Show Thyself A Man # 2
Settle the question in self-control by making timely decisions about what you are going to do about such important matters as temperance, morality and religion. Settle the question very early that your life shall be directed by principles and not by impulse. If you are not willing to deliberately take the risk of becoming a good-for-nothing sot, settle the question at once and finally that you will never take your first drink. Not to do this is to have about half decided that you will yield when the temptation comes. It means that you have concluded that you may yield, and so the probability is great that you will.
If you are not willing to take the risk of becoming a social outcast, decide as Joseph did long before he reached Potiphar's house that you will have a moral life.
To be a man means to be strong in purpose and self-control. If our manhood is buried under doubt, dig it out. There's a Gettysburg in every man's life which he has to fight. To be ready is half the secret of success.
Having oil or no oil in your lamp is the difference between light and darkness, between happiness and despair.
If you are not willing to run the risk of losing your soul take the only step that can make it safe by taking Christ into your heart and life at once.
Decision determines what life is to become for every man in this world, and also decides it for eternity.
The man who lets the devil choose his company for him will soon do anything the devil wants him to do. Strive for self-control by forming good habits before bad ones fasten themselves upon you. A thread can be broken, but a rope will hang you.
Be prudent by learning your own strength and weakness. Get the best training possible. Remember that knowledge is power. There is no excuse for ignorance in this day, when colleges are everywhere, and books seem to almost grow on trees.
The life of an uneducated man is like that of a mole living in the dark, while that of the man with culture is like the eagle, mounting above the clouds and soaring towards the sun.
Take the great men of the Bible and stand before them long enough to realize how great they were, and then ask yourself what there was in them that you ought to have in you, and then spend some time every day in considering the man who had in himself the great and manly qualities of them all in a superlative degree - the divine man - the God man - the man of Galilee.
Learn how to behold Christ's glory and so be changed into His likeness from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. Let your soul go out to Him and be filled with Him, and you will soon begin to see that everything that is not like Him is unmanly and mean. Spend three months in studying His life on its man-ward side, and you will have a more exalted knowledge of what it means to be a man than you ever before possessed. A knowledge that will quicken you and inspire you to live for God and man as you never lived before.
Study the purpose of Christ and notice that He never swerved from the business for which He came into the world.
Study His prudence and courage and you will also find it true of His self control, faithfulness, charity, unselfishness, benevolence and sympathy.
Surely this man was the Son of God and the most glorious promise for us ever given that when He shall appear we shall be like Him. "Be thou strong, therefore, and show thyself a man."
~Billy Sunday~
(The End)
A Proliferation of Christian Devotionals and Sermons
Saturday, March 30, 2019
A Sermon For Erring Christians # 1
A Sermon For Erring Christians # 1
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Theme: Plain directions to Christians who are out of the King's highway, telling them how to get back into the way.
This text is God's answer to Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple. That prayer is remarkable for these three things:
1. A distinct recognition of the fact that all of God's people will and do sin.
2. That divine chastisement for purposes of correction will certainly follow every such sin.
3. A petition that God would accept and honor as adequate provision for the forgiveness of such sin.
These three notable characteristics of this famous prayer are very carefully stated because they embody a great deal of doctrine. And doctrinal statements ought never to be loosely and incautiously worded. Let us elaborate somewhat on each characteristic of this prayer.
Observe carefully that the first notable characteristic is not a recognition of the fact that some of God's people will sin nor the mere possibility that all of them may sin, but that all of them will and do sin - all of them, without one exception. If this statement be correct, it forever settles some things. It forever negatives as unscriptural certain modern doctrines touching sanctification. If it be urged as an objection that Solomon in his prayer continually said, "If Thy people sin," the "if" implying contingency only, or mere liability, the answer to such objection is obvious, conclusive, and crushing that he himself carefully guarded against such construction of his language. The possibility expressed by the "if" relates only to the particular form of the sin and never to the fact that sin would come in some form. The "if" was designed to cover any or all forms. It is as if he had said, "If it take this form or that?, whatever form it may take and some form it will take - then hear thou in heaven and forgive."
Would you hear and consider some of this proof? We have two inspired records of this prayer. In both, the "if" is not designed by him to convey the idea of doubt or uncertainty as to the fact of sin.
"If they sin against Thee (for there is no man that sinneth not" (1 Kings 8:46 and 2 Chronicles 6:36).
The full import of this broad negative as to the existence of sinless men is emphasized by its enlarged restatement by Solomon in another and much later connection: "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not" (Ecclesiastics 7:20). This, for the present, at least, is sufficient proof of the correctness of the first statement, that Solomon's prayer distinctly recognizes the fact, not that some of God's people will sin, nor that all of them may sin, but that all of them will and do sin.
The second characteristic of the prayer is that divine chastisement, for purposes of correction, inevitably follows such sin. There is no doubt here, no ambiguity. Every element of uncertainty is excluded. You, O Christian is not the only inalienable and precious heritage of every child of God, but it is also a distinguishing mark to evidence the fact that he is a child of God. No chastisement, no child. What saith the scripture?
