"Having not the Spirit" (Jude 19)
This is a deep subject, and one that must be handled with reverence. But where the Bible speaks with decision, there we may also speak with decision; and the words of the Bible have no meaning if the work of the Holy Spirit be not just as needful in order to make a man a true Christian, as the work of the Father or the work of the Son. "No man," we are told, "can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit." (1 Corinthians 12:3). True Christians, we are taught in Scripture, are "born of the Spirit." They live in the Spirit; they are led by the Spirit; by the Spirit they mortify the deeds of the body; by one Spirit they have access through Jesus unto the Father. Their graces are all the fruit of the Spirit; they are the temple of the Holy Spirit; they are a habitation of God through the Spirit; they walk after the Spirit; they are strengthened by the Spirit. Through the Spirit they wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. (John 3: 6; Gal. v. 25; Romans 8: 13, 14; Eph. 2:18; Gal. v. 22; 1 Corinthians v. 19; Eph. 2:22; Rom. 8:4; Eph. 3:16; Gal. v. 5) These are plain Scriptural expressions. Who will dare to deny them?
The truth is that the deep corruption of human nature would make salvation impossible if it were not for the work of the Spirit. Without Him the Father's love and the Son's redemption are set before us in vain. The Spirit must reveal them, the Spirit must apply them, or else we are lost souls.
Nothing less than the power of Him who moved on the face of the waters in the day of creation can ever raise us from our low estate. He who said, "Let there be light, and there was light," must speak the word before any one of us will ever rise to newness of life. He who came down on the day of Pentecost, must come down on our poor dead souls, before they will ever see the kingdom of God. Mercies and afflictions may move the surface of our hearts, but they will never reach the inner man. Sacraments, and services, and sermons may produce outward formality, and clothe us with the skin of religion, but there will be no life. Ministers may make communicants, and fill churches with regular worshipers: the almighty power of the Holy Spirit alone can make true Christians, and fill heaven with glorified saints.
Let this also be written in your memory, and never forgotten. No Holy Spirit, no true Christianity! You must have the Spirit in you, as well as Christ for you, if you are ever to be saved. God must be your loving Father, Jesus must be your known Redeemer, the Holy Spirit must be your "felt" Sanctifier, or else it will be better for you never to have been born.
I press the subject on the serious consideration of all who read these pages. I trust I have said enough to show you that it is of vital importance to your soul to "have the Spirit." It is no abstruse and mysterious point of divinity; it is no nice question of which the solution matters little one way or another. It is a subject in which is bound up the everlasting peace of your soul.
You may not like the tidings. You may call it enthusiasm, or fanaticism, or extravagance. I take my stand on the plain teaching of the Bible. I say that God must dwell in your heart by the Spirit on earth, or you will never dwell with God in heaven.
"Ah," you my say, "I do not know much about it. I trust Christ will be merciful. I hope I shall go to heaven after all." I answer, No man ever yet tasted of Christ's mercy who did not also receive of His Spirit - No man was ever justified who was not also sanctified - No man ever went to heaven who was not led there by the Spirit.
2. Let me, in the second place, point out the great general rule and principle by which the question may be decided, whether we have the Spirit.
I can quite understand that the idea of knowing whether we "have the Spirit" is disagreeable to many minds. I am not ignorant of the objections which satan at once stirs up in the natural heart. "It is impossible to know it," says one person: "it is a deep thing, and beyond our reach." "It is too mysterious a thing to inquire into," says another: "we must be content to leave the subject in uncertainty." "It is wrong to pretend to know anything about it," says a third: "we were never meant to look into such questions. It is only fit for enthusiasts and fanatics to talk of having the Spirit." I hear such objections without being moved by them. I say that it can be known whether a man has the Spirit. It can be known, it may be known, it ought to be known. It needs no vision from heaven, no revelation from an angel to discern it; it needs nothing but calm inquiry by the light of God's Word. Let us enter upon that inquiry.
All men have not the Holy Spirit. I regard the doctrine of a inward spiritual light enjoyed by all mankind as an unscriptural delusion. I believe the modern notion of universal inspiration to be a baseless dream. Without controversy, God has not left Himself without a witness in the heart of fallen man. He has left in every mind sufficient knowledge of right and wrong to make all men responsible and accountable. He has given to every child of Adam a conscience: but He has not given to every child of Adam the Holy Spirit. A man may have good wishes like Balaam, do many things like Herod, be almost persuaded like Agrippa, and tremble like Felix, and yet be as utterly destitute of the grace of the Spirit as these men were. Paul tells us that before conversion men may "know God" in a certain sense, and have "thoughts accusing or excusing one another." But he also tells us that before conversion men are "without God" and "without Christ," have "no hope," and are "darkness" itself (Romans 1:21; 2:15; Eph. 2:12). The Lord Jesus Himself says of the Spirit, "The world seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." (John 14:17).
