Is Christ Your Lord?
We do not ask: Is Christ your "Saviour"? - but is He, really, and truly, your LORD? If He is not your Lord, then He is most certainly not your "Saviour." Those who have not received Christ Jesus as their "Lord" and yet suppose Him to be their Saviour, are deluded, and their hope rests on a foundation of sand. Multitudes are deceived on this vital point, and therefore, if the reader values his or her soul, we implore you to give a most careful reading to this little tract. When we ask, is Christ your Lord? we do not inquire, Do you believe in the Godhead of Jesus of Nazareth? The demons do that (Matt. 8:28-29) and yet perish notwithstanding! You may be firmly convinced of the Deity of Christ, and yet be in your sins. You may speak of Him with the utmost reverence, accord Him, His divine titles in your prayers and yet be unsaved. You may abominate those who traduce His person and deny His divinity, and yet have no spiritual love for Him at all. When we ask, Is Christ your Lord, we mean, does He in very deed occupy the throne of your heart, and does He actually rule over your life? "We have turned everyone to his own way" (Isa. 53:6) describes the course which we all follow by nature. Before conversion every soul lives to please "self". Of old it was written, "every man did that which was right in his own eyes." and why? "In those days there was no king in Israel." (Judges 21:25). Ah! that is the point we desire to make clear to the reader. Until Christ becomes your King (1 Tim. 1:17); Rev. 15:3), until you bow to His scepter, until His will becomes the rule of your life, self dominates, and thus Christ is disowned.
When the Holy Spirit begins His work of grace in a soul, He first convicts of sin. He shows me the real and awful nature of sin. He makes me realize that it is a species of insurrection, a defying of God's authority, a setting of my will against His. He shows me that in going my "own way" (Isa. 53:6), in pleasing myself, I have been fighting against God. As my eyes are opened to see what a lifelong rebel I have been, how indifferent to God's honor, how unconcerned about His will - I am filled with anguish and horror, and made to marvel that the thrice Holy One has not long since cast me into hell. Reader, have you ever gone through this experience? If not, there is very grave reason to fear that you are yet spiritually dead! Conversion, true conversion, saving conversion, is a turning from sin to God in Christ. It is a throwing down of the weapons of my warfare against Him, a ceasing to despise and ignore His authority. New Testament conversion is described thus: "You turned to God from idols to serve (to be in subjection to, to obey) the living and true God" (1 Thess. 1:9). An "idol" is any object to which we give what is due alone unto God the supreme place in our affections, the molding influence of our hearts, the dominating power of our lives.
Conversion is a right about face, the heart and will repudiating sin, self, and the world. Genuine conversion is always evidenced by "Lord what will You have me to do" (Acts 9:6); it is an unreserved surrendering of ourselves to His holy will. Have you yielded yourself to Him? (Romans 6:13). There are many people who would like to be saved from hell, but who do not want to be saved from self-will, from having their own way, from a life of worldliness. But God will not save them on their terms! To be saved, we must submit to His terms: "let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord (having revolted from Him in Adam), and He will have mercy upon him" (Isa. 55:7). Said Christ, "Whoever he be of you that forsakes not all that he has, he cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:33). Men must be turned (by God) "from darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto God," before they can "receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified" (Acts 26:18). "As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in Him" (Col. 2:6).
That is an exhortation to Christians, and its force is - Continue as you began. But how had they "begun?" By receiving "Christ Jesus the Lord," by surrendering to Him, by subjecting themselves to His will, by ceasing to please themselves. His authority was now owned. His commands now became their rule of life. His love constrained them to a glad and unreserved obedience. They "gave their own selves to the Lord" (2 Cor. 8:5). Have you, dear reader, done this? Have you? Do the details of your life evidence it? Can those with whom you come into contact see that you are no more living to please self (2 Cor. 5:15)? Oh my reader, make no mistake upon this point: a conversion which the Holy Spirit produces is a very radical thing. It is a miracle of grace. It is the enthroning of Christ in the life. And such conversions are rare indeed. Multitudes of people have just sufficient "religion" to make them miserable. They refuse to forsake every known sin, and there is no true peace for any soul until he does. They have never "received Christ Jesus the Lord" (Col. 2:6). Had they done so, "the joy of the Lord" would be their strength. But the language of their hearts and lives is, "we will not have this man to reign over us" (Luke 19:14). Is that your case? The great miracle of grace consists in changing a lawless rebel into a loving and loyal subject. It is a "renewing" of the heart, so that the favored subject of it has come to loathe what he loved, and the things he once found irksome are now winsome (2 Cor. 5:17). He delights "in the law of God after the inward man" (Rom. 7:22). He discovers that Christ's commandments are not grievous" (1 Jo. 5:3), and that in the keeping of them there is great reward" (Psalm 19:11). Is this your experience? It would be if you received Christ Jesus THE LORD! But to receive Christ Jesus the Lord is altogether beyond unaided human power. That is the last which the unrenewed heart wants to do. There must be supernatural change of heart before there is even the desire for Christ to occupy its throne. And that change, none but God can work (1 Co. 12:3).
Therefore, "Seek you the LORD while He may be found (Isa. 55:6). Search for Him with all your heart (Jer. 29:13). Reader, you may have been a professing Christian for years past, and you may have been quite sincere in your profession. But if God has condescended to use this tract to show you that you have never really and truly "received Christ Jesus the LORD," if now in your own soul and conscience you realize that SELF has ruled you hitherto, will you not now get down on your knees and confess to God. Confess to Him your self-will, your rebellion against Him, and beg Him to so work in you that, without further delay, you may be enabled to yield yourself completely to His will and become His subject, His servant, His loving slave, in deed and in truth?
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
Sunday, November 18, 2018
Saturday, November 17, 2018
Denying Self And Following Christ # 3
Denying Self And Following Christ # 3
All moments of unhappiness in life are ultimately due to this separation. A person who is in real communion with God and with the Lord Jesus Christ is happy. It does not matter whether he is in a dungeon, or whether he has his feet in the stocks, or whether he is burning at the stake; he is still happy if he is in communion with God. Is not that the experience of the saints down the centuries? So the ultimate cause of any misery or lack of joy - is separation from God; and the one cause of separation from Him is "self." Whenever we are unhappy it means that in some way or other we are looking at ourselves and thinking about ourselves, instead of communing with God.
