoned at last in teh bottomless pit. There he remains chained for a thousand years. Now would you, my reader, suggest for a moment that the devil be released from that prison after the earth had been freed for a thousand years from his vile presence? Certainly not, and yet this is precisely what Divine revelation declares shall come to pass? The truth makes known how that God will cause the serpent to be "loosed" for a little season, that God will allow this, even though He knows beforehand that the consequences will be the most dreadful revolt on the part of men, under satan - revolt against God, which this earth has ever witnessed!
Truly God's ways are different from ours. Learn then the utter folly of men attempting to pronounce upon the reasonableness or unreasonableness of the doings and dealings of the Most High God.
One of the most flagrant sins of this age is irreverence. I am not now thinking of open blasphemy, or the taking of God's name in vain. Irreverence is, also, failure to ascribe the glory which is due the great and dreadful majesty of the Almighty. It is the limiting of His power and actions by our degrading conceptions. It is the bringing of the Lord down to our level.
There are multitudes of those who do not profess to be Christians who deny that God is the omnipotent Creator - and there are multitudes of professing Christians who deny that God is absolute Sovereign. Men boast of their free will, prate of their power, and are proud of their achievements. They do not know that their lives are at the sovereign disposal of the Divine Monarch! They do not know that they have no more power to thwart His secret counsel, than a worm has to resist the tread of an elephant!! They do not know that God is the Potter, and they the clay!
This is the harvest of all life's lessons, and when we think we have learned them, we soon discover that we have need to re-learn them. God is God and has the right to dispose of me as He sees fit. It is for Him to say where I shall live - whether in America or Africa. It is for Him to say under what circumstances I shall live - whether amid riches or poverty, whether health or in sickness. It is for Him to say how long I shall live - whether I shall be cut down in youth, or whether I shall live unto old age. Yes, it is for Him to say where I shall spend eternity!
The first sin of man was the refusal to be clay in the Potter's hand. Adam wanted to be something more, "You shall be as Gods" was the bait which the tempter used to hurl him to his destruction.
That which differentiated the life of Christ from all other lives, was His absolute and joyous submission to the Father's will, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me" struck the keynote of the thirty-three years that He tabernacled among men.
Have you profited by the example left us by the Beloved of the Father? Has Divine grace shown you how to wear your creature nature? Only if you do not live in self-assertion - but in self-renunciation. Only if in the school of Christ you have been taught to say, "Not my will - but may Your will be done." O may Divine grace so subjue our rebellious hearts!
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
How far away have the present-day admirers of Spurgeon departed from the teaching of this prince of preachers! Mark carefully the next sentences. "Our text, however, puts the prerogative upon the one sole ground of Lordship, and we prefer to come back to that. "Unto God the Lord belong the issues of death." It is a doctrine which is very unpalatable in these days, but one nevertheless which is to be held and taught - that God is an absolute Sovereign, and does as He wills. The words of Paul must be noted: "Nay, but O man, who are you that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to Him that formed it; Why have you made me thus?" The Lord cannot do amiss. His perfect nature is a law unto itself. In his case, the King is the law."
Is God partial? Certainly He is. And has He not the right to be? Shall He not dispense His favors as He wills - and bestow His gifts on whom He pleases? But it is reasonable to suppose that God who is Love has created millions of creatures to be lost? seeing that His elect constitute but a "remnant," a few in comparison with the great multitudes who die unsaved? We reply, it is not a question of reason - but of revelation.
There are many things revealed in Scripture which are contrary to reason. Is it reasonable to think that God would give His only begotten Son to die for sinners? Ah, reason is ruled out entirely here. And so in many other things. If it lay within the power of the reader, would you allow your worst enemy to be eternally tormented? And if you are honest, you will promptly answer, "No!" But God will deal thus with His enemies, and the sentence will be a righteous one, whether we can now discern its justice or not, for the Judge of all the earth will do right. How far asunder then is carnal reasoning, from the teaching of Holy Writ concerning Eternal Punishment!
