Identification of the Godly # (2 and others)
Fifth, if you frankly ascribe to God all the good that is in you - then you have a humble heart. If you freely own that all your springs are in Him, that He has wrought all your works in you (Isaiah 26:12), if you honestly disclaim any credit to yourself for any good thing - then your pride has been slain before God - and that is what most matters! If the language of your heart really is, "by the grace of God, I am what I am" (1 Cor. 15:10), my "sufficiency is of God" (2 Cor. 3:5), that He has worked in me both to will and to do of His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13) - then most assuredly, your pride has been subdued. In such case, you will gladly unite in declaring, "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us - but unto your name give glory!" (Psalm 115:1). You will take no credit for - nor should you deny the existence of a humble heart - but will unhesitatingly give God all the honor and praise for it.
How thankful we should be that Scripture does not say, God dwells only in those who have complete victory over sin, or those who enjoy unbroken and unclouded communion with Him. Had those been the distinguishing features named - then everyone of us might well despair - most certainly, they had excluded or "cut off" this writer. But we say again, a contrite and humble spirit takes in every regenerate soul. And if you, my reader, measuring yourself by what has been pointed out, above, can discern such fruits and evidences of contrition and humility - then so far from its being presumptuous for you to look upon yourself as one saved and indwelt by God, it would be most wicked presumption for you to do otherwise.
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
_____________________
Deceitfulness of Sin
All sin takes its origin from false views of things. Our first parents would never have sinned - had they not been deceived by the tempter. Eve saw that the forbidden fruit was beautiful, and she was persuaded also good for food, that is, pleasant to the taste and nutritious. Here was a deception. This fruit was never intended for nourishment, whatever might have been its flavor. It was intended for trial, and not for food.
By the greatest deception practiced on our first mother by the arch deceiver was, that the eating of this food would make her wise to know good and evil, even as it is known to God. The deceitful words of the tempter wrought this unfounded persuasion in her mind. The desire of knowledge is natural, a part of man's original constitution, as well as the appetite for food; but these natural propensities are not to be indulged by every means, and gratified on all occasions, but should be kept under the government of reason and conscience. The brutes were made to be governed by appetite and instinct; but man is the subject of law, and he cannot but feel the binding obligation of law. He is a moral agent, and may properly be subjected to a trial whether he will obey the law of his Creator.
How widely different does sin appear after it is committed - from what it did before. Passion or craving appetite creates a false medium by which the unwary soul is deceived, and led into transgression. After our first parents sinned, "their eyes were opened." A sense of guilt unknown before now seized them, and this was like a new vision - not of beauty, but odious deformity. Innocence was lost. Shame and confusion take the place of peace and purity. Unhappy change! The guilty pair are now sensible of their great mistake, of their guilty act, of their disgraceful condition, of their ruined state. Their whole race is ruined! What will they do when their Creator shall make His usual visit - heretofore so delightful and instructive? Hark, He comes - His voice is heard in the garden. The wretched culprits are seized with terror and consternation. Guilt causes them to flee from the presence of the best and kindest of fathers. They try to hide themselves. They run into the densest thickets of the trees of the garden. But they cannot conceal themselves from the eye of Omniscience. They cannot escape from the arm of the Almighty, much less resist His power.
Behold, the Creator not finding His creature man in his proper place, sends forth a voice, which must have been like the most terrible thunder, when the awful sound penetrated his ear, and resounded through his whole soul: "Adam, where are you?" Trembling, the guilty pair come forth to meet the frowns of a displeased and righteous Judge. We need pursue the interesting history no farther at present.
From this first transgression, by which sin entered into the world, we may form some idea of its deceitful nature. This first sin is a sort of example of all other sins. As they flow from this as streams from a fountain, they all partake of the poison of their origin. In all sin there is some bait - some apparent good - some expectation of pleasure or profit from unlawful indulgence. In all sin the mind is under a delusive influence. Right thought and motives are for the moment forgotten or overborne; the attention, like the eye of a beguiled bird, is fixed on a point from which it cannot be withdrawn. The enticement prevails, and guilt is contracted.
~Archibald Alexander~
(The End)
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Secret Sins! # 2
Secret Sins! # 2
Sin is like a candle, where the shining is first within and then bursting out at the windows. Sin is like boils and ulcerous, corrupt, putrid sores below the skin. They are first inside the skin, and afterwards they break out to the view on the outside. So it is with sin. It is a malignant internal cancer, diffusing itself into several secret acts and workings within the mind. Often it breaks out and dares manifest itself to the eye of the world.
But why should we desire to be cleansed from secret sins, from either secret evil thoughts or secret evil desires? Because secret sins will become public sins, if they are not dealt with. If you do not suppress them in their root, you shall shortly see them break out in the fruit.