Man, according to the Scriptures, was meant to live entirely to the glory of God. He was meant to love the Lord God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his mind and with all his strength. The whole of man was meant to glorify God. Therefore, any desire to glorify "self" or safeguard the interests of "self" is of necessity a sin, because I am looking at myself instead of looking at God and seeking His honor and glory. And it is that very thing in man which God has condemned. It is that which is under the curse of God and the wrath of God.
And as I understand the teaching of the Scriptures, holiness eventually means this - deliverance from this self-centered life. Holiness, in other words, must not be thought of primarily in terms of actions, but in terms of an attitude towards "self". It does not mean essentially that I do not do certain things - and try to do others. There are people who never do certain things that are regarded as sinful - but they are full of pride of self. So we must look at it in terms of "self" and our relationship to ourselves, and we must realize again that the essence of holiness is that we should be able to say with George Muller that we have died, died completely, to this "self" that has caused so much ruin in our lives and experiences.
Now, lastly, let us come to the highest level and look at the problem of "self" in the light of Christ. Why did the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God ever come into this world? He came ultimately in order to deliver mankind from "self". We see this selfless life so perfectly in Him. Look at His coming from the glory of Heaven to the stable in Bethlehem. Why did He come? There is only one answer to that question. He did not consider Himself. That is the essence of the statement that Paul makes in Philippians 2. He was eternally the Son of God and was equal with God from eternity, but He did not consider that; He did not hold on to that and to His right to the manifestation of that glory. He humbled Himself and denied Himself. There would never have been the incarnation had it not been that the Son of God put "self", as it were, aside!
Then look at His selfless life here upon earth. He often said that the words He spoke He did not speak of Himself, and the actions He performed He said "are not Mine; they have been given to Me of the Father." That is how I understand Paul's teaching of the self-humiliation of the Cross. It means that, coming in the likeness of man, He deliberately made Himself dependent upon God; He did not consider Himself at all. He said: "I have come to do your will, O God," and He was wholly wholly dependent upon God for everything, for the words He spoke and for everything He did. The very Son of God humbled Himself to that extent. He did not live for Himself or by Himself in any measure. And the apostle's argument is, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."
We see it supremely of course in His death upon the Cross. He was innocent and guiltless, He had never sinned or done anyone any harm, yet when He was reviled - He reviled not again; when he suffered - He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judges righteously" (1 Peter 2:23). That is it. The Cross of Christ is the supreme illustration, and the argument of the New Testament is this, that if we say we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and believe that He has died for our sins, it means that our greatest desire should be to die to self.
That is the final purpose of His dying, not merely that we might be forgiven, or that we might be saved from hell. Rather it was that a new people might be formed, a new humanity, a new creation, and that a new kingdom be set up, consisting of people like Himself. He is "the firstborn of many brethren." He is the pattern. God has made us, says Paul to the Ephesians: "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus." We are "to be conformed to the image of His Son." So that we may say that the reason for His death on the Cross is that you and I might be saved and separated from that life of self. For this reason, "that those who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again." That is the life which we are called. Not the life of self-defense or self-sensitivity, but such a life that, even if we are insulted - we do not retaliate; if a man comes and asks something of me I do not say, "This is mine!" I say rather, "If this man is in need and i can help him, I will." I have finished with self, I have died to myself, and my one concern now is the glory of God.
That is the life to which the Lord Jesus Christ calls us and He died in order that you and I might live it. Thank God the gospel also goes on to tell us that He rose again and that He has sent into the Church, and into every one who believes on Him, the Holy Spirit with all His renovating and energizing power. If we are trying to live this kind of life in and of ourselves, we are doomed before we start. But with the blessed promise and offer of the Spirit of God to come and dwell in us and work in us, there is hope for us. God has made this life possible. If George Muller could die to George Muller, why should not every one of us who is a Christian die in the same way to that "self" that is so sinful, that leads to so much misery and wretchedness and unhappiness, and which finally is such a denial of the blessed work of the Son of God upon the Cross on Calvary's Hill.
~Martyn Lloyd-Jones~
(The End)
All moments of unhappiness in life are ultimately due to this separation. A person who is in real communion with God and with the Lord Jesus Christ is happy. It does not matter whether he is in a dungeon, or whether he has his feet in the stocks, or whether he is burning at the stake; he is still happy if he is in communion with God. Is not that the experience of the saints down the centuries? So the ultimate cause of any misery or lack of joy - is separation from God; and the one cause of separation from Him is "self." Whenever we are unhappy it means that in some way or other we are looking at ourselves and thinking about ourselves, instead of communing with God.
Man, according to the Scriptures, was meant to live entirely to the glory of God. He was meant to love the Lord God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his mind and with all his strength. The whole of man was meant to glorify God. Therefore, any desire to glorify "self" or safeguard the interests of "self" is of necessity a sin, because I am looking at myself instead of looking at God and seeking His honor and glory. And it is that very thing in man which God has condemned. It is that which is under the curse of God and the wrath of God.
And as I understand the teaching of the Scriptures, holiness eventually means this - deliverance from this self-centered life. Holiness, in other words, must not be thought of primarily in terms of actions, but in terms of an attitude towards "self". It does not mean essentially that I do not do certain things - and try to do others. There are people who never do certain things that are regarded as sinful - but they are full of pride of self. So we must look at it in terms of "self" and our relationship to ourselves, and we must realize again that the essence of holiness is that we should be able to say with George Muller that we have died, died completely, to this "self" that has caused so much ruin in our lives and experiences.
Now, lastly, let us come to the highest level and look at the problem of "self" in the light of Christ. Why did the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God ever come into this world? He came ultimately in order to deliver mankind from "self". We see this selfless life so perfectly in Him. Look at His coming from the glory of Heaven to the stable in Bethlehem. Why did He come? There is only one answer to that question. He did not consider Himself. That is the essence of the statement that Paul makes in Philippians 2. He was eternally the Son of God and was equal with God from eternity, but He did not consider that; He did not hold on to that and to His right to the manifestation of that glory. He humbled Himself and denied Himself. There would never have been the incarnation had it not been that the Son of God put "self", as it were, aside!
Then look at His selfless life here upon earth. He often said that the words He spoke He did not speak of Himself, and the actions He performed He said "are not Mine; they have been given to Me of the Father." That is how I understand Paul's teaching of the self-humiliation of the Cross. It means that, coming in the likeness of man, He deliberately made Himself dependent upon God; He did not consider Himself at all. He said: "I have come to do your will, O God," and He was wholly wholly dependent upon God for everything, for the words He spoke and for everything He did. The very Son of God humbled Himself to that extent. He did not live for Himself or by Himself in any measure. And the apostle's argument is, "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."
