The Holy Spirit
How much we are indebted to the Holy Spirit, and how apt we are to forget, or lost sight of our obligations to Him! Jesus, who knew all about our nature, and who knew all that would happen to His people in this world - in order to allay their fears, comfort their hearts, and fortify their souls - promised them the Holy Spirit. What He promised, He performed - and the Holy Spirit is in the Church, and in every true believer, as the gift of Jesus.
The Holy Spirit ...
teaches us,
helps our infirmities,
testifies of Jesus,
sympathizes with us,
and will never leave us.
I wish to dwell for a few minutes, and to write a few lines on this subject, for the benefit of my own soul, and for the profit of others. Lord, help me! Let no unworthy thought enter into my mind. Let no improper word drop from my pen. I would honor the Blessed Comforter, and glorify His most holy Name.
The Holy Spirit is with us for the most important purposes, and to perform a most glorious work.
The Holy Spirit is with us to animate us in conflict. We have to do battle with most determined foes. With indwelling sin, the god of this world,and the evil world itself - all being in league against us - would faint and give up the contest often, were it not that the Holy Spirit points us to our great Captain, fixes the eye on the crown, and brings home the precious promises, which animate and stimulate us afresh.
The Holy Spirit is with us to strengthen us in duty. Many of our duties are very arduous, and exceedingly trying to flesh and blood. We would shrink from them, or fall in them - but that the Holy Spirit, by fresh communications of grace, and supplies from the fullness of Christ - strengthen us with strength in our souls.
The Holy Spirit is with us to console in sorrow. He is entitled, "the Comforter." And as such, he administers the choicest consolation to us. Our sorrows are at times very deep. They appear to be overwhelming. We fear we shall sink under them, or dishonor God from our impatience in them - but the Holy Spirit leads us to Gethsemane, or to Calvary - to have fellowship with Christ in His sufferings. Or He directs our thoughts forward to the end of our faith, even the salvation of our souls, and so administers consolation to us.
The Holy Spirit is with us to sanctify in joy. As our sorrows may fill us with gloom, and overwhelm us with distress - so our joys may unduly elate, or make us light and vain. To prevent this, the Holy Spirit reminds us of what we were, or what we would have been - but for the grace of God. He refers us to many who have fallen, or have become carnal and vain - and so preserves us serious, watchful, and prayerful.
The Holy Spirit is with us to enlighten in perplexity. This He does by throwing light upon our path, by unfolding the Word of God, or by shining into our minds.
Then we stand in the ways to see. We wait for the Lord. We look out to see our Father's hand clearing our road. We listen to hear the voice behind us, which says, "This is the way - walk in it."
The Holy Spirit is with us to help in prayer. For, with the Apostle, we can say, "We know not what to pray for as we ought," therefore "the Spirit helps our infirmities." We have neither light to see what we need, nor faith to believe the promises made to us, nor power to plead with God and prevail - but as the Holy Spirit renders us assistance. He teaches us for what to pray for, and how to pray. He prompts, suggests, and renders us successful at the throne of grace.
The Holy Spirit is with us to inspire in praise. Our praises are often very dull/ Gratitude is a scarce thing with us. But our praises would be dullness itself, and gratitude to God would be a stranger to our bosom - but for the Holy Spirit. Blessed Comforter ...
animate me in all my conflicts,
strengthen me in every duty,
console me under all my sorrows,
sanctify me in all my joys,
enlighten me in all my perplexities,
help me in all my prayers,
and inspire all my praises to my covenant God and Father!
The Holy Spirit imparts penitence for sin, working in us repentance unto life.
He produces aspirations after holiness, so that we pant tobe made pure in body, soul, and spirit.
He gives love to duty, so that we choose the things that please God, esteem all His precepts concerning all things to be right, and hate every false way.
He leads into correct views of truth, so that we escape the errors that float around us, and are preserved from damnable heresies.
He generates humbling thoughts of self, so that we are not inflated with pride - but lie low before God in self abasement, admiring His free and sovereign grace, which has made us to differ from others.
He unfolds gladdening views, so that we at times see the King in His beauty, and get a glimpse of our future glorious inheritance.
He takes the eye off the saddening and depressing, and fixes it on the cheering and animating.
He gives us liberty in prayer, so that we plead with God, as a man pleads with his friend; and at times, we feel no where so much at home, as at the mercy seat, when alone with God.
The Holy Spirit produces delight in God's law, He shows us its beauty and excellency, assures us that we are delivered from its curse, and shall ultimately be so sanctified, that every vibration of the soul will be in exact conformity with it. Then we say, "O how I love your law - it is my meditation all the days!"
He fills us with confidence and joy in Christ - then every tear is dissipated, peace and profound happiness are enjoyed, foretastes of Heaven are realized, and we often long to depart and be with Christ - which is far better.
Spirit of Jesus ...
give me penitence,
produce in me strong aspirations after holiness,
impart to me a love to every duty,
lead me to correct views of divine truth,
give me humbling thoughts of self,
and gladdening views of Jesus,
grant me liberty in prayer,
delight in God's law, and
confidence and joy in Christ!
Reader, have you received the Holy Spirit? Do you know anything of receiving supplies of the Spirit of Christ? Does the Holy Spirit dwell in you in fullness, work in you, and endear Jesus to you? The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of life - and without Him we are dead in sin, alienated from the life of God, and are totally unfit for Heaven!
As there is no pardon - but through the blood of Christ; so there is no holiness - but through the Spirit of Christ. And as the blood of Christ will not avail for us, unless it is applied to us; so the Spirit of Christ will not sanctify us, unless he dwells in us.
We cannot get to Heaven without a pardon;
nor obtain a pardon but through the blood of Jesus;
no more can we see God without holiness;
nor be made holy - but by the Spirit of Jesus.
We do not more need a dying Saviour on the Cross - than we need the living, and life-giving Spirit in our hearts!
See to it then, that you have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in you, and if you have not, make sure of the blessing as you may, for Jesus has said, "If you being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children - then how much more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit unto those who ask Him." Ask then, and receive - and so you will be safe!
~James Smith~
(The End)
A Proliferation of Christian Devotionals and Sermons
Tuesday, March 28, 2017
Friday, March 24, 2017
Classic Christian Devotions
Classic Christian Devotions
"God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him" (Colossians 1:19).
The next thing I am going to say may be difficult to accept, just as it is difficult to say, and yet faithfulness demands that things like this should be said. There is going to be a tremendous surprise one day over this matter. There is a tremendous amount of energy, and activity, and machinery, and zeal and devotion in the work of the Lord, in the service of the Lord, which seems to be producing something quite big, and carrying on something quite extensive. It is not for us to judge, but it is for us to lay down laws and recognize those laws, or, rather, recognize laws that are laid down to God. When eventually all work, all service, all activity, is weighed in the balances, which will determine what abides forever or passes away forever, all that which was merely human energy for God will go; all that which was merely man's enterprise for the Lord will go; all that which was in any way out from man himself, even though in devotion to God, will go. Only that which was the energy of Christ, the wisdom of Christ, the power of Christ, the wisdom of Christ, will remain. God is not using your energies and my energies. He is calling upon us to use the energies of Christ. God cannot set His seal upon anything that is of man.
God's seal only rests upon that which is of His Son, and we must not say that because a thing is big, extensive, and seems to be a great work for God, that it necessarily is such. What we have got to be quite sure about is that that thing is not being carried on by the momentum of man, or the momentum of organization, the momentum of machinery, the momentum of human zeal and energy for God, nor by the momentum of a program, but that it is being energized by the Holy Spirit, that it is Christ Himself who is the Life and the Power of that thing. In so far as human personalities, energies and all that kind of thing are the mainspring, we may be sure that in the end there is going to be a good deal that goes. That can be seen as you look back over the history of things which claimed to represent God. The object of saying this is not for one moment to cast a cloud of suspicion or doubt over this basic truth. It is along the line of jealousy for Christ. Nothing will remain in this universe eventually but what is Christ, and we must recognize that everything for God's ultimate purpose is bound up with and in Christ, and it IS Christ.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
______________________________
Have I Committed the Unpardonable Sin?
When a person is obsessed by the idea that he or she has committed the unpardonable sin, such obsession is the result of satan's attempt to harass a saint, rather than his effort to destroy a sinner. If that may seem a somewhat strange thing to say, I want quite simply to attempt to make clear what I mean by it. It speak now entirely from experience, and experience may not be trusted as infallible foundation for dogmatic statement.
Speaking entirely from experience, I declare that I have never yet found a man or woman, hard and rebellious and determined in sin, who possessed that particular fear. It is always the fear of the sensitive soul, always the fear of some trembling child of God. I do not say that it is always the case, but I do say that I have never met an exception.
Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that satan never destroys men by making them believe that they're committed such a sin, but he does harass the saints by attempting to make them believe that. A method I have invariably followed for many years in dealing with those who come to me and say that they have, or that they fear they have committed the sin against the Spirit which has no forgiveness, is that of asking them this question: If you have committed this sin, will you be good enough to tell me what it is? I have never yet found a person possessed of the fear that they have committed it who could tell me what it is.
~G. Campbell Morgan~
______________________________
"God was pleased to have all His fullness dwell in Him" (Colossians 1:19).
The next thing I am going to say may be difficult to accept, just as it is difficult to say, and yet faithfulness demands that things like this should be said. There is going to be a tremendous surprise one day over this matter. There is a tremendous amount of energy, and activity, and machinery, and zeal and devotion in the work of the Lord, in the service of the Lord, which seems to be producing something quite big, and carrying on something quite extensive. It is not for us to judge, but it is for us to lay down laws and recognize those laws, or, rather, recognize laws that are laid down to God. When eventually all work, all service, all activity, is weighed in the balances, which will determine what abides forever or passes away forever, all that which was merely human energy for God will go; all that which was merely man's enterprise for the Lord will go; all that which was in any way out from man himself, even though in devotion to God, will go. Only that which was the energy of Christ, the wisdom of Christ, the power of Christ, the wisdom of Christ, will remain. God is not using your energies and my energies. He is calling upon us to use the energies of Christ. God cannot set His seal upon anything that is of man.
God's seal only rests upon that which is of His Son, and we must not say that because a thing is big, extensive, and seems to be a great work for God, that it necessarily is such. What we have got to be quite sure about is that that thing is not being carried on by the momentum of man, or the momentum of organization, the momentum of machinery, the momentum of human zeal and energy for God, nor by the momentum of a program, but that it is being energized by the Holy Spirit, that it is Christ Himself who is the Life and the Power of that thing. In so far as human personalities, energies and all that kind of thing are the mainspring, we may be sure that in the end there is going to be a good deal that goes. That can be seen as you look back over the history of things which claimed to represent God. The object of saying this is not for one moment to cast a cloud of suspicion or doubt over this basic truth. It is along the line of jealousy for Christ. Nothing will remain in this universe eventually but what is Christ, and we must recognize that everything for God's ultimate purpose is bound up with and in Christ, and it IS Christ.