My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, Nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him; For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth. And scourgeth every son whom He recevieth. If you 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. Furthermore we have had the fathers of our flesh who corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure. But He for our profit that we might be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them who are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet; let that which is lame be not turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed." Now, do observe how this Scripture corroborates the first proposition that all God's people sin. All His people are partakers of chastisement. Any self-styled child of God who is without chastisement is a bastard and not a son. He chastises to correct come wrong, to heal some lameness. He chastises not willingly, but for love and for profit. Mark this, that the object of chastisement is that "Ye might be partakers of His holiness."
To claim to be holy as God is holy is to claim that you have passed out of the realm of chastisement. The school of discipline for the spirit ends only with death of the body or its glorification without death. Death is the last stroke of discipline. With death all chastening of the spirit ceases. Seen after death they are at last "the spirits of just men made perfect." (Hebrews 12:23).
~B. H. Carroll~
(continued with # 2)
"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land" (2 Chronicles 7:14).
Theme: Plain directions to Christians who are out of the King's highway, telling them how to get back into the way.
This text is God's answer to Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple. That prayer is remarkable for these three things:
1. A distinct recognition of the fact that all of God's people will and do sin.
2. That divine chastisement for purposes of correction will certainly follow every such sin.
3. A petition that God would accept and honor as adequate provision for the forgiveness of such sin.
These three notable characteristics of this famous prayer are very carefully stated because they embody a great deal of doctrine. And doctrinal statements ought never to be loosely and incautiously worded. Let us elaborate somewhat on each characteristic of this prayer.
Observe carefully that the first notable characteristic is not a recognition of the fact that some of God's people will sin nor the mere possibility that all of them may sin, but that all of them will and do sin - all of them, without one exception. If this statement be correct, it forever settles some things. It forever negatives as unscriptural certain modern doctrines touching sanctification. If it be urged as an objection that Solomon in his prayer continually said, "If Thy people sin," the "if" implying contingency only, or mere liability, the answer to such objection is obvious, conclusive, and crushing that he himself carefully guarded against such construction of his language. The possibility expressed by the "if" relates only to the particular form of the sin and never to the fact that sin would come in some form. The "if" was designed to cover any or all forms. It is as if he had said, "If it take this form or that?, whatever form it may take and some form it will take - then hear thou in heaven and forgive."
Would you hear and consider some of this proof? We have two inspired records of this prayer. In both, the "if" is not designed by him to convey the idea of doubt or uncertainty as to the fact of sin.
"If they sin against Thee (for there is no man that sinneth not" (1 Kings 8:46 and 2 Chronicles 6:36).
The full import of this broad negative as to the existence of sinless men is emphasized by its enlarged restatement by Solomon in another and much later connection: "For there is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not" (Ecclesiastics 7:20). This, for the present, at least, is sufficient proof of the correctness of the first statement, that Solomon's prayer distinctly recognizes the fact, not that some of God's people will sin, nor that all of them may sin, but that all of them will and do sin.
The second characteristic of the prayer is that divine chastisement, for purposes of correction, inevitably follows such sin. There is no doubt here, no ambiguity. Every element of uncertainty is excluded. You, O Christian is not the only inalienable and precious heritage of every child of God, but it is also a distinguishing mark to evidence the fact that he is a child of God. No chastisement, no child. What saith the scripture?
My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, Nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him; For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth. And scourgeth every son whom He recevieth. If you 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. Furthermore we have had the fathers of our flesh who corrected us, and we gave them reverence. Shall we not much rather be in subjection to the Father of spirits and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure. But He for our profit that we might be partakers of His holiness. Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous but grievous; nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them who are exercised thereby. Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet; let that which is lame be not turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed." Now, do observe how this Scripture corroborates the first proposition that all God's people sin. All His people are partakers of chastisement. Any self-styled child of God who is without chastisement is a bastard and not a son. He chastises to correct come wrong, to heal some lameness. He chastises not willingly, but for love and for profit. Mark this, that the object of chastisement is that "Ye might be partakers of His holiness."
To claim to be holy as God is holy is to claim that you have passed out of the realm of chastisement. The school of discipline for the spirit ends only with death of the body or its glorification without death. Death is the last stroke of discipline. With death all chastening of the spirit ceases. Seen after death they are at last "the spirits of just men made perfect." (Hebrews 12:23).
~B. H. Carroll~
(continued with # 2)
Saturday, March 23, 2019
Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers
Classic Christian Quotes From Classic Ministers
The most unpopular, hated and feared teaching in the entire Bible!
(Brian Schwertley, "The Biblical Doctrine of Hell Examined")
"The rich man also died and was buried. In Hell, where he was in torment . . ." Luke 16:22-23
The doctrine of eternal punishment is probably the most unpopular, hated and feared teaching in the entire Bible. The thought of people burning in Hell for eternity is most repugnant to the human mind.
Yet in spite of the terrifying nature of the doctrine, and in spite of the fact that people find the idea of everlasting torment revolting, the strongest support of the doctrine comes from the lips of Jesus Christ. Think of it: the most terrifying imagery and detailed descriptions of Hell are found in the discourses of the Redeemer! Jesus continually warned men and women of the danger of going to Hell. Jesus Christ, who foretold that He would come again to judge the entire human race, spoke more about Hell and its terrors than all the prophets and apostles combined. To ignore and disregard the clear teaching of Jesus, is to deny Christ.
