And More Yet!
Are the chips of the cross so heavy?(Thomas Case, "The Rod and the Word, A Treatise on Afflictions")
In the school of affliction, God teaches how to estimate, or at least to make some remote and imperfect guess, at the sufferings of Jesus Christ. In times of prosperity we pass by the Cross carelessly--at the best we do but shake our heads a little. The reading of the story of Christ's passion stirs us up some pity towards Him--but it is quickly gone; we forget as soon as we get into the world again.
But now . . .
let God pinch our flesh with some sore affliction;
let Him fill our bones with pain, and set us on fire with a burning fever;
let our feet be hurt in the stocks, and the irons enter into our souls;
let our souls be exceedingly filled with the scorning and contempt of the proud;
let us be destitute, afflicted, tormented, and so forth--
then we sit down and look upon Him whom we have pierced, and begin to say within ourselves:
"Are the chips of the cross so heavy? What then was the cross itself, which my Redeemer bore?
Are a few bodily pains so bitter? What then were those agonies which the Lord of glory sustained in His soul?
Is the wrath of man so piercing? What then was the wrath of God, which scorched His righteous soul, and forced His very heart's blood through His flesh on a cold winter's night, so that His sweat was as great drops of blood falling down to the ground?
Are the buffetings of men so grievous? What then were the buffetings of Satan, which our Lord sustained, when all the brood of the serpent lay nibbling at His heels?
Is a burning fever so hot? How then did the flames of Hell itself scald my Savior's soul?
Is a chain so heavy, a prison so loathsome, the sentence and execution of death so dreadful? O what then was it for Him who made Heaven and earth to be bound with chains, mocked, abused, spit upon, buffeted, reviled, cast into prison, arraigned, condemned, and executed in a most shameful and accursed manner?"
Blessed be God,
my prison is not the bottomless pit,
my burnings are not unquenchable flames,
my cup is not filled with divine wrath!
In a word, my sufferings are not Hell.
Blessed be God for Jesus Christ, by whom I am delivered from wrath to come!
______________________
Let us try and not attend to its gewgaws!
(Mary Winslow)
How poor and unsatisfying are all things here below--even the best and the loveliest! Is it not strange that we can lose sight of Heaven and eternal glory--and grovel in the dust to gather pebbles, for the pleasure of throwing them away afterwards?
Oh, to walk more intimately with Him, to live above the world, and hold the creature with a looser hand, taking God's Word as our guiding light and our unfailing spring of comfort. God has eternally provided such a magnificent and holy Heaven for us above, that He is jealous lest we should set our hearts too fondly and closely upon the fleeting attractions of earth. Therefore it is that He withers our gourds and breaks our cisterns--only to dislodge us from this poor world, and lead us to seek those things which are above, where Christ our treasure is.
Let us keep our eye and our hearts upon our blessed eternal home. Earth is but a stage erected as our passage to the place Jesus has gone to prepare for us. What a place must that be--which infinite power and love has engaged to provide! Oh, let us not lose sight of Heaven for a moment.
How prone are we to allow our minds and hearts (our treacherous hearts!) to become entangled with the baubles of a dying world. No wonder Christ exhorted us to watch and pray. Heaven is our home--our glorious home. We are but strangers and pilgrims here on earth. Try and realize it. Let us keep ourselves ready to enter with Him to the marriage supper of the Lamb. In a little while, and we shall see Him, not as the 'Man of sorrows,' but the 'King in His beauty!' Then let us fight against the world and all its vain attractions, for it is passing away.
The world and its 'nothings' are often a sad snare to God's saints. Oh that by faith we may overcome it all, and keep close to Jesus! We are not of the world--let us try and not attend to its gewgaws!
Keep a more steadfast, unwavering eye upon Christ. He has gone a little before us, and stands beckoning us to follow!
Live for eternity! Let go of your hold upon the world!
Receive this exhortation from an aged pilgrim, who, as she nears the solemn scenes of eternity, and more realizes the inexpressible joys that await us there, is anxious that all believers who are traveling the same road might have their hearts and minds more disentangled from worthless earthly things, and themselves unreservedly given to Christ. Let us aim in all things to follow Him who, despising this world's show, left us an example how we should walk. Have your lamp trimmed and brightly burning, for every day and every hour brings us nearer and nearer to your home!
"Dearest Jesus! help Your pilgrims to live more like pilgrims--above a poor dying world, and more in full view of the glory that awaits us when we shall see You face to face!"
"Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. When Christ, who is your life, appears--then you also will appear with Him in glory!" Colossians 3:1-4
"Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, fix your thoughts on Jesus!" Hebrews 3:1
A Proliferation of Christian Devotionals and Sermons
Saturday, August 31, 2019
And Still More Classic Christian Quotes!
And Still More Classic Christian Quotes!
A rich man and a beggar!
(J.C. Ryle, Riches and Poverty)
"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores." Luke 16:19-21
The Lord Jesus begins the parable by telling us of a rich man and a beggar. He says not a word in praise either of poverty or of riches. He describes the circumstances of a wealthy man, and the circumstances of a poor man; but neither condemns the temporal position of one, nor praises that of the other.
We must take heed that we do not draw lessons from the parable which it was never meant to teach. The richare not always evil men, and do not always go to Hell. The poor are not always holy men, and do not always go to Heaven. We must not rush into the extreme of supposing that it is sinful to be rich. We must not run away with the idea that there is anything wicked in the difference of condition here described, and that God intended all men to be equal. There is nothing in our Lord Jesus Christ's words to warrant any such conclusion. He simply describes things as they are often seen in the world, and as we must expect to see them.
Many in every age have disturbed society by stirring up the poor against the rich. But so long as the world is under the present order of things, universal equality cannot be attained.
So long as . . .
some are wise, and some are foolish;
some are strong, and some are weak;
some are healthy, and some are diseased;
so long as children reap the fruit of their parent's misconduct;
so long as sun, and rain, and heat, and cold, and wind, and waves, and drought, and blight, and storm, and tempest are beyond man's control--so long will there be inequality in this world.
Take all the property in England by force this day, and divide it equally among the inhabitants. Give every man over twenty years old an equal portion. Let all share alike, and begin the world over again.
Do this, and see where you would be at the end of fifty years. You would just have come round to the point where you began! You would just find things as unequal as before!
Some would have worked--and some would have been idle;
some would have been always careless--and some always scheming;
some would have sold--and others would have bought;
some would have wasted--and others would have saved.
And the end would be, that some would be rich--and others poor.
We might as well say . . .
that all men ought to be of the same height, weight, strength, and cleverness;
or that all oak trees ought to be of the same shape and size;
or that all blades of grass ought to be of the same length
--as that all men were meant to be equal.
Settle it in your mind that the main cause of all the suffering you see around you, is sin. Sin is the grand cause . . .
of the enormous luxury of the rich--and the painful degradation of the poor;
of the heartless selfishness of the highest classes--and the helpless poverty of the lowest.
