What is the Word of God

What is the Word of God other than the manifestation & revelation of God’s truth. 
– R.C. Sproul

true piety . . .

I call “piety” that reverence joined with love of God which t he knowledge of his benefits induces. For until men recognize that they owe everything to God, that they are nourished by his fatherly care, that he is the Author of their every good, that they should seek nothing beyond him—they will never yield him willing service. Nay,, unless they establish their complete happiness in him, they will never give themselves truly and sincerely to him. ~  John Calvin (1509–1564)

The Work of God in the Holy Spirit

"Let us settle it in our minds that His work is no uncertain invisible operation on the heart: and that where He is, He is not hidden, not unfelt, not unobserved. We do not believe that the dew, when it falls, cannot be felt, or that where there is life in a man it cannot be seen and observed by his breath. So is it with the influence of the Holy Spirit. No man has any right to lay claim to it, except its fruits and its experimental effects can be seen in his life. Where He is, there will ever be a new creation, and a new man. Where He is, there will ever be new knowledge, new faith, new holiness, new fruits in the life, in the family, in the world, in the Church. And where these new things are not to be seen we may well say, with confidence, there is no work of the Holy Spirit."

~ J.C. Ryle

The Atonement and Priestly Office of Christ

"We must boldly maintain that the death of our Lord on the cross was no common death. It was not the death of one who died only as a martyr. It was not the death of one who only died to give us a mighty example of self-sacrifice and self-denial. The death of Christ was an offering up to God of Christ's own body and blood, to make satisfaction for man's sin and transgression. It was a sacrifice and appeasement; a sacrifice typified in every offering of the Mosaic law, a sacrifice of the mightiest influence on all mankind. Without the shedding of that blood there could not be, there never was to be, any remission of sin." ~ J.C. Ryle

The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible

"Let us boldly maintain, in the face of all the opposition, that the whole of the Bible is given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that all is inspired completely, not one part more than another, and that there is an entire gulf between the Word of God and any other book in the world. We need not be afraid of difficulties in the way of the doctrine of absolute inspiration. There may be many things about it far too high for us to comprehend: it is a miracle, and all miracles are necessarily mysterious. But if we are not to believe anything until we can entirely explain it, there are very few things indeed that we shall believe. We need not be afraid of all the assaults that criticism brings to bear upon the Bible. From the days of the apostles the Word of the Lord has been incessantly 'tried,' and has never failed to come forth as gold, uninjured and spotless." ~J.C. Ryle

The Total Corruption of the Human Nature

"The corruption of human nature is no slight thing. It is no partial, skin-deep disease, but a radical and universal corruption of man's will, intellect, affections, and conscience. We are not merely poor and pitiable sinners in God's sight: we are guilty sinners; we are blameworthy sinners: we deserve justly God's wrath and God's condemnation. I believe there are very few errors and false doctrines of which the beginning may not be traced up to unsound views about the corruption of human nature. Wrong views of a disease will always bring with them wrong views of the remedy. Wrong views of the corruption of human nature will always carry with them wrong views of the grand treatment and cure of that corruption." ~J.C. Ryle

James Motgomery Boice on the impact of the virgin birth upon one’s worldview . . .

 James Montgomery Boice

The virgin birth is important in regard to our world view. When I speak of a world view, I mean a total world philosophy. The most important issue in philosophy is whether we are living in a closed universe or an open universe. When we look about at the visible universe, when we see matter and the laws that govern it, the basic question is whether that is all there is. If it is, we have a closed universe. That is the dominant view of our time. On the other hand, when we look at the universe of things and ideas, do we confess that we are not dealing with a closed universe but with a universe in which God lies above and beyond what we see? That is an open universe, and that is the Bible’s view.

A true Christian will not deny the Virgin Birth

This much we know: All those who find salvation will be saved by the atoning work of Jesus the Christ — the virgin-born Savior. Anything less than this is just not Christianity, whatever it may call itself. A true Christian will not deny the Virgin Birth.  ~ Al Mohler

The Gospel is simply the history of Christ.