The Bible sets before us many differing aspects of the torments in Hell as a warning. The torments of Hell help us to understand how much God hates sin. Oh what dreadful torments await those who die without Christ!
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in Hell." Matthew 10:28
"They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!" Matthew 13:42
"Then He will say to those on His left: Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!" Matthew 25:41
____________________________
The most unpopular, hated and feared teaching in the entire Bible!
(Brian Schwertley, "The Biblical Doctrine of Hell Examined")
"The rich man also died and was buried. In Hell, where he was in torment . . ." Luke 16:22-23
The doctrine of eternal punishment is probably the most unpopular, hated and feared teaching in the entire Bible. The thought of people burning in Hell for eternity is most repugnant to the human mind.
Yet in spite of the terrifying nature of the doctrine, and in spite of the fact that people find the idea of everlasting torment revolting, the strongest support of the doctrine comes from the lips of Jesus Christ. Think of it: the most terrifying imagery and detailed descriptions of Hell are found in the discourses of the Redeemer! Jesus continually warned men and women of the danger of going to Hell. Jesus Christ, who foretold that He would come again to judge the entire human race, spoke more about Hell and its terrors than all the prophets and apostles combined. To ignore and disregard the clear teaching of Jesus, is to deny Christ.
The Bible sets before us many differing aspects of the torments in Hell as a warning. The torments of Hell help us to understand how much God hates sin. Oh what dreadful torments await those who die without Christ!
"Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in Hell." Matthew 10:28
"They will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!" Matthew 13:42
"Then He will say to those on His left: Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels!" Matthew 25:41
____________________________
0-12
(10) And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. (11) "Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, "Lord, Lord, open to us!" (12) But he answered and said, "Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you."
New King James Version
New King James Version
The door is shut with finality. The verb tense says the door is shut to stay shut. Therefore, at that point, no one's repentance, prayer, or pleading can change that fact. Noah's ark having its door sealed shut is a similar vivid illustration of its finality (Genesis 7:16) - it was shut to stay shut throughout the Flood. All the pleading in the world would not open the ark's door to others after it was shut. Once Christ has come or we have died, our opportunity to be among the firstfruits of the Kingdom will have been decided. The door's closing is fair because everyone had ample time to prepare for the bridegroom's coming. He does not come early in the evening but late. He is even delayed (verse 5), giving extra time to be ready. We have our whole lives - all the years of Christ's longsuffering and patience with us - to prepare. Therefore, it is just and fair that the door is shut when our last hour comes. Isaiah recognizes man's tendency to procrastinate in his warning, "Seek the Lord while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near" (Isaiah 55:6).
The foolish Laodicean attitude dictates that one needs nothing else spiritually, but such a one will be rudely awakened to realize his terrible unpreparedness. This attitude is bankrupt of vision and foresight. It sees no need to prepare for the eventualities of life either physically or, more importantly, spiritually. Opportunities come and go through life, and no opportunity is so greatly lost than that of the foolish virgins. They fail to realize that the bridegroom would probably come later than expected. They lack faithful perseverance in thought and action.
The lesson Christ emphasizes in this parable is to be prepared for the future, namely, the coming of Christ. The prophet Amos expresses this powerfully: "Prepare to meet your God, O Israel!" (Amos 4:12). Human beings have little trouble preparing for everything, except meeting God. The last verse of the parable (verse 13) makes its purpose ring in our ears: "Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming."
~Martin G. Collins~
Show Thyself A Man # 1
Show Thyself A Man # 1
"Be thou strong and show thyself a man" (1 Kings 2:2).
No one can read the Bible in a thoughtful way without being impressed with the fact that it makes much of manhood, and holds it up as something that should be sought after with diligence and perseverance.
In fact the Bible exalts and emphasizes manhood in a remarkable way, and shows that real manhood is a great thing in the world. The book of Genesis contains sixty chapters and covers 2,300 years of human history, and yet one half of it is devoted to telling us about the colossal manhood of Abraham, and a third to that of Joseph.
The story of creation is told in 800 words, but a great deal more space is given to the story of Caleb's rugged manhood. A whole book is occupied with the story of Job, and another with that of Daniel, while long chapters here and there tell us of other men who are safe examples to follow.
God has thus shown very plainly what He considered important by where He has put the italics. The Lord is not a respecter of persons, but He is a respecter of character, and a very good respecter of it, too. Indeed, He does more than respect it. He admires it.
Hear His admiration of the character of Job, in the strongest language that even God can use, in declaring, "He is perfect!"
Abraham towers like mountains above molehills when he pushes aside the spoils of the unrighteous king of Sodom, lest he should say that Abraham was depending on him. Look at Daniel keeping himself pure in that pestilential palace. Look at David.
We are also told that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and that he delighteth in his way; and this, I take it, means in plain English, that God loves to watch a real man go out and grow!