~J. C. Ryle~
(continued with # 4 - "All Members of Churches and Baptized Persons have NOT the Spirit")
Sunday, April 21, 2013
Bearing the Sting
"He opened not his mouth" (Isa. 53:7).
How much grace it requires to bear a misunderstanding rightly, and to receive an unkind judgment in holy sweetness! Nothing tests the Christian character more than to have some evil thing said about him. This is the file that soon proves whether we are electro-plate or solid gold. If we could only know the blessings that lie hidden in our trials we would say like David, when Shimei cursed him, "Let him curse;... it may be... that the Lord will requite me good for his cursing this day."
Some people get easily turned aside from the grandeur of their life-work by pursuing their own grievances and enemies, until their life gets turned into one little petty whirl of warfare. It is like a nest of hornets. You may disperse the hornets, but you will probably get terribly stung, and get nothing for your pains, for even their honey is not worth a search.
God give us more of His Spirit, "who, when he was reviled, reviled not again"; but "committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." "Consider him that endureth such contradiction of sinners against himself."
--A. B. Simpson
--A. B. Simpson
***
"Before you" He trod all the path of woe,
He took the sharp thrusts with His head bent low.
He took the sharp thrusts with His head bent low.
He knew deepest sorrow and pain and grief,
He knew long endurance without relief,
He knew long endurance without relief,
He took all the bitter from death's deep cup,
He kept not a blood-drop but gave all up.
He kept not a blood-drop but gave all up.
"Before you" and for you, He won the fight
To bring you to glory and realms of light.
To bring you to glory and realms of light.
~L. B. Cowman~
Saturday, April 20, 2013
Having the Spirit # 2
Heaven is the place to which all people hope to go after death. It would e well for many if they considered calmly what kind of dwelling-place heaven is. It is the habitation of the King of kings, who is "of purer eyes than to behold iniquity," and it must needs to be a holy place. It is a place into which Scripture tells us there shall enter in nothing "that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination" (Revelation 21:27). It is a place where there shall be nothing wicked, sinful, or sensual, - nothing worldly, foolish, frivolous, or profane. There, let the covetous man remember, shall be no more money; there, let the pleasure-seeker remember, shall be no more races, theaters, novel reading, or dances; there, let the drunkard and the gambler remember. shall be no more strong drink, no more dice, no more betting, no more cards. The everlasting presence of God, saints, and angels, - the perpetual doing of God's will, - the complete absence of everything which God does not approve, - these are the chief things which shall make up heaven. It shall be an eternal Sabbath day.
For this heaven we are all by nature utterly unfit. We have no capacity for enjoying its happiness; we have no taste for its blessings; we have no eye to see its beauty; we have no heart to feel its comforts. Instead of freedom, we should find it bondage; instead of glorious liberty, we should find it constant constraint; instead of a splendid palace, we should find it a gloomy prison. A fish on dry land, a sheep in the water, an eagle in a cage, a painted savage in a royal drawing room would all feel more at ease and in their place than a natural man in heaven. "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
For this heaven it is the special office of the Holy Spirit to prepare men's souls. He alone can change the earthly heart, and purify the worldly affections of Adam's children. He alone can bring their minds into harmony with God' and tune them for the eternal company of saints, and angels, and Christ.He alone can make them love what God loves, and hate what God hates, and delight in God's presence. He alone can set the limbs of human nature, which were broken and dislocated by Adam's fall, and bring about a real unity between man's will and God's. And this He does for every one that is saved. It is written of believers that they are "saved according to God's mercy," but it is "by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." They are chosen unto salvation, but it is "through sanctification of the Spirit," as well as "belief of the truth" (Titus 3:5; 2 Thess. 2:13).
Let this also be written down on the tablet of your memory. No entrance into heaven without the Spirit first entering your heart upon earth! No admission into glory in the next life without previous sanctification in this life! No Holy Spirit in you in this world, - then no heaven in the world to come! You would not be fit for it; you would not be ready for it; you would not like it; you would not enjoy it. There is much use made in the present day of the word "holy." Our ears are wearied with "holy church," and "holy baptism," and "holy days," and "holy water," and "holy services," and "holy priests." But one thing is a thousand times more important: and that is, to be made a really holy man or woman by the Spirit. We must be made partakers of the Divine nature, while we are alive. We must "sow in the Spirit," if we would ever reap life everlasting (2 Peter 1:4; Galatians 6:8).
(c) Remember, for another thing, if you have not the Holy Spirit, you have no right to be considered a true Christian, and no will or power to become one.