~T. Austin-Sparks~
______________________________
Have I Committed the Unpardonable Sin?
When a person is obsessed by the idea that he or she has committed the unpardonable sin, such obsession is the result of satan's attempt to harass a saint, rather than his effort to destroy a sinner. If that may seem a somewhat strange thing to say, I want quite simply to attempt to make clear what I mean by it. It speak now entirely from experience, and experience may not be trusted as infallible foundation for dogmatic statement.
Speaking entirely from experience, I declare that I have never yet found a man or woman, hard and rebellious and determined in sin, who possessed that particular fear. It is always the fear of the sensitive soul, always the fear of some trembling child of God. I do not say that it is always the case, but I do say that I have never met an exception.
Therefore, I have come to the conclusion that satan never destroys men by making them believe that they're committed such a sin, but he does harass the saints by attempting to make them believe that. A method I have invariably followed for many years in dealing with those who come to me and say that they have, or that they fear they have committed the sin against the Spirit which has no forgiveness, is that of asking them this question: If you have committed this sin, will you be good enough to tell me what it is? I have never yet found a person possessed of the fear that they have committed it who could tell me what it is.
~G. Campbell Morgan~
______________________________
The Snare of Fear
Proverbs 29:25 tells us,
The fear of man brings a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD shall be safe.
A snare is a noose used for catching an animal. Fear will cause you to be snared or trapped, just like an animal.
I have a friend in the church who has a very large nut tree in his yard, which the squirrels regularly raid. He put this big net over the tree, but it did not seem to deter the squirrels at all. So he finally got a trap and set it up on the roof right next to the nut tree. To date, he has caught about 120 squirrels.
When the squirrel is in the trap, it is totally at his mercy. It can't go anywhere. He happens to be a fairly merciful gentleman, so he takes them over to a local park and lets them go.
When fear gets a hold of your life, you become like one of those trapped squirrels--you are not going anywhere. You are at its mercy. You will not progress spiritually. It keeps you bound. The fear of man can keep you from obeying God; it will keep you from pleasing God. It will keep you from the joy you would experience when you trust God.
In fact, there is a contrast in our verse today. The man or woman who is bound by the fear of man, will not be trusting God in some area of his life. Look at the two parts of the verse together: The fear of man brings a snare, but... in contrast ...whoever trusts in the Lord shall be safe.
Do not allow the fear of man to control your life. Instead, trust in the Lord.
~Bayless Conley~
Answers for Each Day Ministries
Tuesday, March 21, 2017
The Spirit of True Religion # 2
The Spirit of True Religion # 2
God's Creatures Seek Him
We often hear it said that religion does a glorious work in the heart of man. But if the work is not begun, continued, and completed by the living operation of God in man, it can have no truth, goodness, or divine blessing in it. Why? Because nothing can truly seek God except that which comes from God. Nothing can truly find God as its good except that which has the nature of God living in it. Therefore, we cannot perform any religious service with any truth, goodness, or blessing in it unless we do so by the divine nature that lives and breathes in us.
All true religion is, or brings forth, an essential union and communion of the spirit of the creature with the Spirit of the Creator. God in us, and we in God - one life, one light, one love. The Spirit of God first sows the seed of divine union in the soul of a man. Then, afterwards,faith revives the seed, raises it up, and brings it forth to a fullness of life in God.
Allow me to illustrate this further. The beginning of life for an animal must first come from the breath of this world. As long as the animal is alive, it maintains an essential union with the breath of this world. In a similar manner, divine faith, hope, love, and willing submission to God are the breath of the religious life. As long as they are genuine, they unite God and the creature in the same living and essential manner as the breath of an animal unites it with the breath of this world.
Now, no animal could begin to breathe with the breath of this world unless its breath came from the air of this world. Likewise, no creature - whether angel or man - could begin to be religious or breathe forth faith, love, and a desire for God, unless a living seed of these divine virtues was first brought forth in him by the Spirit of God. Remember, a tree or plant can only grow and bear fruit by the same power that first gave birth to the seed. In the same way, faith, hope, and love for God can only grow and bear fruit by the power that first planted the seed of them in the soul.
The Holy Spirit plants the seeds of divine faith, hope, and love in the soul, but He also continually waters and cares for them. Such inspiration is vital to the continuance of a truly godly life. Therefore, divine inspiration is inseparable from true religion. If you were to take away inspiration, or if it were to cease, then no religious acts or feelings would give forth anything that is godly or divine. Created beings can offer nothing to God in return except what they have first received from Him. Therefore, if we are to offer all our divine inclinations and aspirations, we must have the divine and godly nature living and breathing in us.
Can anything reflect light before it has received light? Or can any other light be reflected than that which is received? Can any creature experience earthly emotions before it has an earthly nature? This is as likely as someone experiencing divine affections before partaking of the divine nature. It simply cannot be done!
Selfish and Vain Religion
A religious faith that is uninspired - a hope or love that does not proceed from the direct working of the divine nature within us - can do no more divine good to our souls and can no more unite them with the goodness of God, than a hunger after earthly food can feed us with the immortal Bread of Heaven. All that the natural or uninspired man does in the church has no more of the truth or power of divine worship in it than that which he does in the field or the shop through a desire for more money.
This is because all the acts of natural man, whether relating to matters of religion or to the world, are equally selfish, and thee is no possibility of their being otherwise. Self-love, self-esteem, self-seeking, and living wholly to oneself are all that is or possibly can be in the natural man. Man cannot be any better, nor can he act any higher above this nature, than any beast. No creature can be in a better or higher state than this until something supernatural is found in it, and this supernatural something is called the Word or Spirit or Inspiration of God. This alone can give man the first good thought about God. The Holy Spirit of God is the only force that an cause man to have more heavenly desires than fleshly ones.
A religion that is not wholly built upon this supernatural ground, but instead stands solely upon the powers, reasonings, and conclusions of the natural, uninspired man, does not have even a hint of true religion in it. Instead, it is nothing, in the same sense that an idol is nothing because it has none of what it is alleged to have. Along the same lines, the work of religion has no divine good in it until it brings forth and keeps up an essential union of the spirit of man with the Spirit of God. This essential union cannot be formed unless there is love on both sides. More explicitly, it is not merely love, but it is love that has the same divine nature on both sides.
Love Brought to Us by the Spirit
No one, therefore, can reach God with his love or have union with Him by it besides the person who is inspired by the one Spirit of love - the Spirit with which God loved Himself from all eternity, before there were any created beings. Infinite hosts of newly created heavenly beings could not begin any new kind of love for God, nor could they begin to love Him at all if His own Holy Spirit of love had not been brought to life in them.
This love, with which God loved Himself from all eternity and which was then in God alone, is the only love in us that can draw us to God. We can have no power to cleave to Him, to will what He wills, or to adore the divine nature, except by partaking of that eternal Spirit of love.
Therefore, the continual, direct inspiration or operation of the Holy Spirit is the only possible ground for our continual love for God. Concerning this inspired love, and no other, John said, "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God" (1 John 4:16). If it were any other love, brought forth by any other thing but the Spirit of God breathing His own love in us, then John's words cannot be true. But we know that "every word of God is pure" (Proverbs 30:5) and that His "word is truth" (John 17:17).
~William Law~
(The End)
God's Creatures Seek Him
We often hear it said that religion does a glorious work in the heart of man. But if the work is not begun, continued, and completed by the living operation of God in man, it can have no truth, goodness, or divine blessing in it. Why? Because nothing can truly seek God except that which comes from God. Nothing can truly find God as its good except that which has the nature of God living in it. Therefore, we cannot perform any religious service with any truth, goodness, or blessing in it unless we do so by the divine nature that lives and breathes in us.
All true religion is, or brings forth, an essential union and communion of the spirit of the creature with the Spirit of the Creator. God in us, and we in God - one life, one light, one love. The Spirit of God first sows the seed of divine union in the soul of a man. Then, afterwards,faith revives the seed, raises it up, and brings it forth to a fullness of life in God.
Allow me to illustrate this further. The beginning of life for an animal must first come from the breath of this world. As long as the animal is alive, it maintains an essential union with the breath of this world. In a similar manner, divine faith, hope, love, and willing submission to God are the breath of the religious life. As long as they are genuine, they unite God and the creature in the same living and essential manner as the breath of an animal unites it with the breath of this world.
Now, no animal could begin to breathe with the breath of this world unless its breath came from the air of this world. Likewise, no creature - whether angel or man - could begin to be religious or breathe forth faith, love, and a desire for God, unless a living seed of these divine virtues was first brought forth in him by the Spirit of God. Remember, a tree or plant can only grow and bear fruit by the same power that first gave birth to the seed. In the same way, faith, hope, and love for God can only grow and bear fruit by the power that first planted the seed of them in the soul.
The Holy Spirit plants the seeds of divine faith, hope, and love in the soul, but He also continually waters and cares for them. Such inspiration is vital to the continuance of a truly godly life. Therefore, divine inspiration is inseparable from true religion. If you were to take away inspiration, or if it were to cease, then no religious acts or feelings would give forth anything that is godly or divine. Created beings can offer nothing to God in return except what they have first received from Him. Therefore, if we are to offer all our divine inclinations and aspirations, we must have the divine and godly nature living and breathing in us.
Can anything reflect light before it has received light? Or can any other light be reflected than that which is received? Can any creature experience earthly emotions before it has an earthly nature? This is as likely as someone experiencing divine affections before partaking of the divine nature. It simply cannot be done!
Selfish and Vain Religion
A religious faith that is uninspired - a hope or love that does not proceed from the direct working of the divine nature within us - can do no more divine good to our souls and can no more unite them with the goodness of God, than a hunger after earthly food can feed us with the immortal Bread of Heaven. All that the natural or uninspired man does in the church has no more of the truth or power of divine worship in it than that which he does in the field or the shop through a desire for more money.
This is because all the acts of natural man, whether relating to matters of religion or to the world, are equally selfish, and thee is no possibility of their being otherwise. Self-love, self-esteem, self-seeking, and living wholly to oneself are all that is or possibly can be in the natural man. Man cannot be any better, nor can he act any higher above this nature, than any beast. No creature can be in a better or higher state than this until something supernatural is found in it, and this supernatural something is called the Word or Spirit or Inspiration of God. This alone can give man the first good thought about God. The Holy Spirit of God is the only force that an cause man to have more heavenly desires than fleshly ones.
A religion that is not wholly built upon this supernatural ground, but instead stands solely upon the powers, reasonings, and conclusions of the natural, uninspired man, does not have even a hint of true religion in it. Instead, it is nothing, in the same sense that an idol is nothing because it has none of what it is alleged to have. Along the same lines, the work of religion has no divine good in it until it brings forth and keeps up an essential union of the spirit of man with the Spirit of God. This essential union cannot be formed unless there is love on both sides. More explicitly, it is not merely love, but it is love that has the same divine nature on both sides.