Let me ask you to note, first of all, that David wanted Solomon to be anchored to a noble purpose. He didn't want the young man to drift along in an aimless way, like a log in a whirlpool, but he wanted him to have his eye set on something for which it would be worth his while to spend every energy to reach.
And so with his dying breath he said, "Don't be a mere floater, my son. Don't be a drifter on the stream of time, but stem the current that would carry you down, but be a man."
David himself had been a man of high and lofty purpose. His own life must have been greatly influenced by the character of Moses and the other mighty men of God who had preceded him. That his aim was high and his purpose lofty is clearly evident from his life and his writings.
It is not as accident that he went from the sheep fold to the throne. Success like that never comes about to mere change. One reason why there are so many bones bleaching along the highway of life is those who once started out with bright and shining faces never expect to go anywhere in particular.
David was faithful to all his duties as a shepherd, but he looked higher than that humble calling, and made it a stepping stone. While a shepherd he improved his opportunities, trained his powers and qualified himself to be a king.
David was anxious that Solomon should have a high aim. He wanted him to reach out for the top of the mountain. He didn't want him to be content with a summer house in the valley. He wanted him to own the very best estate in the country where the giants were.
He didn't want him to be an old woman or a sissy sort of a fellow, but a man with knotted muscles on his arms, a big heart in his body and plenty of matter in his head. He wanted him to aim high, as a king's son should, knowing that if his aim was high his endeavor would not be wasted.
He wanted his son to raise his chin high enough to look the sun in the face, and so he said, "Solomon, be a man!"
Manhood - true manhood - princely manhood, like that of David, is one of the grandest things in the world, and it is something that counts as nothing else does.
It does not depend upon the size of the body. There are men of small stature, like Paul and Napoleon, who tower above other men as the mountains above the plain, and there are physical giants who are middle-weights in manhood.
Samson was a giant in stature and a baby in self-control. It was not the Philistines who destroyed Samson. It was Samson himself.
The man who is able to say "no" whenever it should be said is walking in a way that will lead straight to his own good.
Strive to be strong in self-control by making timely decisions about what you are going to do about such important matters as temperance, morality and religion.
~Billy Sunday~
(continued with # 2)
"Be thou strong and show thyself a man" (1 Kings 2:2).
No one can read the Bible in a thoughtful way without being impressed with the fact that it makes much of manhood, and holds it up as something that should be sought after with diligence and perseverance.
In fact the Bible exalts and emphasizes manhood in a remarkable way, and shows that real manhood is a great thing in the world. The book of Genesis contains sixty chapters and covers 2,300 years of human history, and yet one half of it is devoted to telling us about the colossal manhood of Abraham, and a third to that of Joseph.
The story of creation is told in 800 words, but a great deal more space is given to the story of Caleb's rugged manhood. A whole book is occupied with the story of Job, and another with that of Daniel, while long chapters here and there tell us of other men who are safe examples to follow.
God has thus shown very plainly what He considered important by where He has put the italics. The Lord is not a respecter of persons, but He is a respecter of character, and a very good respecter of it, too. Indeed, He does more than respect it. He admires it.
Hear His admiration of the character of Job, in the strongest language that even God can use, in declaring, "He is perfect!"
Abraham towers like mountains above molehills when he pushes aside the spoils of the unrighteous king of Sodom, lest he should say that Abraham was depending on him. Look at Daniel keeping himself pure in that pestilential palace. Look at David.
We are also told that the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and that he delighteth in his way; and this, I take it, means in plain English, that God loves to watch a real man go out and grow!
Let me ask you to note, first of all, that David wanted Solomon to be anchored to a noble purpose. He didn't want the young man to drift along in an aimless way, like a log in a whirlpool, but he wanted him to have his eye set on something for which it would be worth his while to spend every energy to reach.
And so with his dying breath he said, "Don't be a mere floater, my son. Don't be a drifter on the stream of time, but stem the current that would carry you down, but be a man."
David himself had been a man of high and lofty purpose. His own life must have been greatly influenced by the character of Moses and the other mighty men of God who had preceded him. That his aim was high and his purpose lofty is clearly evident from his life and his writings.
It is not as accident that he went from the sheep fold to the throne. Success like that never comes about to mere change. One reason why there are so many bones bleaching along the highway of life is those who once started out with bright and shining faces never expect to go anywhere in particular.
David was faithful to all his duties as a shepherd, but he looked higher than that humble calling, and made it a stepping stone. While a shepherd he improved his opportunities, trained his powers and qualified himself to be a king.
David was anxious that Solomon should have a high aim. He wanted him to reach out for the top of the mountain. He didn't want him to be content with a summer house in the valley. He wanted him to own the very best estate in the country where the giants were.
He didn't want him to be an old woman or a sissy sort of a fellow, but a man with knotted muscles on his arms, a big heart in his body and plenty of matter in his head. He wanted him to aim high, as a king's son should, knowing that if his aim was high his endeavor would not be wasted.
He wanted his son to raise his chin high enough to look the sun in the face, and so he said, "Solomon, be a man!"
Manhood - true manhood - princely manhood, like that of David, is one of the grandest things in the world, and it is something that counts as nothing else does.