Once more: here is satan, the age-long enemy of God - the one who has wrought incalculable evil,securely imprisoned at last in teh bottomless pit. There he remains chained for a thousand years. Now would you, my reader, suggest for a moment that the devil be released from that prison after the earth had been freed for a thousand years from his vile presence? Certainly not, and yet this is precisely what Divine revelation declares shall come to pass? The truth makes known how that God will cause the serpent to be "loosed" for a little season, that God will allow this, even though He knows beforehand that the consequences will be the most dreadful revolt on the part of men, under satan - revolt against God, which this earth has ever witnessed!
Truly God's ways are different from ours. Learn then the utter folly of men attempting to pronounce upon the reasonableness or unreasonableness of the doings and dealings of the Most High God.
One of the most flagrant sins of this age is irreverence. I am not now thinking of open blasphemy, or the taking of God's name in vain. Irreverence is, also, failure to ascribe the glory which is due the great and dreadful majesty of the Almighty. It is the limiting of His power and actions by our degrading conceptions. It is the bringing of the Lord down to our level.
There are multitudes of those who do not profess to be Christians who deny that God is the omnipotent Creator - and there are multitudes of professing Christians who deny that God is absolute Sovereign. Men boast of their free will, prate of their power, and are proud of their achievements. They do not know that their lives are at the sovereign disposal of the Divine Monarch! They do not know that they have no more power to thwart His secret counsel, than a worm has to resist the tread of an elephant!! They do not know that God is the Potter, and they the clay!
This is the harvest of all life's lessons, and when we think we have learned them, we soon discover that we have need to re-learn them. God is God and has the right to dispose of me as He sees fit. It is for Him to say where I shall live - whether in America or Africa. It is for Him to say under what circumstances I shall live - whether amid riches or poverty, whether health or in sickness. It is for Him to say how long I shall live - whether I shall be cut down in youth, or whether I shall live unto old age. Yes, it is for Him to say where I shall spend eternity!
The first sin of man was the refusal to be clay in the Potter's hand. Adam wanted to be something more, "You shall be as Gods" was the bait which the tempter used to hurl him to his destruction.
That which differentiated the life of Christ from all other lives, was His absolute and joyous submission to the Father's will, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me" struck the keynote of the thirty-three years that He tabernacled among men.
Have you profited by the example left us by the Beloved of the Father? Has Divine grace shown you how to wear your creature nature? Only if you do not live in self-assertion - but in self-renunciation. Only if in the school of Christ you have been taught to say, "Not my will - but may Your will be done." O may Divine grace so subjue our rebellious hearts!
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
Saturday, February 8, 2020
The Godhood of God # 7
The Godhood of God # 7
In his sermon on Psalm 68:20, 21, "unto God the Lord belong the issues of death" - the late Charles Spurgeon well said, "The prerogative of life or death belongs to God in a wide range of senses. First of all as to natural life - we are all dependent upon His good pleasure. We shall not die until the time which He appoints - for our death time, like all our times, is in His hands. The wolves of disease will hurt us in vain, until God shall permit them to overtake us. The most desperate enemies may waylay us - but no bullet shall find its billet in any heart unless the Lord allows it. Our life does not even depend upon the care of angels, nor can our death be compassed by the malice of devils. We are immortal until our work is done - immortal until the immortal King shall call us home to the land where we shall be immortal in a still higher sense. When we are most sick, we need not despair of recovery - since the issues of death are in Almighty hands. "The Lord kills and makes alive!" When we have passed beyond the skill of the physician, we have not passed beyond the support of our God, to whom belong the issues of life and death."
"See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me, I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal - and no one can deliver out of My hand!" (Deut. 32:39)
3. The Absolute Godhood of God is Seen in Giving of the Scriptures. What part or lot did man have in the composition of the Bible? NONE whatever! Its very words are the words of God. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." No part of it was of human origin, "for the prophecy came not at any time by the will of man" (2 Peter 1:21). Did not holy men of God speak "moved by the Holy Spirit?" And how did they then record what the Holy Spirit communicated to them - in words of man's selecting? Nay truly, "not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches" (1 Cor. 2:13). Balaam longed to speak otherwise then he did - but he could not. Caiaphas prophesied "not of himself" (John 11:51). Pilate was asked to make a change in the one sentence which God moved him to write, but he declared "What I have written I have written" (John 19:22).
God acted sovereignly in the writing of the Scriptures as in everything else. The very words wee chosen by Him - and did He not sovereignly choose? Did He take counsel with either angels or men as to the words He should select for the communicating of His thoughts? No indeed!
