The Holiness Of God # 1

 The Holiness Of God # 1

"Who shall not fear You, O Lord, and glorify Your name? For You alone are holy." (Revelation 15:4). God only is independently, infinitely, immutably holy. In Scripture He is frequently styled "The Holy ONE." He is so because the sum of all moral excellency is found in Him. He is absolute Purity, unsullied even by the shadow of sin. "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all." (1 John 1:5).

Holiness is the very excellency of the divine nature: the great God is "glorious in holiness" (Exodus 15:11). Therefore do we read, "You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity." (Habakkuk 1:13).

As God's power is the opposite of the native weakness of the creature; as His wisdom is in complete contrast from the least defect of understanding or folly; so His holiness is the very antithesis of all moral blemish or defilement. Of old God appointed singers in Israel "that should praise the beauty of holiness." (2 Chronicles 20:21).

"Power is God's arm;

omniscience is His eye;

mercy is His duration, 

but holiness is His beauty." (Charnock)

It is this, supremely, which renders God lovely to those who are delivered from sin's dominion. A chief emphasis is placed upon this perfection of God:

"God is more often styled Holy than Almighty, and set forth by this part of His dignity more than by any other. This is more fixed on as an epithet to His name than any other. You never find it expresses "His mighty name" or "His wise name" but His great name, and most of all, His holy name. This is the greatest title of honor; in His holiness does the majesty and venerableness of His name appear." (Charnock)

This perfection, as none other, is solemnly celebrated before the Throne of Heaven, the seraphim crying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord Almighty." (Isaiah 6:3). God Himself singles out this perfection, "Once have I sworn by My holiness." (Psalm 89:35). God swears by His "holiness" because that is a fuller expression of Himself than anything else. Therefore we are exhorted, "Sing unto the Lord, O saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness." (Psalm 30:4). 

"Holiness may be said to be a transcendental attribute, that, as it were, runs through the rest, and casts luster upon them. It is the attribute of attributes. Thus we read: "the beauty of the Lord" which is none other than "the beauty of holiness." (Psalm 110:3).

"As holiness seems to claim an excellency above all His other perfections, so it is the glory of all His attributes. As it is the glory of the Godhead, so it is the glory of every perfection in the Godhead; as His power is the strength of all His attributes, so His holiness is the beauty of them. As all His attributes would be weak without almightiness to back them, so all would be unlovely without holiness to adorn them. Should His holiness be sullied, all the rest would lose their honor; as at the same instant the sun should lose its light, it would lose the heat, its strength, its generative and quickening virtue. As sincerity is the luster of every grace in a Christian, so is purity the splendor of every attribute in the Godhead. His justice is a holy justice, His wisdom is a holy wisdom, His power is a "holy arm". His truth or promise is a holy promise. His name, which signifies all His attributes in conjunction is "holy."

God's holiness is manifested in His works. "The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works." (Psalm 145:17). Nothing but that which is excellent can proceed from Him.

Holiness is the rule of all His actions. At the beginning He pronounced all that He made "very good", which He could not have done had there been anything imperfect or unholy in them. Man was made "upright" (Ecc. 7:29), in the image and likeness of his Creator. The angels that fell were created holy, for we are told that they "kept not their first habitation" (Jude 6). Of satan it is written, "You were perfect in your ways from the day that you were created, until iniquity was found in you." (Ezekiel 28:15).

~A. W. Pink~

(continued with # 2)

Think On These Things # 2

 Think On These Things # 2

We are continually meeting those who are discouraged, who have fallen under the shadow of misfortune, who have done wrong, perhaps, and are suffering in reputation; or who have been unjustly treated - and are enduring the sting. These are the people to whom our love should go out in words of hope and cheer, instead of blame.

One of the most significant words of personal experience in the Old Testament, is that in which David tells us, at the close of his wonderful life, that all he had attained and achieved he owed to God's gentleness. "Your gentleness has made me great!" If God had been harsh with him - stern, critical, severely exacting, David never would have reached the noble life, with its wonderful achievements, which he finally attained. If God had been severe with him after his falls and failures, David never would have risen to power and distinction. God's gentleness made him great. We can help others to become great only by being patient with them. Men and women everywhere need nothing so much as gentleness.