It requires little to make a Christian according to the standard of the world. Only let a man be baptized and attend some place of worship, and the requirements of the world are satisfied. The man's belief may not be so intelligent as that of a Turk: he may be profoundly ignorant of the Bible. The man's practice may be no better than that of a heathen: many a respectable Hindu might put him to shame - But what of that? He is an Englishman! He has been baptized! He goes to church or chapel, and behaves decently when there! What more would you have? If you do not call him a Christian you are thought very uncharitable!
But it takes a great deal more than this to make a man a real Christian according to the standard of the Bible. It requires the cooperation of all the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity. The election of God the Father, the blood and intercession of God the Son, the sanctification of God the Spirit, must all meet together on the soul that is to be saved. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit must unite to work the work of making any child of Adam a true Christian.
~J. C. Ryle~
(continued with # 3)
For this heaven we are all by nature utterly unfit. We have no capacity for enjoying its happiness; we have no taste for its blessings; we have no eye to see its beauty; we have no heart to feel its comforts. Instead of freedom, we should find it bondage; instead of glorious liberty, we should find it constant constraint; instead of a splendid palace, we should find it a gloomy prison. A fish on dry land, a sheep in the water, an eagle in a cage, a painted savage in a royal drawing room would all feel more at ease and in their place than a natural man in heaven. "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
For this heaven it is the special office of the Holy Spirit to prepare men's souls. He alone can change the earthly heart, and purify the worldly affections of Adam's children. He alone can bring their minds into harmony with God' and tune them for the eternal company of saints, and angels, and Christ.He alone can make them love what God loves, and hate what God hates, and delight in God's presence. He alone can set the limbs of human nature, which were broken and dislocated by Adam's fall, and bring about a real unity between man's will and God's. And this He does for every one that is saved. It is written of believers that they are "saved according to God's mercy," but it is "by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit." They are chosen unto salvation, but it is "through sanctification of the Spirit," as well as "belief of the truth" (Titus 3:5; 2 Thess. 2:13).
Let this also be written down on the tablet of your memory. No entrance into heaven without the Spirit first entering your heart upon earth! No admission into glory in the next life without previous sanctification in this life! No Holy Spirit in you in this world, - then no heaven in the world to come! You would not be fit for it; you would not be ready for it; you would not like it; you would not enjoy it. There is much use made in the present day of the word "holy." Our ears are wearied with "holy church," and "holy baptism," and "holy days," and "holy water," and "holy services," and "holy priests." But one thing is a thousand times more important: and that is, to be made a really holy man or woman by the Spirit. We must be made partakers of the Divine nature, while we are alive. We must "sow in the Spirit," if we would ever reap life everlasting (2 Peter 1:4; Galatians 6:8).
(c) Remember, for another thing, if you have not the Holy Spirit, you have no right to be considered a true Christian, and no will or power to become one.
It requires little to make a Christian according to the standard of the world. Only let a man be baptized and attend some place of worship, and the requirements of the world are satisfied. The man's belief may not be so intelligent as that of a Turk: he may be profoundly ignorant of the Bible. The man's practice may be no better than that of a heathen: many a respectable Hindu might put him to shame - But what of that? He is an Englishman! He has been baptized! He goes to church or chapel, and behaves decently when there! What more would you have? If you do not call him a Christian you are thought very uncharitable!
But it takes a great deal more than this to make a man a real Christian according to the standard of the Bible. It requires the cooperation of all the Three Persons of the Blessed Trinity. The election of God the Father, the blood and intercession of God the Son, the sanctification of God the Spirit, must all meet together on the soul that is to be saved. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit must unite to work the work of making any child of Adam a true Christian.
~J. C. Ryle~
(continued with # 3)
Before Honor is Humility
Proverbs 15:33
Before honor is humility.
Humiliation of soul always brings a positive blessing with it. If we empty our hearts of self God will fill them with His love. He who desires close communion with Christ should remember the word of the Lord, "To this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at My word." Stoop if you would climb to heaven. Do we not say of Jesus, "He descended that He might ascend"? so must you. You must grow downwards, that you may grow upwards; for the sweetest fellowship with heaven is to be had by humble souls, and by them alone. God will deny no blessing to a thoroughly humbled spirit. "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven," with all its riches and treasures. The whole exchequer of God shall be made over by deed of gift to the soul which is humble enough to be able to receive it without growing proud because of it. God blesses us all up to the full measure and extremity of what it is safe for Him to do. If you do not get a blessing, it is because it is not safe for you to have one. If our heavenly Father were to let your unhumbled spirit win a victory in His holy war, you would pilfer the crown for yourself, and meeting with a fresh enemy you would fall a victim; so that you are kept low for your own safety. When a man is sincerely humble, and never ventures to touch so much as agrain of the praise, there is scarcely any limit to what God will do for him. Humility makes us ready to be blessed by the God of all grace, and fits us to deal efficiently with our fellow men. True humility is a flower which will adorn any garden. This is a sauce with which you may season every dish of life, and you will find an improvement in every case. Whether it be prayer or praise, whether it be work or suffering, the genuine salt of humility cannot be used in excess.