Christianity is a religion built upon facts. Let us never lose sight of this. The first preachers did not go up and down the world, proclaiming an elaborate, artificial system of abstruse doctrines and deep principles. They made it their first business to tell men great plain facts. They went about telling a sin-laden world, that the Son of God had come down to earth, and lived for us, died for us, and risen again. The Gospel, at its first publication, was far more simple than many make it now. It was neither more nor less than the history of Christ.

~ J.C. Ryle

They who are united to Christ

‎"They who are united to Christ, effectually called, and regenerated, having a new heart and a new spirit created in them through the virtue of Christ's death and resurrection, are also farther sanctified, really and personally, through the same virtue, by His Word and Spirit dwelling in them; the dominion of the whole body of sin is destroyed, and the several lusts thereof are more and more weakened and mortified, and they more and more quickened and strengthened in all saving graces, to the practice of all true holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord." - 1689 LBC

Christ did what Adam failed to do

It is important to realize that our Lord Jesus Christ perfectly fulfilled the law of God, both in its requirements and its penalty. He did what Adam failed to do — render perfect obedience to the law of God. Then by His death He completely paid the penalty of a broken law. So, from the standpoint of obedience to the law and of paying the penalty for breaking the law, He perfectly fulfilled the law of God. — Jerry Bridges

God magnified in Christ

A Christian is one whose greatest pleasure is to see God magnified in Christ. – Iain Murray

Be warned

Calvin-Lam 2:14

Let us then know that there is nothing more necessary than to be warned, that being conscious of our iniquities we may repent.

Faith in Christ

‎In order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith. (Phillipians 3:8-9)

To all those for whom Christ hath obtained eternal redemption

‎"To all those for whom Christ hath obtained eternal redemption, he doth certainly and effectually apply and communicate the same, making intercession for them; uniting them to himself by his Spirit, revealing unto them, in and by his Word, the mystery of salvation, persuading them to believe and obey, governing their hearts by his Word and Spirit, and overcoming all their enemies by his almighty power and wisdom, in such manner and ways as are most consonant to his wonderful and unsearchable dispensation; and all of free and absolute grace, without any condition foreseen in them to procure it." - 1689 LBC

Settle this in your heart:

Settle this in your heart: “Whether I am up or down, the Lord Jesus Christ is the same. Whether I sing or sigh, the promise is true and the Promiser is faithful. Whether I stand on the summit or am hidden in the vale the covenant stands fast and everlasting love abides.” 

– Spurgeon

Let us learn the high authority of the Bible

Let us learn the high authority of the Bible, and the immense value of a knowledge of its contents. Let us read it, search into it, pray over it, diligently, perseveringly, unweariedly. Let us strive to be so thoroughly acquainted with its pages, that its text may abide in our memories, and stand ready at our right hand in the day of need. Let us be able to appeal from every perversion and false interpretation of its meaning, to those thousand plain passages, which are written as it were with a sunbeam. The Bible is indeed a sword, but we must take heed that we know it well, if we would use it with effect.

~ J.C. Ryle

Public prayer is no evidence of piety

Public prayer is no evidence of piety: it is practiced by an abundance of hypocrites; but private prayer is a thing for which the hypocrite has no heart — and if he gives himself to it for a little time he soon finds it too hot and heavy a business for his soulless soul to persevere in, and he lets it drop. He will sooner perish than continue in private prayer. O for heart searchings about this! Do I draw near to God alone? Do I pray when no eye sees, when no ear hears? Do I make a conscience of private prayer? Is it a delight to pray? For I may gather that if I never enjoy private prayer I am one of those hypocrites who will not always call upon God.

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "The Touchstone of Godly Sincerity."

Whether you know it or not, you admit the whole doctrine of Election!