We see it supremely of course in His death upon the Cross. He was innocent and guiltless, He had never sinned or done anyone any harm, yet when He was reviled - He reviled not again; when he suffered - He threatened not; but committed Himself to Him that judges righteously" (1 Peter 2:23). That is it. The Cross of Christ is the supreme illustration, and the argument of the New Testament is this, that if we say we believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and believe that He has died for our sins, it means that our greatest desire should be to die to self.
That is the final purpose of His dying, not merely that we might be forgiven, or that we might be saved from hell. Rather it was that a new people might be formed, a new humanity, a new creation, and that a new kingdom be set up, consisting of people like Himself. He is "the firstborn of many brethren." He is the pattern. God has made us, says Paul to the Ephesians: "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus." We are "to be conformed to the image of His Son." So that we may say that the reason for His death on the Cross is that you and I might be saved and separated from that life of self. For this reason, "that those who live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again." That is the life which we are called. Not the life of self-defense or self-sensitivity, but such a life that, even if we are insulted - we do not retaliate; if a man comes and asks something of me I do not say, "This is mine!" I say rather, "If this man is in need and i can help him, I will." I have finished with self, I have died to myself, and my one concern now is the glory of God.
That is the life to which the Lord Jesus Christ calls us and He died in order that you and I might live it. Thank God the gospel also goes on to tell us that He rose again and that He has sent into the Church, and into every one who believes on Him, the Holy Spirit with all His renovating and energizing power. If we are trying to live this kind of life in and of ourselves, we are doomed before we start. But with the blessed promise and offer of the Spirit of God to come and dwell in us and work in us, there is hope for us. God has made this life possible. If George Muller could die to George Muller, why should not every one of us who is a Christian die in the same way to that "self" that is so sinful, that leads to so much misery and wretchedness and unhappiness, and which finally is such a denial of the blessed work of the Son of God upon the Cross on Calvary's Hill.
~Martyn Lloyd-Jones~
(The End)
Sunday, November 11, 2018
Denying To Self And Following Christ # 2
Denying To Self And Following Christ # 2
You will find, in many a biography, stories of men who have delivered themselves from sensitivity to the world and to intimates, but who have found that it means a terrible battle, an almost impossible fight not to be concerned about one's self, and one' own judgment of one's self. And as long as we are concerned about that we are not really safe even from the other two. So the key to it all, as George Muller reminds us, is that we must die to ourselves. George Muller had died to himself, to his opinion, his preferences, his likes and dislikes, his tastes, his will. His one concern, his one idea, was to be approved unto God. Now that is our Lord's teaching here, that the Christian is to get into such a state and condition that he can say that.
The next point is obviously that only the Christian can do this. That is where we find doctrine in this paragraph. No man can possibly attain to this except a Christian. It is the very opposite and antithesis of what is true of the natural man. It is difficult to imagine anything further removed from what the world generally describes as a gentleman. A gentleman, according to the world, is one who fights for his honor and his name. Although he no longer challenges to a duel the moment he is insulted because it is prohibited by law, this is what he would do if he could. That is the world's idea of a gentleman and of honor; and it always means self-defense. It applies not only to man individually but to his country and to everything that belongs to him. It is surely true to say that the world despises a man who does not do that, and it admires the aggressive kind of person, the person who asserts himself and is always most ready to defend himself and his so-called honor.
We say, therefore, plainly and without apology, that no man can implement this teaching who is not a Christian. A must must be born again and be a new creature before he can live like this. No man can die to himself except the man who can say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me." It is the doctrine of rebirth. In other words our Lord says: "You have to live like that, but you can do so only when you have received the Holy Spirit and there is a new life in you. You have to become utterly different; you have to become entirely changed; you have to become a new being."
Having thus stated the doctrine, we must now ask a practical question. "How am I to live like that?" Someone may say: "You have confronted us with teaching; but I find it difficult; I tend to fail in practice. How can one live that kind of life?"
Let us, first of all, approach the matter on a purely practical level. The first thing we must do is to face this whole problem of SELF in an honest manner. We must cease to make excuses, cease trying to evade and circumvent it. It is to be faced honestly and squarely. We must hold all this teaching before us and examine ourselves in the light of it. But it is not enough that we should do that in general only; we must do it in particular also.
Whenever I notice in myself a reaction of self-defense, or a sense of annoyance or a grievance, or a feeling that I have been hurt and wronged and am suffering an injustice - the moment I feel this defensive mechanism coming into play, I must just quietly face myself and ask the following questions, "Why exactly does this thing upset me? Why am I grieved by it? What is my real concern at this point? Am I really concerned by some general principle of justice and righteousness? Am I really moved and disturbed because I have some true cause at heart or, let me fact it honestly, is it just myself? Is it just this horrible, foul self-centeredness and self-concern, this morbid condition into which I have got? Is it nothing but an unhealthy and unpleasant pride?
Such self-examination is essential if we are to conquer in this matter. We all know this by experience. How easy it is to explain it in some other way. We must listen to the voice that speaks within us, and if it says: "Now you know perfectly well it is just yourself, that horrid pride, that concern about yourself and your reputation and your own greatness" - if it is that, we must admit and confess it. It will be extremely painful, of course, and yet, if we want to rise to our Lord's teaching, we have to pass through such a process. It is the denial of self.
Another thing on the practical level which is of the very greatest importance is to realize the extent to which SELF controls your life. Have you ever tried doing that?
Examine yourself and your life, your ordinary work, the things you do, the contacts you have to make with people. Reflect for a moment upon the extent to which self comes into all that. It is an amazing and terrible discovery to note the extent to which self-interest and self-concern are involved, even in the preaching of the gospel. It is a horrible discovery! We are concerned about preaching well. Why? For the glory of God - or for our own glory? All the things we do and say, the impression we make even when we meet people casually - what are we really concerned about? If you analyze the whole of your life, not only your actions and conduct, but your dress, your appearance, everything - it will amaze you to discover the extent to which this unhealthy attitude towards self comes in.
But let us go on one step further. I wonder whether we have ever realized the extent to which the misery and the unhappiness and the failure and the trouble in our lives - is due to one thing only, namely, self! Go back across last week, consider in your mind and recall to your conscience the moments or the periods of unhappiness and strain, your irritability, your bad temper, the things you have said and done of which you are now ashamed, the things that have really disturbed you and put you off your balance. Look at them one by one, and it will be surprising to discover how almost every one of them will come back to this question of self, this self-sensitivity, this watching of self.