4. The Absolute Godhood of God is Seen in Salvation. God's absolute and irresistible proprietorship has been, and is being displayed, in the spiritual realm as manifestly as in the natural.
Isaac is blessed - but Ishmael is cursed. Jacob is loved - but Esau is hated. Israel becomes God's favored people - while all other nations are suffered to remain in idolatry. Jesse's seven sons were all passed by - and David the shepherd boy was found to be the one after God's own heart. The proud Pharisees were rejected - while publicans and harlots were sweetly compelled by sovereign grace to sit down at the Gospel feast. The rich young ruler, who from his youth up, had kept the commandments, was allowed to go away from Christ "sorrowing," even though he had sought Him with real earnestness and humility - while the reprehensible Samaritan woman (John 4) who never sought Him, is made to rejoice in the forgiveness of her sins. Two thieves hung by Christ on the Cross, they were equally guilty, equally needy, equally near to Him. One of them is moved to cry: "Lord, remember me" and is taken to Paradise - while the other is allowed to die in his sins and sink down into a hopeless eternity.
Many are called - but few are chosen.
Yes, Salvation is God's sovereign work! "God does not save a man because he is a sinner - for if so He must save all men,for all are sinners. Nor because he comes to Christ - for "no man can come unless the Father draws him." Now because he repents - for "God gives repentance unto life." Now because he believes - for no one can believe except it were given him from above." Nor yet because he holds out faithful to the end - for "we are kept by the power of God." It is not because of baptism - for many are saved without it, and many are lost with it. It is not because of regeneration - for the new birth is a gift of God. It is not because of morality - for the moralist is the hardest to reach, and many of the most immoral are saved. The ground of distinguishing grace is the Sovereignty of God: "Even so Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight!"
But is God partial? We answer: Has He not a right to be? Again we quote from Mr. Spurgeon's sermon "The Royal Prerogative", "Spiritually, too, this prerogative is with God. We are by nature under the condemnation of the law on account of our sins, and we are like criminals tried, convicted, sentenced, and left for death. It is for God, as the great Judge, to see the sentence executed - or to issue a free pardon, according as He pleases. And He will have us know that it is upon His supreme pleasure that this matter depends. Over the head of a universe of sinners, I hear this sentence thundering: "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy - and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." Shut up for death, as men are by reason of their sins, it rests with God to pardon whomever He may. None have any claim to His favor - so it must be exercised upon His mere prerogative, because He is the Lord God, merciful and gracious, and delights to pass by transgression and sin."
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 8)
In his sermon on Psalm 68:20, 21, "unto God the Lord belong the issues of death" - the late Charles Spurgeon well said, "The prerogative of life or death belongs to God in a wide range of senses. First of all as to natural life - we are all dependent upon His good pleasure. We shall not die until the time which He appoints - for our death time, like all our times, is in His hands. The wolves of disease will hurt us in vain, until God shall permit them to overtake us. The most desperate enemies may waylay us - but no bullet shall find its billet in any heart unless the Lord allows it. Our life does not even depend upon the care of angels, nor can our death be compassed by the malice of devils. We are immortal until our work is done - immortal until the immortal King shall call us home to the land where we shall be immortal in a still higher sense. When we are most sick, we need not despair of recovery - since the issues of death are in Almighty hands. "The Lord kills and makes alive!" When we have passed beyond the skill of the physician, we have not passed beyond the support of our God, to whom belong the issues of life and death."
"See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me, I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal - and no one can deliver out of My hand!" (Deut. 32:39)
3. The Absolute Godhood of God is Seen in Giving of the Scriptures. What part or lot did man have in the composition of the Bible? NONE whatever! Its very words are the words of God. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God." No part of it was of human origin, "for the prophecy came not at any time by the will of man" (2 Peter 1:21). Did not holy men of God speak "moved by the Holy Spirit?" And how did they then record what the Holy Spirit communicated to them - in words of man's selecting? Nay truly, "not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches" (1 Cor. 2:13). Balaam longed to speak otherwise then he did - but he could not. Caiaphas prophesied "not of himself" (John 11:51). Pilate was asked to make a change in the one sentence which God moved him to write, but he declared "What I have written I have written" (John 19:22).