Let a man set up any sin in delightful contemplation and meditation, and that same inward acting of his sins eventually casts him upon the outward actings of them. This is the least that it does. Sins nurtured in the mind, often ripen into open sin in the life.
Besides that, secret sin prepares him for a temptation that suits his evil thoughts. satan shall not need to tempt him much, who has already tempted himself.
Secret sins are apt to deceive us most. They are most apt to prevail with us:
First, because we do not have that strict and spiritual judgment of inward sins, like we do of outward sins. Many times we conceive of them as no sins at all, or else as slight sins. To draw a sword and run a man through the heart - O this is a fearful murder! To draw a false word and to pierce through his good name slanderously - we also imagine that this may be bad. But to kill a man with malicious thoughts, with revengeful plots and desires, nay, this is scarcely thought as a sinful matter, or at least very excusable.
Beloved, it is the nature of sins of thought to imagine that they are a mere trifle, and not sins at all.
Most sinners shun sin in outward respects. They do not live in and visibly commit such sins because they fear the shame and are afraid of punishment. No law of man can reach, and no eye of man can search, into our secret sinnings!
In secret sins, there are at least three horrible sins that you commit at once: First, perhaps that very sin which you would so conceal, may be a sin of the deepest dye. Yes, mark this: the most damnable sins are usually such that are committed in secret, as Sodom's adulteries, and such fearful kinds of pollutions, murders, and blasphemies, etc.
Second, hypocrisy, which is a screen to your sin - is a holy cover for an unholy heart! This makes the sinner so much the more vile in God's eyes, by how much the more that he not only sins against God, but wrests, as it were, something from God to cover and palliate his rebellion against Him.
A third is atheism. Even if he is not a formal atheist - yet he is a virtual atheist. It is as if God were not God in secret, but only in public. It is as if God could see in the light, and not in the darkness. It is as if God's eye is as the eye of a man - whereas He is a universal eye and sees everything.
Out occasions to sin, can incline to secret sinnings. Beloved, there lies a snare against us in almost all society with men. We have such vile natures that as a spark of fire will easily kindle a box of dry tinder - just a word spoken, many times, kindles a world of evil passion, of malice, of revenge within us! Yes, a look often begets in us secret disdain and discontent! Yes, the casting of an eye may inflame the heart with excess of lust. Need we not then, putting all these things together, to search our inward frame to see what care we should have about and against secret sinnings?
~Obadiah Sedgwick~
(The End)
Sin is like a candle, where the shining is first within and then bursting out at the windows. Sin is like boils and ulcerous, corrupt, putrid sores below the skin. They are first inside the skin, and afterwards they break out to the view on the outside. So it is with sin. It is a malignant internal cancer, diffusing itself into several secret acts and workings within the mind. Often it breaks out and dares manifest itself to the eye of the world.
But why should we desire to be cleansed from secret sins, from either secret evil thoughts or secret evil desires? Because secret sins will become public sins, if they are not dealt with. If you do not suppress them in their root, you shall shortly see them break out in the fruit.
Let a man set up any sin in delightful contemplation and meditation, and that same inward acting of his sins eventually casts him upon the outward actings of them. This is the least that it does. Sins nurtured in the mind, often ripen into open sin in the life.
Besides that, secret sin prepares him for a temptation that suits his evil thoughts. satan shall not need to tempt him much, who has already tempted himself.
Secret sins are apt to deceive us most. They are most apt to prevail with us:
First, because we do not have that strict and spiritual judgment of inward sins, like we do of outward sins. Many times we conceive of them as no sins at all, or else as slight sins. To draw a sword and run a man through the heart - O this is a fearful murder! To draw a false word and to pierce through his good name slanderously - we also imagine that this may be bad. But to kill a man with malicious thoughts, with revengeful plots and desires, nay, this is scarcely thought as a sinful matter, or at least very excusable.
Beloved, it is the nature of sins of thought to imagine that they are a mere trifle, and not sins at all.
Most sinners shun sin in outward respects. They do not live in and visibly commit such sins because they fear the shame and are afraid of punishment. No law of man can reach, and no eye of man can search, into our secret sinnings!
In secret sins, there are at least three horrible sins that you commit at once: First, perhaps that very sin which you would so conceal, may be a sin of the deepest dye. Yes, mark this: the most damnable sins are usually such that are committed in secret, as Sodom's adulteries, and such fearful kinds of pollutions, murders, and blasphemies, etc.
Second, hypocrisy, which is a screen to your sin - is a holy cover for an unholy heart! This makes the sinner so much the more vile in God's eyes, by how much the more that he not only sins against God, but wrests, as it were, something from God to cover and palliate his rebellion against Him.
A third is atheism. Even if he is not a formal atheist - yet he is a virtual atheist. It is as if God were not God in secret, but only in public. It is as if God could see in the light, and not in the darkness. It is as if God's eye is as the eye of a man - whereas He is a universal eye and sees everything.