Sin must be first cast out of the world;
the hearts of all men must be renewed and sanctified;
the devil must be bound;
the Prince of Peace must come down and take His great power and reign
--all this must be before there ever can be universal happiness, or the gulf be filled up which now divides the rich and poor.
Beware of expecting a millennium to be brought about . . .
by any method of government,
by any system of education,
or by any political party.
Labor to do good to all men; pity your poorer brethren, and help every reasonable endeavor to raise them from their low estate; do not slacken your hand from any endeavor to increase knowledge--to promote morality--to improve the temporal condition of the poor.
But never, never forget that you live in a fallen world--that sin is all around you--and that the devil is abroad.
And be very sure that the rich man and Lazarus are emblems of two classes of people which will always be in the world until the Lord comes!
_______________________
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The tragedy of sin, is that it affects man in his highest faculties.
Sin causes us to become fools, and behave in an irrational manner.
Modern man, far from being ruled by reason, is ruled by lust and passion.
The man who refuses to face the fact of his own death, is a fool!
The more Christian a person is, the simpler will that person's life be.
I'd rather hobble into Heaven, than walk into Hell!
God is nowhere more hidden, than in most churches!
Some tend to think that Christianity is a matter of being nice.
But niceness is purely biological. One dog is nicer than another dog!
We must never parade ourselves!
Do you think that you deserve forgiveness? If you do, you are not a Christian.
When a man truly sees himself, he knows that nobody can say anything about him that is too bad.
The trouble with man is not intellectual--but moral.
If you claim to love Christ and yet are living an unholy life, there is only one thing to say about you: You are a bare-faced liar!
To divorce forgiveness of sins from the actual living of the Christian life, is nothing but rank heresy!
Christians are generally at their best, when they are in the furnace of affliction and being persecuted and tried.
If you are not holy, you are not a Christian.
There are no shortcuts in the Christian life--no simple remedies.
Nothing we do in the Christian life, is harder than prayer.
The state of the world today, is nothing but an appalling monument to human failure.
Intellectual pride is the last citadel of self.
We have come to realize that a man can be educated and cultured, and still be a beast!
The biggest hoax in the world for the last 150 years, has been the theory of evolution!
The natural man is always looking at himself and admiring himself.
I would rather make bricks without straw--than try to live the Sermon on the Mount in my own strength.
No difficulty in believing the gospel is intellectual--it is always moral.
The whole trouble in life, is ultimately a concern about self.
A man is not a Christian unless he can say with Paul, "I am what I am by the grace of God!"
Many who go to the psychiatrist are like the woman in the Gospels--they are nothing bettered, but rather grow worse!
There is little difference between a fashion parade, and a dog show!
By definition, a Christian should be an enigma to every person who is not a Christian.
The first sign of spiritual life, is to feel that you are dead!
A rich man and a beggar!
(J.C. Ryle, Riches and Poverty)
"There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day.
At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores." Luke 16:19-21
The Lord Jesus begins the parable by telling us of a rich man and a beggar. He says not a word in praise either of poverty or of riches. He describes the circumstances of a wealthy man, and the circumstances of a poor man; but neither condemns the temporal position of one, nor praises that of the other.
We must take heed that we do not draw lessons from the parable which it was never meant to teach. The richare not always evil men, and do not always go to Hell. The poor are not always holy men, and do not always go to Heaven. We must not rush into the extreme of supposing that it is sinful to be rich. We must not run away with the idea that there is anything wicked in the difference of condition here described, and that God intended all men to be equal. There is nothing in our Lord Jesus Christ's words to warrant any such conclusion. He simply describes things as they are often seen in the world, and as we must expect to see them.
Many in every age have disturbed society by stirring up the poor against the rich. But so long as the world is under the present order of things, universal equality cannot be attained.
So long as . . .
some are wise, and some are foolish;
some are strong, and some are weak;
some are healthy, and some are diseased;
so long as children reap the fruit of their parent's misconduct;
so long as sun, and rain, and heat, and cold, and wind, and waves, and drought, and blight, and storm, and tempest are beyond man's control--so long will there be inequality in this world.
Take all the property in England by force this day, and divide it equally among the inhabitants. Give every man over twenty years old an equal portion. Let all share alike, and begin the world over again.
Do this, and see where you would be at the end of fifty years. You would just have come round to the point where you began! You would just find things as unequal as before!
Some would have worked--and some would have been idle;
some would have been always careless--and some always scheming;
some would have sold--and others would have bought;
some would have wasted--and others would have saved.
And the end would be, that some would be rich--and others poor.
We might as well say . . .
that all men ought to be of the same height, weight, strength, and cleverness;
or that all oak trees ought to be of the same shape and size;
or that all blades of grass ought to be of the same length
--as that all men were meant to be equal.
Settle it in your mind that the main cause of all the suffering you see around you, is sin. Sin is the grand cause . . .
of the enormous luxury of the rich--and the painful degradation of the poor;
of the heartless selfishness of the highest classes--and the helpless poverty of the lowest.
Sin must be first cast out of the world;
the hearts of all men must be renewed and sanctified;
the devil must be bound;
the Prince of Peace must come down and take His great power and reign
--all this must be before there ever can be universal happiness, or the gulf be filled up which now divides the rich and poor.
Beware of expecting a millennium to be brought about . . .
by any method of government,
by any system of education,
or by any political party.
Labor to do good to all men; pity your poorer brethren, and help every reasonable endeavor to raise them from their low estate; do not slacken your hand from any endeavor to increase knowledge--to promote morality--to improve the temporal condition of the poor.
But never, never forget that you live in a fallen world--that sin is all around you--and that the devil is abroad.
And be very sure that the rich man and Lazarus are emblems of two classes of people which will always be in the world until the Lord comes!
_______________________
Martyn Lloyd-Jones
The tragedy of sin, is that it affects man in his highest faculties.
Sin causes us to become fools, and behave in an irrational manner.
Modern man, far from being ruled by reason, is ruled by lust and passion.
The man who refuses to face the fact of his own death, is a fool!
The more Christian a person is, the simpler will that person's life be.
I'd rather hobble into Heaven, than walk into Hell!
God is nowhere more hidden, than in most churches!
Some tend to think that Christianity is a matter of being nice.
But niceness is purely biological. One dog is nicer than another dog!
We must never parade ourselves!
Do you think that you deserve forgiveness? If you do, you are not a Christian.
When a man truly sees himself, he knows that nobody can say anything about him that is too bad.
The trouble with man is not intellectual--but moral.
If you claim to love Christ and yet are living an unholy life, there is only one thing to say about you: You are a bare-faced liar!
To divorce forgiveness of sins from the actual living of the Christian life, is nothing but rank heresy!
Christians are generally at their best, when they are in the furnace of affliction and being persecuted and tried.
If you are not holy, you are not a Christian.
There are no shortcuts in the Christian life--no simple remedies.
Nothing we do in the Christian life, is harder than prayer.
The state of the world today, is nothing but an appalling monument to human failure.
Intellectual pride is the last citadel of self.
We have come to realize that a man can be educated and cultured, and still be a beast!