God acted sovereignly in the writing of the Scriptures as in everything else. The very words wee chosen by Him - and did He not sovereignly choose? Did He take counsel with either angels or men as to the words He should select for the communicating of His thoughts? No indeed!
4. The Absolute Godhood of God is Seen in Salvation. God's absolute and irresistible proprietorship has been, and is being displayed, in the spiritual realm as manifestly as in the natural.
Isaac is blessed - but Ishmael is cursed. Jacob is loved - but Esau is hated. Israel becomes God's favored people - while all other nations are suffered to remain in idolatry. Jesse's seven sons were all passed by - and David the shepherd boy was found to be the one after God's own heart. The proud Pharisees were rejected - while publicans and harlots were sweetly compelled by sovereign grace to sit down at the Gospel feast. The rich young ruler, who from his youth up, had kept the commandments, was allowed to go away from Christ "sorrowing," even though he had sought Him with real earnestness and humility - while the reprehensible Samaritan woman (John 4) who never sought Him, is made to rejoice in the forgiveness of her sins. Two thieves hung by Christ on the Cross, they were equally guilty, equally needy, equally near to Him. One of them is moved to cry: "Lord, remember me" and is taken to Paradise - while the other is allowed to die in his sins and sink down into a hopeless eternity.
Many are called - but few are chosen.
Yes, Salvation is God's sovereign work! "God does not save a man because he is a sinner - for if so He must save all men,for all are sinners. Nor because he comes to Christ - for "no man can come unless the Father draws him." Now because he repents - for "God gives repentance unto life." Now because he believes - for no one can believe except it were given him from above." Nor yet because he holds out faithful to the end - for "we are kept by the power of God." It is not because of baptism - for many are saved without it, and many are lost with it. It is not because of regeneration - for the new birth is a gift of God. It is not because of morality - for the moralist is the hardest to reach, and many of the most immoral are saved. The ground of distinguishing grace is the Sovereignty of God: "Even so Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight!"
But is God partial? We answer: Has He not a right to be? Again we quote from Mr. Spurgeon's sermon "The Royal Prerogative", "Spiritually, too, this prerogative is with God. We are by nature under the condemnation of the law on account of our sins, and we are like criminals tried, convicted, sentenced, and left for death. It is for God, as the great Judge, to see the sentence executed - or to issue a free pardon, according as He pleases. And He will have us know that it is upon His supreme pleasure that this matter depends. Over the head of a universe of sinners, I hear this sentence thundering: "I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy - and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." Shut up for death, as men are by reason of their sins, it rests with God to pardon whomever He may. None have any claim to His favor - so it must be exercised upon His mere prerogative, because He is the Lord God, merciful and gracious, and delights to pass by transgression and sin."
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 8)
Heavenly Worship # 2
Heavenly Worship # 2
He is the same Jesus now in the midst of the throne, and it is this astonishing combination of strength and gentleness which makes Him such a wondrous Saviour. In Him, we have union of all the truest qualities of love that our hearts so hunger for: tenderness, affectionateness, patience, sympathy. Then, when we have laid ourselves down to rest in all this blessed warmth of love, we look up and see that we are in the bosom of Omnipotence! Mere gentleness may be very weak - but while He is a lamb - He is also a lion!
There is a story of a cruel man who came one day with a little dog in hand, which he thrust into the cage of a great lion to see the mighty beast tear the defenseless creature to pieces; but, strange to say, the lion did not harm the terrified dog - but took him under his protection and became his friend. He was as gentle as a lamb to him, and all his lion strength was used for the sheltering and protecting of his frail charge. This very rustic illustration will help us to understand the representation of Christ which we have in this picture.
"Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne. He had seven horns and seven eyes." Here we have three other thoughts about Christ. Not only did He appear as a lamb - but as a lamb that had been slain. There were wound marks on Him, telling that once He had been dead.
One suggestion of the emblem of the lamb, is sacrifice. Lambs were offered as sacrifices in the ancient worship. Jesus was the Lamb of God who took away sin by bearing it Himself! So even in heaven, Jesus shows that once He suffered and died. Thus even in glory, the fact of salvation by His sacrificial death, is set forth to the eyes of all. Thus we are always to be reminded of the cost of our redemption.