Love Brought to Us by the Spirit
No one, therefore, can reach God with his love or have union with Him by it besides the person who is inspired by the one Spirit of love - the Spirit with which God loved Himself from all eternity, before there were any created beings. Infinite hosts of newly created heavenly beings could not begin any new kind of love for God, nor could they begin to love Him at all if His own Holy Spirit of love had not been brought to life in them.
This love, with which God loved Himself from all eternity and which was then in God alone, is the only love in us that can draw us to God. We can have no power to cleave to Him, to will what He wills, or to adore the divine nature, except by partaking of that eternal Spirit of love.
Therefore, the continual, direct inspiration or operation of the Holy Spirit is the only possible ground for our continual love for God. Concerning this inspired love, and no other, John said, "He that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God" (1 John 4:16). If it were any other love, brought forth by any other thing but the Spirit of God breathing His own love in us, then John's words cannot be true. But we know that "every word of God is pure" (Proverbs 30:5) and that His "word is truth" (John 17:17).
~William Law~
(The End)
Saturday, March 18, 2017
The Spirit of True Religion # 1
The Spirit of True Religion # 1
I can think of one thing that is a common concern among all Christians and that should be carefully examined by them. I am sure that if it were either neglected, overlooked, or mistaken by them, there would be some sad consequences. This is something that is essential to Christian salvation. I use the words "essential to salvation" because I would not turn my own thoughts, or call the attention of Christians, to anything but the one necessary and essential thing. It is only available as we rise out of our fallen state and become, as we were at our creation, the holy offspring of God and the real partakers of the divine nature.
What is this one thing? It is the renewal of the original life and power of the Spirit of God in us. Nothing else is needed by us, nothing else is intended for us, either by the law, the prophets, or the gospel. Nothing else can make sinful man become a godly creature again. Everything else, no matter what it is - however glorious and divine in outward appearance - is dead and helpless unless it has the Spirit of God breathing and living in it. All Scripture bears full witness to this truth. No angel, no person, no church, no reformation can do anything for us without the Spirit of God.
Everything written in the Bible was written only to call us back from the spirit of satan, the flesh, and the world, to be again fully dependent upon and obedient to the Spirit of God. Out of love and thirst for our souls, the Holy Spirit seeks to have His original power of life in us. When this is done, all that the Scriptures can do for us is also done.
Read whatever doctrine of Scripture you will, and it will leave you as poor and empty and unreformed as it found you, unless it has turned you wholly and solely to the Spirit of God. Delight in whatever passage of Scripture you can find, and your delight will be nothing unless it has strengthened your union with and dependence upon Him. For when delight in matters of Scripture is a delight that is merely human, it is only the self-love of fallen man. It can have no better nature than this until it proceeds from the inspiration of God, awakening His own life and nature within us, which alone can bring forth a godly love in us.
Because it is an immutable truth that "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3), it must be an equally immutable truth that no one can have a Christlike mind or the power of goodness unless he is led and governed by the Holy Spirit. Allow me to explain what I mean by this.
Goodness Is in God Alone
All possible goodness, whether named or nameless, was in God from all eternity. Therefore, for all eternity it must be inseparable from Him; it can be nowhere but where God is. Before God created anything, there was only One who was good. Likewise, even after God created the innumerable hosts of blessed and holy and heavenly beings, there was and still is only One who is good, and He is God (Matthew 19:17).
All that can be called goodness, holiness, or heavenly inclinations in us is not our own, nor can it be considered the result of any of our own powers. Rather, all that is called divine goodness and virtue in us is nothing but the goodness of God manifesting itself according to how our created nature is able to receive it. This is the unalterable relationship between the Creator and the creature. Forever and ever, goodness can only belong to God. It is as essential to Him and inseparable from Him as His own unity.
God could not make the creature to be great and glorious in itself, this is as impossible as it would be for God to create beings who are not dependent upon Him. "The heavens," said David, "declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1), and no creature can declare any other glory but that of God. If we wish to say that a divine or heavenly creature shows forth its own natural power, it might as well be said that the earth shows forth its own handiwork. (See Psalm 19:1).
True Religion Depends Upon God
However, all that is divine, great, and glorious in us is only a reflection of the greatness, glory, majesty, and blessedness of God dwelling in us and giving forth His own triune life, light, and love. As much as we are able to receive these things, we may infallibly see the true ground and nature of all true faith, including when and how we may fulfill all our duties to God. Man's true religion is in rendering to God all that is God's, and in continually acknowledging that everything he is, has, and enjoys is from God.
This is the one true religion of all intelligent beings, whether in heaven or on earth, for they all have the same relationship to God. Although the various members of God's creation are different in many ways, the same standard of behavior toward God is required of them all. What is this one relationship that is the ground of all true religion and is the same between God and all intelligent creatures? It is a total and unalterable dependence upon God; it is continually receiving directly from God every kind and degree of goodness, blessing, and happiness that ever could be found.
The highest angel has nothing of its own that it can offer to God - no more light, love, purity, perfection, or glorious hallalujahs that spring from itself or its own powers, than the poorest creature upon earth. If this angel were to claim that a spark of wisdom, goodness, or excellence came from or belonged to itself, its place in heaven would be lost as surely as lucifer lost his!
But the angels are ever abiding flames of pure love, always ascending up to and uniting with God, because the wisdom, power, glory, majesty, love, and goodness of God alone are all that they see and know. Songs of praise to their heavenly Father are their ravishing delight, because they know and feel that the breath and Spirit of their heavenly Father sings and rejoices in them. Their adoration never ceases because they never cease to acknowledge the all of God - the entirety of God in the whole creation. This is the one religion of heaven, and nothing else is the truth of religion on earth.
The Power and Presence of God
The matter is really very simple. The benefit that we receive from faith is the power and presence of God living and working in our beings. Because this is the unchangeable blessedness that may be gained from faith in God, we must receive all our religious goodness wholly and solely from God's direct operation in our hearts. No one can possibly have more of what is good and blessed in religion by any use of his own natural powers. This is because the creature cannot take God's blessings by its own power any more after its creation than it could before it was created.
~William Law~
(continued with # 2)
I can think of one thing that is a common concern among all Christians and that should be carefully examined by them. I am sure that if it were either neglected, overlooked, or mistaken by them, there would be some sad consequences. This is something that is essential to Christian salvation. I use the words "essential to salvation" because I would not turn my own thoughts, or call the attention of Christians, to anything but the one necessary and essential thing. It is only available as we rise out of our fallen state and become, as we were at our creation, the holy offspring of God and the real partakers of the divine nature.
What is this one thing? It is the renewal of the original life and power of the Spirit of God in us. Nothing else is needed by us, nothing else is intended for us, either by the law, the prophets, or the gospel. Nothing else can make sinful man become a godly creature again. Everything else, no matter what it is - however glorious and divine in outward appearance - is dead and helpless unless it has the Spirit of God breathing and living in it. All Scripture bears full witness to this truth. No angel, no person, no church, no reformation can do anything for us without the Spirit of God.
Everything written in the Bible was written only to call us back from the spirit of satan, the flesh, and the world, to be again fully dependent upon and obedient to the Spirit of God. Out of love and thirst for our souls, the Holy Spirit seeks to have His original power of life in us. When this is done, all that the Scriptures can do for us is also done.
Read whatever doctrine of Scripture you will, and it will leave you as poor and empty and unreformed as it found you, unless it has turned you wholly and solely to the Spirit of God. Delight in whatever passage of Scripture you can find, and your delight will be nothing unless it has strengthened your union with and dependence upon Him. For when delight in matters of Scripture is a delight that is merely human, it is only the self-love of fallen man. It can have no better nature than this until it proceeds from the inspiration of God, awakening His own life and nature within us, which alone can bring forth a godly love in us.
Because it is an immutable truth that "no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit" (1 Corinthians 12:3), it must be an equally immutable truth that no one can have a Christlike mind or the power of goodness unless he is led and governed by the Holy Spirit. Allow me to explain what I mean by this.
Goodness Is in God Alone
All possible goodness, whether named or nameless, was in God from all eternity. Therefore, for all eternity it must be inseparable from Him; it can be nowhere but where God is. Before God created anything, there was only One who was good. Likewise, even after God created the innumerable hosts of blessed and holy and heavenly beings, there was and still is only One who is good, and He is God (Matthew 19:17).
All that can be called goodness, holiness, or heavenly inclinations in us is not our own, nor can it be considered the result of any of our own powers. Rather, all that is called divine goodness and virtue in us is nothing but the goodness of God manifesting itself according to how our created nature is able to receive it. This is the unalterable relationship between the Creator and the creature. Forever and ever, goodness can only belong to God. It is as essential to Him and inseparable from Him as His own unity.
God could not make the creature to be great and glorious in itself, this is as impossible as it would be for God to create beings who are not dependent upon Him. "The heavens," said David, "declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19:1), and no creature can declare any other glory but that of God. If we wish to say that a divine or heavenly creature shows forth its own natural power, it might as well be said that the earth shows forth its own handiwork. (See Psalm 19:1).
True Religion Depends Upon God
However, all that is divine, great, and glorious in us is only a reflection of the greatness, glory, majesty, and blessedness of God dwelling in us and giving forth His own triune life, light, and love. As much as we are able to receive these things, we may infallibly see the true ground and nature of all true faith, including when and how we may fulfill all our duties to God. Man's true religion is in rendering to God all that is God's, and in continually acknowledging that everything he is, has, and enjoys is from God.
This is the one true religion of all intelligent beings, whether in heaven or on earth, for they all have the same relationship to God. Although the various members of God's creation are different in many ways, the same standard of behavior toward God is required of them all. What is this one relationship that is the ground of all true religion and is the same between God and all intelligent creatures? It is a total and unalterable dependence upon God; it is continually receiving directly from God every kind and degree of goodness, blessing, and happiness that ever could be found.
The highest angel has nothing of its own that it can offer to God - no more light, love, purity, perfection, or glorious hallalujahs that spring from itself or its own powers, than the poorest creature upon earth. If this angel were to claim that a spark of wisdom, goodness, or excellence came from or belonged to itself, its place in heaven would be lost as surely as lucifer lost his!
But the angels are ever abiding flames of pure love, always ascending up to and uniting with God, because the wisdom, power, glory, majesty, love, and goodness of God alone are all that they see and know. Songs of praise to their heavenly Father are their ravishing delight, because they know and feel that the breath and Spirit of their heavenly Father sings and rejoices in them. Their adoration never ceases because they never cease to acknowledge the all of God - the entirety of God in the whole creation. This is the one religion of heaven, and nothing else is the truth of religion on earth.