There is no question about it. Self is the main cause of unhappiness in life. "Ah," you say, "but it is not my fault; it is what somebody else has done." All right; analyze yourself and the other person, and you will find the other person probably acted as he did because of self - and you are really feeling it for the same reason. If only you had a right attitude towards the other person, as our Lord goes on to teach in the next paragraph, you would be sorry for him and would be praying for him. So ultimately it is you who are to blame. Now it is a very good thing on the practical level just to look at it honestly and squarely. Most of the unhappiness and sorrow, and most of our troubles in life and in experience, arise from this ultimate origin and source, this self!
Let us come to a higher level, however, and look at it doctrinally. It is a very good thing to look at self in a doctrinal and theological manner. According to the teaching of Scriptures, self was responsible for the fall. But for it, sin would never have entered into the world. The devil was subtle enough to know its power, so he put it in terms of self. He said: "God is not being fair to you; you have a legitimate grudge and a grievance." And man agreed, and that was the whole cause of the fall. There would be no need of international conference to try to solve the problems of the nations at the present time - if it were not for the fall. And the whole trouble is just self and self-assertion. That is self regarded doctrinally.
But self always means defiance of God; it always means that I put myself on the throne instead of God, and therefore it is always something that separates me from Him.
~Martyn Lloyd-Jones~
(continued with # 3)
You will find, in many a biography, stories of men who have delivered themselves from sensitivity to the world and to intimates, but who have found that it means a terrible battle, an almost impossible fight not to be concerned about one's self, and one' own judgment of one's self. And as long as we are concerned about that we are not really safe even from the other two. So the key to it all, as George Muller reminds us, is that we must die to ourselves. George Muller had died to himself, to his opinion, his preferences, his likes and dislikes, his tastes, his will. His one concern, his one idea, was to be approved unto God. Now that is our Lord's teaching here, that the Christian is to get into such a state and condition that he can say that.
The next point is obviously that only the Christian can do this. That is where we find doctrine in this paragraph. No man can possibly attain to this except a Christian. It is the very opposite and antithesis of what is true of the natural man. It is difficult to imagine anything further removed from what the world generally describes as a gentleman. A gentleman, according to the world, is one who fights for his honor and his name. Although he no longer challenges to a duel the moment he is insulted because it is prohibited by law, this is what he would do if he could. That is the world's idea of a gentleman and of honor; and it always means self-defense. It applies not only to man individually but to his country and to everything that belongs to him. It is surely true to say that the world despises a man who does not do that, and it admires the aggressive kind of person, the person who asserts himself and is always most ready to defend himself and his so-called honor.
We say, therefore, plainly and without apology, that no man can implement this teaching who is not a Christian. A must must be born again and be a new creature before he can live like this. No man can die to himself except the man who can say, "I live, yet not I, but Christ lives in me." It is the doctrine of rebirth. In other words our Lord says: "You have to live like that, but you can do so only when you have received the Holy Spirit and there is a new life in you. You have to become utterly different; you have to become entirely changed; you have to become a new being."
Having thus stated the doctrine, we must now ask a practical question. "How am I to live like that?" Someone may say: "You have confronted us with teaching; but I find it difficult; I tend to fail in practice. How can one live that kind of life?"
Let us, first of all, approach the matter on a purely practical level. The first thing we must do is to face this whole problem of SELF in an honest manner. We must cease to make excuses, cease trying to evade and circumvent it. It is to be faced honestly and squarely. We must hold all this teaching before us and examine ourselves in the light of it. But it is not enough that we should do that in general only; we must do it in particular also.
Whenever I notice in myself a reaction of self-defense, or a sense of annoyance or a grievance, or a feeling that I have been hurt and wronged and am suffering an injustice - the moment I feel this defensive mechanism coming into play, I must just quietly face myself and ask the following questions, "Why exactly does this thing upset me? Why am I grieved by it? What is my real concern at this point? Am I really concerned by some general principle of justice and righteousness? Am I really moved and disturbed because I have some true cause at heart or, let me fact it honestly, is it just myself? Is it just this horrible, foul self-centeredness and self-concern, this morbid condition into which I have got? Is it nothing but an unhealthy and unpleasant pride?
Such self-examination is essential if we are to conquer in this matter. We all know this by experience. How easy it is to explain it in some other way. We must listen to the voice that speaks within us, and if it says: "Now you know perfectly well it is just yourself, that horrid pride, that concern about yourself and your reputation and your own greatness" - if it is that, we must admit and confess it. It will be extremely painful, of course, and yet, if we want to rise to our Lord's teaching, we have to pass through such a process. It is the denial of self.
Another thing on the practical level which is of the very greatest importance is to realize the extent to which SELF controls your life. Have you ever tried doing that?
Examine yourself and your life, your ordinary work, the things you do, the contacts you have to make with people. Reflect for a moment upon the extent to which self comes into all that. It is an amazing and terrible discovery to note the extent to which self-interest and self-concern are involved, even in the preaching of the gospel. It is a horrible discovery! We are concerned about preaching well. Why? For the glory of God - or for our own glory? All the things we do and say, the impression we make even when we meet people casually - what are we really concerned about? If you analyze the whole of your life, not only your actions and conduct, but your dress, your appearance, everything - it will amaze you to discover the extent to which this unhealthy attitude towards self comes in.
But let us go on one step further. I wonder whether we have ever realized the extent to which the misery and the unhappiness and the failure and the trouble in our lives - is due to one thing only, namely, self! Go back across last week, consider in your mind and recall to your conscience the moments or the periods of unhappiness and strain, your irritability, your bad temper, the things you have said and done of which you are now ashamed, the things that have really disturbed you and put you off your balance. Look at them one by one, and it will be surprising to discover how almost every one of them will come back to this question of self, this self-sensitivity, this watching of self.
There is no question about it. Self is the main cause of unhappiness in life. "Ah," you say, "but it is not my fault; it is what somebody else has done." All right; analyze yourself and the other person, and you will find the other person probably acted as he did because of self - and you are really feeling it for the same reason. If only you had a right attitude towards the other person, as our Lord goes on to teach in the next paragraph, you would be sorry for him and would be praying for him. So ultimately it is you who are to blame. Now it is a very good thing on the practical level just to look at it honestly and squarely. Most of the unhappiness and sorrow, and most of our troubles in life and in experience, arise from this ultimate origin and source, this self!