The biggest hoax in the world for the last 150 years, has been the theory of evolution!
The natural man is always looking at himself and admiring himself.
I would rather make bricks without straw--than try to live the Sermon on the Mount in my own strength.
No difficulty in believing the gospel is intellectual--it is always moral.
The whole trouble in life, is ultimately a concern about self.
A man is not a Christian unless he can say with Paul, "I am what I am by the grace of God!"
Many who go to the psychiatrist are like the woman in the Gospels--they are nothing bettered, but rather grow worse!
There is little difference between a fashion parade, and a dog show!
By definition, a Christian should be an enigma to every person who is not a Christian.
The first sign of spiritual life, is to feel that you are dead!
More Classic Christian Quotes
More Classic Christian Quotes
The Spirit's leading!
("Every Day!" Author unknown)
"As many as are led by the Spirit of God--they are the sons of God." Romans 8:14
Here is a mark of divine sonship: All who follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit--they are children of God.
The Spirit leads His followers to the looking-glass of Divine truth. Here they discover their spiritual deformity and impurity. Here they see what they are--and what they need.
The Spirit leads them to the throne of grace--and there He helps their infirmities, and makes intercession for them according to the will of God.
The Spirit leads them to the cross! When they see Jesus dying for their sins, atoning for their transgressions--they lose the burden of guilt.
The Spirit leads them in the path of loving obedience--and they experience the blessedness of keeping Christ's commands.
The Spirit leads them in the track of the Good Shepherd--and enables them to hear His voice and to follow Him.
"As many as are led by the Spirit of God--they are the sons of God."
Many, alas! are following the leadings of a very different spirit--"the spirit that works in the children of disobedience!" He leads, by paths of unbelief and sin--to endless misery and ruin! Beloved reader, beware of following his leadings--and prayerfully yield yourself to the guidance of the Spirit of truth and love.
"Show me Your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long." Psalm 25:4-5
Spirit of Truth, my Leader be,
And seal adoption mine;
Impress Christ's image on my heart,
The pledge of bliss divine!
_____________________
Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise--apply your heart to what I teach
It has such an amazing appetite that it can feed both on grace and garbage!
(John Berridge)
The foulest stain, and worst absurdity in our nature, is pride! And yet this vile hedgehog so rolls himself up in his bristly coat, that we can seldom get a sight of his claws.
Pride cleaves to us, like a shirt soaked in tar cleaves to the skin. No sharp ploughing and harrowing will clear the ground of it. This foul weed will be sure to spring up with the next rain!
Pride follows me like my shadow!
This diabolical sin has brought more scourges on my back than everything else! It is of so insinuating a nature, that I know not how to rid myself of it.
I hate it, and love it.
I quarrel with it, and embrace it.
I dread it, and yet allow it to lie in my bosom.
It pleads a right, through the fall, to be a tenant for life. It has such an amazing appetite that it can feed both on grace and garbage! It will be as warm and snug in a monastery, as a brothel--and be as much delighted with a fine prayer, as a foul curse!
Lord, save me! If pride must dwell with me, let it not be a lordly master, but a loathed viper!
Oh, that I could once say unto you, foul pride: "Farewell forever!"
There is no Christian grace--but pride will creep into its bosom, and mix with it as freely as oil with oil.
Nor is Lady Pride ever so delighted as when she becomes intimate with humility, and by soft caresses and kind speeches, encourages the sweet damsel to think highly of herself, even when she looks and talks humbly.
One moment she whispers and tells me that I am a fine fellow--and then I am elated.
By and by, she calls me a fool--and then I am sullen.
I can do no religious act--but pride is skulking at my elbow, and much affecting me both by her smiles and frowns.
This foul pride besieges my heart, besets all my steps, and meets me at every turn.
Pride has more heads than a Hydra! (A mythological serpentine water monster which had many heads. Every time someone would cut off one of them, two more heads would grow out!)
Pride has more shapes than Proteus! (A mythical Greek figure who could assume a different shape at will.)
It is such an odd mysterious evil--that I can even be proud of loathing my pride.
Henceforth if you ask my real name, it is Pride!
The Spirit's leading!
("Every Day!" Author unknown)
"As many as are led by the Spirit of God--they are the sons of God." Romans 8:14
Here is a mark of divine sonship: All who follow the leadings of the Holy Spirit--they are children of God.
The Spirit leads His followers to the looking-glass of Divine truth. Here they discover their spiritual deformity and impurity. Here they see what they are--and what they need.
The Spirit leads them to the throne of grace--and there He helps their infirmities, and makes intercession for them according to the will of God.
The Spirit leads them to the cross! When they see Jesus dying for their sins, atoning for their transgressions--they lose the burden of guilt.
The Spirit leads them in the path of loving obedience--and they experience the blessedness of keeping Christ's commands.
The Spirit leads them in the track of the Good Shepherd--and enables them to hear His voice and to follow Him.
"As many as are led by the Spirit of God--they are the sons of God."
Many, alas! are following the leadings of a very different spirit--"the spirit that works in the children of disobedience!" He leads, by paths of unbelief and sin--to endless misery and ruin! Beloved reader, beware of following his leadings--and prayerfully yield yourself to the guidance of the Spirit of truth and love.
"Show me Your ways, O LORD, teach me your paths. Lead me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long." Psalm 25:4-5
Spirit of Truth, my Leader be,
And seal adoption mine;
Impress Christ's image on my heart,
The pledge of bliss divine!
_____________________
Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise--apply your heart to what I teach
(Samuel Clark, "The Saint's Bouquet")
"Here are some further sayings of the wise." Proverbs 24:23
Sin is . . .
the spawn of the old Serpent,
the source of Hell, and
the vomit of the Devil.
Sin is more hateful to God than the Devil; for God hates the Devil for sin's sake--and not sin for the Devil's sake.
Sin is like a serpent in our bosoms, which cannot live--but by sucking out our life blood.
The godly hate sin--because of sin's defilement.
The ungodly fear sin--because of sin's punishment.The godly hate sin--because it has filth in it to pollute the soul.
The ungodly fear sin--because it has fire in it to burn the soul.
The deluge of waters which overflowed all the world, washed away many sinners--but not one sin!
The world shall one day be all on fire--yet all that fire, and those flames in Hell which follow--shall not purge one sin!
All the evils in the world serve to give names to sin.
Sin is called poison--and sinners, serpents.
Sin is called vomit--and sinners, dogs.
Sin is called mire--and sinners, sows.
Sin is called darkness, blindness, shame, nakedness, folly, madness, death and whatever is filthy, vile, infective, or painful.
A glutton may fill his belly--but he can never fill his lust.
A covetous man may have his house full of money--but he can never have his heart full of money.
An ambitious man may have titles enough to overload his memory--but never to fill his pride.
The Devil's last stratagem is, if he cannot beat us down to sin--to blow us up with pride.
Nothing will make God's children so pure, as to wash themselves every morning in tears of repentance.
Without sound repentance, sin is not accounted as the greatest evil--nor Christ as the greatest good.
"Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise--apply your heart to what I teach." Proverbs 22:17
the spawn of the old Serpent,
the source of Hell, and
the vomit of the Devil.
Sin is more hateful to God than the Devil; for God hates the Devil for sin's sake--and not sin for the Devil's sake.
Sin is like a serpent in our bosoms, which cannot live--but by sucking out our life blood.
The godly hate sin--because of sin's defilement.
The ungodly fear sin--because of sin's punishment.The godly hate sin--because it has filth in it to pollute the soul.
The ungodly fear sin--because it has fire in it to burn the soul.
The deluge of waters which overflowed all the world, washed away many sinners--but not one sin!
The world shall one day be all on fire--yet all that fire, and those flames in Hell which follow--shall not purge one sin!
All the evils in the world serve to give names to sin.
Sin is called poison--and sinners, serpents.
Sin is called vomit--and sinners, dogs.
Sin is called mire--and sinners, sows.
Sin is called darkness, blindness, shame, nakedness, folly, madness, death and whatever is filthy, vile, infective, or painful.
A glutton may fill his belly--but he can never fill his lust.
A covetous man may have his house full of money--but he can never have his heart full of money.
An ambitious man may have titles enough to overload his memory--but never to fill his pride.
The Devil's last stratagem is, if he cannot beat us down to sin--to blow us up with pride.
Nothing will make God's children so pure, as to wash themselves every morning in tears of repentance.
Without sound repentance, sin is not accounted as the greatest evil--nor Christ as the greatest good.
"Pay attention and listen to the sayings of the wise--apply your heart to what I teach." Proverbs 22:17
______________________
It has such an amazing appetite that it can feed both on grace and garbage!
(John Berridge)
The foulest stain, and worst absurdity in our nature, is pride! And yet this vile hedgehog so rolls himself up in his bristly coat, that we can seldom get a sight of his claws.
Pride cleaves to us, like a shirt soaked in tar cleaves to the skin. No sharp ploughing and harrowing will clear the ground of it. This foul weed will be sure to spring up with the next rain!
Pride follows me like my shadow!
This diabolical sin has brought more scourges on my back than everything else! It is of so insinuating a nature, that I know not how to rid myself of it.
I hate it, and love it.
I quarrel with it, and embrace it.
I dread it, and yet allow it to lie in my bosom.
It pleads a right, through the fall, to be a tenant for life. It has such an amazing appetite that it can feed both on grace and garbage! It will be as warm and snug in a monastery, as a brothel--and be as much delighted with a fine prayer, as a foul curse!
Lord, save me! If pride must dwell with me, let it not be a lordly master, but a loathed viper!
Oh, that I could once say unto you, foul pride: "Farewell forever!"
There is no Christian grace--but pride will creep into its bosom, and mix with it as freely as oil with oil.
Nor is Lady Pride ever so delighted as when she becomes intimate with humility, and by soft caresses and kind speeches, encourages the sweet damsel to think highly of herself, even when she looks and talks humbly.
One moment she whispers and tells me that I am a fine fellow--and then I am elated.
By and by, she calls me a fool--and then I am sullen.
I can do no religious act--but pride is skulking at my elbow, and much affecting me both by her smiles and frowns.
This foul pride besieges my heart, besets all my steps, and meets me at every turn.
Pride has more heads than a Hydra! (A mythological serpentine water monster which had many heads. Every time someone would cut off one of them, two more heads would grow out!)
Pride has more shapes than Proteus! (A mythical Greek figure who could assume a different shape at will.)
It is such an odd mysterious evil--that I can even be proud of loathing my pride.
Henceforth if you ask my real name, it is Pride!
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
Classic Christian Quotes from Classic Ministers
This is not mine to keep!(Charles Spurgeon)
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21
Christian! If you have anything that you prize very highly, hold it very loosely--for you may easily lose it.
Hold everything earthly with a loose hand, but grasp eternal things with a deathlike grip.
Of everything on earth, it is wise for us to say, "This is not mine to keep!" It is essential to realize that this it is true, for everything here is temporary.
Mind what you are doing--you prosperous people, you who have nice homes, you who are hoarding up money. There is nothing permanent for you here on earth. Your home is in Heaven--your home is not here. If you find your treasure here--your heart will be here also.
You must keep all earthly treasures out of your heart.
Let Christ be your treasure, and let Him have your heart!
"This world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God, will live forever!" 1 John 2:17
__________________________
In a few years
(Thomas Chalmers)
"For we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow." Job 8:9
"He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure." Job 14:2
"Only a few years will pass before I go on the journey of no return!" Job 16:22
"My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass." Psalm 102:11
"Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow." Psalm 144:4
How transient is human life--yet no one lays it to heart. With the magnificence of eternity before us--let fleetingtime, with all its fluctuations, dwindle into its own littleness.
In a few years our heads will be laid in the cold grave, and the green turf will cover us. The children who come after us will tread upon our graves.
They will weep for us a few days.
They will talk of us a few months.
They will remember us a few years.
Then our memory shall disappear from the face of the earth, and not a tongue shall be found to recall it!
The character with which we sink into the grave at death--is the very character with which we shall reappear at the final judgment!
"O God, impress upon me the value of time--and give regulation to all my thoughts and to all my actions. O God, help me to live for Your glory. As the years roll over me, may I withdraw my affections from time, and feel that in moving through the world, I am moving toward eternity!"
"So teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12
~ ~ ~ ~
Editor's note: My wife's unsaved brother died suddenly of a heart attack this morning. He was 56 and in the best of health. How true is God's Word: "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'" James 4:13-15
This is not mine to keep!(Charles Spurgeon)
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Matthew 6:19-21
Christian! If you have anything that you prize very highly, hold it very loosely--for you may easily lose it.
Hold everything earthly with a loose hand, but grasp eternal things with a deathlike grip.
Of everything on earth, it is wise for us to say, "This is not mine to keep!" It is essential to realize that this it is true, for everything here is temporary.
Mind what you are doing--you prosperous people, you who have nice homes, you who are hoarding up money. There is nothing permanent for you here on earth. Your home is in Heaven--your home is not here. If you find your treasure here--your heart will be here also.
You must keep all earthly treasures out of your heart.
Let Christ be your treasure, and let Him have your heart!
"This world is fading away, along with everything that people crave. But anyone who does what pleases God, will live forever!" 1 John 2:17
__________________________
In a few years
(Thomas Chalmers)
"For we were born only yesterday and know nothing, and our days on earth are but a shadow." Job 8:9
"He springs up like a flower and withers away; like a fleeting shadow, he does not endure." Job 14:2
"Only a few years will pass before I go on the journey of no return!" Job 16:22
"My days are like the evening shadow; I wither away like grass." Psalm 102:11
"Man is like a breath; his days are like a fleeting shadow." Psalm 144:4
How transient is human life--yet no one lays it to heart. With the magnificence of eternity before us--let fleetingtime, with all its fluctuations, dwindle into its own littleness.
In a few years our heads will be laid in the cold grave, and the green turf will cover us. The children who come after us will tread upon our graves.