Once admit that we are all naturally dead in trespasses and sins, and have no power to turn to God—once admit that all spiritual life in the heart of man must begin with God—once admit that He who created the world by saying, "Let there be light," must shine into man's heart, and create light within him—once admit that God does not enlighten all professing Christians in this manner—but only some, and that He acts in this matter entirely as a Sovereign, giving no account of His matters—once admit all this, and then see where you are. Whether you know it or not, you admit the whole doctrine of Election!

~ J.C. Ryle

Converted and Unconverted

J.C. Ryle: “All congregations of professed Christians ought to be regarded as mixed bodies . . . converted and unconverted, children of God and children of the world, and ought to be described and addressed as such. . . . We corrupt the Word of God when we make a defective practical application of it.  We do so when we do not discriminate between classes in our congregations--when we address all as being possessed of grace, by reason of their church membership, and do not draw the line between those who have the Spirit and those who have not.”

The devil is a better theologian

“The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still.” A. W. Tozer 

The godly and the worldly

Ian Murray: “Where there is no attempt to apply the biblical standard of Christian to individuals there is inevitable disobedience to the commands that both by preaching and church practice a difference is to be made between the godly and the worldly.”

Experimental preaching

Joel Beeke: “Experimental preaching is discriminatory preaching.  It clearly defines the difference between Christian and non-Christian, opening the kingdom of heaven to one and shutting against the other.  A faithful minister rightly divides the word of truth to separate the precious from the vile (Jer. 15:19) . . . grace is to be offered indiscriminately to all (Matt. 13:24-30); however, the divine acts, marks, and fruits of grace that God works in His people must be explained to encourage the elect and uncover the false hopes of hypocrites. . . . It is discriminating preaching defining the differences between the Christian and the non- Christian, pressing home the promises of forgiveness and eternal life to those who believe and promises of wrath and judgment on those who are unconverted. . . .Preaching must be discriminatory. We must distinguish that there are both believers and unbelievers in the midst of the congregation.”

All religious teachers must come under the same scrutiny

The Apostle Paul commended the Berean Church for using Scriptures to verify the truthfulness of his teaching. It is clear that since an apostle, who penned over half the New Testament was tested by the Bible, all religious teachers must come under the same scrutiny. Have you checked the teachings of your religious leaders with the Bible?

- Mike Gendron

Be out of favor with those who hate Him

If we enjoy the favor of the Lord, it is certain that we will be out of favor with those who hate Him. He has plainly warned, “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:19). It is useless to suppose that, by acting prudently and circumspectly, we can avoid this. “All that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). It is only by unfaithfulness, by hiding our light under a bushel, by compromising the Truth, by attempting to serve two masters, that we can escape “the reproach of Christ” (Hebrews 11:26).

- A. W. Pink

1886 – 1952

In the beginning it pleased God

1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith: "In the beginning it pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, for the manifestation of the glory of his eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, to create or make the world, and all things therein, whether visible or invisible, in the space of six days, and all very good." 

Regeneration and Justification

Justification takes place in Heaven, in the courtroom of God. Regeneration, on the other hand, takes place on earth, in the heart of man. Justification is a declaration by a judge; regeneration is an act of creation by an omnipotent Creator.

- Charles Leiter

Valley of Vision: Peril ~ Needs and Devotion

Sovereign Commander of the Universe,
I am sadly harassed by doubts, fears, unbelief,
    in a felt spiritual darkness.
My heart is full of evil surmisings and disquietude,
    and I cannot act faith at all.
My heavenly Pilot has disappeard,
    and I have lost my hold on the Rock of Ages;
I sink in deep mire beneath storms and waves,
    in horror and distress unutterable.

Help me, O Lord,
    to throw myself absolutely and wholly on thee,
    for better, for worse, without comfort,
    and all but hopeless.
Give me peace of soul, confidence, enlargement of mind,
    morning joy that comes after night heaviness;
Water my soul with divine blessings;
Grant that I may welcome that humbling in private
    so that I might enjoy thee in public;
Give me a mountain top as high as the valley is low.
Thy grace can melt the worst sinner, and I am as vile as he;
Yet thou hast made me a monument of mercy,
    a trophy of redeeming power;
In my distress let me not forget this.