Let us come to a higher level, however, and look at it doctrinally. It is a very good thing to look at self in a doctrinal and theological manner. According to the teaching of Scriptures, self was responsible for the fall. But for it, sin would never have entered into the world. The devil was subtle enough to know its power, so he put it in terms of self. He said: "God is not being fair to you; you have a legitimate grudge and a grievance." And man agreed, and that was the whole cause of the fall. There would be no need of international conference to try to solve the problems of the nations at the present time - if it were not for the fall. And the whole trouble is just self and self-assertion. That is self regarded doctrinally.
But self always means defiance of God; it always means that I put myself on the throne instead of God, and therefore it is always something that separates me from Him.
~Martyn Lloyd-Jones~
(continued with # 3)
Denying Self and Following Christ # 1
Denying Self and Following Christ # 1
"You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you" (Matthew 5:38-42).
We have already studied these verses twice. First, we looked at them in general, reminding ourselves of certain principles which govern the interpretation. Then we considered the statements one by one in detail, and saw that our Lord's concern is that we should be set free from all desire for personal revenge. There is nothing which is so tragic as the way in which many people, when they come to this paragraph, become so immersed in details, and are so ready to argue about the rightness or wrongness of doing this or that, that they completely lose sight of the great principle here expressed, which is the Christian's attitude towards himself.
These illustrations are used by our Lord simply to bring out His teaching concerning that great central principle. "You." He says in effect, 'must have a right view of yourselves. Your troubles arise because you tend to go wrong at that particular point. In other words, our Lord's primary concern here is with what we are, rather than with what we do. What we do is important, because it is indicative of what we are. He illustrates that here, and says: "If you are what you claim to be, this is how you will behave."
So we must concentrate not so much upon the action as upon the spirit that leads to the action. That is why, let us repeat it again, it is so essential that we should take the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount in order in which it is given. We have no right to consider these particular injunctions unless we have already grasped, and mastered, and have submitted ourselves to, the teaching of the Beatitudes.
In this paragraph we have our attitude towards ourselves presented in a negative manner, in the paragraph that follows it is presented positively. There our Lord goes on to say: 'You have heard that it has been said. You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I say unto you. Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.' But here we are concerned with the negative, and this teaching is of such central importance in the New Testament that we must consider it once more.
We have already found more than once that the Sermon on the Mount is full of doctrine. There is nothing quite so pathetic as the way in which people used to say some thirty or forty years ago (and some still say it) that the only part of the New Testament they really believed in and liked was the Sermon on the Mount, and that because it contained no theology or doctrine. It was practical, they said; just on ethical manifesto, which contained no doctrine or dogma. There is nothing quite so sad as that, because the Sermon on the Mount is full of doctrine. We have it here in this paragraph. The important thing is not so much that I turn the other cheek, as that I should be in a state in which I am ready to do so. The doctrine involves my whole view of myself.
No man can practice what our Lord illustrates here unless he has finished with himself, with his right to himself, his right to determine what he shall do, and especially must he finish with what we commonly call the 'rights of self.' In other words we must not be concerned about ourselves at all! The whole trouble in life, as we have seen, is ultimately this concern about SELF, and what our Lord is inculcating here is that it is something of which we must rid ourselves entirely. We must rid ourselves of this constant tendency to be watching the interests of self, to be always on the look-out for insults or attacks or injuries, always in this defense attitude. That is the kind of thing He has in mind.
All that must disappear, and that of course means that we must cease to be so sensitive about self. This morbid sensitiveness, this whole condition in which self is on edge and so delicately and sensitively poised and balanced that the slightest disturbance can upset its equilibrium, must be got rid of. The condition which our Lord is here describing is one in which a man simply cannot be hurt. Perhaps that is the most radical form in which one can put that statement. I reminded you in the last chapter of what the apostle Paul says about himself in 1 Corinthians 4:3. He writes: "With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yes, I judge not my own self." He has committed the whole question of his judgment to God, and thus he has entered into a state and condition in which he just cannot be hurt! That is the ideal at which we should be aiming - this indifference to self and its interests.
A statement which the great George Muller once made about himself seems to illustrate this very clearly. He writes like this: "There was a day when I died, utterly died, died to George Muller and his opinions, preferences, tastes and will; died to the world, its approval or censure; died to the approval or blame of even my brethren and friends; and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God." That is a statement to be pondered deeply. I cannot imagine a more perfect or adequate summary of our Lord's teaching in this paragraph than that. Muller was enabled to die to the world and its approval or censure, to die even the to approval or censure of his friends and most intimate companions. And we should notice the order in which he put it. First, it was the approval or censure of the world; then the approval or censure of his intimates and friends. But he said he had succeeded in doing both, and the secret of it, according to Muller, was that he had died to himself - to George Muller!
There is no doubt that there is a very definite sequence in this matter. The furtherest removed is the world, then come his friends and associates. But the most difficult thing is for a man to die to himself, to his own approval or censure of himself. There are many great artists who treat with disdain the opinion of the world. The world does not approve of their work? "So much the worse for the world," says the great artist. But then there is the approval or censure of those who are near and dear to you. You value their opinion more highly, and you are therefore more sensitive to it.
But the Christian must reach the stage in which he surmounts even that and realizes that he must not be controlled by it. And then he goes on to the last, the ultimate stage which concerns what a man thinks of himself - his own assessment, his own approval of himself and his own judgment of himself.
~Martyn Lloyd-Jones~
(continued with # 2)
"You have heard that it was said, "An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth." But I say to you, do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you" (Matthew 5:38-42).
We have already studied these verses twice. First, we looked at them in general, reminding ourselves of certain principles which govern the interpretation. Then we considered the statements one by one in detail, and saw that our Lord's concern is that we should be set free from all desire for personal revenge. There is nothing which is so tragic as the way in which many people, when they come to this paragraph, become so immersed in details, and are so ready to argue about the rightness or wrongness of doing this or that, that they completely lose sight of the great principle here expressed, which is the Christian's attitude towards himself.
These illustrations are used by our Lord simply to bring out His teaching concerning that great central principle. "You." He says in effect, 'must have a right view of yourselves. Your troubles arise because you tend to go wrong at that particular point. In other words, our Lord's primary concern here is with what we are, rather than with what we do. What we do is important, because it is indicative of what we are. He illustrates that here, and says: "If you are what you claim to be, this is how you will behave."