A second suggestion about Christ, is in the representation of the "seven horns." The horn in the Bible is the symbol of strength, and seven is the symbol of completeness. Jesus appears there as the omnipotent One, having all power!
The third symbol in the picture is the "seven eyes," which are explained in the same verse to mean the Holy Spirit. An eye sees, and seven eyes represent the perfection of vision, seeing everywhere. The eyes of Christ are in all parts of the earth, and on all events. This thought of the omniscience of Christ is dreadful to the sinner - but to the Christian at peace with God - it has great comfort! Christ is watching over us and is ready to fly to our help and rescue at any moment. His eye is fearsome only to the wicked; to those who are His friends and are saved by Him, it gives no terror to think of the unsleeping divine eye ever looking down upon them in love!
Then came a vision of prayers, "Golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." (Revelation 5:8.) There is something very beautiful in this glimpse of how the prayers of the saints on earth, appear in heaven. They are not lost in the air - but reach heaven, and are put into bowls to be kept secure. The bowls are golden, intimating the preciousness of the prayers that are put into them. The prayers which are put into the golden bowls - are gathered and preserved!
Sometimes it is a great while before they are answered, yet they are not lost or forgotten - but are safely stored in the golden bowls. These prayers are as incense, and that shows how them seem to God. Incense was used in the temple worship, and divine instruction was given as to its compounding. When the incense was burned, it emitted a sweet fragrance. The heart-prayers of earth - are the true incense.
One writer suggests that the three ingredients in the incense of prayer are: petition, confession, thanksgiving. Then divine fire falls upon it, and it ascends to God and is acceptable to Him. It is a very sweet thought that true prayer is as incense unto God. He loves to hear us pray!
There is more than prayer in heaven - there is song. The song of heaven will be of Christ, and it will celebrate the victory which He won at His death. We shall join in the song because we owe to Christ every joy, every blessing and hope of our souls.
The angels too, will join in the chorus, and all the universe will unite their voices in the ascription of praise and worship that goes up to God and the Lamb!
"Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Then I heard every creature in heaven, and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb - be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" (Revelation 5:11-13).
~J. R. Miller~
(The End)
He is the same Jesus now in the midst of the throne, and it is this astonishing combination of strength and gentleness which makes Him such a wondrous Saviour. In Him, we have union of all the truest qualities of love that our hearts so hunger for: tenderness, affectionateness, patience, sympathy. Then, when we have laid ourselves down to rest in all this blessed warmth of love, we look up and see that we are in the bosom of Omnipotence! Mere gentleness may be very weak - but while He is a lamb - He is also a lion!
There is a story of a cruel man who came one day with a little dog in hand, which he thrust into the cage of a great lion to see the mighty beast tear the defenseless creature to pieces; but, strange to say, the lion did not harm the terrified dog - but took him under his protection and became his friend. He was as gentle as a lamb to him, and all his lion strength was used for the sheltering and protecting of his frail charge. This very rustic illustration will help us to understand the representation of Christ which we have in this picture.
"Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne. He had seven horns and seven eyes." Here we have three other thoughts about Christ. Not only did He appear as a lamb - but as a lamb that had been slain. There were wound marks on Him, telling that once He had been dead.
One suggestion of the emblem of the lamb, is sacrifice. Lambs were offered as sacrifices in the ancient worship. Jesus was the Lamb of God who took away sin by bearing it Himself! So even in heaven, Jesus shows that once He suffered and died. Thus even in glory, the fact of salvation by His sacrificial death, is set forth to the eyes of all. Thus we are always to be reminded of the cost of our redemption.
A second suggestion about Christ, is in the representation of the "seven horns." The horn in the Bible is the symbol of strength, and seven is the symbol of completeness. Jesus appears there as the omnipotent One, having all power!
The third symbol in the picture is the "seven eyes," which are explained in the same verse to mean the Holy Spirit. An eye sees, and seven eyes represent the perfection of vision, seeing everywhere. The eyes of Christ are in all parts of the earth, and on all events. This thought of the omniscience of Christ is dreadful to the sinner - but to the Christian at peace with God - it has great comfort! Christ is watching over us and is ready to fly to our help and rescue at any moment. His eye is fearsome only to the wicked; to those who are His friends and are saved by Him, it gives no terror to think of the unsleeping divine eye ever looking down upon them in love!