Out occasions to sin, can incline to secret sinnings. Beloved, there lies a snare against us in almost all society with men. We have such vile natures that as a spark of fire will easily kindle a box of dry tinder - just a word spoken, many times, kindles a world of evil passion, of malice, of revenge within us! Yes, a look often begets in us secret disdain and discontent! Yes, the casting of an eye may inflame the heart with excess of lust. Need we not then, putting all these things together, to search our inward frame to see what care we should have about and against secret sinnings?
~Obadiah Sedgwick~
(The End)
Saturday, July 13, 2019
Identification of the Godly # 1
Identification of the Godly # 1
"For this is what the high and lofty One says - He who lives forever, whose name is holy: I live in a high and holy place, but also with Him who is of a contrite and humble spirit" (Isaiah 57:15).
Here we have a distinct, though brief, description of those whom the high and lofty One inhabits. Contrition and humility are the identifying marks of the particular characters in whom the Holy One dwells.
That description applies to and is common to all the regenerate. "Him who is of a contrite and humble spirit" is not a delineation of a few exceptionally eminent saints who constitute a special class all to themselves - but depicts all who are truly saved. So far from those marks belonging only to certain highly favored souls that have far out-stripped their fellows in spiritual attainments, they are found in every one who has been born again. That is clear from Romans 8:9-11: God indwells all the regenerate, for "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ - he does not belong to Him"; and compare Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 2:22.
Now if the reader will carefully and honestly examine himself in the mirror of the Word, he should have no difficulty in discovering whether or not those two features are stamped upon him. The Hebrew word for "contrite" means "bruised" or "beaten," as an object that comes under the pestle or hammer. That at once reminds us of Jeremiah 23:29: "Is not my word like as a fire? says the Lord; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" Fire in the conscience (Deu. 32:22), and a hammer on the heart. When God's Word is applied in power, it convicts the sinner of his awful sinfulness; and when a crucified Christ is revealed to him, he mourns for his sins as one mourns for his only son (Zec. 12:10). Contrition then is a feeling sense of the heinousness and loathsomeness of sin. It causes us to grieve over it with godly sorrow.
If sin is hateful to you, if the plague of your heart is your sorest grief, if you mourn over your corruptions - then you have a "contrite" spirit.
But it is rather upon the second of those marks we wish to dwell, for many of God's little ones deprive themselves of legitimate assurance because of ignorance on this subject. A humble spirit or heart is an infallible sign of regeneration, for the unregenerate are proud, self-satisfied, self-righteous. Yet the very mention of the word "humility" seems to cut off many Christians. As they examine themselves, they discover so much pride at work within, that they are quite unable to persuade themselves that they have a humble heart. It seems to them that humility is one thing they most evidently lack. Now it will no doubt be a startling statement - but we unhesitatingly affirm that the great majority of God's people are not less - but far more humble than they suppose. That is a fact, and we propose to now furnish clear and full proof of the same, and in language which we trust the simplest will be able to grasp. Attend closely then to what follows.
First, that the Christian reader possesses a humble heart is plain from the fact that he confesses himself to be a hell-deserving sinner. We do not have in mind what you think or say of yourself when in the company of your fellows - but rather what you feel and say of yourself when alone with God. Whatever pretenses you are guilty of before men - and none of us can plead guiltless there, for we naturally want people to think well of us and are hurt if they do not - when in the presence of the Omniscient One, you are real, sincere, and genuine. Now, dear reader, be honest with yourself: When on your knees before the Throne of Grace, do you freely and frankly acknowledge that if you received your lawful due, you would even now - be suffering the dreadful fires of hell? If so, a miracle of grace must have been wrought within you. No unregenerate person will or can honestly make such a confession to God, for he does not feel he has done anything deserving of eternal punishment!
Second, if you own that "all your righteous acts a are like filthy rags," that is proof you possess a humble heart. Of course, we mean much more than your merely uttering those words as a parrot might, or even singing then during some religious service. We mean that when you are in the presence of the Lord - which is always the surest test - you personally realize that you have nothing whatever of your own to commend you to His favorable regard, that there is not a single meritorious deed standing to your credit before Him. We mean that, when bowed in His presence, in the calmness and quietness of your prayer closet, you own without any qualification that your best performances are defiled by sin - and that in yourself, you are a filthy pauper!
If that is indeed your language before God - it most certainly issues from a humble heart. The heart of the natural man thinks and feels the very opposite, and can no more loathe himself - than transform himself into a holy angel.
Third, if you receive everything in the Scriptures as a little child - that is another proof that a miracle of grace has been wrought within you and that you now possess a humble heart. By nature, we are "wise and prudent" in our own esteem.