They will weep for us a few days.
They will talk of us a few months.
They will remember us a few years.
Then our memory shall disappear from the face of the earth, and not a tongue shall be found to recall it!
The character with which we sink into the grave at death--is the very character with which we shall reappear at the final judgment!
"O God, impress upon me the value of time--and give regulation to all my thoughts and to all my actions. O God, help me to live for Your glory. As the years roll over me, may I withdraw my affections from time, and feel that in moving through the world, I am moving toward eternity!"
"So teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom." Psalm 90:12
~ ~ ~ ~
Editor's note: My wife's unsaved brother died suddenly of a heart attack this morning. He was 56 and in the best of health. How true is God's Word: "Now listen, you who say, 'Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.' Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, 'If it is the Lord's will, we will live and do this or that.'" James 4:13-15
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Christian Service # 2
Christian Service # 2
The true and normal Christian life consists of being in subjection to God. No longer is a quickened soul determined to have his own way at all costs, but instead, the dominating longing and purpose of his heart is to please and honor the Lord in all things. This is the result of a miraculous work of grace, for "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17).
The best way to discover what is signified by being a servant of God, is to ponder the life of the Lord Jesus. Of Him, it is written, "Who, being in the form of God; but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant" (Phil. 2:6-7). And what did that involve? This - we are told that, "Christ pleased not Himself" (Romans 15:3). As He declared, "For I came down from Heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me" (John 6:38). And again, "I do always those things that please Him." That was the character of conduct of the perfect Servant.
And, my reader, Christ has left believers "an example, that you should follow His steps" (1 Pet. 2:21). The "yoke" Christ assumed was that of unreserved submission to God's will, and nothing less than that is what He requires from His followers. We are not Christians at all, unless we are servants of God, fully surrendered to His will, and walking in obedience to His Word.
Alas, satan is deceiving so many today by leading them to suppose that they are savingly trusting in the "finished work" of Christ, while their hearts remain unchanged and self-will rules their lives! "He who says, I know Him, and keeps not His commandments - is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4). What could be plainer than that?
What a searching and solemn word also is in James 1:22, "Be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." There are many "hearers" of the Word, regular hearers, diligent hearers, in some respects, very interested hearers, yet, what they hear is not incorporated into the life. It does not regulate their ways. And God says that they who are not doers of the Word, are "deceiving their own selves."
Alas, how many such there are in Christendom today! Those who are not downright hypocrites, but deluded souls. They suppose that because they are so clear on salvation being by grace alone, they are saved, and that because they sit under the ministry of a man who has "made the Bible a new Book" to them, they are growing in grace.
How many imagine that the mere listening to a true servant of God, or reading his writings, is feeding on the Word. Not so! We only "feed" on the Word when we personally appropriate, masticate, and assimilate into our lives what we read or hear. "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows!" (Luke 12:47).
Christian service is a lie of obedience - our inward and outward life being regulated by the divine precepts.
The service of God is one of freedom, yes, it is the only one where real freedom is to be found. It is the one who willingly renders obedience to Him - who is "the Lord's freeman" (1 Cor. 7:22). God does NOT force His people into service, but constrains them by His love, and their language is, "I will walk at liberty; for I seek your precepts" (Psalm 119:45).
Nothing is more honorable than to be a dutiful servant of God, for it entails the smile of approbation from Him who is the King of kings.
Nothing is more pleasant than to be subject to God's commands, for it secures His favor and fellowship.
What a rich reward is assured those who take His yoke upon them! The Lord Jesus declared, "Where I am, there shall also my servant be" (John 12:26). And again, "Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for you serve the Lord Christ" (Col. 3:24). And yet again, "There shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him" (Rev. 22:3) - now, serving Him in the office, the shop, or the kitchen then, serving Him in the courts of the Father's house above.
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
The true and normal Christian life consists of being in subjection to God. No longer is a quickened soul determined to have his own way at all costs, but instead, the dominating longing and purpose of his heart is to please and honor the Lord in all things. This is the result of a miraculous work of grace, for "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new" (2 Cor. 5:17).
The best way to discover what is signified by being a servant of God, is to ponder the life of the Lord Jesus. Of Him, it is written, "Who, being in the form of God; but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant" (Phil. 2:6-7). And what did that involve? This - we are told that, "Christ pleased not Himself" (Romans 15:3). As He declared, "For I came down from Heaven not to do mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me" (John 6:38). And again, "I do always those things that please Him." That was the character of conduct of the perfect Servant.
And, my reader, Christ has left believers "an example, that you should follow His steps" (1 Pet. 2:21). The "yoke" Christ assumed was that of unreserved submission to God's will, and nothing less than that is what He requires from His followers. We are not Christians at all, unless we are servants of God, fully surrendered to His will, and walking in obedience to His Word.
Alas, satan is deceiving so many today by leading them to suppose that they are savingly trusting in the "finished work" of Christ, while their hearts remain unchanged and self-will rules their lives! "He who says, I know Him, and keeps not His commandments - is a liar, and the truth is not in him" (1 John 2:4). What could be plainer than that?
What a searching and solemn word also is in James 1:22, "Be you doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." There are many "hearers" of the Word, regular hearers, diligent hearers, in some respects, very interested hearers, yet, what they hear is not incorporated into the life. It does not regulate their ways. And God says that they who are not doers of the Word, are "deceiving their own selves."
Alas, how many such there are in Christendom today! Those who are not downright hypocrites, but deluded souls. They suppose that because they are so clear on salvation being by grace alone, they are saved, and that because they sit under the ministry of a man who has "made the Bible a new Book" to them, they are growing in grace.
How many imagine that the mere listening to a true servant of God, or reading his writings, is feeding on the Word. Not so! We only "feed" on the Word when we personally appropriate, masticate, and assimilate into our lives what we read or hear. "That servant who knows his master's will and does not get ready or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows!" (Luke 12:47).
Christian service is a lie of obedience - our inward and outward life being regulated by the divine precepts.
The service of God is one of freedom, yes, it is the only one where real freedom is to be found. It is the one who willingly renders obedience to Him - who is "the Lord's freeman" (1 Cor. 7:22). God does NOT force His people into service, but constrains them by His love, and their language is, "I will walk at liberty; for I seek your precepts" (Psalm 119:45).
Nothing is more honorable than to be a dutiful servant of God, for it entails the smile of approbation from Him who is the King of kings.
Nothing is more pleasant than to be subject to God's commands, for it secures His favor and fellowship.
What a rich reward is assured those who take His yoke upon them! The Lord Jesus declared, "Where I am, there shall also my servant be" (John 12:26). And again, "Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for you serve the Lord Christ" (Col. 3:24). And yet again, "There shall be no more curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and His servants shall serve Him" (Rev. 22:3) - now, serving Him in the office, the shop, or the kitchen then, serving Him in the courts of the Father's house above.