So we must concentrate not so much upon the action as upon the spirit that leads to the action. That is why, let us repeat it again, it is so essential that we should take the teaching of the Sermon on the Mount in order in which it is given. We have no right to consider these particular injunctions unless we have already grasped, and mastered, and have submitted ourselves to, the teaching of the Beatitudes.
In this paragraph we have our attitude towards ourselves presented in a negative manner, in the paragraph that follows it is presented positively. There our Lord goes on to say: 'You have heard that it has been said. You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy. But I say unto you. Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.' But here we are concerned with the negative, and this teaching is of such central importance in the New Testament that we must consider it once more.
We have already found more than once that the Sermon on the Mount is full of doctrine. There is nothing quite so pathetic as the way in which people used to say some thirty or forty years ago (and some still say it) that the only part of the New Testament they really believed in and liked was the Sermon on the Mount, and that because it contained no theology or doctrine. It was practical, they said; just on ethical manifesto, which contained no doctrine or dogma. There is nothing quite so sad as that, because the Sermon on the Mount is full of doctrine. We have it here in this paragraph. The important thing is not so much that I turn the other cheek, as that I should be in a state in which I am ready to do so. The doctrine involves my whole view of myself.
No man can practice what our Lord illustrates here unless he has finished with himself, with his right to himself, his right to determine what he shall do, and especially must he finish with what we commonly call the 'rights of self.' In other words we must not be concerned about ourselves at all! The whole trouble in life, as we have seen, is ultimately this concern about SELF, and what our Lord is inculcating here is that it is something of which we must rid ourselves entirely. We must rid ourselves of this constant tendency to be watching the interests of self, to be always on the look-out for insults or attacks or injuries, always in this defense attitude. That is the kind of thing He has in mind.
All that must disappear, and that of course means that we must cease to be so sensitive about self. This morbid sensitiveness, this whole condition in which self is on edge and so delicately and sensitively poised and balanced that the slightest disturbance can upset its equilibrium, must be got rid of. The condition which our Lord is here describing is one in which a man simply cannot be hurt. Perhaps that is the most radical form in which one can put that statement. I reminded you in the last chapter of what the apostle Paul says about himself in 1 Corinthians 4:3. He writes: "With me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you, or of man's judgment: yes, I judge not my own self." He has committed the whole question of his judgment to God, and thus he has entered into a state and condition in which he just cannot be hurt! That is the ideal at which we should be aiming - this indifference to self and its interests.
A statement which the great George Muller once made about himself seems to illustrate this very clearly. He writes like this: "There was a day when I died, utterly died, died to George Muller and his opinions, preferences, tastes and will; died to the world, its approval or censure; died to the approval or blame of even my brethren and friends; and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God." That is a statement to be pondered deeply. I cannot imagine a more perfect or adequate summary of our Lord's teaching in this paragraph than that. Muller was enabled to die to the world and its approval or censure, to die even the to approval or censure of his friends and most intimate companions. And we should notice the order in which he put it. First, it was the approval or censure of the world; then the approval or censure of his intimates and friends. But he said he had succeeded in doing both, and the secret of it, according to Muller, was that he had died to himself - to George Muller!
There is no doubt that there is a very definite sequence in this matter. The furtherest removed is the world, then come his friends and associates. But the most difficult thing is for a man to die to himself, to his own approval or censure of himself. There are many great artists who treat with disdain the opinion of the world. The world does not approve of their work? "So much the worse for the world," says the great artist. But then there is the approval or censure of those who are near and dear to you. You value their opinion more highly, and you are therefore more sensitive to it.
But the Christian must reach the stage in which he surmounts even that and realizes that he must not be controlled by it. And then he goes on to the last, the ultimate stage which concerns what a man thinks of himself - his own assessment, his own approval of himself and his own judgment of himself.
~Martyn Lloyd-Jones~
(continued with # 2)
Saturday, November 3, 2018
Of All the Doctrines of the Bible, None Is So Offensive to Human Nature As...(and others)
Of All the Doctrines of the Bible, None Is So Offensive to Human Nature As..... (and others)
"I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed - only Naaman the Syrian."
"All the people in the synagogue were filled with rage when they heard this! They got up, drove Him out of the town, and took Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him down the cliff!" (Luke 4:25-29).
We learn from these verses - how bitterly human nature dislikes the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. We see this in the conduct of the Jews of Nazareth - when our Lord reminded them that God was under no obligation to work miracles among them.
Were there not many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah? No doubt there were. Yet to none of them was the prophet sent. All were passed over in favor of a GENTILE widow at Zarephath.
Were there not many lepers in Israel in the days of Elisha? No doubt there were. Yet to none of them was the privilege of healing granted. Naaman the SYRIAN was the only one who was cleansed.
Such doctrine as this was intolerable to the Jews of Nazareth. It wounded their pride and self-conceit. It taught them that God was no man's debtor, and that if they themselves were passed over in the distribution of His mercies - they had no right to find fault. They could not bear His teaching. They were "filled with rage!" They thrust our Lord out of their city - and had it not been for an exercise of miraculous power on His part, they would doubtless have put Him to a violent death by hurling Him off the cliff!
Of all the doctrines of the Bible, none is so offensive to human nature as the doctrine of God's sovereignty. Man can bear to be told that God is great, and just, and holy, and pure. But to be told that "He has mercy on whom He will have mercy" - that He "gives no account of His matters," that it is "not of him who wills, nor of him who runs - but of God who shows mercy" - these are truths which natural man cannot stand. They often call forth all his enmity against God, and fill him with wrath. Nothing,k in short, will make Him submit to them - but the humbling teaching of the Holy Spirit.
Let us settle it in our minds that, whether we like it or not - the sovereignty of God is a doctrine clearly revealed in the Bible, and a fact clearly to be seen in the world. Upon no other principle can we ever explain why some members of a family are converted - and others live and die in sin; why some quarters of the earth are enlightened by Christianity - and others remain buried in heathenism. One account alone can be given of all this. All is ordered by the sovereign hand of God!
Let us pray for humility in respect of this deep teaching. Let us never doubt that at the last day the whole world shall be convinced, that He who now "gives no account of His matters" has done all things well!
~J. C. Ryle~
__________________________
My Shepherd!
"The Lord is my Shepherd; I have everything I need!" (Psalm 23:1).
The shepherd is a favorite Scriptural picture of the divine love and care. In the Old Testament, the twenty-third Psalm gathers the whole wonderful truth in exquisite lines, which are dear to young and old wherever the Bible is known. Then in the New Testament, when our Lord would give His friends the sweetest revealings of His heart toward them, and tell them what they are to Him, and what He would be to them - He says, "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. (John 10:11).