All-wise God,
Thy never-failing providence orders every event,
    sweetens every fear,
    reveals evil’s presence lurking in seeming good,
    brings real good out of seeming evil,
    makes unsatisfactory what I set my heart upon,
    to show me what a short-sighted creature I am,
    and to teach me to live by faith upon
        thy blessed self.

Out of sorrow and night
    give me the name Naphtali -
    ‘satisfied with favour’ -
    help me to love thee as thy child,
    and to walk worthy of my heavenly pedigree.

I believe in the Forgiveness of sins

There is a clause near the end of the Apostle's Creed, which, I fear, is often repeated without thought or consideration. I refer to the clause which contains these words, "I believe in the Forgiveness of sins." Thousands, I am afraid, never reflect what those words mean. I propose to examine the subject of them in the following statements, and I invite the attention of all who care for their souls. Do we believe in the "Resurrection of our bodies"? Then let us see to it that we know something by experience of the "Forgiveness of our sins." I lay these things before every reader and I believe these five marks will generally be found more or less in all forgiven souls.

~ J.C. Ryle

He denied that any one belongs to Christ except...

John Calvin: “He denied that any one belongs to Christ except he who is righteous and shows himself to be such by his works; he now assigns to the devil all others, and subjects them to his government, in order that we may know that there is no middle condition, but that Satan exercises his tyranny. . . ”

But there will be a dreadful separation at the last day

The visible Church is now a 'mixed' body. Believers and unbelievers, holy and unholy, converted and unconverted, are now mingled in every congregation, and often sit side by side. It passes the power of man to separate them. False profession is often so like true; and grace is often so weak and feeble, that, in many cases, the right discernment of character is an impossibility. The wheat and the chaff will continue together until the Lord returns.

But there will be a dreadful separation at the last day The unerring judgment of the King of kings shall at length divide the wheat from the chaff, and divide them for evermore. The righteous shall be gathered into a place of happiness and safety. The wicked shall be cast down to shame and everlasting contempt. In the great sifting day, every one shall go to his own place.

~ J.C. Ryle

Man would rather go to Hell than...

“Man would rather go to Hell than to bow his knee to Jesus. Man doesn’t mind going to Hell, as long as he’s in charge.” - Bob Jennings

We become weary ... ~ Martyn Lloyd-Jones

'Ah,' we say, 'the same old thing week after week.' That is our attitude towards our life, and ... we become weary ... If you regard the Christian life as a dreary task you are insulting God ... If you and I come to regard any aspect of this Christian life merely as a task and a duty, and if we have to goad ourselves and to set our teeth in order to get through with it, I say we are insulting God and we have forgotten the very essence of Christianity. The Christian life is not a task. The Christian life alone is worthy of the name life. This alone is righteous and holy and pure and good. It is the kind of life the Son of God Himself lived. It is to be like God Himself in His own holiness. That is why I should live it. I do not just decide to make a great effort to carry on somehow ... How have I got into this life — this life that I am grumbling and complaining about, and finding it hard and difficult? ... there is only one answer ... because the only begotten Son of God left heaven and came down to earth for our salvation; He divested Himself of all the insignia of His eternal glory and humbled Himself to be born as a babe and to be placed in a manger. He endured the life of this world for thirty-three years: He was spat upon and reviled. He had thorns thrust into his head and was nailed to a cross, to bear the punishment of my sin. That is how I have come to ... this.

... 'Be not weary in well-doing.' My friend, if you think of your Christian life ... with this sense of grudge, or as a wearisome task or duty, I tell you to go back to the beginning of your life, retrace your steps to the wicket gate through which you passed. Look at the world in its evil and sin, look at the hell to which it was leading you, and then look forward and realize that you are set in the midst of the most glorious campaign into which a man could ever enter, and that you are on the noblest road that the world has ever known.