Then came a vision of prayers, "Golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." (Revelation 5:8.) There is something very beautiful in this glimpse of how the prayers of the saints on earth, appear in heaven. They are not lost in the air - but reach heaven, and are put into bowls to be kept secure. The bowls are golden, intimating the preciousness of the prayers that are put into them. The prayers which are put into the golden bowls - are gathered and preserved!
Sometimes it is a great while before they are answered, yet they are not lost or forgotten - but are safely stored in the golden bowls. These prayers are as incense, and that shows how them seem to God. Incense was used in the temple worship, and divine instruction was given as to its compounding. When the incense was burned, it emitted a sweet fragrance. The heart-prayers of earth - are the true incense.
One writer suggests that the three ingredients in the incense of prayer are: petition, confession, thanksgiving. Then divine fire falls upon it, and it ascends to God and is acceptable to Him. It is a very sweet thought that true prayer is as incense unto God. He loves to hear us pray!
There is more than prayer in heaven - there is song. The song of heaven will be of Christ, and it will celebrate the victory which He won at His death. We shall join in the song because we owe to Christ every joy, every blessing and hope of our souls.
The angels too, will join in the chorus, and all the universe will unite their voices in the ascription of praise and worship that goes up to God and the Lamb!
"Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. In a loud voice they sang: "Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise!" Then I heard every creature in heaven, and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing: "To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb - be praise and honor and glory and power, for ever and ever!" (Revelation 5:11-13).
~J. R. Miller~
(The End)
Saturday, February 1, 2020
Lessons for Christian Workers # 2 (and others)
Lessons for Christian Workers # 2 (and others)
We also learn here very much about the work itself which Christ wants us to do. Fishing is not all - He would have us do shepherd work as well. That is, it is not enough to draw lost souls out of the waters of death; when they are saved, there begins a shepherding ministry for them and on their behalf which must be continued until they are gathered into the heavenly fold.
Some workers forget this.They strive only to secure the conversion of sinners, and after that they let them go on as best they can. Young Christians sometimes complain, and justly, too, that their pastors and teacher were unremitting in their attention to them until they had accepted Christ and united with the Church - but that afterward no loving interest in them was manifested, and they were left to go on alone in their struggle with temptation and in their efforts to grow as Christians.
Christ's teaching here is very emphatic on this point. He bids to feed His lambs, and to tend and shepherd His sheep. Anyone who recalls the kind of care given by Oriental shepherds to their sheep will understand the tender, faithful, patient, helpful art which Christ would have us give to all young Christians and to all feeble, tempted, struggling Christians of whatever age, over whom we are in any sense overseers. A great part of the work of every true pastor is the shepherd work - this work of feeding, protecting, guiding, comforting, encouraging and helping in all ways - the people under his care. If he fails in this, his ministry will be a failure; and how can he then appear before God's judgment bar at last, and answer for the souls committed to him? Bible teachers also, with young Christians in their classes should not fail to be most loving and faithful shepherds to them.
The last word then is one of great encouragement to the workers. When these tired and hungry apostles had brought their net to the shore they found a meal prepared for them by the Master's loving thoughtfulness.
There are two suggestions: That Jesus always provides for the needs of His faithful servants. At the close of every day of toil, when they came back to His feet with the results, He has food ready for them of which the world knows nothing.
Then at the close of all earth's toil, when the last net has been dragged through the waters and the weary worker reaches his eternal home, the Master will be standing on the heavenly shore to receive them and will immediately invite them to feed upon the blessed provisions of His glorious love and grace!
~J. R. Miller~
(The End)
~T. Austin-Sparks~
We also learn here very much about the work itself which Christ wants us to do. Fishing is not all - He would have us do shepherd work as well. That is, it is not enough to draw lost souls out of the waters of death; when they are saved, there begins a shepherding ministry for them and on their behalf which must be continued until they are gathered into the heavenly fold.
Some workers forget this.They strive only to secure the conversion of sinners, and after that they let them go on as best they can. Young Christians sometimes complain, and justly, too, that their pastors and teacher were unremitting in their attention to them until they had accepted Christ and united with the Church - but that afterward no loving interest in them was manifested, and they were left to go on alone in their struggle with temptation and in their efforts to grow as Christians.