Are not many of us too brusque with each other? Do we not lack in kindliness, in patience, in tenderness? Some men would have to believe that gentleness is an unmanly quality. But it is not; rudeness and harshness are always unmanly, gentleness is divine. For many people, life is not easy, and we make it very much harder for them to live worthily - when we deal harshly, when we are exacting, when we chide or blame them, or when we exercise our wits in saying smart, cutting, and irritating things to annoy and vex them. If was said of William Cullen Bryant, that he treated every neighbor as if he were an angel in disguise. That is, he had a feeling akin to reverence for everyone who entered his presence. We do not know to who we are speaking, when we meet a stranger. Let us treat him as the poet did his neighbor - as if he were an angel.

Someone defines a gentlemen, as one who never needlessly causes pain to another. If we are followers of Christ, we have no right to be ungentle, to be ill-mannered, to act disagreeably, and to treat anyone rudely, brusquely. "If there is any virtue, if there is any thing praiseworthy, think on these things." We should never forget the teaching of our Master - that the hungry person we feed in His name, the sick person we visit, the stranger to whom we show kindness, the discouraged person we encourage, the fainting one we lift up and start on his way again - is the Master Himself. "Inasmuch as you did it unto one of these y brethren, even these least - you did it unto Me." How would we treat Jesus if we found Him in any condition of need? That is to be the test in our dealings with men. We dare not to be ungentle to anyone - it may be an angel in disguise; it may be Christ Himself!

The teaching applies to our own personal experience of sorrow. We should seek the line of brightness in any dark picture, and think of that. And there always are breaks in the clouds through which we can see the blue and the stars. No lot in life is ever so utterly hopeless as to have in it nothing to alleviate its unhappiness. There is always something of brightness, one line, at least, in the darkest experience.

There always are comforts, no matter how great the sorrow. Every cloud has in it some bit of silver lining. There are hopes, consolations, encouragements, in every experience of grief or loss, and we are to think of these - and not alone of the sad elements in the experience.

Think of the good - not the evil. Think on the loveliness - not on the disfigurements. Think on pure - not on the soiled. Think on the hopeful things in others - their possibilities of nobleness, not on their faults. In sorrow find the face of Christ, and gaze on that until you forget your grief in all life, if there is any virtue, any thing pariseworthy, any beauty, any joy - think on these things, and it will lift up your life into strength, nobleness, divineness!

~J. R. Miller~

(The End)

Think On These Things # 1

 Think On These Things # 1

There are certain habits of life, which are far reaching in their influence. The habit of cheerfulness, for instance, is said to be of great worth to a person. The habit of being always an encourager, never a discourager, gives incalculable value to one's personality and influence. A discourager is a misanthrope. He makes life harder for every other life he touches, and an encourager is a constant inspiration to others, and makes life easier for everyone.

There is another habit of life, which if it were to become universal would change many things - namely, the habit of always seeing the good in people, in conditions, in circumstances, and in experiences. Paul suggests it, when he says in a remarkable passage, "If there is any virtue, and if there is any thing praiseworthy - think on these things." (Philippians 4:8). The emphasis seems to be on "any" - if there is any virtue, even the last, in another, if there is in a life which seems almost wholly bad, even the smallest thing that is good - we are to find that and to think upon that mere speck of beauty, rather than on the much that is evil and unbeautiful. If there is in a person, any thing praiseworthy, any smallest quality or act that is worthy of praise, of which we can speak with even the faintest approval and commendation, we should give thought to that, and voice our appreciation, rather than think and speak of the many things in the person that are not good or praiseworthy.

It is easy to think of reasons why this is the Christian way. It is Christ's way with us. If there is anything good, even the faintest spark of virtue or hope in a life - Christ sees it. He is looking for good and hopeful things. Some people see only the faults and flaws in the lives of others - they are looking for these things - blemishes, defects, imperfections. They are never trying to find anything beautiful, and they find what they seek. Our Master, however, is looking for things that are praiseworthy - good beginnings of better things.