~Charles Spurgeon~
Friday, April 19, 2013
Having the Spirit
"Having not the Spirit" (Jude 19)
I take it for granted that every reader of this paper believes in the Holy Spirit. The number of people in this country who are infidels, deists, or Socinians, and openly deny the doctrine of the Trinity, is happily not very great. Most persons have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. There are few churchmen, at any rate, who have not often heard the well-known words of our old Catechism, "I believe in God the Holy Spirit, who sanctifieth me and all the elect people of God."
But, notwithstanding all this, it would be well for many if they would consider what they know of the Holy Spirit beyond His name. What experimental acquaintance have you with the Spirit's work? What has He done for you? What benefit have you received from Him? You can say of God the Father, "He made me and all the world;" you can say of God the Son, "He died for me and all man-kind:" but can you say anything about the Holy Spirit? Can you say, with any degree of confidence, "He dwells in me, and sanctifies me"? In one word, Have you the Spirit? The text which heads this paper will tell you that there is such a thing as "not having the Spirit." This is the point which I press upon your attention.
I believe the point to be one of vital importance at all seasons. I hold it to be one of special importance in the present day. I consider that clear views about the work of the Holy Spirit are among the best preservatives against the many false doctrines which abound in our times. Suffer me then, to lay before you a few things, which by God's blessing, may throw light on the subject of having the Spirit.
1. Let me explain the immense importance of "Having the Spirit."
2. Let me point out the great general principle by which alone the question can be tried. "Have you the Spirit?"
3. Let me describe the particular effects which the Holy Spirit always produces on the souls in which He dwells.
1. Let me, in the first place, explain the immense importance of having the Spirit.
It is absolutely necessary to make this point clear. Unless you see this I shall appear like one beating the air all through this paper. Once let your mind lay hold on this, and half the work I want to do is already done for your soul.
I can easily fancy some reader saying, "I do not see the use f this question? Supposing I have not the Spirit, where is the mighty harm? I try to do my duty in this world: I attend my church regularly: I receive the Sacrament occasionally: I believe I am as good a Christian as my neighbors. I say my prayers: I trust God will pardon my sins for Christ's sake. I do not see why I should not reach heaven at last, without troubling myself with hard questions about the Spirit."
If these are your thoughts, I entreat you to give me your attention for a few minutes, while I try to supply you with reasons for thinking differently. Believe me, nothing less than your soul's salvation depends on "Having the Spirit." Life or death, heaen or hell, eternal happiness or eternal misery, are bound up with the subject of this paper.
(a) Remember, for one thing, if you have not the Spirit, you have no part in Christ, and no title to heaven.
The words of Paul are express and unmistakable; "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." (Romans 8:9). The words of John are no less clear: "Hereby we know that He abideth in us by the Spirit which He hath given us" (1 John 3:24). The indwelling of God the Holy Spirit is the common mark of all true believers in Christ. It is the Shepherd's mark on the flock of the Lord Jesus, distinguishing them from the rest of the world. It is the goldsmith's stamp on the genuine sons of God, which separates them from the dross and mass of false professors. It is the King's own seal on those who are His peculiar people, proving them to be His own property. It is "the earnest" which the Redeemer gives to His believing disciples while they are in the body, as a pledge of the full and complete "redemption" yet to come in the resurrection morning (Ephesians 1:14). This is the case of all believers. They all have the Spirit.
Let it be distinctly understood that he who has not the Spirit has not Christ. He who has not Christ has no pardon of his sins, no peace with God, no title to heaven, no well-grounded hope of being saved. His religion is like the house built on the sand. It may look well in fine weather. It may satisfy him in the time of health and prosperity. But when the flood rises, and the wind blows, when sickness and trouble come up against him, it will fall and bury him under its ruins. He lives without a good hope, and without a good hope he dies. He will rise again only to be miserable. He will stand in the judgment only to be condemned; he will see saints and angels looking on, and remember he might have been among them, but too late; he wll see lost myriads around him, and fin they cannot comfort him, but too late. This will be the end of the man who thinks to reach heaven without the Holy Spirit.
Settle these things down in your memory, and let them never be forgotten. Are they not worth remembering? No Holy Spirit in you - no part in Christ! No part in Christ, - no forgiveness of sins! No forgiveness of sins, - no peace with God! No peace with God, - no title to heaven! No title to heaven, - no admission into heaven! No admission into heaven, - and what then? What then? You may well ask, whither will you flee? Which way will you turn? To what refuge will you run? There is none at all. There remains nothing but hell. Not admitted into heven, you must sink at last into hell.
i ask every reader to mark well what I say. Perhaps it startles you: but may it not be good for you to be startled? Have I told you anything more than simple scriptural truth? Where is the defective link in the chain of reasoning you have heard? Where is the flaw in the argument? I believe in my conscience there is none. From not having the Spirit to being in hell, there is but a long flight of downward steps. Living with the Spirit, you are already on the top; dying without the Spirit you will find your way to the bottom.