Martyn Lloyd-Jones - Spiritual Depression, pp. 199-200

If we had been in Egypt

Spurgeon: “If we had been in Egypt at the time when Pharaoh started out to follow the Israelites to the Red Sea, we would have taken off their chariot wheels before they could get under way. But Jehovah did something better. He allowed the Egyptians to pursue and overtake and threaten, and then He allowed them in their pride to go down after Israel into the depths of the Sea…. It may be that God will allow error [or evil] to proceed further and let it seem to triumph, so that by its own presumption it may place itself where it is more effectually crushed…”

Let Us Hate Sin

How incredible it is that we do not hate sin more than we do! Sin is the cause of all the pain and disease in the world. God did not create man to be an ailing and suffering creature. It was sin, and nothing but sin, which brought in all the ills that flesh is heir to. It was sin to which we owe every racking pain, and every loathsome infirmity, and every humbling weakness to which our poor bodies are liable. Let us keep this ever in mind. Let us hate sin with a godly hatred.

~ J.C. Ryle

Isaiah 53:1-11

Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned–every one–to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Do nothing that you would not like God to...

J.C. Ryle: "Do nothing that you would not like God to see. Say nothing you would not like God to hear. Go no place where you would not like God to find you. Never spend your time in such a way that you would not like God to say, 'What are you doing?'" 

What we see at the cross

David F. Wells: “What we see at the cross is the white-hot revelation of the character of God, of his love providing the price that holiness requires. The cross was his means of redeeming lost sinners and reconciling them to himself, but it was also a profound disclosure of his mercy. It is, in Paul’s words, an ‘inexpressible gift’ that leads us to wonder and worship, to praise and adore the God who has given himself to us in this way.”

 The Courage to be Protestant (Grand Rapids, Mi.; Eerdmans, 2008), 129

Whatever it takes, make me like Christ

I'll Be Honest: Father, whatever it takes, make me like Christ. - He will always answer this prayer, and it will hurt, but the joy's of knowing the Lord more and more are worth it all. To be broken is to be fixed, to be lost and unable to find yourself is to be found in Christ.

Patience to live

John Flavel: "Most men need patience to die, but a saint who understands what death admits him to should rather need patience to live." 

Freedom from Pornography, James' Testimony

     Oh, the heart of someone who has been genuinely born again. I absolutely love this brother whom I have never met. If you want to hear what a real born again testimony sounds like please take time to listen to James' testimony. This young man has been such a blessing to me personally with his obedience to the Savior. His website Illbehonest.com is responsible for so many wonderful videos that promote Christ and Him crucified. Please, visit his website and be blessed. 

How do truly spiritual people behave?

Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. Live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be wise in your own sight. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (Romans 12:9-21 ESV)

Insulting the Cross of Christ

 Bob Jennings: “Really what your doing, by putting up, by tolerating a besetting sin in your life. In a measure your blaspheming, your insulting the Cross of Christ.”

http://illbehonest.com/Cut-Off-Goliaths-Head-Bob-Jennings

C.H. Spurgeon talks about Zombies

Spurgeon: “There are in this world . . . those who are dead in sin and those who are alive unto God.  There is no state between. A man either lives or is dead; you cannot find a neutral condition.  There is no state between being converted and unconverted between being quickened and being dead in sin. . . .God has given to the preacher two hands, that he may set the people on each side, and deal out the truth to two characters and no more.  Be not deceived about it, you are either in the way to heaven or on the road to hell.”

Faith is refusing to be...

Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Faith is refusing to be burdened because we have cast our burden upon the Lord. 

Valley of Vision: Fifth Day Evening Prayer ~ Protection

O Thou Most High, 

Creator of the ends of the earth, 

Governor of the universe, 

Judge of all men, 

Head of the church, 

Savior of sinners;

                        thy greatness is unsearchable, 

                        thy goodness infinite, 

                        thy compassions unfailing, 

                        thy providence boundless, 

                        thy mercies ever new.

We bless thee for the words of salvation. 

How important, suitable, encouraging 

              are the doctrines, promises, and invitations of the gosple of peace!