Someone asked the curator of an academy of fine arts, regarding the pictures of a certain artist: "What do you consider the defects in his work?" The answer was, "We do not look for defects here - but for excellences." It is thus that our Master does in our lives - He does not look for the imperfections, of which there always are many - but for things that are worthy of commendation. If there is any virtue - He finds it, takes notes of it, nourishes it, and woos it out. If Christ looked upon us as we too often look upon others - seeing the flaws, the shortcomings, the inconsistencies, the failures - and judged us by these, not many of us ever would grow into beauty. But where there is even a spark of good he finds it, and cultivates it into His best possibilities.

We shall never become of much use in the world - until we learn this lesson of always finding and encouraging the best. We shall never lift up anyone to a higher, better life - until we have found in him something to approve and commend. There are some men and women who wish to help others, to be of use to them - but work after a wrong method. They think they must eliminate the faults and defects which they find - and so they watch for things they cannot approve. They have keen eyes for specks and blemishes - none are too small for them to see - but they never see the beautiful things in another. The Master refers to such people, in His teaching about motes and beams. He would have us to look for the good, not the evil, in others.

There is no life so devoid of beauty and good - that it has in it nothing worthy of commendation. Ruskin found even in the mud of London streets, the elements out of which gems are formed - the opal, the sapphire, the diamond. The love of Christ finds even in the moral refuse of this world possibilities of loveliness in character and heavenliness in life. We cannot do anything to help men - by indulging in criticism and denunciation. We can call out the good in others only as the sun woos out the plants and flowers from the cold earth in the springtime - by its warmth. If the friends of men, finding the smallest beginnings of virtue and encouraging them - the earth would soon be changed into a garden!

~J. R. Miller~

(continued with # 2)

Pharisees And Sadducees # 9

 Pharisees And Sadducees # 9

I desire to impress the immense importance of these four points upon all who read this paper:

(a) Clear views of the sinfulness of human nature.

(b) Clear views of the inspiration of Scripture.

(c) Clear views of the Atonement and Priestly office of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

(d) Clear views of the work of the Holy Spirit.

I believe that false doctrines about the church, the ministry, and the Sacraments, about the love of God, the death of Christ, and the eternity of punishment - will find no foothold in the heart which is sound on these four points. I believe that they are four great safeguards against the yeast of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees.

I will now conclude this paper with a few remarks by way of PRACTICAL APPLICATION. My desire is to make the whole subject useful, to those into whose hands these pages may fall, and to supply an answer to the questions which may possibly arise in some hearts. What are we do do? What advice have you got to offer for these times?

(1) In the first place, I will ask every reader of this paper to find out whether he has "saving personal religion for his own soul." This is the principal thing, after all. It will profit no man to belong to a sound visible church - if he does not himself belong to Christ. It will avail a man nothing to be intellectually sound in the faith, and to approve sound doctrine - if he is not himself sound at heart. Is this the case with you? Can you say that your heart is right in the sight of God? Is it renewed by the Holy Spirit? Does Christ dwell in it by faith? O, rest not, rest not - until you can give a satisfactory answer to these questions! The man who dies unconverted, however sound his views - is as truly lost forever as the worst Pharisee or Sadducee that ever lived!

(2) In the next place, let me entreat every reader of this paper who desires to be sound in the faith - to study the Bible diligently. That blessed book is given to be a light to our feet, and a lantern to our path. No man who reads it reverently, prayerfully, humbly, and regularly - shall ever be allowed to miss the way to heaven! By it every sermon, and every religious book, and every ministry ought to be weighed and proved.

(3) In the next place, let me adivse every reader of this paper who has reason to hope that he is sound in faith and heart, to "take heed to the PROPORTION of truths." I mean by that, to impress the importance of giving each truth of Christianity the same place and position in our hearts - which is given to it in God's Word. The first things not to be put second - and the second things must not be put first in our religion. The church must not be put above Christ. Ministers must not be exalted above the place assigned to them by Christ. Means of grace must not be regarded as an end instead of a means. Attention to this point is of great consequence; the mistakes which arise from neglecting it are neither few nor small. Here lies the immense importance of studying the whole Word of God, omitting nothing, and avoiding partiality in reading one part more than another.

(4) In the next place, let me entreat every true hearted servant of Christ "not to be deceived by the superficial disguise" under which false doctrines often approach our souls in the present day. Beware of supposing that a teacher of religion is to be trusted, because although he holds some unsound views - that he yet "teaches a great deal of truth." Such a teacher is precisely the man to do you harm! Poison is always given in small doses and mixed with wholesome food.