(b) Remember, for another thing, if you have not the Spirit you have no holiness of heart, and no meetness for Heaven.
~J. C. Ryle~
(continued with # 2)
I take it for granted that every reader of this paper believes in the Holy Spirit. The number of people in this country who are infidels, deists, or Socinians, and openly deny the doctrine of the Trinity, is happily not very great. Most persons have been baptized in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. There are few churchmen, at any rate, who have not often heard the well-known words of our old Catechism, "I believe in God the Holy Spirit, who sanctifieth me and all the elect people of God."
But, notwithstanding all this, it would be well for many if they would consider what they know of the Holy Spirit beyond His name. What experimental acquaintance have you with the Spirit's work? What has He done for you? What benefit have you received from Him? You can say of God the Father, "He made me and all the world;" you can say of God the Son, "He died for me and all man-kind:" but can you say anything about the Holy Spirit? Can you say, with any degree of confidence, "He dwells in me, and sanctifies me"? In one word, Have you the Spirit? The text which heads this paper will tell you that there is such a thing as "not having the Spirit." This is the point which I press upon your attention.
I believe the point to be one of vital importance at all seasons. I hold it to be one of special importance in the present day. I consider that clear views about the work of the Holy Spirit are among the best preservatives against the many false doctrines which abound in our times. Suffer me then, to lay before you a few things, which by God's blessing, may throw light on the subject of having the Spirit.
1. Let me explain the immense importance of "Having the Spirit."
2. Let me point out the great general principle by which alone the question can be tried. "Have you the Spirit?"
3. Let me describe the particular effects which the Holy Spirit always produces on the souls in which He dwells.
1. Let me, in the first place, explain the immense importance of having the Spirit.
It is absolutely necessary to make this point clear. Unless you see this I shall appear like one beating the air all through this paper. Once let your mind lay hold on this, and half the work I want to do is already done for your soul.
I can easily fancy some reader saying, "I do not see the use f this question? Supposing I have not the Spirit, where is the mighty harm? I try to do my duty in this world: I attend my church regularly: I receive the Sacrament occasionally: I believe I am as good a Christian as my neighbors. I say my prayers: I trust God will pardon my sins for Christ's sake. I do not see why I should not reach heaven at last, without troubling myself with hard questions about the Spirit."
If these are your thoughts, I entreat you to give me your attention for a few minutes, while I try to supply you with reasons for thinking differently. Believe me, nothing less than your soul's salvation depends on "Having the Spirit." Life or death, heaen or hell, eternal happiness or eternal misery, are bound up with the subject of this paper.
(a) Remember, for one thing, if you have not the Spirit, you have no part in Christ, and no title to heaven.
The words of Paul are express and unmistakable; "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." (Romans 8:9). The words of John are no less clear: "Hereby we know that He abideth in us by the Spirit which He hath given us" (1 John 3:24). The indwelling of God the Holy Spirit is the common mark of all true believers in Christ. It is the Shepherd's mark on the flock of the Lord Jesus, distinguishing them from the rest of the world. It is the goldsmith's stamp on the genuine sons of God, which separates them from the dross and mass of false professors. It is the King's own seal on those who are His peculiar people, proving them to be His own property. It is "the earnest" which the Redeemer gives to His believing disciples while they are in the body, as a pledge of the full and complete "redemption" yet to come in the resurrection morning (Ephesians 1:14). This is the case of all believers. They all have the Spirit.
Let it be distinctly understood that he who has not the Spirit has not Christ. He who has not Christ has no pardon of his sins, no peace with God, no title to heaven, no well-grounded hope of being saved. His religion is like the house built on the sand. It may look well in fine weather. It may satisfy him in the time of health and prosperity. But when the flood rises, and the wind blows, when sickness and trouble come up against him, it will fall and bury him under its ruins. He lives without a good hope, and without a good hope he dies. He will rise again only to be miserable. He will stand in the judgment only to be condemned; he will see saints and angels looking on, and remember he might have been among them, but too late; he wll see lost myriads around him, and fin they cannot comfort him, but too late. This will be the end of the man who thinks to reach heaven without the Holy Spirit.