We are lost: but in it thou hast presented to us a fell, free and eternal salvation; 

             weak:but here we learn that help is found in one that is mighty 

             poor: but in him we discover unsearchable riches 

             blind: but we find he has treasures of wisdom and knowledge.

We thank thee for thy unspeakable gift.

Thy Son is our only refuge, foundation, hope, confidence;

We depend upon his death, rest in his righteouosness, desire to bear his image;

May his glory fill our minds, his love reign in our affections, his cross inflame us with ardour.

Let us as Christians fill our various situations in life, escape the snares to which they expose us, discharge the duties that arise from our circumstances, enjoy with moderation their advantages, improve with diligence their usefulness,

And may every place and company we are in be benefited by us.

Calculated to bring about a revival

A.W. Pink: It is true that many are praying for a worldwide revival. But it would be more timely, and more scriptural, for prayer to be made to the Lord of the harvest, that He would raise up and thrust forth laborers who would fearlessly and faithfully preach those truths which are calculated to bring about a revival.

The great mistake

A.W. Pink The great mistake made by most of the Lord's people is in hoping to discover in themselves that which is to be found in Christ alone.

Abstain from EVERY form of evil

IllBeHonest.com: Abstain from EVERY form of evil. - 1 Th 5:22 - To abstain is to refrain. Are you refraining from every form of evil or letting a secret idol rule your heart? - Little children, keep yourselves from idols. 1 John 5:21

Three indispensable disciplines

Paul Washer: 'For the young Christian -There are three indispensable disciplines -the Word, Prayer, and Separation.'

Serve God with integrity

C.H.Spurgeon "Serve God with integrity, and if you achieve no success, at least no sin will lie upon your conscience." 
  

I am not what I ought to be

John Newton:I am not what I ought to be — ah, how imperfect and deficient! I am not what I wish to be — I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good! I am not what I hope to be — soon, soon shall I put off mortality, and with mortality all sin and imperfection. Yet, though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was; a slave to sin and Satan; and I can heartily join with the apostle, and acknowledge, "By the grace of God I am what I am."

quite willing to be saved by Christ, but...

C.H. Spurgeon: Thousands of people are quite willing to be saved by Christ, but when it comes to the very first step, namely, that Jesus must be accepted as ruler, lawgiver, master, king, and Lord, then they start back and reject eternal life. 

If there is no fruit of sanctification, we may be sure there is no election.”

“Election is always to sanctification. Those whom Christ chooses out of mankind, He chooses not only that they be saved, but that they may bear fruit, and that it can be seen. All other election beside this is a mere vain delusion and a miserable invention of man. Where there is no visible fruit of sanctification, we may be sure there is no election.”

~ J.C. Ryle

The everlasting punishment of hypocrites

MATTHEW HENRY: “Christ himself preached often of hell-torments, as the everlasting punishment of hypocrites; and it is good for us to be often reminded of this awakening, quickening truth.”

Make men tremble

JOHN MURRAY: “Our age needs the ministry that will make men tremble before the awful majesty and holiness of God and in the conviction of the reality of his holy wrath.”

He will have us preach

MARTIN LUTHER: “For he will have us preach hell-fire to the proud and haughty, and paradise to the godly . . .”

The same sun which melts wax hardens clay

"The same sun which melts wax hardens clay. And the same Gospel which melts some persons to repentance hardens others in their sins" - Spurgeon

Warn men of their danger

“It is the duty of God’s servants to warn men of their danger. . . . It

is their duty to rebuke wickedness wherever it be found. . . . This

will not make for their popularity, for it will condemn and irritate

the wicked, and such plain speaking will seriously annoy them.

Those who expose hypocrites, resist tyrants, oppose the wicked,

are ever viewed by them as troublemakers.