It is a dreadful fact that "satan himself masquerades as an angel of life." There is no greater common notion that "if a man is serious about his religion - he must be a good man!" Beware of being carried away by this delusion

(5) In the next place, let me counsel every true servant of Christ - to "examine his own heart" frequently and carefully as to his state before God. This is a practice which is useful at all times. We ought to watch our hearts with double-watchfulness. Give more time to meditation, and reflection.

(6) Last of all, let me urge all true believers "to contend for the faith that was once for all entrusted to the saints." We have no cause to be ashamed of that faith. We have the truth, and we need to stand up boldly for Evangelical religion. We need not be afraid to say so. The judgment day will prove who is right - and to that day we may boldly appeal!

~J. C. Ryle~

(The End)

Pharisees And Sadducees # 8

 Pharisees And Sadducees # 8

Furthermore, we must boldly maintain that this Word of God is the only rule of faith and of practice - that whatever is not written in it - cannot be required of any man as needful of salvation; and that however plausibly new doctrines may be defended, if they are not in the Word of God - they cannot be worth our attention. It matters nothing who says a thing, whether he be bishop or minister; pastor or pope. It matters nothing that the thing is well said, eloquently, attractively, forcibly, and in such a way as to turn the laugh against you. We are not to believe it except it is proved to us by Holy Scripture.

Last - but not least, we must use the Bible as if we believed it was given by inspiration. We must use it with reverence, and read it with all the tenderness with which we would read the words of an absent father. We must not expect to find no mysteries in a book inspired by the Spirit of God. We must rather remember that in nature there are many things we cannot understand; and that as it is in the book of nature, so it will always be in the book of Revelation.

We should draw near to the Word of God in that spirit of piety recommended by Lord Bacon many years ago. "Remember," he says, speaking of the book of nature, "that man is not the master of that book - but the interpreter of that book." And as we deal with the book of nature, so we must deal with the Book of God. We must draw near to it, not to teach - but to learn, not like the master of it - but like a humble scholar, seeking to understand it.

(c) For another thing, we must take heed to our doctrine respecting "the atonement and priestly office of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." We must boldly maintain that the death of our Lord on the Cross was no common death. It was not the death of a martyr. It was not the death of one who only died to give us a mighty example of self-sacrifice and self-denial. The death of Christ was an offering up to God of Christ's own body and blood, to make an atoning sacrifice for man's sin and transgressions. This sacrifice was typified in every offering of the Mosaic law - a sacrifice of the mightiest influence on all mankind. Without the shedding of that blood there could not be, there never was to be, any remission of sin.

Furthermore, we must boldly maintain that this crucified Saviour evermore sits at the right hand of God, to make intercession for all who come to God by Him; that He there represents and pleads for those who put their trust in Him; and that He has delegated His office of Priest and Mediator to no man, or set of men on the face of the earth. We need none besides. We need no Virgin Mary, no angels, no saint, no priest, no person ordained or unordained - to stand between us and God - but the one Mediator, Christ Jesus.

Furthermore, we must boldly maintain that peace of conscience is not to be brought by confession to a priest, and by receiving a man's absolution from sin. It is to be had only by going to the great High Priest, Christ Jesus; by confession before Him, not before man. Absolution can come from Him who alone can say, "Your sins are forgiven! Go in peace!"

Last - but not least, we must boldly maintain that peace with God, once obtained by faith in Christ, is to be kept up, not by mere outward ceremonial acts of worship, not by receiving the sacrament of the Lord's Supper every day - but by the daily habit of looking to the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, eating by faith His body, and drinking by faith His blood; that eating and drinking of which our Lord says that he who eats and drinks shall find His "body to be food indeed - and His blood to be drink indeed."

Godly John Owen declared, long ago, that if there was any one point more than another that satan wished to overthrow, it was the Priestly office of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. "satan knew well," he said, that it was the "principle foundation of faith and consolation of the Church." Right views about Christ's office, are of essential importance in the present day, if men would not fall into error.