Settle these things down in your memory, and let them never be forgotten. Are they not worth remembering? No Holy Spirit in you - no part in Christ! No part in Christ, - no forgiveness of sins! No forgiveness of sins, - no peace with God! No peace with God, - no title to heaven! No title to heaven, - no admission into heaven! No admission into heaven, - and what then? What then? You may well ask, whither will you flee? Which way will you turn? To what refuge will you run? There is none at all. There remains nothing but hell. Not admitted into heven, you must sink at last into hell.
i ask every reader to mark well what I say. Perhaps it startles you: but may it not be good for you to be startled? Have I told you anything more than simple scriptural truth? Where is the defective link in the chain of reasoning you have heard? Where is the flaw in the argument? I believe in my conscience there is none. From not having the Spirit to being in hell, there is but a long flight of downward steps. Living with the Spirit, you are already on the top; dying without the Spirit you will find your way to the bottom.
(b) Remember, for another thing, if you have not the Spirit you have no holiness of heart, and no meetness for Heaven.
~J. C. Ryle~
(continued with # 2)
The Necessity of the Cross
What does the cross mean to you? Many people in the world today view it as a symbol of Christianity, but stop and think about what it represented in Christ's day. Nobody wore a miniature cross around the neck or displayed one in a place of worship. The cross was a torturous means of execution, and the mere thought of it was repulsive.
Yet believers throughout the ages have chosen this as the sign of their faith. In fact, to remove the cross from our teaching and theology would leave nothing but an empty, powerless religion. The subjects of death, blood, and sacrifice have become unpopular in many churches because they're unpleasant and uncomfortable topics. We'd prefer to hear about the love of God, not the suffering of Jesus.
But let me ask you this: How could anyone be saved if Christ had not been crucified? Some people think all you have to do to receive God's forgiveness is ask Him for it. But a sinner's request can never be the basis for His forgiveness. He would cease to be holy and just if no penalty was imposed for sin. According to Scripture, there can be no forgiveness without the shedding of blood (Heb. 9:22). Christ had to bear the punishment for our sin in order for God to grant us forgiveness.
Every time you see a cross, remember what it really was--an instrument of execution. Then thank Jesus that He was willing to be crucified so the Father could forgive you of sin. Though the scene of your redemption was horrendous, Christ turned the cross into a place of great triumph.
~Charles Stanley~
Thursday, April 18, 2013
The Holy Spirit # 8
Wherever these five great marks of the Spirit are wanting, we have just cause to be afraid about a man's soul. Visible Churches may endorse him, sacraments may be administered to him, forms of prayer may be read over him, ministers may charitably speak of him as "brother," - but all this does not alter the real state of things. The man is in the broad way that leadeth to destruction. Without the Spirit he is without Christ. Without Christ he is without God. Without God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit, he is in imminent danger. The Lord have mercy upon his soul!
I hasten on now towards a conclusion. I desire to wind up all I have been saying by a few words of direct personal application.
(1) In the first place, let me ask a question of all who real this paper. It is a short and simple one, and grows naturally out of the subject. "Have you, or have you not, the Spirit of Christ?"
I am not afraid to ask this question. I will not be stopped by the commonplace remark that it is absurd, enthusiastic, unreasonable to ask such questions in the present day. I take my stand on a plain declaration of Scripture. I find an inspired Apostle saying, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His." I want to know what can be more reasonable than to press on your conscience the inquiry, "Have you the Spirit of Christ?"
I will not be stopped by the foolish observation, that no man can tell in this world whether or not he has the Spirit. No man can tell! Then what was the Bible given to us for? Where is the use of the Scriptures if we cannot discover whether we are going to heaven or hell? The thing I ask can be known. The evidences of the Spirit's presence in the soul are simple, plain, and intelligible. No honest inquirer needs miss the way in this matter. You may find out whether you have the Holy Spirit.
I entreat you not to evade the question I have now asked. I beseech you to allow it to work inwardly in your heart. I charge you, as ever you would be saved, to give it an honest answer. Baptism, Church-membership, respectability, morality, outward correctness, are all excellent things. But do not be content with them. Go deeper: look further. "Have you received the Holy Spirit? Have you the Spirit of Christ? *
(2) Let me, in the next place, offer a solemn warning to all who feel in their own consciences that they have not the Spirit of Christ. That warning is short and simple, if you have not the Spirit, you are not yet Christ's people: you are "none of His."
Think for a moment how much is involved in those few words, "none of His." You are not washed in Christ's blood! You are not clothed in His righteousness! You are not justified! You are not interceded for! Your sins are yet upon you! The devil claims you for his own! The pit opens her mouth for you! The torments of hell wait for you!
I have no desire to create needless fear. I only want sensible people to look calmly at things as they are. I only want one plain text of Scripture to be duly weighed. It is written "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." And I say in the sight of such a text, if you die without the Spirit, you had better never have been born.
(3) Let me, in the next place, give an earnest invitation to all who feel that they have not the Spirit. That invitation is short and simple. Go and cry to God this day in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and pray for the Holy Spirit to be poured down on your soul.