That he might be the firstborn among many brethren

“That he might be the firstborn among many brethren.” Romans 8:29

THE Son of God sustains to us the relation of the Elder Brother. He is emphatically the “Firstborn.” In another place we read, “Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same.” He is the “Brother born for adversity.” Our relation to Him as our Brother is evidenced by our conformity to Him as our model. We have no valid claim to relationship which springs not from a resemblance to His image. The features may be indistinctly visible, yet one line of holiness, one true lineament, drawn upon the heart by the Holy Spirit, proves our fraternal relationship to Him the “Firstborn.” And how large the brotherhood!—“many brethren.”

What the relative proportion of the Church is to the world—how many will be saved—is a question speculative and profitless. But this we know—the number will be vast, countless. The one family of God is composed of “many brethren.” They are not all of the same judgment in all matters, but they are all of the same spirit. The unity of the family of God is not ecclesiastical nor geographical, it is spiritual and essential. It is the “unity of the Spirit.” Begotten of one Father, in the nature of the Elder Brother, and through the regenerating grace of the one Spirit, all the saints of God constitute one church, one family, one brotherhood—essentially and indivisibly one. Nor is this relationship difficult to recognize.

Take an illustration. Two brethren in the Lord of widely different sections of the Church, and of much dissonance of sentiment on some points of truth, meet and converse together. Each wonders that, with the Word of God in his hand, the other should not read it as he reads it, and interpret it as he interprets it. But they drop the points of difference, and take up the points of agreement. They speak of Christ—the Christ who loves them both, and whom they both love. They talk of the one Master whom they serve; of their common labors and infirmities, trials and temptations, discouragements, failures, and success; they talk of the heaven where they are journeying; of their Father’s house, in which they will dwell together for ever; they kneel in prayer; they cast themselves before the cross; the oil of gladness anoints them; their hearts are broken, their spirits are humbled, their souls are blended; they rise, and feel more deeply and more strongly than ever, that they both belong to the same family, are both of the “many brethren,” of whom the Son of God is the “Firstborn,” the Elder Brother.

Oh, blessed unity! What perfect harmony of creed, what strict conformity of ritual, what sameness of denominational relation, is for a moment to be compared with this? Have you, my reader, this evidence that you belong to the “many brethren”?

The more we become what we shall be, the more will compassion rule our hearts.

The more we become what we shall be, the more will compassion rule our hearts. The Lord Jesus Christ, who is the pattern and mirror of perfect manhood, what said he concerning the sins and the woes of Jerusalem? He knew Jerusalem must perish; did he bury his pity beneath the fact of the divine decree, and steel his heart by the thought of the sovereignty or the justice that would be resplendent in the city’s destruction? Nay, not he, but with eyes gushing like founts, he cried, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings! and ye would not.”

If you would be like Jesus, you must be tender and very pitiful. Ye would be as unlike him as possible if we could sit down in grim content, and, with a Stoic’s philosophy, turn all the flesh within you into stone. If it be natural, then, and above all, if it be natural to the higher grace-given nature, I beseech you, let your hearts be moved with pity, do not endure to see the spiritual death of mankind. Be in agony as often as you contemplate the ruin of any soul of the seed of Adam.

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "Compassion For Souls," delivered February 5, 1871.

We have nothing, we are nothing, apart from him

We have nothing, we are nothing, apart from him. The past, the present, and the future are only bright as he shines upon them. Every consolation, every hope, every enjoyment we possess, we have received and still retain because of our connection with Jesus Christ our Lord. Apart from him we are naked, and poor, and miserable. I desire to impress upon your minds, and especially upon my own, the need of our abiding in him. As zealous laborers for the glory of God I am peculiarly anxious that you may maintain daily communion with Jesus, for as it is with our covenant blessings, so is it with our work of faith and labor of love, everything depends upon him.

All our fruit is found in Jesus. Remember his own words, “Without me ye can do nothing.” Our power to work comes wholly from his power. If we work effectually it must always be according to the effectual working of his power in us and through us.

From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "The Power Of Christ Illustrated By The Resurrection," delivered January 29, 1871.