The Power and Presence of God
The matter is really very simple. The benefit that we receive from faith is the power and presence of God living and working in our beings. Because this is the unchangeable blessedness that may be gained from faith in God, we must receive all our religious goodness wholly and solely from God's direct operation in our hearts. No one can possibly have more of what is good and blessed in religion by any use of his own natural powers. This is because the creature cannot take God's blessings by its own power any more after its creation than it could before it was created.
~William Law~
(continued with # 2)
Monday, March 13, 2017
Christian Quotes
He withdrew... to a solitary place (Matthew 14:13).
There is no music during a musical rest, but the rest is part of the making of the music. In the melody of our life, the music is separated here and there by rests. During those rests, we foolisly believe we have come to the end fo the song. God sends us time of forced leisure by allowing sickness, disappointed plans, and frustrated efforts. He brings a sudden pause in the choral hymns of our lives, and we lament that our voices must be silent. We grieve that our part is missing in the music that continually rises to the ear of our Creator. Yet how does a musician read the rest? He counts the break with unwavering precision and plays his next note with confidence, as if no pause were ever there.
God does not write the music of our lives without a plan. Our part is to learn the tune and not be discouraged during the rests. They are not to be slurred over or omitted, nor used to destroy the melody or to change the key. If we will only look up, God Himself will count the time for us. With our eyes on Him, our next note will be full and clear. If we sorrowfully say to ourselves, "There is no music in a rest," let us not forget that the rest is part of the making of the music. The process is often slow and painful in this life, yet how patiently God works to teach us! And how long He waits for us to learn the lesson!
--John Ruskin
--John Ruskin
Called aside--
From the glad working of your busy life,
From the world's ceaseless stir of care and strife,
Into the shade and stillness by your Heavenly Guide
For a brief time you have been called aside.
Called aside--
Perhaps into a desert garden dim;
And yet not alone, when you have been with Him,
And heard His voice in sweetest accents say:
"Child, will you not with Me this still hour stay?"
Called aside--
In hidden paths with Christ your Lord to tread,
Deeper to drink at the sweet Fountainhead,
Closer in fellowship with Him to roam,
Nearer, perhaps, to feel your Heavenly Home.
Called aside--
Oh, knowledge deeper grows with Him alone;
In secret oft His deeper love is shown,
And learned in many an hour of dark distress
Some rare, sweet lesson of His tenderness.
Called aside--
We thank You for the stillness and the shade;
We thank You for the hidden paths Your love has made,
And, so that we have wept and watched with Thee,
We thank You for our dark Gethsemane.
Called aside--
O restful thought - He doeth all things well;
O blessed sense, with Christ alone to dwell;
So in the shadow of Your cross to hide,
We thank You, Lord, to have been called aside.
From the glad working of your busy life,
From the world's ceaseless stir of care and strife,
Into the shade and stillness by your Heavenly Guide
For a brief time you have been called aside.
Called aside--
Perhaps into a desert garden dim;
And yet not alone, when you have been with Him,
And heard His voice in sweetest accents say:
"Child, will you not with Me this still hour stay?"
Called aside--
In hidden paths with Christ your Lord to tread,
Deeper to drink at the sweet Fountainhead,
Closer in fellowship with Him to roam,
Nearer, perhaps, to feel your Heavenly Home.
Called aside--
Oh, knowledge deeper grows with Him alone;
In secret oft His deeper love is shown,
And learned in many an hour of dark distress
Some rare, sweet lesson of His tenderness.
Called aside--
We thank You for the stillness and the shade;
We thank You for the hidden paths Your love has made,
And, so that we have wept and watched with Thee,
We thank You for our dark Gethsemane.
Called aside--
O restful thought - He doeth all things well;
O blessed sense, with Christ alone to dwell;
So in the shadow of Your cross to hide,
We thank You, Lord, to have been called aside.
~L. B. Cowman~
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Today's Reading: Exodus 1; Matthew 14:1-21
Today's Thoughts: To Fear the Lord
But the midwives feared God, and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the male children alive... Therefore God dealt well with the midwives, and the people multiplied and grew very mighty. And so it was, because the midwives feared God that He provided households for them. - >Exodus 1:17, 20-21
We all know what it means to have fear. We struggle with the fear of failure, the fear of being alone, and the fear of rejection. These fears bring insecurity and slant our judgment. How can we differentiate between the fears of this life and the fear of the Lord? What is the difference? The term to “fear the Lord” means to “revere or to stand in awe of.” We tend to fear the things that we see and touch, not a God who is invisible. So, we pay more respect to the things of this world than to the Lord who is in control of all these things in the first place. We have choices that we make every day. Are we trying to please people or are we trying to please the Lord?
From Exodus, we see how the midwives are excellent examples of making the right choice. They were given a direct order from their king, the ruler of all Egypt. These women should have had “the fear of the king” because on earth he was the position of authority. He could command whatever he wanted and had the power to kill those who were disobedient. However, these women chose to “fear the Lord” even though they knew they could be killed. They saw something in the Hebrew people that indicated the existence of a higher authority than Pharaoh. They realized that the Hebrew God is the one true God, in control of life and death. They chose to fear and honor the Lord, even if it meant their own death.
Sometimes we think that by trying to please people, we are pleasing the Lord. As Christians, are we not suppose to lay down our rights and become servants to all? This is true only when we first lay down our rights to God. We can only begin to understand this concept as we learn what it means to fear the Lord. He has given us His word to teach us. You may be put in a difficult situation in your home, in your work, or at school. Maybe your husband, or boss or principal has made a decision that goes against your convictions. What are you going to do? Who are you going to live in fear of, man or God? The greatest thing about living in the fear of the Lord is that He will help you. It is not your responsibility to change their decisions but to express your convictions. By choosing to fear Him, He will lead you, guide you and love you through the fearful times. Depend on Him; fear Him. For when all of life is said and done, we all stand before God one day. And there is no doubt whose side we will choose then.
~Daily Disciples Devotional~
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Every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it.
He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in right-eousness.
We glory in tribulations: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. - If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons, for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees.
JOHN 15:2. Mal. 3:2,3. Rom. 5:3 5. -Heb. 12:7,8,11,12.
He is like a refiner's fire, and like fullers' soap: and he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in right-eousness.
We glory in tribulations: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope: and hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. - If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons, for what son is he whom the Father chasteneth not? But if ye be without chastisement, whereof all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees.
JOHN 15:2. Mal. 3:2,3. Rom. 5:3 5. -Heb. 12:7,8,11,12.
EVENING
Now we call the proud happy.
Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. - Blessed are the poor in spirit for their's is the kingdom of heaven.
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, ... . - Every one that is proud of heart is an abomination to the LORD.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. - Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
MAL. 3:15. Isa. 57:15. Prov. 16:19. Matt. 5:3. Prov. 6:16,17. Prov. 16:5. Psa. 139:23,24. Phi. 1:2,3. Matt. 5:5.
Thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud. - Blessed are the poor in spirit for their's is the kingdom of heaven.
These six things doth the LORD hate: yea, seven are an abomination unto him: a proud look, ... . - Every one that is proud of heart is an abomination to the LORD.
Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. I thank my God upon every remembrance of you. - Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.
MAL. 3:15. Isa. 57:15. Prov. 16:19. Matt. 5:3. Prov. 6:16,17. Prov. 16:5. Psa. 139:23,24. Phi. 1:2,3. Matt. 5:5.
~Samuel Bagster~
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No Fear
People tend to worry in these days about world events. In Matthew 24:6-7, Jesus tells us this,
"And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places."
Jesus said, "When these things happen, don't be troubled. Don't worry. They must come to pass." Think about some of those things.
Earthquakes in various places. I have been told that around the world earthquakes are increasing both in frequency and in size. They are happening more and more, and they are getting worse and worse. It is a sign, my friend.
Jesus mentions pestilences--diseases without cures. Ring any bells? There are certain nations where it is reported that 50 percent of the population is infected with AIDS. It is rampant in many countries of the world. It is an incredible problem even in our own country.
Jesus points to famines. There is drought, which is causing famines, which is causing starvation around the world.
Then Jesus talks about wars, rumors of wars, nation against nation, kingdom against kingdom. You can't turn on the news without hearing about some terrorist attack. There are countries today aggressively pursuing nuclear capabilities. Nations are poised against one another.
The leaders of our nation and other nations make decisions that affect literally the whole world. It seems like the world is on fire! Things are hanging in the balance.
Our response? It should not be fear, but rather recognition that these things must come to pass before Christ returns!
~Bayless Conley~
Answers for each Day
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BIBLE MEDITATION:
“I am the true vine, and My Father is the Husbandman. Every branch in Me that beareth not fruit He taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.” John 15:1-2
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
When Solomon built his temple, he employed eighty thousand stonecutters. They chipped and shaped those stones in the quarry before bringing them to the temple mount.
Why? Because Solomon didn’t want the sound of the hammers and chisels heard on the temple mount.
In the same way, you are part of the living stones of His temple and God is shaping you here in the “quarry” of earth. Part of your shaping is in the form of persecution. So don’t look at your persecutors as enemies, but as God’s stonecutters.
ACTION POINT:
Next time someone reviles you, say “Thank God, another stonecutter.” God is shaping you to be what you ought to be.
~Adrian Rogers~
Love Worth Finding Ministries
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Today's Reading: Genesis 46; Matthew 13:1-30
Today's Thoughts: God’s Ways
Oh, that my ways were steadfast in obeying your decrees! Then I would not be put to shame when I consider all your commands. - >Psalms 119:5-6
This psalmist dealt with the same issues of guilt that we have today. When we consider all that God requires, His standard is too high. How is one to follow His ways when God's ways are perfect and we are not? Like the psalmist, we cry out, "Oh, I wish my ways were consistent in following and obeying You. Then I would feel better about myself."
The problem with thinking this way is that God wants us to be thankful for His provision and not think of ourselves any higher than we ought. Jesus provides us with all that we need for life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). It is because of Jesus that we can have a relationship with the Father. When our shortcomings turn our focus to ourselves, we have guilt and condemnation. When our eyes are focused on Jesus, despite our shortcomings, we are thankful to Him. God wants us thankful. He already knows our shortcomings and knows the extent of our ability to sin, but He saved us anyway. And He loves us anyway.
Lately, everywhere I turn in the Bible, I am seeing that God desires a sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving. He wants me to sing to Him in gratitude for all He has done and is doing. The word sacrifice reminds us that giving Him thanks and praise is not easy when we are feeling guilty, angry, frustrated, depressed or miserable. But by praising Him during those times, it releases our faith to look to Him instead of to ourselves.