There is every possible encouragement to do this. There is warrant of Scripture for doing it. "Turn you at my reproof, - I will pour out my Spirit upon you. I will make known my words unto you." If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him." (Proverbs 1:23; Luke 11:13). There is warrant in the experience of thousands for doing it. Thousands will rise at the last day, and testify that when thy prayed they were heart, and when they sought grace, they found it.Above all, there is warrant in the person and character of our Lord Jesus Christ. He waits to be gracious. He invites sinners to come to Him. He rejects none that come. He gives "power to all who receive Him by faith and come to him, to become the sons of God." (John 1:12).
Go then to Jesus, as a needy, wanting, humble, contrite sinner, and you shall not go in vain. Cry to Him mightily about your soul, and you shall not cry to no purpose. Confess to Him your need, and guilt, and fear, and danger, and He will not despise you. Ask, and you shall receive. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened to you. I testify to the chief of sinners this day, that there is enough in Christ, and to spare, for your soul. Come, come: come, this very day. Come to Christ!
(4) Let me, in the last place, give a parting word of exhortation to all readers of this paper who have received the Spirit of Christ, to the penitent, the believing, the holy, the praying, the lovers of the Word of God. That exhortation shall consist of three simple things.
(a) For one thing, be thankful for the Spirit. Who has made you to differ? Whence came all these feelings in your heart, which thousands around you know not, and you yourself knew not at one time? To what do you owe that sense of sin, and that drawing towards Christ, and that hunger and thirst after righteousness, and that taste for the Bible and prayer, which, with all your doubts and infirmities, you find within your soul?
Did these things come of nature? Oh, no! Did you learn these things in the schools of this world? Oh, no: no! They are all of grace. Grace sowed them, grace watered them, grace began them, grace has kept them up. Learn to be more thankful. Praise God more every day you live: praise Him more in private, praise Him more in public, praise Him in your own family, praise Him above all in your own heart. This is the way to be in tune for heaven. The anthem there will be, "What hath God wrought?"
(b) For another thing, be filled with the Spirit. Seek to be more and more under His blessed influence. Strive to have every thought, and word, and action, and habit, brought under obedience to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. Grieve Him not by inconsistencies and conformity to the world. Quench Him not by trifling with little infirmities and small besetting sins. Seek rather to have Him ruling and reigning more completely over you every week that you live. Pray that you may yearly grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ. This is the way to do good to the world. An eminent Christian is a light-house, seen far and wide by others, and doing good to myriads, whom he never knows. This is the way to enjoy much inward comfort in this world, to have bright assurance in death, to leave broad evidences behind us, and at last to receive a great crown.
(c) Finally, pray daily for a great outpouring of the Spirit on the Church and on the world. This is the grand want of the day: it is the thing that we need far more than money, machinery, and men. The "company of preachers" in Christiandom is far greater than it was in the days of Paul; but the actual spiritual work done in the earth, in proportion to the means used, is undoubtedly far less. We want more of the presence of the Holy Spirit, more in the pulpit, and more in the congregation, more in the pastoral visit, and more in the school. Where He is, there will be life, health, growth, and fruitfulness. Where He is not, all will be dead, tame, formal, sleepy and cold. Then let every one who desires to see an increase of pure and undefiled religion, pray daily for more of the presence of the Holy Spirit in every branch of the visible Church of Christ.
~J. C. Ryle~
* It is a good sign of grace when a man is willing to search and examine himself, whether he be gracious or not. There is a certain instinct in a child of God, whereby he naturally desires to have the title of his legitimation tried; whereas a hypocrite dreads nothing more than to have his rottenness searched into." (Hopkins)
I hasten on now towards a conclusion. I desire to wind up all I have been saying by a few words of direct personal application.
(1) In the first place, let me ask a question of all who real this paper. It is a short and simple one, and grows naturally out of the subject. "Have you, or have you not, the Spirit of Christ?"
I am not afraid to ask this question. I will not be stopped by the commonplace remark that it is absurd, enthusiastic, unreasonable to ask such questions in the present day. I take my stand on a plain declaration of Scripture. I find an inspired Apostle saying, "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of His." I want to know what can be more reasonable than to press on your conscience the inquiry, "Have you the Spirit of Christ?"
I will not be stopped by the foolish observation, that no man can tell in this world whether or not he has the Spirit. No man can tell! Then what was the Bible given to us for? Where is the use of the Scriptures if we cannot discover whether we are going to heaven or hell? The thing I ask can be known. The evidences of the Spirit's presence in the soul are simple, plain, and intelligible. No honest inquirer needs miss the way in this matter. You may find out whether you have the Holy Spirit.