The enmity of the proud carnal mind rises up against the sovereignty of God, making one vessel to honor and another to dishonor; against the spirituality and strictness of the Divine Law, which curses all who deviate the slightest from its holy demands; against the endless punishment of all dying out of Christ. But the regenerate, though there is much they do not understand, accept without murmur or question - all that is revealed in the Word. If you do, that is proof that your pride has been abased before God.
Fourth, if you mourn over the wretched returns you make unto God, that is further evidence of a humble heart. Nor is this a point difficult to determine. There is no need for you to make a mystery out of it. You know whether you do or do not sorrow over the response you make unto God, for all His goodness unto you. Your know whether or not you feel you have ill requited Him, for the multitude of His favors and mercies. You know whether you do or do not grieve over the coldness of your heart, in answer to His loving-kindness; the weakness of your faith, in view of His promises; the feebleness and perhaps the absence of your praise and thanksgiving, for His long-suffering and faithfulness. If you do make conscience of these things, mourn over them and confess them - though not as feelingly as you ought - that is another proof of a humble heart. As it is faith, and not the strength of it, which saves; so it is such mourning, and not the depth of it, which evidences its spirituality.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
"For this is what the high and lofty One says - He who lives forever, whose name is holy: I live in a high and holy place, but also with Him who is of a contrite and humble spirit" (Isaiah 57:15).
Here we have a distinct, though brief, description of those whom the high and lofty One inhabits. Contrition and humility are the identifying marks of the particular characters in whom the Holy One dwells.
That description applies to and is common to all the regenerate. "Him who is of a contrite and humble spirit" is not a delineation of a few exceptionally eminent saints who constitute a special class all to themselves - but depicts all who are truly saved. So far from those marks belonging only to certain highly favored souls that have far out-stripped their fellows in spiritual attainments, they are found in every one who has been born again. That is clear from Romans 8:9-11: God indwells all the regenerate, for "if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ - he does not belong to Him"; and compare Galatians 2:20, Ephesians 2:22.
Now if the reader will carefully and honestly examine himself in the mirror of the Word, he should have no difficulty in discovering whether or not those two features are stamped upon him. The Hebrew word for "contrite" means "bruised" or "beaten," as an object that comes under the pestle or hammer. That at once reminds us of Jeremiah 23:29: "Is not my word like as a fire? says the Lord; and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?" Fire in the conscience (Deu. 32:22), and a hammer on the heart. When God's Word is applied in power, it convicts the sinner of his awful sinfulness; and when a crucified Christ is revealed to him, he mourns for his sins as one mourns for his only son (Zec. 12:10). Contrition then is a feeling sense of the heinousness and loathsomeness of sin. It causes us to grieve over it with godly sorrow.
If sin is hateful to you, if the plague of your heart is your sorest grief, if you mourn over your corruptions - then you have a "contrite" spirit.
But it is rather upon the second of those marks we wish to dwell, for many of God's little ones deprive themselves of legitimate assurance because of ignorance on this subject. A humble spirit or heart is an infallible sign of regeneration, for the unregenerate are proud, self-satisfied, self-righteous. Yet the very mention of the word "humility" seems to cut off many Christians. As they examine themselves, they discover so much pride at work within, that they are quite unable to persuade themselves that they have a humble heart. It seems to them that humility is one thing they most evidently lack. Now it will no doubt be a startling statement - but we unhesitatingly affirm that the great majority of God's people are not less - but far more humble than they suppose. That is a fact, and we propose to now furnish clear and full proof of the same, and in language which we trust the simplest will be able to grasp. Attend closely then to what follows.
First, that the Christian reader possesses a humble heart is plain from the fact that he confesses himself to be a hell-deserving sinner. We do not have in mind what you think or say of yourself when in the company of your fellows - but rather what you feel and say of yourself when alone with God. Whatever pretenses you are guilty of before men - and none of us can plead guiltless there, for we naturally want people to think well of us and are hurt if they do not - when in the presence of the Omniscient One, you are real, sincere, and genuine. Now, dear reader, be honest with yourself: When on your knees before the Throne of Grace, do you freely and frankly acknowledge that if you received your lawful due, you would even now - be suffering the dreadful fires of hell? If so, a miracle of grace must have been wrought within you. No unregenerate person will or can honestly make such a confession to God, for he does not feel he has done anything deserving of eternal punishment!
Second, if you own that "all your righteous acts a are like filthy rags," that is proof you possess a humble heart. Of course, we mean much more than your merely uttering those words as a parrot might, or even singing then during some religious service. We mean that when you are in the presence of the Lord - which is always the surest test - you personally realize that you have nothing whatever of your own to commend you to His favorable regard, that there is not a single meritorious deed standing to your credit before Him. We mean that, when bowed in His presence, in the calmness and quietness of your prayer closet, you own without any qualification that your best performances are defiled by sin - and that in yourself, you are a filthy pauper!