~Daily Disciples Devotional~
Friday, March 10, 2017
The Unpardonable Sin Against the Holy Spirit # 2
The Unpardonable Sin Against the Holy Spirit # 2
That which is here taught is the whole objective to which all Scripture directs us. For the most learned knowledge of the Bible is but empty and fails of its only purpose, until it brings us into that essential union with God that is so solemnly urged upon us by all Scripture words. A refusal to give ourselves to this work of God's Spirit within us is a sin from which there can be no salvation, no matter how sound our knowledge of every Scripture doctrine. For without this life of God in our souls conforming us to the image of Christ and under the power of satan, who is the god of this world and in whom the whole world lies in wickedness.
"When he, the Spirit of Truth is come, he will lead you into all Truth" (John 1613), said the Lord. Can any man then be in the truth, who resists the leading of the Holy Spirit? Impossible, says the Scripture, despite all the reasonings of men who would compromise the gospel. To present our bodies a living sacrifice to God is our reasonable service, said Paul; yet Christian leaders imply that such a standard of holiness is unreasonable because it demands our all, just as when Peter, full of human love for Christ, advised Him to avoid His sufferings. But our Lord rejected him with a "Get thee behind me, satan," and only gave this reason for that seemingly harsh statement: "For thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men" (Mark 8:33). A plain proof that whatsoever is not of and from the Holy Spirit of God in us, however plausible it may outwardly seem to men, is yet in itself nothing else but the power of satan working in us his ancient and persistent rebellion against the will of God.
Christ "through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot unto God" (Hebrews 9:14). And thus will the Holy Spirit work the same submission to the will of God in those who are Christ's, even that willingness to take up the Cross and follow Him. "I am crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20), Paul said. And had he not yielded to and trusted in this sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in his own heart and life, he could have never said in truth, "Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" (2:20). But without this he could have known no salvation, nor can any man who is not willing thus to yield to the work of God in his heart through the eternal Spirit. Such a man has rejected the salvation that God offers, and for this sin there is no pardon, either in this life or in the one to come.
The apostle said of himself, "By the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10). So every wise disputer about Scripture doctrines, and every professing Christian not looking solely to the Spirit of God to be everything in and to him may as truly say of himself, "Through my turning and trusting to something else than the grace of God and the inspiration of His Spirit, I am what I am." And for this sin there is no possible salvation. For what makes any man incapable of finding that which Paul knew when he said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me" (Phil. 4:13)? Just his refusal to allow Christ's Spirit to live through him, and his choosing fleshly reason rather than to be such a fool for Christ as to renounce all that He renounced, and to seek no more earthly honor and praise than He sought. Christ said, "Except a man deny himself and take up his cross and follow me, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 9:23, 14:27). And this path can be known and followed only when we say like Christ, "I delight to do thy will, O my God" (Hebrews 10:9; Psalm 40:8); "I can of mine own self do nothing," (John 5:30); "the words I speak, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (John 14:10).
Here and here alone lies the Christian's full and certain power of overcoming self, the devil, and the world. But Christians seeking and turning to anything else except to be led and inspired only by the one Spirit of God and Christ, will bring forth a Christendom that in the sight of God will have no other name than a spiritual Babylon, a spiritual Egypt, a Sodom, a scarlet whore, a devouring beast, and red dragon. For all these names belong to all men, however learned, and to all churches, whether greater or less, in which the spirit of this world has any share of power. This was the great sin of the Church, even within the apostolic age, which grieved the Holy Spirit and brought about her fall into an apostasy and corruption that Paul foretold before his martyrdom, and which has largely gripped the Church ever since.
Therefore all human reformations finding their root in ecclesiastic learning or doctrinal decisions will signify little or nothing until, willing to die to self, to their own will, and their own wisdom, men seek for no redeeming power but from that Spirit of God which converted heathen, publicans, harlots, and Jews into a holy apostolic Church at the first. Then and only then will the Church today be a proof of the wisdom and power of God that has made fallen men once more His own, and works in them His will to His glory.
"Beware," said Paul to the religious leaders of his day, "lest that come upon you which was spoken of by the prophets, saying, Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish, for I work a work in your day, which ye will in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you" (Acts 13:40-41). The great work of God being done today, the miracle of miracles, is the same as in apostolic times - the transformation of fallen men into children of God are manifest by His Spirit. Let us beware, lest by limiting in our minds that work which we think God is doing or can do today, we despise His real work, and thereby resist and blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and thus commit the unpardonable sin.
Some men preach as though Christ said, "By their doctrine ye shall know them"; others write as though He said, "By their gifts ye shall know them." But faithful disciples have recorded that our Lord said, "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:20). Keep close to this truth as a divine guide from the Saviour! Know that where the fruit of the Spirit is manifest in mortal flesh - that love, joy, peace, humility, patience, gentleness, and goodness which belong to Christ alone - there is the Holy Spirit triumphantly at work in a sinner saved by grace. To resist this work of the Holy Spirit uniting us to God, enthroning Christ in our hearts, manifesting through us His life and works, is to reject the whole end of the gospel; and thus is that unpardonable sin for which there is no further redemption.
~William Law~
(The End)
That which is here taught is the whole objective to which all Scripture directs us. For the most learned knowledge of the Bible is but empty and fails of its only purpose, until it brings us into that essential union with God that is so solemnly urged upon us by all Scripture words. A refusal to give ourselves to this work of God's Spirit within us is a sin from which there can be no salvation, no matter how sound our knowledge of every Scripture doctrine. For without this life of God in our souls conforming us to the image of Christ and under the power of satan, who is the god of this world and in whom the whole world lies in wickedness.
"When he, the Spirit of Truth is come, he will lead you into all Truth" (John 1613), said the Lord. Can any man then be in the truth, who resists the leading of the Holy Spirit? Impossible, says the Scripture, despite all the reasonings of men who would compromise the gospel. To present our bodies a living sacrifice to God is our reasonable service, said Paul; yet Christian leaders imply that such a standard of holiness is unreasonable because it demands our all, just as when Peter, full of human love for Christ, advised Him to avoid His sufferings. But our Lord rejected him with a "Get thee behind me, satan," and only gave this reason for that seemingly harsh statement: "For thou savourest not the things that be of God, but the things that be of men" (Mark 8:33). A plain proof that whatsoever is not of and from the Holy Spirit of God in us, however plausible it may outwardly seem to men, is yet in itself nothing else but the power of satan working in us his ancient and persistent rebellion against the will of God.
Christ "through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot unto God" (Hebrews 9:14). And thus will the Holy Spirit work the same submission to the will of God in those who are Christ's, even that willingness to take up the Cross and follow Him. "I am crucified with Christ" (Galatians 2:20), Paul said. And had he not yielded to and trusted in this sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit in his own heart and life, he could have never said in truth, "Nevertheless I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me" (2:20). But without this he could have known no salvation, nor can any man who is not willing thus to yield to the work of God in his heart through the eternal Spirit. Such a man has rejected the salvation that God offers, and for this sin there is no pardon, either in this life or in the one to come.
The apostle said of himself, "By the grace of God I am what I am" (1 Corinthians 15:10). So every wise disputer about Scripture doctrines, and every professing Christian not looking solely to the Spirit of God to be everything in and to him may as truly say of himself, "Through my turning and trusting to something else than the grace of God and the inspiration of His Spirit, I am what I am." And for this sin there is no possible salvation. For what makes any man incapable of finding that which Paul knew when he said, "I can do all things through Christ who strengtheneth me" (Phil. 4:13)? Just his refusal to allow Christ's Spirit to live through him, and his choosing fleshly reason rather than to be such a fool for Christ as to renounce all that He renounced, and to seek no more earthly honor and praise than He sought. Christ said, "Except a man deny himself and take up his cross and follow me, he cannot be my disciple" (Luke 9:23, 14:27). And this path can be known and followed only when we say like Christ, "I delight to do thy will, O my God" (Hebrews 10:9; Psalm 40:8); "I can of mine own self do nothing," (John 5:30); "the words I speak, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (John 14:10).
Here and here alone lies the Christian's full and certain power of overcoming self, the devil, and the world. But Christians seeking and turning to anything else except to be led and inspired only by the one Spirit of God and Christ, will bring forth a Christendom that in the sight of God will have no other name than a spiritual Babylon, a spiritual Egypt, a Sodom, a scarlet whore, a devouring beast, and red dragon. For all these names belong to all men, however learned, and to all churches, whether greater or less, in which the spirit of this world has any share of power. This was the great sin of the Church, even within the apostolic age, which grieved the Holy Spirit and brought about her fall into an apostasy and corruption that Paul foretold before his martyrdom, and which has largely gripped the Church ever since.
Therefore all human reformations finding their root in ecclesiastic learning or doctrinal decisions will signify little or nothing until, willing to die to self, to their own will, and their own wisdom, men seek for no redeeming power but from that Spirit of God which converted heathen, publicans, harlots, and Jews into a holy apostolic Church at the first. Then and only then will the Church today be a proof of the wisdom and power of God that has made fallen men once more His own, and works in them His will to His glory.
"Beware," said Paul to the religious leaders of his day, "lest that come upon you which was spoken of by the prophets, saying, Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish, for I work a work in your day, which ye will in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you" (Acts 13:40-41). The great work of God being done today, the miracle of miracles, is the same as in apostolic times - the transformation of fallen men into children of God are manifest by His Spirit. Let us beware, lest by limiting in our minds that work which we think God is doing or can do today, we despise His real work, and thereby resist and blaspheme the Holy Spirit, and thus commit the unpardonable sin.
Some men preach as though Christ said, "By their doctrine ye shall know them"; others write as though He said, "By their gifts ye shall know them." But faithful disciples have recorded that our Lord said, "By their fruits ye shall know them" (Matthew 7:20). Keep close to this truth as a divine guide from the Saviour! Know that where the fruit of the Spirit is manifest in mortal flesh - that love, joy, peace, humility, patience, gentleness, and goodness which belong to Christ alone - there is the Holy Spirit triumphantly at work in a sinner saved by grace. To resist this work of the Holy Spirit uniting us to God, enthroning Christ in our hearts, manifesting through us His life and works, is to reject the whole end of the gospel; and thus is that unpardonable sin for which there is no further redemption.
~William Law~
(The End)
Sunday, March 5, 2017
The Unpardonable Sin Against the Holy Spirit # 1
The Unpardonable Sin Against the Holy Spirit # 1
Let every man who has a regard for his soul take great care to beware of that sin against the Holy Spirit that Christ said "hath never forgiveness" ... neither in this life, nor in that life which is to come" (Mark 3:29; Matthew 12:32). And why did He say that a sin against the Father or Son would be forgiven, but that against the Holy Spirit would never be forgiven? Clearly not because the Holy Spirit is more worthy or higher in nature than the Father and the Son, but because the work of the Spirit within the human heart is the last and highest manifestation of the Holy Trinity in and to fallen man. Many weak things have been conjectured and published to the world about the sin against the Holy Spirit, whereas the whole nature of it lies in this, that it is a sinning or rebellion against the last and highest dispensation of God for the full redemption of man.