It does not depend upon the size of the body. There are men of small stature, like Paul and Napoleon, who tower above other men as the mountains above the plain, and there are physical giants who are middle-weights in manhood.
Samson was a giant in stature and a baby in self-control. It was not the Philistines who destroyed Samson. It was Samson himself.
The man who is able to say "no" whenever it should be said is walking in a way that will lead straight to his own good.
Strive to be strong in self-control by making timely decisions about what you are going to do about such important matters as temperance, morality and religion.
~Billy Sunday~
(continued with # 2)
Saturday, March 16, 2019
The Lord Our Righteousness
The Lord Our Righteousness
Wonderful words! May I use them? May I say this? Will it not be presumption in one like me - so unworthy and sinful? No, there is no presumption in doing what God says we may do. Every believer in Christ may say to Him, "The Lord our righteousness," for this is one of the name given to Christ in the Bible: "This is His name by which He shall be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:6).
Reader, do you believe with the heart on the Lord Jesus Christ? Then take to yourself all the comfort of this name of His. He is your righteousness. You are joined to Him, as a branch to the vine ("I am the vine, you are the branches" John 15:5); not for any goodness of yours, but simply through your faith in Him. And because you are thus joined to Him, He is your righteousness: Christ is righteousness to every believer for He "became for us wisdom from God - and righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30).
But what does this mean, that Christ is our righteousness? Just this: that the union between Christ and believers is so complete, that His righteousness is accounted theirs - imputed to them, or set to their account. They are not righteous in themselves, far from it; they are still sinful, weak, and imperfect. But being in Christ, they are no longer looked on by God as what they are in themselves - but as what they are in Him. Thus He is their righteousness.
This doctrine is not received by all. To some it seems "foolishness," "a hard saying," a doctrine which is unmeaning, confused, and impossible. But to him who really feels his need - it is full of comfort, for it gives him what he needs. Would anything short of this meet his case? If he was only almost holy - could he stand before God in judgment? Would not the least remnant of sin, be enough to drive him from the presence of Him who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity? But when a perfect righteousness is imputed or reckoned to him - then and only then he can appear before God with acceptance.
Now this is perfect righteousness, for "the Lord" is our righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ, Jehovah Himself. What an answer is this to the evil spirit, the accuser, when he sets our sins in array against us and tries to frighten us from our faith! What an answer will this be in that great day when he will hurl his last dart at us and accuse us for the last time before the Judge of the living and dead! What an answer has God Himself put into our mouth: "The Lord our Righteousness!" The Holy Spirit authorizes every believer to make these words his own: "The Lord our righteousness."
Believer, let not weakness of faith or slowness of heart rob you of this comfort. The peace of your soul rests on that great substitution which has been made, a double substitution: Christ standing in your place - and you standing in His. "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us - that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). He stood between you and the wrath of God, bore your burden, endured your stripes, paid your debt; and He puts you, as it were, into His place instead of your own. Therefore, though sinful, your are looked upon as holy - yes, perfectly holy, without a spot of guilt, because clad in the robe of Christ's righteousness. Oh, how happy this will make you, and how active in serving God! Happy, for you will walk in the light of God's countenance; active, for you will feel a spring of motive within, constraining you to the service, the loving service, of Him who stood in your stead and has become the Lord your righteousness.
There must be a linking of faith between Christ and the soul. If this is lacking - then there is no union with Christ, and so no righteousness imputed. If there is no faith, no living faith in Jesus, no looking to Him, no resting of the heart on Him - then all is vain; the Lord is not the righteousness of anyone in such a state. And how can you stand before God, unless the Lord Jesus Christ is your righteousness?
Even now, if you could see God as He is, and see yourself also as you are - you would tremble to think of His eye being always upon you, seeing all you that do and think. But ah! What will you do and how will you feel - on that great day when you must stand before the Judge and see Him face to face? When the books are opened; when numbers will be saying "to the mountains and rocks: Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!" (Rev. 6:16). How will you be able to stand in that great day of His wrath, unless the Lord is your righteousness?
No righteousness but His will serve you then; no name but His will avail you. Will you find yourself without a "wedding garment?" "Bind him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!" (Matt. 22:13). Be wise. Think of that day before it comes. Seek now, and at once, to have the Lord Jesus Christ for your righteousness. Seek a personal interest in Him, a living union. Be content with NO outward religion, but seek to be a branch of the true vine. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). Then you need fear nothing - for having Christ, you will have all.
~Francis Bourdillon~
(The End)
Wonderful words! May I use them? May I say this? Will it not be presumption in one like me - so unworthy and sinful? No, there is no presumption in doing what God says we may do. Every believer in Christ may say to Him, "The Lord our righteousness," for this is one of the name given to Christ in the Bible: "This is His name by which He shall be called: THE LORD OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS" (Jeremiah 23:6).
Reader, do you believe with the heart on the Lord Jesus Christ? Then take to yourself all the comfort of this name of His. He is your righteousness. You are joined to Him, as a branch to the vine ("I am the vine, you are the branches" John 15:5); not for any goodness of yours, but simply through your faith in Him. And because you are thus joined to Him, He is your righteousness: Christ is righteousness to every believer for He "became for us wisdom from God - and righteousness and sanctification and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30).