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
Identification of the Godly # 2
Identification of the Godly # 2
"Salvation" is here to be taken in its widest sense, and not limited to the pardon of sins, or cancellation of guilt. In its fullness, "salvation" includes all the mercies of the everlasting covenant. It is viewed here not from the judicial but the experiential side, and therefore, as an object of longing - unto a soul which is sensible of its deep needs and sees in God's salvation, a complete supply for them.
"I have longed for your salvation, O Lord" was said by David not as one who had not yet tasted that He is gracious, but who yearned for a fuller acquaintance with Him. David now sat upon the throne of Israel, yet that contented him not. Have you found every earthly possession and pleasure to be vanity? Have your eyes been opened to see your wretchedness, your heart been made to feel its deep needs? Is there a hungering and thirsting in your soul after righteousness? Then do you not exclaim, "I have longed for your salvation, O Lord."?
That longing has several degrees. At first, it may be like a smoking flax, where one can hardly discern a spark of fire, because it is choked by the prevalence of unbelief. But if it is inspired by the Holy Spirit, ti will become more lively and vivid, and break forth into ardent prayers. Yes, it will eventually obtain such strength as to make its possessor say, "As the deer pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after You, O God" (Psalm 42:1), and He has promised "the desire of the righteous shall be granted" (Proverbs 10:24).
Such longing marks the character of all quickened souls. It is an evidence of a work of grace, for it springs from love to its Author. But the thoughtful and disseminating reader may ask, "Do not some of the unregenerate have a longing for God's salvation - that they may be delivered from the wrath to come?" At times they think so, and perhaps say so, but their actions prove the contrary. Even so, how am I to distinguish my "longings" from theirs? By its very nature. Is your longing actuated only by a sense of dread of the everlasting burnings, or mainly by a desire to be delivered from the power and pollution of sin? Is your desire constant and persistent, something more than a passing fancy? Is it serious and earnest, and not just a superficial and fickle notion? Is it an influential one which leads to action, to diligent seeking - and not merely an idle whim? Is it a predominant one, so that all other interests are subordinated to its realization, and not one which is overcome by the opposition of the flesh and allurements of the world? If so, there is good reason to believe God is its Author.
But let the inquiry be pressed still more closely. David not only declared, "I have longed for your salvation, O Lord," but he added, "and your law is my delight." If your longing be for holiness, then it is necessarily accompanied by an approbation of God's scepter, for subjection thereto is the way unto its realization. A spiritual desire for God's salvation issues in a delight of His precepts, and such delight is the very pulse of the spiritual life. Delight in God's commandments is not found in the unregenerate, for "the carnal mind is enmity against God," and is "not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7). But the language of one who is born of God is "I will delight myself in your commandments, which I have loved" (Psalm 119:47). The two things cannot be separated: "Lord, I have hoped for your salvation, and done your commandments" (Psalm 119:166) - not perfectly so, but with a sincere and real endeavor to conform unto them. The hearts of all God's children are in the same mold: they love what He loves - and hate what He hates. Though when they "would do good, evil is present" with them; nevertheless, each one can truthfully aver, "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man" (Rom. 7:21-22).
"I have longed for your salvation, O Lord" - not "I have not fully attained unto it." Such a longing arises from a sense of insufficiency in ourselves. At the close of his eventful life, Jacob declared, "I have waited for your salvation, O Lord. A like submissive expectation befits us. "It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord" (Lam. 3:26). "We ourselves also, who have received the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves do groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption" (Romans 8:23). So long as we are in this earthly scene, our longings are unsatisfied; necessarily so, for we yearn for and press unto perfection. If you can truthfully say, "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalm 42:2), then you need not have the slightest hesitation in declaring, "As for me, I will behold your face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with your likeness" (Psalm 17:15).
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
"Salvation" is here to be taken in its widest sense, and not limited to the pardon of sins, or cancellation of guilt. In its fullness, "salvation" includes all the mercies of the everlasting covenant. It is viewed here not from the judicial but the experiential side, and therefore, as an object of longing - unto a soul which is sensible of its deep needs and sees in God's salvation, a complete supply for them.
"I have longed for your salvation, O Lord" was said by David not as one who had not yet tasted that He is gracious, but who yearned for a fuller acquaintance with Him. David now sat upon the throne of Israel, yet that contented him not. Have you found every earthly possession and pleasure to be vanity? Have your eyes been opened to see your wretchedness, your heart been made to feel its deep needs? Is there a hungering and thirsting in your soul after righteousness? Then do you not exclaim, "I have longed for your salvation, O Lord."?
That longing has several degrees. At first, it may be like a smoking flax, where one can hardly discern a spark of fire, because it is choked by the prevalence of unbelief. But if it is inspired by the Holy Spirit, ti will become more lively and vivid, and break forth into ardent prayers. Yes, it will eventually obtain such strength as to make its possessor say, "As the deer pants after the water brooks, so pants my soul after You, O God" (Psalm 42:1), and He has promised "the desire of the righteous shall be granted" (Proverbs 10:24).
Such longing marks the character of all quickened souls. It is an evidence of a work of grace, for it springs from love to its Author. But the thoughtful and disseminating reader may ask, "Do not some of the unregenerate have a longing for God's salvation - that they may be delivered from the wrath to come?" At times they think so, and perhaps say so, but their actions prove the contrary. Even so, how am I to distinguish my "longings" from theirs? By its very nature. Is your longing actuated only by a sense of dread of the everlasting burnings, or mainly by a desire to be delivered from the power and pollution of sin? Is your desire constant and persistent, something more than a passing fancy? Is it serious and earnest, and not just a superficial and fickle notion? Is it an influential one which leads to action, to diligent seeking - and not merely an idle whim? Is it a predominant one, so that all other interests are subordinated to its realization, and not one which is overcome by the opposition of the flesh and allurements of the world? If so, there is good reason to believe God is its Author.
But let the inquiry be pressed still more closely. David not only declared, "I have longed for your salvation, O Lord," but he added, "and your law is my delight." If your longing be for holiness, then it is necessarily accompanied by an approbation of God's scepter, for subjection thereto is the way unto its realization. A spiritual desire for God's salvation issues in a delight of His precepts, and such delight is the very pulse of the spiritual life. Delight in God's commandments is not found in the unregenerate, for "the carnal mind is enmity against God," and is "not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be" (Rom. 8:7). But the language of one who is born of God is "I will delight myself in your commandments, which I have loved" (Psalm 119:47). The two things cannot be separated: "Lord, I have hoped for your salvation, and done your commandments" (Psalm 119:166) - not perfectly so, but with a sincere and real endeavor to conform unto them. The hearts of all God's children are in the same mold: they love what He loves - and hate what He hates. Though when they "would do good, evil is present" with them; nevertheless, each one can truthfully aver, "For I delight in the law of God after the inward man" (Rom. 7:21-22).