(d) One more remedy I must mention. We must take heed to our doctrine about "the work of the Holy Spirit." Let us settle it in our minds, that His work is no uncertain invisible operation on the heart - and that where He is, He is not hidden, not unfelt, not unobserved. We believe that the rain, when it falls, can be felt. We believe that where there is life in a man - it can be seen and observed by his breath. So is it with the influence of the Holy Spirit. No man has any right to lay claim to it - except its fruits, its experimental effects, can be seen  in his life. Where He is, there will ever be new knowledge, new faith, new holiness, new fruits in the life, in the family, in the world, in the church. And where these new things are not seen, we may well say, with confidence, that there is no work of the Holy Spirit in that person. These are times in which we all need to be on our gurard about the doctrine of the work of the Spirit. One said, long ago, that the time would perhaps come when men might have to be martyrs for the work of the Holy Spirit. That time seems not far distant. At any rate, if there is one truth in religion which seems to have more contempt showered upon it than another, it is the work of the Holy Spirit.

~J. C. Ryle~

(continued with # 9)

Pharisees And Sadducees # 7

 Pharisees And Sadducees # 7

IV. I propose in the fourth and last place, to suggest some SAFEGUARDS and treatment against the dangers of the present day - the yeast of the Pharisees and the yeast of the Sadducees.

I feel that we all need more and more, the presence of the Holy Spirit in our hearts, to guide, to teach, and to keep us sound in the faith. We all need to watch more, and to pray to be held up, and preserved from falling away. But still, there are certain great truths, which, in a day like this, we are specially bound to keep in mind. There are times when some common epidemic invades a land, when medicines, at all times valuable, become of special value. there are places where an uncommon malaria prevails, in which remedies, in every place valuable, are more than ever valuable in consequence of it.

So I believe there are times and seasons in the Church of Christ when we are bound to tighten our hold upon certain great leading truths, to grasp them with more than ordinary firmness in our hands, to press them to our hearts, and not to let them go. Such doctrines I desire to set forth in order, as the great prescription against the yeast of the Pharisees and of the Sadducees. When Saul and Jonathan were slain by the archers, David ordered the children of Israel to be taught the use of the bow.

(a) For one thing, if we would be kept sound in the faith, we must take heed to our doctrine about the "total corruption of human nature." The corruption of human nature is no slight thing. It is no partial, skin-deep disease - but a radical and universal corruption of man's will, intellect, affections, and conscience. We are not merely poor and pitiable sinners in God's sight - we are guilty sinners; we are blameworthy sinners; we deserve justly God's wrath and God's condemnation. I believe there are very few errors and false doctrines of which the beginning may not be traced up to unsound views about the corruption of human nature. Wrong views of a disease will always bring with them wrong views of the remedy. Wrong views of the corruption of human nature will always carry with them wrong views of the grand treatment and cure of that corruption.

(b) For another thing, we must take heed to our doctrine about "the inspiration and authority of the Holy Scriptures." Let us boldly maintain, in the face of all the opposers, that the whole of the Bible is given by inspiration of the Holy Spirit, that all is inspired completely, not one part more than another, and that there is an entire gulf between the Word of God and any other book in the world. We need not be afraid of difficulties in the way of the doctrine of absolute inspiration. There may be many things about it, which are far too high for us to comprehend. Scripture inspiration is a miracle, and all miracles are necessarily mysterious. But if we are not to believe anything until we can entirely explain it, there are very few things indeed that we shall believe.

We need not be afraid of all the assaults which criticism brings to bear upon the Bible. From the days of the apostles the Word of God have been incessantly "tried" and has never failed to come forth as gold, uninjured, and spotless.

We need not be afraid of the discoveries of science. Astronomers may sweep the heavens with telescopes, and geologists may dig down into the heart of the earth - and never shake the authority of the Bible! "The voice of God, and the work of God's hands - never will be found to contradict one another." We need not be afraid of the researches of travelers. They will never discover anything which contradicts God's Bible. I believe that if a man were to go over all the earth and dig up a hundred buried Ninevehs, there would not be found a single inscription which would contradict a single fact in the Word of God!