He that resists this ministration of the Spirit resists all that the Holy Trinity can do to restore and revive the first life of God in the soul, and so commit the unpardonable sin, because there remains no further or higher power of redemption from it. For no sin is pardonable because of that which it is in itself, but because there is some power or authority that can forgive it; nor can any sin be unpardonable, except that it has withstood or turned from that which was its last and highest remedy. Hence it is that resisting the Holy Spirit is the sin of all sins that prevents the work of redemption and in the highest degree separates man from all union with God. And how can we possibly avoid this sin of resisting the Holy Spirit but by continually waiting for, trusting in, and solely attending to that which the Spirit of God wills, works, and manifests within us?
What was it that caused the Pharisees to commit this sin,saying that Beelezebub was the one who worked through Christ? Simply because the Son of God demonstrated a reality of power and life for which they only professed the letter of Scripture words. Could it be this same jealous rage against an experience exceeding their own orthodox opinions that causes learned adherents of the letter to decry as fanaticism any real manifestation of the Holy Spirit's presence? In their contention for doctrinal correctness, they deny for today what Paul deemed essential in his day of the Holy Spirit's "demonstration and power" (1 Corinthians 2:4); and must therefore explain away all such as mere emotionalism, or worse, the deceptive work of a seducing spirit. Are these religious leaders of today not in danger of committing the same blasphemy against the Holy Spirit for which Christ so severely condemned the Pharisees?
To turn from the inward redeeming work of the Holy Spirit in our souls, and to deny His outward manifestations and power in the ministry of the Church, is to turn from all true knowledge of God. Let a man admit every so many logical demonstrations of God's Being and existence from the witness of the created universe, and memorize all the testimony of Scripture. Yet he must remain without any real knowledge of God until the Holy Spirit's quickening power manifests the risen Christ as life, light, love, and goodness essentially found, vitally felt, and adored in his soul. This is the one knowledge of God that is eternal life and it is that knowledge of which Christ says, "No one knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son reveals him" (Matthew 11:27), "and this is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). Therefore, this knowledge can be found only in that man in whom Christ is living; for so it is that Christ, who is the express image of the invisible God, reveals the Father.
Since none belong to God but those who are led by the Spirit of God - and all are reprobates in whom the Spirit of Christ is not living - what all-important essential of gospel salvation is the continual, immediate guidance, unction, and teaching of His Holy Spirit in redeemed man! How then can one more profanely sin against the Holy Spirit, or more expressly turn men from God to satan, than by denying a faith and hope that look solely to the Spirit's continual operations for all that can be holy and good in man? And here let men beware of setting a standard of life lower than Christ's, and through denying to the Holy Spirit His full redeeming work in their hearts, limiting His power in men's lives in the present day to less than full authority and triumph. "Not my will, but thine be done" is not only a submission to the lordship of Christ, but in truth a belief that He will work His good pleasure in us - and thus is the faith that overcomes the world.
~William Law~
(continued with # 2)
Let every man who has a regard for his soul take great care to beware of that sin against the Holy Spirit that Christ said "hath never forgiveness" ... neither in this life, nor in that life which is to come" (Mark 3:29; Matthew 12:32). And why did He say that a sin against the Father or Son would be forgiven, but that against the Holy Spirit would never be forgiven? Clearly not because the Holy Spirit is more worthy or higher in nature than the Father and the Son, but because the work of the Spirit within the human heart is the last and highest manifestation of the Holy Trinity in and to fallen man. Many weak things have been conjectured and published to the world about the sin against the Holy Spirit, whereas the whole nature of it lies in this, that it is a sinning or rebellion against the last and highest dispensation of God for the full redemption of man.
He that resists this ministration of the Spirit resists all that the Holy Trinity can do to restore and revive the first life of God in the soul, and so commit the unpardonable sin, because there remains no further or higher power of redemption from it. For no sin is pardonable because of that which it is in itself, but because there is some power or authority that can forgive it; nor can any sin be unpardonable, except that it has withstood or turned from that which was its last and highest remedy. Hence it is that resisting the Holy Spirit is the sin of all sins that prevents the work of redemption and in the highest degree separates man from all union with God. And how can we possibly avoid this sin of resisting the Holy Spirit but by continually waiting for, trusting in, and solely attending to that which the Spirit of God wills, works, and manifests within us?
What was it that caused the Pharisees to commit this sin,saying that Beelezebub was the one who worked through Christ? Simply because the Son of God demonstrated a reality of power and life for which they only professed the letter of Scripture words. Could it be this same jealous rage against an experience exceeding their own orthodox opinions that causes learned adherents of the letter to decry as fanaticism any real manifestation of the Holy Spirit's presence? In their contention for doctrinal correctness, they deny for today what Paul deemed essential in his day of the Holy Spirit's "demonstration and power" (1 Corinthians 2:4); and must therefore explain away all such as mere emotionalism, or worse, the deceptive work of a seducing spirit. Are these religious leaders of today not in danger of committing the same blasphemy against the Holy Spirit for which Christ so severely condemned the Pharisees?
To turn from the inward redeeming work of the Holy Spirit in our souls, and to deny His outward manifestations and power in the ministry of the Church, is to turn from all true knowledge of God. Let a man admit every so many logical demonstrations of God's Being and existence from the witness of the created universe, and memorize all the testimony of Scripture. Yet he must remain without any real knowledge of God until the Holy Spirit's quickening power manifests the risen Christ as life, light, love, and goodness essentially found, vitally felt, and adored in his soul. This is the one knowledge of God that is eternal life and it is that knowledge of which Christ says, "No one knoweth the Father but the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son reveals him" (Matthew 11:27), "and this is life eternal, to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent" (John 17:3). Therefore, this knowledge can be found only in that man in whom Christ is living; for so it is that Christ, who is the express image of the invisible God, reveals the Father.
Since none belong to God but those who are led by the Spirit of God - and all are reprobates in whom the Spirit of Christ is not living - what all-important essential of gospel salvation is the continual, immediate guidance, unction, and teaching of His Holy Spirit in redeemed man! How then can one more profanely sin against the Holy Spirit, or more expressly turn men from God to satan, than by denying a faith and hope that look solely to the Spirit's continual operations for all that can be holy and good in man? And here let men beware of setting a standard of life lower than Christ's, and through denying to the Holy Spirit His full redeeming work in their hearts, limiting His power in men's lives in the present day to less than full authority and triumph. "Not my will, but thine be done" is not only a submission to the lordship of Christ, but in truth a belief that He will work His good pleasure in us - and thus is the faith that overcomes the world.
~William Law~
(continued with # 2)
Thursday, March 2, 2017
Christ Is the Pattern - A Birth From Above
Christ Is the Pattern
"And we all who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His image with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
The message of Christ lays hold upon a man with the intention to alter him, to mold him again and again after another image, and make of him something altogether different from what he had been before. "Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2) is the injunction laid upon believing men by the apostle.
Now, granted that men may be changed and that the power of God in the gospel can change them, the important questions naturally are, "Into what image are they to be changed? Who or what is to be the model for them?"
To these questions there have been many answers given. The quasi-Christian religious philosophy so popular today answers that there is a "norm" somewhere in human nature from which we have departed to a greater or lesser degree and to which we must be restored. So religion is brought in to aid in the restoration. It operates by "adjusting" the inquiring soul,first to himself and then to society. Everything depends upon this work of adjustment. Human nature so runs the theory, is basically right and good, but it has been put out of focus by the world stresses in which it is compelled to live. It has been warped by environment, by bad teaching,and by various harmful influences, beginning at the time of its birth or before.
The whole burden of this type of religious thinking is to restore the man to an image of himself. All he needs is to be made into his own likeness again, to become a "real person," free from the warping influences of prejudice, fear, and superstition. He was all right to begin with, as were his ancestors before him, and his highest present goal is to be restored, like a damaged painting, so that the hand of the Master may again be discovered under the soil of grime of life.
All this sounds just cozy, but the trouble is that the underlying idea is completely false, and all the religious hopes and dreams arising from it are and must be without foundation.
The message of the New Testament is bluntly opposed to this. People are not all right except for minor maladjustments. They are lost, inwardly lost, morally and spiritually lost. That has been the persistent Christian testimony from the first, and human history has shown how correct it is. There is nothing in us that can serve as a model for the new man. Conformity to ourselves, even our better selves, can lead only to ultimate tragedy. "The [human] heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9). It must have help from outside itself, from above itself, if it is to escape the gravitational pull of its own sinful nature. And this help the gospel furnishes in full and sufficient measure.
The gospel not only furnishes transforming power to remold the human heart; it provides also a model after which the new life is to be fashioned, and that model is Christ Himself. Christ is God acting like God in the lowly raiments of human flesh. Yet He is also man; so He becomes the perfect model after which redeemed human nature is to be fashioned.
The beginnings of that transformation, which is to change the believing man's nature from the image of sin to the image of God, are found in conversion when the man is made a partaker of the divine nature. By regeneration and sanctification, by faith and prayer, by suffering and discipline, by the Word and the Spirit, the work goes on till the dream of God has been realized in the Christian heart. Everything that God does in His ransomed children has as its long-range purpose the final restoration of the divine image in human nature. Everything looks forward to the consummation.
In the meantime the Christian himself can work along with God in bringing about the great change. Paul tells us how: "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
~A. W. Tozer~
______________________________
A Birth From Above
This may sound like heresy in some quarters, but I have come to this conclusion - that there are far too many among us who have thought they accepted Christ, but nothing has come of it within their own lives and desires and habits! This kind of philosophy in soul-winning - the idea that it is "the easiest thing in the world to accept Jesus" - permits the man or woman to accept Christ by an impulse of the mind or of the emotions. It allows us to gulp twice and sense an emotional feeling that has come over us, and then say, "I have accepted Christ." There are spiritual matters about which we must be legitimately honest and in which we must seek the discernment of the Holy Spirit. These are things about which we cannot afford to be wrong; to be wrong is still to be lost and far from God. Let us never forget that the Word of God stresses the importance of conviction and concern and repentance when it comes to conversion, spiritual regeneration, being born from above by the Spirit of God!
~A. W. Tozer~
__________________________
Praying Till We Pray
Dr. Moody Stuart, a great praying man of a past generation, once drew up a set of rules to guide him in his prayers. Among these rules is this one: "Pray till you pray." The difference between praying till you quit and praying till you pray is illustrated by the American evangelist John Wesley Lee. He often likened a season of prayer to a church service, and insisted that many of us close the meeting before the service is over. He confessed that once he arose too soon from a prayer session and started down the street to take care of some pressing business. He had only gone a short distance when an inner voice reproached him. "Son," the voice seemed to say, "did you not pronounce the benediction before the meeting was ended?" He understood, and at once hurried back to the place of prayer where he tarried till the burden lifted and the blessing came down.