"I have longed for your salvation, O Lord" - not "I have not fully attained unto it." Such a longing arises from a sense of insufficiency in ourselves. At the close of his eventful life, Jacob declared, "I have waited for your salvation, O Lord. A like submissive expectation befits us. "It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord" (Lam. 3:26). "We ourselves also, who have received the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves do groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption" (Romans 8:23). So long as we are in this earthly scene, our longings are unsatisfied; necessarily so, for we yearn for and press unto perfection. If you can truthfully say, "My soul thirsts for God, for the living God" (Psalm 42:2), then you need not have the slightest hesitation in declaring, "As for me, I will behold your face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with your likeness" (Psalm 17:15).
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Classic Christian Quotes by Classic Ministers
Classic Christian Quotes by Classic Ministers
A self-loather
(Thomas Brooks
"They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices." Ezekiel 6:9
True repentance is a daily turning of the soul further and further from sin--and a daily turning of the soul nearer and nearer to God and holiness.
True repentance includes . . .
a true sense of sin,
a deep sorrow for sin,
a hearty loathing of sin, and
a holy shame and blushing for sin.
A true repenter strives for . . .
a clean head, and a clean heart;
a clean lip, and a clean life.
To repent is for a man to loathe himself, as well as his sin.
Is this easy for man, who is so great a self-lover, and so great a self-exalter, and so great a self-admirer--to become a self-loather? To repent is to cross sinful self, and to walk contrary to sinful self.
True repentance lies in a daily dying unto sin, and in a daily living unto Him who lives forever.
"Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices." Ezekiel 36:31
_______________________
Marthas and Marys
(J. C. Ryle
Mary & Martha, Luke 10:38-42)
Observe how different the characters and personalities of true Christians may be. The two sisters of whom we read in this passage were both faithful disciples. Both had believed. Both had been converted. Both had honored Christ, when few gave Him honor. Both loved Jesus--and Jesus loved both of them. Yet they were evidently women of very different character!
Martha was active, stirring and impulsive; feeling strongly, and speaking out all she felt.
Mary was quiet, still and contemplative; feeling deeply, but saying less than she felt.
Martha, when Jesus came to her house, rejoiced to see Him, and busied herself with preparing suitable refreshment.
Mary, also, rejoiced to see Him, but her first thought was to sit at His feet and hear His word.
Grace reigned in both hearts--but each showed the effects of grace in different ways.
We shall find it very useful to ourselves to remember this lesson.
We must not expect all believers in Christ to be exactly like one another.
We must not set down others as having no grace, because their experience does not entirely tally with our own.
The sheep in the Lord's flock have each their own peculiarities.
The flowers in the Lord's garden are not all precisely alike.
All true servants of God agree in the principal things of religion.
All are led by one Spirit.
All feel their sins, and all trust in Christ.
All repent, all believe, and all are holy.
But in minor matters, they often differ widely.
Let no one despise another on this account.
There will be Marthas and there will be Marys in the Church, until the Lord comes again.
________________________
We see hands, and feet and side--all distilling crimson streams of precious blood(Charles Spurgeon)
"The precious blood of Christ!" 1 Peter 1:19
Standing at the foot of the cross, we see hands, and feet and side--all distilling crimson streams of precious blood.
It is precious because of its redeeming and atoning efficacy. By it . . .
the sins of Christ's people are atoned for;
they are redeemed from under the law;
they are reconciled to God, made one with Him.
Christ's blood is also precious in its cleansing power. It "cleanses from all sin." "Though your sins be as scarlet--they shall be as white as snow!" Through Jesus' blood, there is not a spot left upon any believer--no wrinkle nor any such thing remains. O precious blood, which makes us clean, removing the stains of abundant iniquity, and permitting us to stand accepted in the Beloved, notwithstanding the many ways in which we have rebelled against our God.
The blood of Christ is likewise precious in its preserving power. We are safe from the destroying angel under the sprinkled blood. Remember it is God's seeing the blood--which is the true reason for our being spared. Here is comfort for us when our eye of faith is dim, for God's eye is still the same.
The blood of Christ is precious also in its sanctifying influence. The same blood which justifies by taking away sin, does in its after-action, quicken the new nature and leads it onward to subdue sin and to follow out the commands of God. There is no motive for holiness so great--as that which streams from the veins of Jesus!And precious, unspeakably precious, is this blood--because it has an overcoming power. It is written, "They overcame through the blood of the Lamb." How could they do otherwise? He who fights with the precious blood of Jesus--fights with a weapon which cannot know defeat.
The precious blood of Jesus!
Sin dies at its presence.
Death ceases to be death.
Heaven's gates are opened.
The precious blood of Jesus! We shall march on, conquering and to conquer, so long as we can trust its power!
A self-loather
(Thomas Brooks
"They will loathe themselves for the evil they have done and for all their detestable practices." Ezekiel 6:9
True repentance is a daily turning of the soul further and further from sin--and a daily turning of the soul nearer and nearer to God and holiness.
True repentance includes . . .
a true sense of sin,
a deep sorrow for sin,
a hearty loathing of sin, and
a holy shame and blushing for sin.
A true repenter strives for . . .
a clean head, and a clean heart;
a clean lip, and a clean life.
To repent is for a man to loathe himself, as well as his sin.
Is this easy for man, who is so great a self-lover, and so great a self-exalter, and so great a self-admirer--to become a self-loather? To repent is to cross sinful self, and to walk contrary to sinful self.
True repentance lies in a daily dying unto sin, and in a daily living unto Him who lives forever.
"Then you will remember your evil ways and wicked deeds, and you will loathe yourselves for your sins and detestable practices." Ezekiel 36:31
_______________________
Marthas and Marys
(J. C. Ryle
Mary & Martha, Luke 10:38-42)
Observe how different the characters and personalities of true Christians may be. The two sisters of whom we read in this passage were both faithful disciples. Both had believed. Both had been converted. Both had honored Christ, when few gave Him honor. Both loved Jesus--and Jesus loved both of them. Yet they were evidently women of very different character!
Martha was active, stirring and impulsive; feeling strongly, and speaking out all she felt.
Mary was quiet, still and contemplative; feeling deeply, but saying less than she felt.
Martha, when Jesus came to her house, rejoiced to see Him, and busied herself with preparing suitable refreshment.
Mary, also, rejoiced to see Him, but her first thought was to sit at His feet and hear His word.
Grace reigned in both hearts--but each showed the effects of grace in different ways.
We shall find it very useful to ourselves to remember this lesson.
We must not expect all believers in Christ to be exactly like one another.
We must not set down others as having no grace, because their experience does not entirely tally with our own.
The sheep in the Lord's flock have each their own peculiarities.
The flowers in the Lord's garden are not all precisely alike.
All true servants of God agree in the principal things of religion.
All are led by one Spirit.
All feel their sins, and all trust in Christ.
All repent, all believe, and all are holy.
But in minor matters, they often differ widely.
Let no one despise another on this account.
There will be Marthas and there will be Marys in the Church, until the Lord comes again.
________________________
We see hands, and feet and side--all distilling crimson streams of precious blood(Charles Spurgeon)
"The precious blood of Christ!" 1 Peter 1:19
Standing at the foot of the cross, we see hands, and feet and side--all distilling crimson streams of precious blood.