~J. C. Ryle~

(continued with # 8)

Pharisees and Sadducees # 6

Pharisees and Sadducees # 6

I consider the most dangerous champion of the Sadducee school, is not the man who tells you openly that he wants you to lay aside any part of the truth, and to become a free-thinker and a skeptic. It is the man who begins with quietly insinuating doubts as to the position that we ought to take up about religion, doubts whether we ought to be so positive in saying "this is truth, and that falsehood," doubts whether we ought to think men wrong who iffer from us on religious opinions, since they may after all be as much right as we are. It is the man who tells us we ought not to condemn anybody's views, lest we err on the side of the lack of love. It is the man who always begins talking in a vague way about God being a God of love, and hints that we ought to believe perhaps that all men, whatever doctrine they profess, will be saved. It is the man who is ever reminding us that we ought to take care how we think lightly of men of powerful minds, and great intellects (though they are deists and skeptics), who do not think as we do, and that, after all, "great minds are all more or less, taught of God!" It is the man who is ever harping on the difficulties of inspiration, and raising questions whether all men may not be found saved in the end, and whether all may be right in the sight of God. It is the man who crowns this kind of talk by a few calm sneers against whet he is pleased to call "old-fashioned views," and "narrow-minded theology," and "bigotry," and the "lack of liberality and love," in the present day. But when men begin to speak to us in this kind of way, then is the time to stand upon our guard. Then is the time to remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and "Be careful and be on your guard against the yeast!"

Once more, why do I say this? I say it because there is no security against Sadduceeism, any more than against Phariseeism, unless we resist its principles in the bud! Beginning with a little vague talk about "love," you may end in the doctrine of universal salvation, fill heaven with a mixed multitude of wicked as well as godly, and deny the existence of hell. Beginning with a few high-sounding phrases about intellect and the inner light in man, you may end with denying the work of the Holy Spirit, and maintaining that Homer and Shakespeare were as truly inspired as Paul, and thus practically casting aside the Bible. Beginning with some dreamy, misty idea about "all religions containing more or less truth," you may end with utterly denying the necessity of missions, and maintaining that the best plan is to leave everybody alone. Beginning with dislike to "Evangelical religion," as old-fashioned, narrow, and exclusive - you may end by rejecting every leading doctrine of Christianity - the atonement, the need of divine grace, and the divinity of Christ.

Let us be on our guard against the "insidiousness" of false doctrine. Like the fruit of which Adam and Eve ate, at first sight it looks pleasant and good, and a thing to be desired. "Poison" is not written upon it, and so people are not afraid. Like counterfeit coin, it is not stamped "bad." It passes for the real thing, because of the very likeness it bears to the truth. Let us be on our guard against the "very small beginnings" of false doctrine. Every heresy began at one time, with some little departure from the truth. There is only "a little seed of error" needed to create a great tree of heresy. It is the little stones which make up the mighty building. It was the little pieces of lumber, which made the great ark that carried Noah and his family over a deluged world. It is the little leaven which the whole lump. It is the little flaw in one link of the chain which wrecks the gallant ship, and drowns the crew. It is the omission or addition of one little item in the doctor's prescription, which spoils the whole medicine, and turns it into poison. We do not tolerate quietly a little dishonesty, or a little cheating, or a little lying. Just so, let us never allow a little false doctrine to ruin us, by thinking it is but a "little one," and can do no harm. The Galatians seemed to be doing nothing very dangerous when they 'were observing special days and months and seasons and years," yet Paul says, "I fear for you" (Galatians 4:10, 11).

Finally, let us be on our guard against supposing that "we at any rate are not in danger." "Our views are sound, our feet stand firm. Others may fall away - but we are safe!" Hundreds have thought the same, and have come to a dreadful end. In their self-confidence they tampered with little temptations, and little forms of false doctrine; in their self-conceit, they went near the brink of danger; and now they seem lost forever! They appear given over to a strong delusion, so as to believe a lie. Some of them are praying to the Virgin Mary, and bowing down to images. Others of them are casting overboard one doctrine after another, and are stripping themselves of every sort of religion, but a few scraps of Deism. Very striking is the vision in Pilgrim's Progress, which describes the hill error as "very steep on the farthest side," and "when Christian and Hopeful looked down they saw at the bottom, several men dashed all to pieces by a fall they had from the top." Never, never let us forget the caution to beware of "yeast;" and if we think we stand, let us "be careful that we don't fall!"

~J. C. Ryle~

(continued with # 7)