The Hebrew shepherd lives with his sheep. If they are out in the storm - he is with them. If they are exposed to danger - so is he. Just so, Christ lives with His people. He enters into closest relations with them.
The shepherd knows his sheep. He has a name for each one and calls them all by their names. Just so, Christ knows each one of His friends, and has intimate personal knowledge of each one. He knows the best in us - and also the worst. He knows our faults, our sins, our wanderings. Yet, knowing us as we are - He loves us still and never wearies of us!
The shepherd of most gentle with his sheep. He does not drive them - but goes before them and leads them. When they need rest on the way - he makes them lie down, and chooses for their resting place, not the dusty road - but green pastures. He is especially kind to the lambs, gathers them in his arms and carries them in his bosom. All this is an exquisite picture of the gentleness of our Good Shepherd in His care of His sheep. He is thoughtful toward the weak. He loves the lambs and makes room for them in His bosom. Whatever the need is, there is something in the heart of Christ which meets its craving and supplies its lack! "He will feed His flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in His arms, holding them close to His heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young." (Isaiah 40:11).
The shepherd defends his flock in all danger. Often he had to risk his own safety, even his life, in protecting his sheep. Just so, the Good Shepherd gives His life - for His sheep!
Christ's sheep are absolutely safe in His keeping. "I give unto them eternal life," He said; "and they will never perish - ever! No one can snatch them out of My hand!" Then at last, He will bring His own all safely home, "and they shall become one flock - with one Shepherd!"
~J. R. Miller~
"I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah's time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed - only Naaman the Syrian."
"All the people in the synagogue were filled with rage when they heard this! They got up, drove Him out of the town, and took Him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw Him down the cliff!" (Luke 4:25-29).
We learn from these verses - how bitterly human nature dislikes the doctrine of the sovereignty of God. We see this in the conduct of the Jews of Nazareth - when our Lord reminded them that God was under no obligation to work miracles among them.
Were there not many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah? No doubt there were. Yet to none of them was the prophet sent. All were passed over in favor of a GENTILE widow at Zarephath.
Were there not many lepers in Israel in the days of Elisha? No doubt there were. Yet to none of them was the privilege of healing granted. Naaman the SYRIAN was the only one who was cleansed.
Such doctrine as this was intolerable to the Jews of Nazareth. It wounded their pride and self-conceit. It taught them that God was no man's debtor, and that if they themselves were passed over in the distribution of His mercies - they had no right to find fault. They could not bear His teaching. They were "filled with rage!" They thrust our Lord out of their city - and had it not been for an exercise of miraculous power on His part, they would doubtless have put Him to a violent death by hurling Him off the cliff!
Of all the doctrines of the Bible, none is so offensive to human nature as the doctrine of God's sovereignty. Man can bear to be told that God is great, and just, and holy, and pure. But to be told that "He has mercy on whom He will have mercy" - that He "gives no account of His matters," that it is "not of him who wills, nor of him who runs - but of God who shows mercy" - these are truths which natural man cannot stand. They often call forth all his enmity against God, and fill him with wrath. Nothing,k in short, will make Him submit to them - but the humbling teaching of the Holy Spirit.
Let us settle it in our minds that, whether we like it or not - the sovereignty of God is a doctrine clearly revealed in the Bible, and a fact clearly to be seen in the world. Upon no other principle can we ever explain why some members of a family are converted - and others live and die in sin; why some quarters of the earth are enlightened by Christianity - and others remain buried in heathenism. One account alone can be given of all this. All is ordered by the sovereign hand of God!
Let us pray for humility in respect of this deep teaching. Let us never doubt that at the last day the whole world shall be convinced, that He who now "gives no account of His matters" has done all things well!
~J. C. Ryle~
__________________________
My Shepherd!
"The Lord is my Shepherd; I have everything I need!" (Psalm 23:1).
The shepherd is a favorite Scriptural picture of the divine love and care. In the Old Testament, the twenty-third Psalm gathers the whole wonderful truth in exquisite lines, which are dear to young and old wherever the Bible is known. Then in the New Testament, when our Lord would give His friends the sweetest revealings of His heart toward them, and tell them what they are to Him, and what He would be to them - He says, "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. (John 10:11).
The Hebrew shepherd lives with his sheep. If they are out in the storm - he is with them. If they are exposed to danger - so is he. Just so, Christ lives with His people. He enters into closest relations with them.
The shepherd knows his sheep. He has a name for each one and calls them all by their names. Just so, Christ knows each one of His friends, and has intimate personal knowledge of each one. He knows the best in us - and also the worst. He knows our faults, our sins, our wanderings. Yet, knowing us as we are - He loves us still and never wearies of us!
The shepherd of most gentle with his sheep. He does not drive them - but goes before them and leads them. When they need rest on the way - he makes them lie down, and chooses for their resting place, not the dusty road - but green pastures. He is especially kind to the lambs, gathers them in his arms and carries them in his bosom. All this is an exquisite picture of the gentleness of our Good Shepherd in His care of His sheep. He is thoughtful toward the weak. He loves the lambs and makes room for them in His bosom. Whatever the need is, there is something in the heart of Christ which meets its craving and supplies its lack! "He will feed His flock like a shepherd. He will carry the lambs in His arms, holding them close to His heart. He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young." (Isaiah 40:11).
The shepherd defends his flock in all danger. Often he had to risk his own safety, even his life, in protecting his sheep. Just so, the Good Shepherd gives His life - for His sheep!
Christ's sheep are absolutely safe in His keeping. "I give unto them eternal life," He said; "and they will never perish - ever! No one can snatch them out of My hand!" Then at last, He will bring His own all safely home, "and they shall become one flock - with one Shepherd!"
~J. R. Miller~
Quotes From Classic Christian Ministers
Quotes From Classic Christian Ministers
(Thomas Boston, "Human Nature in its Fourfold State")
"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked! Who really knows how bad it is?" Jeremiah 17:9
Never did any sin appear in the life of the vilest wretch who ever lived--but look into your own corrupt nature, and there you may see the seed and root that sin--and every other sin! There is atheism, idolatry, blasphemy, murder, adultery, and whatever is vile--in your heart! Possibly none of these are apparent to you; but there is more in that unfathomable depth of wickedness than you know.