If that is indeed your language before God - it most certainly issues from a humble heart. The heart of the natural man thinks and feels the very opposite, and can no more loathe himself - than transform himself into a holy angel.
Third, if you receive everything in the Scriptures as a little child - that is another proof that a miracle of grace has been wrought within you and that you now possess a humble heart. By nature, we are "wise and prudent" in our own esteem.
The enmity of the proud carnal mind rises up against the sovereignty of God, making one vessel to honor and another to dishonor; against the spirituality and strictness of the Divine Law, which curses all who deviate the slightest from its holy demands; against the endless punishment of all dying out of Christ. But the regenerate, though there is much they do not understand, accept without murmur or question - all that is revealed in the Word. If you do, that is proof that your pride has been abased before God.
Fourth, if you mourn over the wretched returns you make unto God, that is further evidence of a humble heart. Nor is this a point difficult to determine. There is no need for you to make a mystery out of it. You know whether you do or do not sorrow over the response you make unto God, for all His goodness unto you. Your know whether or not you feel you have ill requited Him, for the multitude of His favors and mercies. You know whether you do or do not grieve over the coldness of your heart, in answer to His loving-kindness; the weakness of your faith, in view of His promises; the feebleness and perhaps the absence of your praise and thanksgiving, for His long-suffering and faithfulness. If you do make conscience of these things, mourn over them and confess them - though not as feelingly as you ought - that is another proof of a humble heart. As it is faith, and not the strength of it, which saves; so it is such mourning, and not the depth of it, which evidences its spirituality.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
Secret Sins! # 1
Secret Sins! # 1
"How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults!" (Psalm 19:12).
It is the desire of a holy person to be cleansed, not only from public sins, but also from private and secret sins. "O wretched man! Who shall deliver me?" (Romans 7:24), said Paul. Why, O blessed Apostle! What is it that bewilders you? What is it that molests you? Your life, you say, was unblamably before your conversion and since your conversion (Phil. 3:4-7). You have exercised yourself to have a conscience void of offence toward God and men (Acts 24:16). Yet you cry out, "O wretched man!" Yet you complain, "Who shall deliver me?"
Truly, brethren, it was not sin abroad, but at home. It was not sin without, but his sin within. It was not Paul's sinning with man, but Paul's sinning with Paul. It was that "law of his members" warring secretly within him against "the law of his mind" (Romans 7:23). This made that holy man to cry out so, to complain so.
The private and secret birth of corruption within Paul, was the cause of his trouble. That was the ground of his complaint, "Who shall deliver me?" I remember that the same Paul advised the Ephesians to put off the former conduct so that they could put on the renewed spirit of the mind - intimating that there are sins that are lurking within, as well as sins walking about (Eph. 4:22-23).
True Christians must not only sweep the door, but wash the chamber also. My meaning is this: We are not only to come off from sins that lie open in the conduct, but also labor to be cleansed from sins and sinning that remain secret and hidden in the spirit and inner disposition.
In What Respects Are Sins Called Secret?
For the resolution of this, know that sin has a double reference:
It may refer to God. And so no sin or manner of sinning is really secret. "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?" said the Lord. "Do not I fill Heaven and earth?" said the Lord in Jeremiah 23:24).
It is true that wicked men with an atheistic folly imagine hiding themselves and their sinful ways from God. "Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plane from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think "Who sees us? Who will know? (Isaiah 29:15).
Yet there stands no cloud, nor curtain, nor moment of darkness or secrecy between the eyes of God and the ways of man. "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." (Heb. 4:13).
Sin may also refer to man. And thus, indeed, comes in the division of sin into first, open sin - and second, secret sin. Now, in this respect, sin may be termed secret in these ways:
1. In respect of the person sinning: when his very sinning, formally considered, is hidden himself. He does a thing that is really sinful, but he does not apprehend it to be so. We see this in the outrages Paul breathed out against the Church in the times of his ignorance - which he did not know to be acts of sin, but thought to be motions of a warranted zeal. In this sense, all the obliquities that may be fastened, at least upon ignorance, may be called secret sins.
2. In respect of the manner of sinning - thus sins may be termed secret either when they are colored and disguised, though they fly abroad - yet not under that name of sin, but appareled with some semblances of virtues.
When they are kept off from the stage of the world. They are like fire in the chimney. Though you do not see it, yet it burns.
When they are kept not only from the public eye, but also from our own eye. The carnal eye of him who commits the sins, does not see them. He does see them with the eye of conscience, but not with an eye of natural sense. Even those persons with whom he converses and who highly commend his ways, cannot yet see the secret discoursings and actings of sin in his mind and heart.