But what does this mean, that Christ is our righteousness? Just this: that the union between Christ and believers is so complete, that His righteousness is accounted theirs - imputed to them, or set to their account. They are not righteous in themselves, far from it; they are still sinful, weak, and imperfect. But being in Christ, they are no longer looked on by God as what they are in themselves - but as what they are in Him. Thus He is their righteousness.
This doctrine is not received by all. To some it seems "foolishness," "a hard saying," a doctrine which is unmeaning, confused, and impossible. But to him who really feels his need - it is full of comfort, for it gives him what he needs. Would anything short of this meet his case? If he was only almost holy - could he stand before God in judgment? Would not the least remnant of sin, be enough to drive him from the presence of Him who is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity? But when a perfect righteousness is imputed or reckoned to him - then and only then he can appear before God with acceptance.
Now this is perfect righteousness, for "the Lord" is our righteousness, the Lord Jesus Christ, Jehovah Himself. What an answer is this to the evil spirit, the accuser, when he sets our sins in array against us and tries to frighten us from our faith! What an answer will this be in that great day when he will hurl his last dart at us and accuse us for the last time before the Judge of the living and dead! What an answer has God Himself put into our mouth: "The Lord our Righteousness!" The Holy Spirit authorizes every believer to make these words his own: "The Lord our righteousness."
Believer, let not weakness of faith or slowness of heart rob you of this comfort. The peace of your soul rests on that great substitution which has been made, a double substitution: Christ standing in your place - and you standing in His. "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us - that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21). He stood between you and the wrath of God, bore your burden, endured your stripes, paid your debt; and He puts you, as it were, into His place instead of your own. Therefore, though sinful, your are looked upon as holy - yes, perfectly holy, without a spot of guilt, because clad in the robe of Christ's righteousness. Oh, how happy this will make you, and how active in serving God! Happy, for you will walk in the light of God's countenance; active, for you will feel a spring of motive within, constraining you to the service, the loving service, of Him who stood in your stead and has become the Lord your righteousness.
There must be a linking of faith between Christ and the soul. If this is lacking - then there is no union with Christ, and so no righteousness imputed. If there is no faith, no living faith in Jesus, no looking to Him, no resting of the heart on Him - then all is vain; the Lord is not the righteousness of anyone in such a state. And how can you stand before God, unless the Lord Jesus Christ is your righteousness?
Even now, if you could see God as He is, and see yourself also as you are - you would tremble to think of His eye being always upon you, seeing all you that do and think. But ah! What will you do and how will you feel - on that great day when you must stand before the Judge and see Him face to face? When the books are opened; when numbers will be saying "to the mountains and rocks: Fall on us, and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb!" (Rev. 6:16). How will you be able to stand in that great day of His wrath, unless the Lord is your righteousness?
No righteousness but His will serve you then; no name but His will avail you. Will you find yourself without a "wedding garment?" "Bind him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth!" (Matt. 22:13). Be wise. Think of that day before it comes. Seek now, and at once, to have the Lord Jesus Christ for your righteousness. Seek a personal interest in Him, a living union. Be content with NO outward religion, but seek to be a branch of the true vine. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31). Then you need fear nothing - for having Christ, you will have all.
~Francis Bourdillon~
(The End)
Goodbye To Glory - Ichabod # 7
Goodbye To Glory - Ichabod # 7
Think of Judas - the incarnation of infamy today! Shakespeare called him "the base Judean who sold a pearl richer than all his tribe." Judas, given a great opportunity by Christ Himself, had part of "the ministry and apostleship on which angels longed to serve." Did not this position place its participant on a level with Moses and Elijah?
But the glory of this individual began to grow dim when he began to wonder about the course that Jesus chose in refusing the kingship and in antagonizing the rulers. The glory grew even dimmer when he began to worry about the future - and dimmer still when he began to pilfer the bag. And his glory departed completely when he when he went out into the night to bargain to betray Jesus for the price of a hog! Truly over it all you can write: "Thy glory hath departed."
And think of Lot - called just and righteous. "And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day, with their unlawful deeds.) "He was driven to Egypt when famine came, yet his soul in many ways became a famished soul. A business man, an opportunist, maker of a bad choice that he thought was a good choice. He certainly added no brightness to manhood's torch by marrying a woman of Sodom - the wickedest city mentioned in man's literature, hopelessly corrupt. Lot escaped with only his family when God burned Sodom to the ground. Lot's last act was one of incest. From his daughters came the nations of Ammon and Moab.
And think of Saul - first king of Israel. His glory, which was as a burning bush of splendor, faded into lusterless cold ashes. Let us see what the Scriptures tell us: "And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul's sons. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his armour bearer, "Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me. But his Armour bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it" (1 Samuel 31:2-4).