I entreat you not to evade the question I have now asked. I beseech you to allow it to work inwardly in your heart. I charge you, as ever you would be saved, to give it an honest answer. Baptism, Church-membership, respectability, morality, outward correctness, are all excellent things. But do not be content with them. Go deeper: look further. "Have you received the Holy Spirit? Have you the Spirit of Christ? *
(2) Let me, in the next place, offer a solemn warning to all who feel in their own consciences that they have not the Spirit of Christ. That warning is short and simple, if you have not the Spirit, you are not yet Christ's people: you are "none of His."
Think for a moment how much is involved in those few words, "none of His." You are not washed in Christ's blood! You are not clothed in His righteousness! You are not justified! You are not interceded for! Your sins are yet upon you! The devil claims you for his own! The pit opens her mouth for you! The torments of hell wait for you!
I have no desire to create needless fear. I only want sensible people to look calmly at things as they are. I only want one plain text of Scripture to be duly weighed. It is written "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." And I say in the sight of such a text, if you die without the Spirit, you had better never have been born.
(3) Let me, in the next place, give an earnest invitation to all who feel that they have not the Spirit. That invitation is short and simple. Go and cry to God this day in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, and pray for the Holy Spirit to be poured down on your soul.
There is every possible encouragement to do this. There is warrant of Scripture for doing it. "Turn you at my reproof, - I will pour out my Spirit upon you. I will make known my words unto you." If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him." (Proverbs 1:23; Luke 11:13). There is warrant in the experience of thousands for doing it. Thousands will rise at the last day, and testify that when thy prayed they were heart, and when they sought grace, they found it.Above all, there is warrant in the person and character of our Lord Jesus Christ. He waits to be gracious. He invites sinners to come to Him. He rejects none that come. He gives "power to all who receive Him by faith and come to him, to become the sons of God." (John 1:12).
Go then to Jesus, as a needy, wanting, humble, contrite sinner, and you shall not go in vain. Cry to Him mightily about your soul, and you shall not cry to no purpose. Confess to Him your need, and guilt, and fear, and danger, and He will not despise you. Ask, and you shall receive. Seek, and you shall find. Knock, and it shall be opened to you. I testify to the chief of sinners this day, that there is enough in Christ, and to spare, for your soul. Come, come: come, this very day. Come to Christ!
(4) Let me, in the last place, give a parting word of exhortation to all readers of this paper who have received the Spirit of Christ, to the penitent, the believing, the holy, the praying, the lovers of the Word of God. That exhortation shall consist of three simple things.
(a) For one thing, be thankful for the Spirit. Who has made you to differ? Whence came all these feelings in your heart, which thousands around you know not, and you yourself knew not at one time? To what do you owe that sense of sin, and that drawing towards Christ, and that hunger and thirst after righteousness, and that taste for the Bible and prayer, which, with all your doubts and infirmities, you find within your soul?
Did these things come of nature? Oh, no! Did you learn these things in the schools of this world? Oh, no: no! They are all of grace. Grace sowed them, grace watered them, grace began them, grace has kept them up. Learn to be more thankful. Praise God more every day you live: praise Him more in private, praise Him more in public, praise Him in your own family, praise Him above all in your own heart. This is the way to be in tune for heaven. The anthem there will be, "What hath God wrought?"
(b) For another thing, be filled with the Spirit. Seek to be more and more under His blessed influence. Strive to have every thought, and word, and action, and habit, brought under obedience to the leadings of the Holy Spirit. Grieve Him not by inconsistencies and conformity to the world. Quench Him not by trifling with little infirmities and small besetting sins. Seek rather to have Him ruling and reigning more completely over you every week that you live. Pray that you may yearly grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Christ. This is the way to do good to the world. An eminent Christian is a light-house, seen far and wide by others, and doing good to myriads, whom he never knows. This is the way to enjoy much inward comfort in this world, to have bright assurance in death, to leave broad evidences behind us, and at last to receive a great crown.
(c) Finally, pray daily for a great outpouring of the Spirit on the Church and on the world. This is the grand want of the day: it is the thing that we need far more than money, machinery, and men. The "company of preachers" in Christiandom is far greater than it was in the days of Paul; but the actual spiritual work done in the earth, in proportion to the means used, is undoubtedly far less. We want more of the presence of the Holy Spirit, more in the pulpit, and more in the congregation, more in the pastoral visit, and more in the school. Where He is, there will be life, health, growth, and fruitfulness. Where He is not, all will be dead, tame, formal, sleepy and cold. Then let every one who desires to see an increase of pure and undefiled religion, pray daily for more of the presence of the Holy Spirit in every branch of the visible Church of Christ.
~J. C. Ryle~
* It is a good sign of grace when a man is willing to search and examine himself, whether he be gracious or not. There is a certain instinct in a child of God, whereby he naturally desires to have the title of his legitimation tried; whereas a hypocrite dreads nothing more than to have his rottenness searched into." (Hopkins)
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