Brethren, not all of these actings of sin are external! They are not all visible. But there are some, yes, the most dangerous sins acting within the soul, where corruption lies as a fountain and a root. The heart of man is a well of wickedness. A man says in his heart, that which he dares not speak with his tongue; and his thoughts will do that which his hands dare not execute. Well then, sin may be called secret, when it is sin and acted as sin in the heart, where none but God and conscience can see.
~Obadiah Sedgwick~
(continued with # 2)
"How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults!" (Psalm 19:12).
It is the desire of a holy person to be cleansed, not only from public sins, but also from private and secret sins. "O wretched man! Who shall deliver me?" (Romans 7:24), said Paul. Why, O blessed Apostle! What is it that bewilders you? What is it that molests you? Your life, you say, was unblamably before your conversion and since your conversion (Phil. 3:4-7). You have exercised yourself to have a conscience void of offence toward God and men (Acts 24:16). Yet you cry out, "O wretched man!" Yet you complain, "Who shall deliver me?"
Truly, brethren, it was not sin abroad, but at home. It was not sin without, but his sin within. It was not Paul's sinning with man, but Paul's sinning with Paul. It was that "law of his members" warring secretly within him against "the law of his mind" (Romans 7:23). This made that holy man to cry out so, to complain so.
The private and secret birth of corruption within Paul, was the cause of his trouble. That was the ground of his complaint, "Who shall deliver me?" I remember that the same Paul advised the Ephesians to put off the former conduct so that they could put on the renewed spirit of the mind - intimating that there are sins that are lurking within, as well as sins walking about (Eph. 4:22-23).
True Christians must not only sweep the door, but wash the chamber also. My meaning is this: We are not only to come off from sins that lie open in the conduct, but also labor to be cleansed from sins and sinning that remain secret and hidden in the spirit and inner disposition.
In What Respects Are Sins Called Secret?
For the resolution of this, know that sin has a double reference:
It may refer to God. And so no sin or manner of sinning is really secret. "Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him?" said the Lord. "Do not I fill Heaven and earth?" said the Lord in Jeremiah 23:24).
It is true that wicked men with an atheistic folly imagine hiding themselves and their sinful ways from God. "Woe to those who go to great depths to hide their plane from the Lord, who do their work in darkness and think "Who sees us? Who will know? (Isaiah 29:15).
Yet there stands no cloud, nor curtain, nor moment of darkness or secrecy between the eyes of God and the ways of man. "Nothing in all creation is hidden from God's sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." (Heb. 4:13).
Sin may also refer to man. And thus, indeed, comes in the division of sin into first, open sin - and second, secret sin. Now, in this respect, sin may be termed secret in these ways:
1. In respect of the person sinning: when his very sinning, formally considered, is hidden himself. He does a thing that is really sinful, but he does not apprehend it to be so. We see this in the outrages Paul breathed out against the Church in the times of his ignorance - which he did not know to be acts of sin, but thought to be motions of a warranted zeal. In this sense, all the obliquities that may be fastened, at least upon ignorance, may be called secret sins.
2. In respect of the manner of sinning - thus sins may be termed secret either when they are colored and disguised, though they fly abroad - yet not under that name of sin, but appareled with some semblances of virtues.
When they are kept off from the stage of the world. They are like fire in the chimney. Though you do not see it, yet it burns.
When they are kept not only from the public eye, but also from our own eye. The carnal eye of him who commits the sins, does not see them. He does see them with the eye of conscience, but not with an eye of natural sense. Even those persons with whom he converses and who highly commend his ways, cannot yet see the secret discoursings and actings of sin in his mind and heart.
Brethren, not all of these actings of sin are external! They are not all visible. But there are some, yes, the most dangerous sins acting within the soul, where corruption lies as a fountain and a root. The heart of man is a well of wickedness. A man says in his heart, that which he dares not speak with his tongue; and his thoughts will do that which his hands dare not execute. Well then, sin may be called secret, when it is sin and acted as sin in the heart, where none but God and conscience can see.
~Obadiah Sedgwick~
(continued with # 2)
Saturday, July 6, 2019
Cross Bearing # 4 (and others)
Cross Bearing # 4 (and others)
Again, in the 20th chapter of John, Christ said to His disciples, "As the Father has sent Me - even so I send you." What was Christ sent here to do? To glorify the Father; to express God's love; to manifest God's grace; to weep over Jerusalem; to have compassion on the ignorant and those that are out of the way; to toil so assiduously that He had no leisure so much as to eat; to live a live of such self-sacrifice that even His kinfolk said, "He's out of His mind!" And, "as the Father has sent Me, even so," says Christ, "I send you." In other words, I send you back into the world - out of which I have saved you. I send you back into the world - to live with the cross stamped upon you. O brethren and sisters, how little "blood" there is in our lives! How little is there the bearing of the dying of Jesus in our bodies! (2 Corinthians 4:10).