Christ's teaching here is very emphatic on this point. He bids to feed His lambs, and to tend and shepherd His sheep. Anyone who recalls the kind of care given by Oriental shepherds to their sheep will understand the tender, faithful, patient, helpful art which Christ would have us give to all young Christians and to all feeble, tempted, struggling Christians of whatever age, over whom we are in any sense overseers. A great part of the work of every true pastor is the shepherd work - this work of feeding, protecting, guiding, comforting, encouraging and helping in all ways - the people under his care. If he fails in this, his ministry will be a failure; and how can he then appear before God's judgment bar at last, and answer for the souls committed to him? Bible teachers also, with young Christians in their classes should not fail to be most loving and faithful shepherds to them.
The last word then is one of great encouragement to the workers. When these tired and hungry apostles had brought their net to the shore they found a meal prepared for them by the Master's loving thoughtfulness.
There are two suggestions: That Jesus always provides for the needs of His faithful servants. At the close of every day of toil, when they came back to His feet with the results, He has food ready for them of which the world knows nothing.
Then at the close of all earth's toil, when the last net has been dragged through the waters and the weary worker reaches his eternal home, the Master will be standing on the heavenly shore to receive them and will immediately invite them to feed upon the blessed provisions of His glorious love and grace!
~J. R. Miller~
(The End)
Look after each other so that none of you fails to receive the grace of God. Watch out that no poisonous root of bitterness grows up to trouble you, corrupting many. (Hebrews 12:15 NLT)
If we consider what were some of the practical factors in Christ's crucifixion we realize that His sufferings were caused by men's fickleness, bigotry, fearfulness, jealousy and treachery. In love He bore all these for us. And these may well be the factors which challenge the reality of our love to God. The fickle crowds so soon forgot the kindness and goodness of the Lord Jesus, allowing themselves to be carried away by base and false accusations, so that they cried out against the one whom they had formerly extolled and praised. The Pharisees were so dominated by a religious bigotry which was cruel in its intolerance and harsh in its legalistic denunciations that they took the lead in causing His sufferings. The disciples, as well as Pilate, were fearful; Judas was treacherous; and Satan was jealous himself and inspired jealousy in the Sadducees and others. But all this concentration of attacks upon love did not turn the Lord away from remaining faithful to the Father's will in every detail. God's love meant more to Him than the bitterness of enemies, the failure of friends, the strength of popular opinion or the matter of His own rights. When He came to rest in the glory of the Father's presence, love had conquered every temptation....
We, too, are confronted by some of the foes which He had to face, for we have been called to bear the Cross after Him. The fickleness of friends and fellow-workers, the bigoted criticism of those who claim to be God's servants, the fear-inspiring pressure of popular opinion, the misunderstanding and jealousy which Satan himself inspires – these are some of the tests put to our love. We can never hope to overcome them unless we remember that there is in the presence of God for us a Savior who suffered the full agony of these things, but accepted them as part of the cup which the Father had given Him to drink. It was love for the Father which enabled Him always to choose the Father's will, and the outcome of His triumph is that "we should be holy and without blemish before Him in love." There is a sense in which God is seeking to undo in us all that failure of love which we inherit from Adam. He exposes us to the painfulness of the Cross, not in some capricious or unsympathetic way, but because He aims to reproduce in us that love in fulfillment of His will which Christ already presents to Him on our behalf.
We, too, are confronted by some of the foes which He had to face, for we have been called to bear the Cross after Him. The fickleness of friends and fellow-workers, the bigoted criticism of those who claim to be God's servants, the fear-inspiring pressure of popular opinion, the misunderstanding and jealousy which Satan himself inspires – these are some of the tests put to our love. We can never hope to overcome them unless we remember that there is in the presence of God for us a Savior who suffered the full agony of these things, but accepted them as part of the cup which the Father had given Him to drink. It was love for the Father which enabled Him always to choose the Father's will, and the outcome of His triumph is that "we should be holy and without blemish before Him in love." There is a sense in which God is seeking to undo in us all that failure of love which we inherit from Adam. He exposes us to the painfulness of the Cross, not in some capricious or unsympathetic way, but because He aims to reproduce in us that love in fulfillment of His will which Christ already presents to Him on our behalf.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
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