It is precious because of its redeeming and atoning efficacy. By it . . .
the sins of Christ's people are atoned for;
they are redeemed from under the law;
they are reconciled to God, made one with Him.
Christ's blood is also precious in its cleansing power. It "cleanses from all sin." "Though your sins be as scarlet--they shall be as white as snow!" Through Jesus' blood, there is not a spot left upon any believer--no wrinkle nor any such thing remains. O precious blood, which makes us clean, removing the stains of abundant iniquity, and permitting us to stand accepted in the Beloved, notwithstanding the many ways in which we have rebelled against our God.
The blood of Christ is likewise precious in its preserving power. We are safe from the destroying angel under the sprinkled blood. Remember it is God's seeing the blood--which is the true reason for our being spared. Here is comfort for us when our eye of faith is dim, for God's eye is still the same.
The blood of Christ is precious also in its sanctifying influence. The same blood which justifies by taking away sin, does in its after-action, quicken the new nature and leads it onward to subdue sin and to follow out the commands of God. There is no motive for holiness so great--as that which streams from the veins of Jesus!And precious, unspeakably precious, is this blood--because it has an overcoming power. It is written, "They overcame through the blood of the Lamb." How could they do otherwise? He who fights with the precious blood of Jesus--fights with a weapon which cannot know defeat.
The precious blood of Jesus!
Sin dies at its presence.
Death ceases to be death.
Heaven's gates are opened.
The precious blood of Jesus! We shall march on, conquering and to conquer, so long as we can trust its power!
Christian Service # 1
Christian Service # 1
Our present subject follows logically upon the theme of our last paper, for we are saved to serve, as was adumbrated of old in connection with God's earthly peoples, "And the Lord spoke unto Moses, "Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, thus says the Lord, Let My people go, that they may serve Me" (Ex. 8:1).
Pharaoh was a type of satan. The bondage of Egypt was a type of our "serving divers lusts" (Tim. 3:3). Israel's exodus from Egypt and their entering into covenant with Jehovah at Sinai illustrates the experience of conversion, when a rebel against God throws down the weapons of his warfare and gives himself up to be ruled by God's will.
Salvation, then, is a change of masters. There are but two masters, and each person serves one of them - sin and God. Every man serves one of them, but no man can serve both. Every man serves either sin or righteousness, God or the devil, giving his time and strength to one or the other. "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Holy Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires" (Romans 8:5). There is NO middle ground, or neutral state. Both of these services are entered by consent, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?" (Romans 6:16).
It is true there are degrees in this, some yielding up themselves more completely and entirely than others. Nevertheless, the service which the regenerate render to righteousness is quite voluntary. The service of sin must be abandoned, before the service of God can be entered, "But now that you have been set free from sin, and have become slaves to God - the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life" (Romans 6:22). That order is unchangeable.
By nature we are not in subjection to God, for man is "born like a wild donkey's colt" (Job 11:12). As they contemplate their unregenerate days, the Lord's people sorrowfully confess, "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned one to his own way!" (Isa. 53:6). Yes, that is the quintessence of sin - the determination to please ourselves.
Thus it was at the beginning. Our first parents chafed at the divine restraint, and took matters into their own hands. But by grace, all this is altered. The language of a quickened soul is, "Lord, what will You have me to do" (Acts 9:6).
True conversion is a being brought into subjection to God.
First, the conscience is convicted of insubordination to God, and we are made to tremble for having so long and so grievously defied Him. His claims are now recognized and felt, and there is a broken-hearted repentance for having disregarded those claims.
Second, there is a bending of our wills, a subduing of the fleshly principle within, and a being made desirous for God to rule us (Psalm 110:3). Self-lover, self-will, and self-righteousness receive their death wounds!
Third, there is wrought in the heart a readiness to submit to God's way of salvation (Rom. 10:3), so that we come as empty-handed beggars to receive out of the fullness of His grace.
Fourth, there is a receiving of Christ Jesus as Lord (Col. 2:6). "O Lord, our God, other lords besides You have ruled over us, but Your name alone do we honor" (Isa. 26:13). In the past, "lord" self-pleasing, "lord" self-love, and "lord" self-gratification - ruled us. But now, these are repudiated. We have become "servants of God," and a servant is one who owns the authority of a superior, who is yielded to the will of his master and lives and labors to promote his interests.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
Our present subject follows logically upon the theme of our last paper, for we are saved to serve, as was adumbrated of old in connection with God's earthly peoples, "And the Lord spoke unto Moses, "Go unto Pharaoh, and say unto him, thus says the Lord, Let My people go, that they may serve Me" (Ex. 8:1).
Pharaoh was a type of satan. The bondage of Egypt was a type of our "serving divers lusts" (Tim. 3:3). Israel's exodus from Egypt and their entering into covenant with Jehovah at Sinai illustrates the experience of conversion, when a rebel against God throws down the weapons of his warfare and gives himself up to be ruled by God's will.
Salvation, then, is a change of masters. There are but two masters, and each person serves one of them - sin and God. Every man serves one of them, but no man can serve both. Every man serves either sin or righteousness, God or the devil, giving his time and strength to one or the other. "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Holy Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires" (Romans 8:5). There is NO middle ground, or neutral state. Both of these services are entered by consent, "Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness?" (Romans 6:16).
It is true there are degrees in this, some yielding up themselves more completely and entirely than others. Nevertheless, the service which the regenerate render to righteousness is quite voluntary. The service of sin must be abandoned, before the service of God can be entered, "But now that you have been set free from sin, and have become slaves to God - the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life" (Romans 6:22). That order is unchangeable.
By nature we are not in subjection to God, for man is "born like a wild donkey's colt" (Job 11:12). As they contemplate their unregenerate days, the Lord's people sorrowfully confess, "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned one to his own way!" (Isa. 53:6). Yes, that is the quintessence of sin - the determination to please ourselves.
Thus it was at the beginning. Our first parents chafed at the divine restraint, and took matters into their own hands. But by grace, all this is altered. The language of a quickened soul is, "Lord, what will You have me to do" (Acts 9:6).
True conversion is a being brought into subjection to God.
First, the conscience is convicted of insubordination to God, and we are made to tremble for having so long and so grievously defied Him. His claims are now recognized and felt, and there is a broken-hearted repentance for having disregarded those claims.
Second, there is a bending of our wills, a subduing of the fleshly principle within, and a being made desirous for God to rule us (Psalm 110:3). Self-lover, self-will, and self-righteousness receive their death wounds!
Third, there is wrought in the heart a readiness to submit to God's way of salvation (Rom. 10:3), so that we come as empty-handed beggars to receive out of the fullness of His grace.
Fourth, there is a receiving of Christ Jesus as Lord (Col. 2:6). "O Lord, our God, other lords besides You have ruled over us, but Your name alone do we honor" (Isa. 26:13). In the past, "lord" self-pleasing, "lord" self-love, and "lord" self-gratification - ruled us. But now, these are repudiated. We have become "servants of God," and a servant is one who owns the authority of a superior, who is yielded to the will of his master and lives and labors to promote his interests.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
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