Have we begun to "take up the cross" at all? Is there any wonder that we are following Him at such a distance? Is there any wonder that we have such little victory over the power of indwelling sin? There is a reason for that. Mediatorially, the Cross of Christ stands alone - but experimentally the Cross is to be shared by all His disciples. Legally the Cross of Calvary annulled and put away our guilt, the guilt of our sins; but, my friends, I am perfectly convinced that the only way of getting deliverance from the power of sin in our lives and obtaining mastery over the old man within us - is by the cross becoming a part of the experience of our souls! It was at the Cross, that sin was dealt with legally and judicially. It is only as the Cross is "taken up" by the disciple that it becomes an experience, slaying the power and defilement of sin within us. And Christ says, "Whoever does not bear his cross, cannot be My disciple." O what need has each Christian here this morning to get alone with the Master, and consecrate Himself to His service!
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
___________________________
Growing Worse?
One of the last lessons we effectually learn,is that true godliness is a constant conflict in a believer's heart - between sin and holiness.
Some sincere mistake a clearer view, and deeper sense of their depravity, for an actual increase of sin. The Christian seems sometimes to himself, to be growing worse, when actually it is only that he sees more clearly what in fact he really is!
In the early stages of our Christian life, we have usually but a slender acquaintance with the evil of our sinfulness, and the depravity of our heart. The mind is so much taken up with pardon and eternal life, that it is but imperfectly acquainted with those depths of deceit and wickedness, which lie hidden in itself.
At first we seem to feel as if the serpent were killed. But we soon find that he was only asleep - for by the warmth of some fiery temptation, he is revived and hisses at us again!
Nothing astonishes an inexperienced believer more than the discoveries he is continually making of the evils of his heart. Corruption which he never dreamed to be in him, are brought out by some new circumstances.
It is like turning up the soil, which brings out worms and insects, which did not appear upon the surface.
Or to vary the illustration, his increasing knowledge of God's holy nature, of the perfect law, and the example of Christ - is like opening the shutters, and letting light into a dark room, the filth of which, the inhabitant did not see until the sunbeams disclosed it to him.
~John Angell James~
Again, in the 20th chapter of John, Christ said to His disciples, "As the Father has sent Me - even so I send you." What was Christ sent here to do? To glorify the Father; to express God's love; to manifest God's grace; to weep over Jerusalem; to have compassion on the ignorant and those that are out of the way; to toil so assiduously that He had no leisure so much as to eat; to live a live of such self-sacrifice that even His kinfolk said, "He's out of His mind!" And, "as the Father has sent Me, even so," says Christ, "I send you." In other words, I send you back into the world - out of which I have saved you. I send you back into the world - to live with the cross stamped upon you. O brethren and sisters, how little "blood" there is in our lives! How little is there the bearing of the dying of Jesus in our bodies! (2 Corinthians 4:10).
Have we begun to "take up the cross" at all? Is there any wonder that we are following Him at such a distance? Is there any wonder that we have such little victory over the power of indwelling sin? There is a reason for that. Mediatorially, the Cross of Christ stands alone - but experimentally the Cross is to be shared by all His disciples. Legally the Cross of Calvary annulled and put away our guilt, the guilt of our sins; but, my friends, I am perfectly convinced that the only way of getting deliverance from the power of sin in our lives and obtaining mastery over the old man within us - is by the cross becoming a part of the experience of our souls! It was at the Cross, that sin was dealt with legally and judicially. It is only as the Cross is "taken up" by the disciple that it becomes an experience, slaying the power and defilement of sin within us. And Christ says, "Whoever does not bear his cross, cannot be My disciple." O what need has each Christian here this morning to get alone with the Master, and consecrate Himself to His service!
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
___________________________
Growing Worse?
One of the last lessons we effectually learn,is that true godliness is a constant conflict in a believer's heart - between sin and holiness.
Some sincere mistake a clearer view, and deeper sense of their depravity, for an actual increase of sin. The Christian seems sometimes to himself, to be growing worse, when actually it is only that he sees more clearly what in fact he really is!
In the early stages of our Christian life, we have usually but a slender acquaintance with the evil of our sinfulness, and the depravity of our heart. The mind is so much taken up with pardon and eternal life, that it is but imperfectly acquainted with those depths of deceit and wickedness, which lie hidden in itself.
At first we seem to feel as if the serpent were killed. But we soon find that he was only asleep - for by the warmth of some fiery temptation, he is revived and hisses at us again!
Nothing astonishes an inexperienced believer more than the discoveries he is continually making of the evils of his heart. Corruption which he never dreamed to be in him, are brought out by some new circumstances.
It is like turning up the soil, which brings out worms and insects, which did not appear upon the surface.