Let us watch and pray against the love of money

Let us watch and pray against the love of money. It is a subtle disease, and often far nearer to us than we suppose. A poor man is just as liable to it as a rich man. It is possible to love money without having it, and it is possible to have it without loving it. Let us be "content with such things as we have." (Heb. 13:5.) We never know what we might do if we became suddenly rich. It is a striking fact, that there is only one prayer in all the Book of Proverbs, and one of the three petitions in that prayer is the wise request--"Give me neither poverty nor riches." (Prov. 30:8.)

~ J.C. Ryle

God can forgive you

“The message of the gospel is this: God can forgive you, and He is willing to do so.”

- Sinclair B. Ferguson

Pray For the Success of the Gospel

Prayer is one of the best and most powerful means of helping forward the cause of Christ in the world. It is a means within the reach of all who have the Spirit of adoption. Not all believers have money to give to missions. Very few have great intellectual gifts, or extensive influence among men. But all believers can pray for the success of the Gospel, and they ought to pray for it daily. Many and marvelous are the answers to prayer which are recorded for our learning in the Bible. "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much." (James 5:16.)

~ J.C. Ryle

The Paradox of the Christian's Life in this World

I feeling like Laughing and Weeping at the same time ~ Bob Jennings

Faith and Assurance

Faith, let us remember, is the root, and assurance is the flower. Doubtless you can never have the flower without the root; but it is no less certain you may have the root and not the flower.

Faith is that poor trembling woman who came behind Jesus in the press and touched His garment. (Mark 5:27) Assurance is Stephen standing calmly in the midst of his murderers, and saying, “I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:5-6)

Faith is the penitent thief, crying, “Lord, remember me.” (Luke 23:42) Assurance is Job, sitting in the dust, covered with sores, and saying, “I know that my Redeemer liveth.” (Job 19:25) “Though He slay me, yet I will trust in Him.” (Job 13:15)

Faith is Peter’s drowning cry as he began to sink, “Lord, save me.” (Matthew 14:30) Assurance is that same Peter declaring before the Council in after-times, “This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders, which is become the head of the corner. Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:11-12)

Faith is the anxious, trembling voice, “Lord, I believe: help Thou mine unbelief.” (Mark 9:24) Assurance is the confident challenge, “Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? Who is he that condemeth?” (Romans 8:33-34)

Faith is Saul praying in the house of Judas at Damascus, sorrowful, blind, and alone. (Acts 9:11) Assurance is Paul, the aged prisoner, looking calmly into the grave, and saying, “I know whom I have believed. There is a crown laid up for me.” (2 Timothy 1:12, 4:8)

~ J.C. Ryle

Mercy nailed Him to the tree

Can any man see the Son of God expiring upon Calvary, bearing the sin of man, and say that those for whom he died were worthy that Christ should die for them? It is downright blasphemy to connect any idea of merit with a gift so vast and free as the gift of Jesus Christ to redeem us from our sins. Why, sirs, had we every one of us been perfect, and had we kept God’s laws without omission, even as seraphs do in heaven, we should still have only done what was our

duty to have done; and there could have been no merit about our service which could deserve that Christ should die for us. Should the Eternal God ever be thought to be such a debtor to his creatures that he must needs veil his splendor in human form, and be despised and rejected and spat upon?

Shall it be said that the Son of God owes to man that he should bleed and die for him? I shudder while I raise the question or suggest the thought. It must be pure, spontaneous, disinterested mercy that nailed the Savior to the tree. Nothing could have brought him from the throne of glory to the cross of woe but grace, unalloyed, unbounded grace.

~ From a sermon by Charles Haddon Spurgeon entitled "Dei Gratia," delivered October 30, 1870.

Happy Reformation Day! And now a word from our very own Mr. Luther.

And though this world, with devils filled,
should threaten to undo us,
we will not fear, for God hath willed
his truth to triumph through us. 
The Prince of Darkness grim,
we tremble not for him;
his rage we can endure,
for lo, his doom is sure;
one little word shall fell him.
-Martin Luther