The habit of breaking off our prayers before we have truly prayed is as common as it is unfortunate. Often the last ten minutes may mean more to us than the first half hour, because we must spend a long time getting into the proper mood to pray effectively. We may need to struggle with our thoughts to draw them in from where they have been scattered through the multitude of distractions that result from the task of living in a disordered world.
Here, as elsewhere in spiritual matters, we must be sure to distinguish the ideal from the real. Ideally we should be living moment-by-moment in a state of such perfect union with God that no special preparation is necessary. But actually there are few who can honestly say that this is their experience. Candor will compel most of us to admit that we often experience a struggle before we can escape from the emotional alienation and sense of unreality that sometimes settle over us as a sort of prevailing mood.
Whatever a dreamy idealism may say, we are forced to deal with things down on the level of practical reality. If when we come to prayer our hearts feel dull and unspiritual, we should not try to argue ourselves out of it. Rather, we should admit it frankly and pray our way through. Some Christians smile at the thought of "praying through," but something of the same idea is found in the writings of practically every great praying saint from Daniel to the present day. We cannot afford to stop praying till we have actually prayed.
~A. W. Tozer~
"And we all who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord's glory, are being transformed into His image with ever increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
The message of Christ lays hold upon a man with the intention to alter him, to mold him again and again after another image, and make of him something altogether different from what he had been before. "Be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind" (Romans 12:2) is the injunction laid upon believing men by the apostle.
Now, granted that men may be changed and that the power of God in the gospel can change them, the important questions naturally are, "Into what image are they to be changed? Who or what is to be the model for them?"
To these questions there have been many answers given. The quasi-Christian religious philosophy so popular today answers that there is a "norm" somewhere in human nature from which we have departed to a greater or lesser degree and to which we must be restored. So religion is brought in to aid in the restoration. It operates by "adjusting" the inquiring soul,first to himself and then to society. Everything depends upon this work of adjustment. Human nature so runs the theory, is basically right and good, but it has been put out of focus by the world stresses in which it is compelled to live. It has been warped by environment, by bad teaching,and by various harmful influences, beginning at the time of its birth or before.
The whole burden of this type of religious thinking is to restore the man to an image of himself. All he needs is to be made into his own likeness again, to become a "real person," free from the warping influences of prejudice, fear, and superstition. He was all right to begin with, as were his ancestors before him, and his highest present goal is to be restored, like a damaged painting, so that the hand of the Master may again be discovered under the soil of grime of life.
All this sounds just cozy, but the trouble is that the underlying idea is completely false, and all the religious hopes and dreams arising from it are and must be without foundation.
The message of the New Testament is bluntly opposed to this. People are not all right except for minor maladjustments. They are lost, inwardly lost, morally and spiritually lost. That has been the persistent Christian testimony from the first, and human history has shown how correct it is. There is nothing in us that can serve as a model for the new man. Conformity to ourselves, even our better selves, can lead only to ultimate tragedy. "The [human] heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked" (Jeremiah 17:9). It must have help from outside itself, from above itself, if it is to escape the gravitational pull of its own sinful nature. And this help the gospel furnishes in full and sufficient measure.
The gospel not only furnishes transforming power to remold the human heart; it provides also a model after which the new life is to be fashioned, and that model is Christ Himself. Christ is God acting like God in the lowly raiments of human flesh. Yet He is also man; so He becomes the perfect model after which redeemed human nature is to be fashioned.
The beginnings of that transformation, which is to change the believing man's nature from the image of sin to the image of God, are found in conversion when the man is made a partaker of the divine nature. By regeneration and sanctification, by faith and prayer, by suffering and discipline, by the Word and the Spirit, the work goes on till the dream of God has been realized in the Christian heart. Everything that God does in His ransomed children has as its long-range purpose the final restoration of the divine image in human nature. Everything looks forward to the consummation.
In the meantime the Christian himself can work along with God in bringing about the great change. Paul tells us how: "But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).
~A. W. Tozer~
______________________________
A Birth From Above
This may sound like heresy in some quarters, but I have come to this conclusion - that there are far too many among us who have thought they accepted Christ, but nothing has come of it within their own lives and desires and habits! This kind of philosophy in soul-winning - the idea that it is "the easiest thing in the world to accept Jesus" - permits the man or woman to accept Christ by an impulse of the mind or of the emotions. It allows us to gulp twice and sense an emotional feeling that has come over us, and then say, "I have accepted Christ." There are spiritual matters about which we must be legitimately honest and in which we must seek the discernment of the Holy Spirit. These are things about which we cannot afford to be wrong; to be wrong is still to be lost and far from God. Let us never forget that the Word of God stresses the importance of conviction and concern and repentance when it comes to conversion, spiritual regeneration, being born from above by the Spirit of God!
~A. W. Tozer~
__________________________
Praying Till We Pray
Dr. Moody Stuart, a great praying man of a past generation, once drew up a set of rules to guide him in his prayers. Among these rules is this one: "Pray till you pray." The difference between praying till you quit and praying till you pray is illustrated by the American evangelist John Wesley Lee. He often likened a season of prayer to a church service, and insisted that many of us close the meeting before the service is over. He confessed that once he arose too soon from a prayer session and started down the street to take care of some pressing business. He had only gone a short distance when an inner voice reproached him. "Son," the voice seemed to say, "did you not pronounce the benediction before the meeting was ended?" He understood, and at once hurried back to the place of prayer where he tarried till the burden lifted and the blessing came down.
The habit of breaking off our prayers before we have truly prayed is as common as it is unfortunate. Often the last ten minutes may mean more to us than the first half hour, because we must spend a long time getting into the proper mood to pray effectively. We may need to struggle with our thoughts to draw them in from where they have been scattered through the multitude of distractions that result from the task of living in a disordered world.
Here, as elsewhere in spiritual matters, we must be sure to distinguish the ideal from the real. Ideally we should be living moment-by-moment in a state of such perfect union with God that no special preparation is necessary. But actually there are few who can honestly say that this is their experience. Candor will compel most of us to admit that we often experience a struggle before we can escape from the emotional alienation and sense of unreality that sometimes settle over us as a sort of prevailing mood.
Whatever a dreamy idealism may say, we are forced to deal with things down on the level of practical reality. If when we come to prayer our hearts feel dull and unspiritual, we should not try to argue ourselves out of it. Rather, we should admit it frankly and pray our way through. Some Christians smile at the thought of "praying through," but something of the same idea is found in the writings of practically every great praying saint from Daniel to the present day. We cannot afford to stop praying till we have actually prayed.
~A. W. Tozer~
Worship of the Letter: A Denial of the Spirit # 2
Worship of the Letter: A Denial of the Spirit # 2
Since calling Jesus Lord must be more than mere words, what could so fully oppose the Holy Spirit as that worship of the letter of Scripture that is so prevalent among Christians today? When this empty, powerless knowledge of the letter of spiritual truth is held to be the possession of the truth itself, then darkness, delusion, and death overshadow Christendom. For gospel Christianity is in its whole nature a ministration of the Spirit: it has but one life, and that is the life of God by the divine nature brought to birth and power in the believing heart. It has but one light, and that is the Lamb of God. Whatever is not of and from this life and governed by the Holy Spirit in possession of the heart, call it by what high name you will, is no more a part of the gospel state nor will better influence man's final end that a similar learned knowledge of secular history.
"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). What is God's kingdom in heaven but the manifestation of what God is and does in His heavenly creature? How is His will done there, except that His Holy Spirit is the life, the power, and mover of all that live in heaven? We daily read this prayer, and yet (for the sake of sound doctrine, it is supposed) preach and write against all that is prayed for in it. Nothing less than the manifestation of the life of Christ through mortal flesh in the power of His Holy Spirit can do that which we pray may be done. Where can God's kingdom reign? Only where every other power but His ceases to be. How can His will be done? Only as the Spirit that wills in God also wills in the creature.
What then can a learned knowledge of literature and language and oratorical abilities perform in this kingdom? Just as much as they can do towards the resurrection of the dead; for all that is to be done in this heavenly kingdom is nothing less than resurrection into divine life from the death of sin. Therefore the power which gave eyes to the blind, cleansed the lepers,cast out devils, and raised the dead can and must alone do that that is to be done in this gospel Kingdom of God. Every smallest work of grace must be solely done by God as the greatest miracle, because in every work of grace is the same overcoming of nature and sin as when the dead are raised to life. A letter learned zeal, far from making any man a partaker of the divine nature, only confirms his in his own fallen state: for his proud glorying in the letter blinds him to his emptiness and lack of reality in the Holy Spirit. One can be so proud of his doctrinal soundness that the Holy Spirit cannot convict him of the unsoundness of his life.
Vain men give to one another a special recognition as having great power and position in this heavenly kingdom by virtue of as proficient learning in languages and Biblical history, or skill in doctrinal analysis. If the faith of illiterate fishermen did more for the establishment of the church in a few years than centuries of prodigious scholarship, one may readily understand that a trust in the wisdom of men and the letter of Scripture has caused the church to fall from its eating of the same tree of knowledge. The Bible teacher and religious leader who gain and hold a church position through intellectual attainments and oratorical skills can be said to differ from lesser men only as the serpent differed from the other beasts of the field - in that it was more subtle. And the old serpent has elevated many of his servants through this same subtlety into places of authority and influence within that which pretends to be the Church of Christ.
In this fallen state of the Church today, Bible scholars are everywhere given over to the self-assuming workings of their own natural intellectual powers. Preachers and teachers come forth to play the orator with gospel mysteries as though the kingdom of God were a kingdom of words, and not as it is in reality the inward work of the Triune God in the soul and spirit of man. Paul said that his gospel was not in word only, but in the power of the Holy Spirit. But these men profess to preach the same gospel as Paul, while denying that same power of the Holy Spirit that he knew; and the gospel in their mouths has become a play upon words, so that they are always studying new ways to present them. They maintain a form of godliness while denying the power thereof. The truth has become in their hands no longer the piercing sword of the Spirit of Truth, but the persuasion of cleverly fashioned phrases. In this way the living Word of God has died in the hands of those who profess to be its dearest friends.
Nor do such men always handle the Word of God with apparent deception or obvious unbelief. They are often most careful to "rightly divide the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15), and frequently foremost in pointing out doctrinal errors held by others less astute in the Scriptures. This very consciousness of being sound in the letter of doctrine has blinded them to the need of a real and constant working of the Holy Spirit in their daily lives. The kingdom of God has become to them and to their disciples, not a matter of practical righteousness, triumphant peace and boundless, overflowing joy in the Holy Spirit; but that kingdom consists for them in doctrinal teachings and new-found phrases about these things. Such a false kingdom of creeds can only be maintained and extended by defining and disputing the meaning of words. And so the apostle's warning is manifested to be true, that "the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life" (2 Corinthians 3:6).