Again and again, with tragic repetition, do the pages of history testify that individuals who once gave light as steady stars came to the time and place where their light was the flame of a fluttering candle. In our churches we see people who once served faithfully who proved their kinship with Demas - to the hurt of some and to the sorrow of many. In some homes we have those who once held as sacred the marital vow who have gone as wild as the winds which know no barriers in making these vows perjury. "Tis true that many know not, or, if knowing, give no heed to the truth that to leave Jesus out of his life is to say goodbye to glory. Against all things and against all evils that bring people to the place and time where they say goodbye to glory,
I would that all men would take an unwavering stand remembering God's promise:
"And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee" (Jeremiah 1:19).
~Robert G. Lee~
(The End)
Think of Judas - the incarnation of infamy today! Shakespeare called him "the base Judean who sold a pearl richer than all his tribe." Judas, given a great opportunity by Christ Himself, had part of "the ministry and apostleship on which angels longed to serve." Did not this position place its participant on a level with Moses and Elijah?
But the glory of this individual began to grow dim when he began to wonder about the course that Jesus chose in refusing the kingship and in antagonizing the rulers. The glory grew even dimmer when he began to worry about the future - and dimmer still when he began to pilfer the bag. And his glory departed completely when he when he went out into the night to bargain to betray Jesus for the price of a hog! Truly over it all you can write: "Thy glory hath departed."
And think of Lot - called just and righteous. "And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked (for that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day, with their unlawful deeds.) "He was driven to Egypt when famine came, yet his soul in many ways became a famished soul. A business man, an opportunist, maker of a bad choice that he thought was a good choice. He certainly added no brightness to manhood's torch by marrying a woman of Sodom - the wickedest city mentioned in man's literature, hopelessly corrupt. Lot escaped with only his family when God burned Sodom to the ground. Lot's last act was one of incest. From his daughters came the nations of Ammon and Moab.
And think of Saul - first king of Israel. His glory, which was as a burning bush of splendor, faded into lusterless cold ashes. Let us see what the Scriptures tell us: "And the Philistines followed hard upon Saul and upon his sons; and the Philistines slew Jonathan, and Abinadab, and Melchishua, Saul's sons. And the battle went sore against Saul, and the archers hit him; and he was sore wounded of the archers. Then said Saul unto his armour bearer, "Draw thy sword, and thrust me through therewith; lest these uncircumcised come and thrust me through and abuse me. But his Armour bearer would not; for he was sore afraid. Therefore Saul took a sword, and fell upon it" (1 Samuel 31:2-4).
Again and again, with tragic repetition, do the pages of history testify that individuals who once gave light as steady stars came to the time and place where their light was the flame of a fluttering candle. In our churches we see people who once served faithfully who proved their kinship with Demas - to the hurt of some and to the sorrow of many. In some homes we have those who once held as sacred the marital vow who have gone as wild as the winds which know no barriers in making these vows perjury. "Tis true that many know not, or, if knowing, give no heed to the truth that to leave Jesus out of his life is to say goodbye to glory. Against all things and against all evils that bring people to the place and time where they say goodbye to glory,
I would that all men would take an unwavering stand remembering God's promise:
"And they shall fight against thee; but they shall not prevail against thee; for I am with thee, saith the Lord, to deliver thee" (Jeremiah 1:19).
~Robert G. Lee~
(The End)
Saturday, March 9, 2019
Goodbye To Glory - Ichabod # 6
Goodbye To Glory - Ichabod # 6
Can there be a real Christian home without union with the church? Can there be Christian homes without churchgoing as a habit as well as a duty and a privilege?
Jesus had the habit of churchgoing, for "tis written: "He was in the synagogue as was His custom on the Sabbath day."
When I was a boy it as was natural to go to church on Sunday as it was to work on Monday or to play games on Saturday afternoon, but the present idea is that it is a terrible thing, a species of mental and physical punishment.
Dr. Macartney tells how when Grover Cleveland lay dying at Princeton, his mind reverted not to any of the fierce political battles through which he had passed, nor to the presidential honors and burdens which he had borne, but to the old home in the Presbyterian manse, where his minister father at family worship prayed for the eternal salvation of his children.
The dying man asked that a copy of the hymnbook out of which they used to sing be procured, so that with its music and its memories he might face the eternal world. And then this great preacher says:
"All kinds of doctors are abroad today with all kinds of remedies for our national and social diseases, but a filled family pew in God's house on the Lord's day is the best thing that an ever happen to a family, a city, or a nation."
An Individual May Lose the Glory
It is possible for an individual so to live that it can be said in earth and declared in Heaven: "Thy glory has departed" - as light departs from a lamp in which there is no oil, as fruitfulness departs from a tree wherein is no sap.
The old poet must have had some experience of this truth when he wrote:
I remember, I remember,
But now 'tis little joy
To know I'm farther off from Heaven
Than when I was a boy.
What tragedy when "Ichabod" - "Thy glory hath departed" - is written above and over a once believing heart! What sorrow sufficient to make angels weep - when "thy glory hath departed "is the autobiography of a life once faithful, once loyal, once devoted. What cause for grief when the life once a life of unselfish service becomes a life of stagnant selfishness - a life that centers in self. What tragedy for earth and man and God when the life once possessed of the fruit of the Spirit - "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, goodness, faith, self-control" - is now a life in which is manifest the works of the flesh - "adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like.