Your corrupt heart is like an ant's nest, which, while the stone lies on it, none of them appear. But take off the stone, and stir them up but with a straw--and you will see what a swarm is there, and how lively they are! Just such a sight would your heart afford you--did the Lord but withdraw the restraint He has upon it--and allow Satan to stir it up by temptation!
Christian! the remembrance of what you are by nature, should keep you humble.
"For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly." Mark 7:21, 22
______________________________
(Thomas Boston, "Human Nature in its Fourfold State")
"The human heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked! Who really knows how bad it is?" Jeremiah 17:9
Never did any sin appear in the life of the vilest wretch who ever lived--but look into your own corrupt nature, and there you may see the seed and root that sin--and every other sin! There is atheism, idolatry, blasphemy, murder, adultery, and whatever is vile--in your heart! Possibly none of these are apparent to you; but there is more in that unfathomable depth of wickedness than you know.
Your corrupt heart is like an ant's nest, which, while the stone lies on it, none of them appear. But take off the stone, and stir them up but with a straw--and you will see what a swarm is there, and how lively they are! Just such a sight would your heart afford you--did the Lord but withdraw the restraint He has upon it--and allow Satan to stir it up by temptation!
Christian! the remembrance of what you are by nature, should keep you humble.
"For from within, out of men's hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly." Mark 7:21, 22
______________________________
God’s Omnipotent Voice
From God’s first statement in Genesis 1:3—“Let there be light”—to Jesus’ last words in Revelation 22:20—“Yes, I am coming quickly”—divine omnipotence is demonstrated. The voice that brought all things into existence sovereignly controls time, circumstances, and nature.
The Lord sat as King, bringing judgment over the whole earth with the flood in Noah’s day, and He continues to reign over the earth’s tumultuous upheavals today. Although we may be tempted to craft for ourselves a gentler version of God, we know who He truly is when we accept all that Scripture says about Him.
David likens God’s voice to a violent storm sweeping in from the sea with fury as it covers the land (Psalm 29:3-9), yet he also mentions that the Lord strengthens His people and blesses them with peace (Psalm 29:11). All God’s attributes blend together perfectly. He’s powerful yet loving, just and merciful, and both righteous and forgiving. This is why we can respond with submission, reverence, and trust in our majestic King.
Whether in Noah’s day or our own, the message is the same: “The Lord sits as King forever” (Psalm 29:10). Are God’s power and control a comfort to you or a matter for concern? Your answer probably depends on how much you know and trust Him. As in any relationship, trust and intimacy grow with familiarity and experience. As you learn to know God through His Word and experience His faithfulness, your trust will grow, and you’ll long for the day when His splendor, majesty, and power are known throughout the earth.
~Charles Stanley~
___________________________________
BIBLE MEDITATION:
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Romans 1:16
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth.” Romans 1:16
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
Are you ashamed to put a Bible on your desk at work? Are you ashamed to bow your head in the cafeteria? Are you ashamed to invite people to Jesus Christ? Are you ashamed of the One who died for you?
Are you ashamed to put a Bible on your desk at work? Are you ashamed to bow your head in the cafeteria? Are you ashamed to invite people to Jesus Christ? Are you ashamed of the One who died for you?
A little boy had a dog, and someone asked him what kind of dog he was. He was just a mongrel, but the little fellow said, “Well, he’s a police dog.” The friend said, “He doesn’t look like a police dog.” The little guy replied, “He’s in the secret service.”
I’m afraid there are many of us who are in the secret service. We ought to be open and bold for the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
ACTION POINT:
Ask God to lead you out in strength and boldness today to live for Him and proclaim His love to others.
Ask God to lead you out in strength and boldness today to live for Him and proclaim His love to others.
~Adrian Rogers~
___________________________________
Idiots catching flies!(Charles Spurgeon)
"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!" Ecclesiastes 1:2
Most people are not seeking to escape from the wrath to come--they are busy in worldly things while Hell is near them. They are like idiots catching flies on board a ship which is in the very act of sinking! We see them busy adorning their bodies, when their soul is in ruin. They are like a man painting the front door, when the house is in flames!
Men are in a restless pursuit after satisfaction in earthly things.
They will hunt the phantom of wealth,
they will travel the pathways of fame,
they will dig into the mines of knowledge,
they will exhaust themselves in the deceitful delights of sin.
Finding them all to be vanity and emptiness, they will become very perplexed and disappointed. But they still continue their fruitless search. Though wearied, they still stagger forward under the influence of spiritual madness, and though there is no result to be reached except that of everlasting disappointment--yet they press forward with much ardor.
Living for today is enough for them--that they are still alive, that they possess present comforts and present enjoyments--this contents the many.
As for the future, they say, "Let it take care of itself."
As for eternity, they leave others to care for its realities; the present life is enough for them.
Their motto is, "Let us feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!"
They have no forethought for their eternal state--the present hour absorbs them.
Carnal minds pursue earth's vanities with all their might; and when they are wearied in their pursuit they but change their direction, and continue the idle chase. They turn to another and another of earth's broken cisterns, hoping to find water where not a drop was ever discovered yet!
"Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
"Meaningless! Meaningless!" says the Teacher. "Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless!" Ecclesiastes 1:2
Most people are not seeking to escape from the wrath to come--they are busy in worldly things while Hell is near them. They are like idiots catching flies on board a ship which is in the very act of sinking! We see them busy adorning their bodies, when their soul is in ruin. They are like a man painting the front door, when the house is in flames!
Men are in a restless pursuit after satisfaction in earthly things.
They will hunt the phantom of wealth,
they will travel the pathways of fame,
they will dig into the mines of knowledge,
they will exhaust themselves in the deceitful delights of sin.
Finding them all to be vanity and emptiness, they will become very perplexed and disappointed. But they still continue their fruitless search. Though wearied, they still stagger forward under the influence of spiritual madness, and though there is no result to be reached except that of everlasting disappointment--yet they press forward with much ardor.
Living for today is enough for them--that they are still alive, that they possess present comforts and present enjoyments--this contents the many.
As for the future, they say, "Let it take care of itself."
As for eternity, they leave others to care for its realities; the present life is enough for them.
Their motto is, "Let us feast and drink, for tomorrow we die!"
They have no forethought for their eternal state--the present hour absorbs them.
Carnal minds pursue earth's vanities with all their might; and when they are wearied in their pursuit they but change their direction, and continue the idle chase. They turn to another and another of earth's broken cisterns, hoping to find water where not a drop was ever discovered yet!
"Now all has been heard; here is the conclusion of the matter: Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man. For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
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