Jesus said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life" (John 6:63). As soon as any man makes a dead letter out of Christ's words, he can no longer the living experience of that which Christ taught. When Scripture creates a hunger and thirst to be filled and blessed with His divine nature through the Holy Spirit, then the letter kills not, but leads directly to life.
All the truths and doctrines of Scripture have but one errand; to call men to the Christ who said, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you" (Matthew 11:28). This risen Christ, "who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30), must live His life in us and be our all, or His words only make an outward sound upon our ears and a passing image in our minds, while our hearts remain empty of His life and power. The one thing taught and meant by all that is so variously said in Scripture is, "He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:12), "but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36). If the living Word, who is Christ Himself, is not living as Lord and Master in the depths of our spirit now, then those outward words He spoke can only condemn us in that coming day; and the more familiar we have been with the letter of doctrine, the greater will be our judgment for having neglected that reality which these words continually held out to us in the truths we professed with our lips but denied with our lives.
The letter of Scripture has so long been the province of intellect and reason that the difference between opinions about words and a living divine knowledge is all but lost in the professing Church. And if any awakened Christian suggests that something more dynamic and vital may be known of God in daily experience than that which every scholar can know of words and ideas, immediately the cry of "enthusiast" is raised after him, whether he be a priest or one of the laity. Such an accusation could have some justification only if it could first be proved that the apostle's text ought to be thus read, "The Spirit killeth, but the letter giveth life."
To justify the lack within his own heart of the fire of the Holy Spirit, the well-read theologian explains that the ancient way of knowing the things of God, taught and practiced by apostles and early Christians, is not for this present age. Primitive Christians indeed needed to have the fullness of the Holy Spirit's manifestation given to every man - but this was only for a time, until the completeness of the written canon of Scriptures should give scholarship sufficient words to study and teach. Behold the folly of human reasoning!! For as soon as this first power and illumination of the Spirit of God as a present work among men is denied for today, then nothing is left but the fleshly work and carnal wisdom of the old man. And the Church of Christ has become a kingdom of scribes and Pharisees!
Christ said to those who sought after the letter, "In them (the Scriptures) ye think ye have eternal life; but these are they which testify of me: and ye will not come to me that ye might have life." To come to the Scriptures and to know all the letter of them is of no avail unless through them we are led to the crucified Saviour to receive life from Him. Christ Himself, brought to life in us through the new birth, is our whole redemption, justification, and hope of glory. This is the one thing said and meant by Christ. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
All the New Testament with one voice testifies that every true Christian must be indwelt by the same Holy Spirit as were the first Christians. And in none of the New Testament can a verse be found to show that Christ intended the gifts, workings and power of the Holy Spirit to diminish in the Church; indeed, He Himself said, "Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater..." (John 14:12).
Now as surely as Christ never told His disciples to tarry at Jerusalem until the power of education or learning should come upon them, so surely did He not refer to the completed letter of Scripture when He said, "He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever" (John 14:16); and "He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13). The letter of Scripture can only direct to the doing of that which it cannot perform, and give notice of a living reality that it cannot supply. It is the coming of Christ Himself as the fulfiller of the law and the prophets; and of His Holy Spirit, as the fulfiller and powerful inward and outward working of Christ's gospel, that alone can give the possession and life of all that to which the Scriptures direct us.
~William Law~
(The End)
Since calling Jesus Lord must be more than mere words, what could so fully oppose the Holy Spirit as that worship of the letter of Scripture that is so prevalent among Christians today? When this empty, powerless knowledge of the letter of spiritual truth is held to be the possession of the truth itself, then darkness, delusion, and death overshadow Christendom. For gospel Christianity is in its whole nature a ministration of the Spirit: it has but one life, and that is the life of God by the divine nature brought to birth and power in the believing heart. It has but one light, and that is the Lamb of God. Whatever is not of and from this life and governed by the Holy Spirit in possession of the heart, call it by what high name you will, is no more a part of the gospel state nor will better influence man's final end that a similar learned knowledge of secular history.
"Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). What is God's kingdom in heaven but the manifestation of what God is and does in His heavenly creature? How is His will done there, except that His Holy Spirit is the life, the power, and mover of all that live in heaven? We daily read this prayer, and yet (for the sake of sound doctrine, it is supposed) preach and write against all that is prayed for in it. Nothing less than the manifestation of the life of Christ through mortal flesh in the power of His Holy Spirit can do that which we pray may be done. Where can God's kingdom reign? Only where every other power but His ceases to be. How can His will be done? Only as the Spirit that wills in God also wills in the creature.
What then can a learned knowledge of literature and language and oratorical abilities perform in this kingdom? Just as much as they can do towards the resurrection of the dead; for all that is to be done in this heavenly kingdom is nothing less than resurrection into divine life from the death of sin. Therefore the power which gave eyes to the blind, cleansed the lepers,cast out devils, and raised the dead can and must alone do that that is to be done in this gospel Kingdom of God. Every smallest work of grace must be solely done by God as the greatest miracle, because in every work of grace is the same overcoming of nature and sin as when the dead are raised to life. A letter learned zeal, far from making any man a partaker of the divine nature, only confirms his in his own fallen state: for his proud glorying in the letter blinds him to his emptiness and lack of reality in the Holy Spirit. One can be so proud of his doctrinal soundness that the Holy Spirit cannot convict him of the unsoundness of his life.
Vain men give to one another a special recognition as having great power and position in this heavenly kingdom by virtue of as proficient learning in languages and Biblical history, or skill in doctrinal analysis. If the faith of illiterate fishermen did more for the establishment of the church in a few years than centuries of prodigious scholarship, one may readily understand that a trust in the wisdom of men and the letter of Scripture has caused the church to fall from its eating of the same tree of knowledge. The Bible teacher and religious leader who gain and hold a church position through intellectual attainments and oratorical skills can be said to differ from lesser men only as the serpent differed from the other beasts of the field - in that it was more subtle. And the old serpent has elevated many of his servants through this same subtlety into places of authority and influence within that which pretends to be the Church of Christ.
In this fallen state of the Church today, Bible scholars are everywhere given over to the self-assuming workings of their own natural intellectual powers. Preachers and teachers come forth to play the orator with gospel mysteries as though the kingdom of God were a kingdom of words, and not as it is in reality the inward work of the Triune God in the soul and spirit of man. Paul said that his gospel was not in word only, but in the power of the Holy Spirit. But these men profess to preach the same gospel as Paul, while denying that same power of the Holy Spirit that he knew; and the gospel in their mouths has become a play upon words, so that they are always studying new ways to present them. They maintain a form of godliness while denying the power thereof. The truth has become in their hands no longer the piercing sword of the Spirit of Truth, but the persuasion of cleverly fashioned phrases. In this way the living Word of God has died in the hands of those who profess to be its dearest friends.
Nor do such men always handle the Word of God with apparent deception or obvious unbelief. They are often most careful to "rightly divide the word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15), and frequently foremost in pointing out doctrinal errors held by others less astute in the Scriptures. This very consciousness of being sound in the letter of doctrine has blinded them to the need of a real and constant working of the Holy Spirit in their daily lives. The kingdom of God has become to them and to their disciples, not a matter of practical righteousness, triumphant peace and boundless, overflowing joy in the Holy Spirit; but that kingdom consists for them in doctrinal teachings and new-found phrases about these things. Such a false kingdom of creeds can only be maintained and extended by defining and disputing the meaning of words. And so the apostle's warning is manifested to be true, that "the letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life" (2 Corinthians 3:6).
Jesus said, "The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit and they are life" (John 6:63). As soon as any man makes a dead letter out of Christ's words, he can no longer the living experience of that which Christ taught. When Scripture creates a hunger and thirst to be filled and blessed with His divine nature through the Holy Spirit, then the letter kills not, but leads directly to life.
All the truths and doctrines of Scripture have but one errand; to call men to the Christ who said, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you" (Matthew 11:28). This risen Christ, "who of God is made unto us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30), must live His life in us and be our all, or His words only make an outward sound upon our ears and a passing image in our minds, while our hearts remain empty of His life and power. The one thing taught and meant by all that is so variously said in Scripture is, "He that hath the Son hath life, and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life" (1 John 5:12), "but the wrath of God abideth on him" (John 3:36). If the living Word, who is Christ Himself, is not living as Lord and Master in the depths of our spirit now, then those outward words He spoke can only condemn us in that coming day; and the more familiar we have been with the letter of doctrine, the greater will be our judgment for having neglected that reality which these words continually held out to us in the truths we professed with our lips but denied with our lives.
The letter of Scripture has so long been the province of intellect and reason that the difference between opinions about words and a living divine knowledge is all but lost in the professing Church. And if any awakened Christian suggests that something more dynamic and vital may be known of God in daily experience than that which every scholar can know of words and ideas, immediately the cry of "enthusiast" is raised after him, whether he be a priest or one of the laity. Such an accusation could have some justification only if it could first be proved that the apostle's text ought to be thus read, "The Spirit killeth, but the letter giveth life."
To justify the lack within his own heart of the fire of the Holy Spirit, the well-read theologian explains that the ancient way of knowing the things of God, taught and practiced by apostles and early Christians, is not for this present age. Primitive Christians indeed needed to have the fullness of the Holy Spirit's manifestation given to every man - but this was only for a time, until the completeness of the written canon of Scriptures should give scholarship sufficient words to study and teach. Behold the folly of human reasoning!! For as soon as this first power and illumination of the Spirit of God as a present work among men is denied for today, then nothing is left but the fleshly work and carnal wisdom of the old man. And the Church of Christ has become a kingdom of scribes and Pharisees!
Christ said to those who sought after the letter, "In them (the Scriptures) ye think ye have eternal life; but these are they which testify of me: and ye will not come to me that ye might have life." To come to the Scriptures and to know all the letter of them is of no avail unless through them we are led to the crucified Saviour to receive life from Him. Christ Himself, brought to life in us through the new birth, is our whole redemption, justification, and hope of glory. This is the one thing said and meant by Christ. "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God" (John 3:3). "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly" (John 10:10).
All the New Testament with one voice testifies that every true Christian must be indwelt by the same Holy Spirit as were the first Christians. And in none of the New Testament can a verse be found to show that Christ intended the gifts, workings and power of the Holy Spirit to diminish in the Church; indeed, He Himself said, "Verily, verily I say unto you, he that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also, and greater..." (John 14:12).
Now as surely as Christ never told His disciples to tarry at Jerusalem until the power of education or learning should come upon them, so surely did He not refer to the completed letter of Scripture when He said, "He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever" (John 14:16); and "He will guide you into all truth" (John 16:13). The letter of Scripture can only direct to the doing of that which it cannot perform, and give notice of a living reality that it cannot supply. It is the coming of Christ Himself as the fulfiller of the law and the prophets; and of His Holy Spirit, as the fulfiller and powerful inward and outward working of Christ's gospel, that alone can give the possession and life of all that to which the Scriptures direct us.
~William Law~
(The End)
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