Yet that you see, that you find, in the lives of some individuals who have gone from us - and in the lives of some who now live in our midst. So many who call themselves Christians have lost the old-time glow. With them the sacred fervor of other years is lacking.
Men and women there are who once believed in prayer and believed that we forfeit peace and bear needless pain because we do not carry everything to God in prayer; but now they are prayerless altogether or are weak in prayer and look upon it as a useless exercise.
People I know who, when they were young, believed the Bible to be the Word of God - infinite in scope, infallible in authority, regenerative in power, personal in application - who now say that it is a book of myths and allegories. Of them "tis tragically true they have hewn themselves cisterns where no water is and have forsaken the fountain of living waters.
I know young people who have attended schools that once, in the days of our forefathers, were bulwarks for the most holy faith. Entering these schools they were believers in the miraculous and the supernatural, but now, deceived by the evil seducers who wooed and won them with strange and fantastic myths, they are adrift - without chart or compass.
From them the glory hath departed, even as it had departed from schools which serve the devil in the livery of Heaven. Instead of believing the certainties of God's Word, they put their trust in the unscriptural surmises of men. Instead of feeding on God's Word, they have grown lean on the diet of guips given them by those who, calling themselves scholarly teachers, plant "probabilities" and "perhapses" and "maybes" or "not-at-alls" in the minds of youth.
Thus has glory departed from the teachers and from the taught. Thus has glory departed from the schools in which there teachers teach. The students so taught and the teachers who, like vandals, break into the house of their faith should realize that man's wisdom is to be laughed at.
~Robert G. Lee~
(continued with # 7)
Can there be a real Christian home without union with the church? Can there be Christian homes without churchgoing as a habit as well as a duty and a privilege?
Jesus had the habit of churchgoing, for "tis written: "He was in the synagogue as was His custom on the Sabbath day."
When I was a boy it as was natural to go to church on Sunday as it was to work on Monday or to play games on Saturday afternoon, but the present idea is that it is a terrible thing, a species of mental and physical punishment.
Dr. Macartney tells how when Grover Cleveland lay dying at Princeton, his mind reverted not to any of the fierce political battles through which he had passed, nor to the presidential honors and burdens which he had borne, but to the old home in the Presbyterian manse, where his minister father at family worship prayed for the eternal salvation of his children.
The dying man asked that a copy of the hymnbook out of which they used to sing be procured, so that with its music and its memories he might face the eternal world. And then this great preacher says:
"All kinds of doctors are abroad today with all kinds of remedies for our national and social diseases, but a filled family pew in God's house on the Lord's day is the best thing that an ever happen to a family, a city, or a nation."
An Individual May Lose the Glory
It is possible for an individual so to live that it can be said in earth and declared in Heaven: "Thy glory has departed" - as light departs from a lamp in which there is no oil, as fruitfulness departs from a tree wherein is no sap.
The old poet must have had some experience of this truth when he wrote:
I remember, I remember,
But now 'tis little joy
To know I'm farther off from Heaven
Than when I was a boy.
What tragedy when "Ichabod" - "Thy glory hath departed" - is written above and over a once believing heart! What sorrow sufficient to make angels weep - when "thy glory hath departed "is the autobiography of a life once faithful, once loyal, once devoted. What cause for grief when the life once a life of unselfish service becomes a life of stagnant selfishness - a life that centers in self. What tragedy for earth and man and God when the life once possessed of the fruit of the Spirit - "love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, meekness, goodness, faith, self-control" - is now a life in which is manifest the works of the flesh - "adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envying, murders, drunkenness, reveling, and such like.
Yet that you see, that you find, in the lives of some individuals who have gone from us - and in the lives of some who now live in our midst. So many who call themselves Christians have lost the old-time glow. With them the sacred fervor of other years is lacking.
Men and women there are who once believed in prayer and believed that we forfeit peace and bear needless pain because we do not carry everything to God in prayer; but now they are prayerless altogether or are weak in prayer and look upon it as a useless exercise.
People I know who, when they were young, believed the Bible to be the Word of God - infinite in scope, infallible in authority, regenerative in power, personal in application - who now say that it is a book of myths and allegories. Of them "tis tragically true they have hewn themselves cisterns where no water is and have forsaken the fountain of living waters.
I know young people who have attended schools that once, in the days of our forefathers, were bulwarks for the most holy faith. Entering these schools they were believers in the miraculous and the supernatural, but now, deceived by the evil seducers who wooed and won them with strange and fantastic myths, they are adrift - without chart or compass.
From them the glory hath departed, even as it had departed from schools which serve the devil in the livery of Heaven. Instead of believing the certainties of God's Word, they put their trust in the unscriptural surmises of men. Instead of feeding on God's Word, they have grown lean on the diet of guips given them by those who, calling themselves scholarly teachers, plant "probabilities" and "perhapses" and "maybes" or "not-at-alls" in the minds of youth.
Thus has glory departed from the teachers and from the taught. Thus has glory departed from the schools in which there teachers teach. The students so taught and the teachers who, like vandals, break into the house of their faith should realize that man's wisdom is to be laughed at.
~Robert G. Lee~
(continued with # 7)
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