Or to vary the illustration, his increasing knowledge of God's holy nature, of the perfect law, and the example of Christ - is like opening the shutters, and letting light into a dark room, the filth of which, the inhabitant did not see until the sunbeams disclosed it to him.
~John Angell James~
Cross Bearing # 3
Cross Bearing # 3
Yes, the reproach of the world becomes very real - if we are following Christ closely. No man can keep in with the world - and follow Him.
Another young man came and presented himself to Christ and fell at His feet and worshiped Him and said, "Master, what good thing shall I do?" and the Lord presented to him the cross. "Sell all that you have and give to the poor - and come and follow Me. And the young man went away sorrowful." Christ is still saying to you and to I this morning, "Whoever does not bear his cross, and come after Me - cannot be My disciple." The cross stand for the reproach and the hatred of the world. But as the cross was voluntary for Christ, so it is for His disciple. It can either be avoided or accepted. It can either be ignored or "taken up"!
But secondly, the Cross stands for a life that is voluntarily surrendered to the will of God. From the standpoint of the world, the death was a voluntary sacrifice. Turn for a moment to the 10th chapter of John, beginning at the 17th verse: "Therefore does My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man takes it from Me - but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." Why did He thus lay down His life? Look at the closing sentence of verse 18: "This commandment have I received of My Father." The Cross was the last demand of God upon the obedience of His Son. That is why we read in Phil. 2 that, He "made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death" (that was the climax, that was the end of the path of obedience), "even the death of the Cross!"
Christ has left us an example that we should follow His steps. The obedience of Christ should be the obedience of the Christian - voluntary, not compulsory; continuous, faithful, without any reserve, unto death. The Cross then stands for obedience, consecration, surrender, a life placed at the disposal of God. "If any man will come after Me - and "Whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me - cannot be My disciple." In other words, dear friends, the Cross stands for the principle of discipleship, our life being actuated by the same principle that Christ's was. He made Himself of no reputation: so must I. He went about doing good: so should I. He came not to be ministered unto - but to minister; so should we. He became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. That is what the Cross stands for:
First, the reproach of the world - because we have antagonized it, raised its ire by separating ourselves from it, and are walking on a different plane - because we are actuated by different principles, from those by which it walks.
Second, a life sacrificed unto God - laid down in devotion to Him.
In the third place, the Cross stands for vicarious sacrifice and suffering. Turn to the first Epistle of John, the third chapter, verse 16, "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us - and we ought to lay down our lives." That is the logic of Calvary. We are called unto fellowship with Christ, our lives to be lived by the same principles that His was lived by - obedience to God, sacrifice for others. He died that we might live and, my friends - we have to die (to self) that we may live.
Look at the 25th verse of Matthew 16, "For whoever will save his life - shall lose it." That means every Christian, for Christ was speaking there to disciples. Every Christian who has lived a self-centered life, considering his own comforts, his own peace of mind, his own welfare, his own advantages and benefits - that "life" is going to be lost forever - all wasted so far as eternity is concerned; wood, hay and stubble - which will go up in smoke! But "whoever will lose his life for My sake," that is, whoever has not lived his life considering his own well-being, his own interests, his own profit, his own advancement - but has sacrificed that life, has spent it in the service of others for Christ's sake - he shall find life! That life has been built of imperishable materials which will survive the testing fire in the day to come. He shall find "LIFE". Christ died that we might live; and we have to die - if we are to live! "Whoever will lose his life for My sake - shall find it."
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 4)
Yes, the reproach of the world becomes very real - if we are following Christ closely. No man can keep in with the world - and follow Him.
Another young man came and presented himself to Christ and fell at His feet and worshiped Him and said, "Master, what good thing shall I do?" and the Lord presented to him the cross. "Sell all that you have and give to the poor - and come and follow Me. And the young man went away sorrowful." Christ is still saying to you and to I this morning, "Whoever does not bear his cross, and come after Me - cannot be My disciple." The cross stand for the reproach and the hatred of the world. But as the cross was voluntary for Christ, so it is for His disciple. It can either be avoided or accepted. It can either be ignored or "taken up"!
But secondly, the Cross stands for a life that is voluntarily surrendered to the will of God. From the standpoint of the world, the death was a voluntary sacrifice. Turn for a moment to the 10th chapter of John, beginning at the 17th verse: "Therefore does My Father love Me, because I lay down My life, that I might take it again. No man takes it from Me - but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again." Why did He thus lay down His life? Look at the closing sentence of verse 18: "This commandment have I received of My Father." The Cross was the last demand of God upon the obedience of His Son. That is why we read in Phil. 2 that, He "made Himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death" (that was the climax, that was the end of the path of obedience), "even the death of the Cross!"
Christ has left us an example that we should follow His steps. The obedience of Christ should be the obedience of the Christian - voluntary, not compulsory; continuous, faithful, without any reserve, unto death. The Cross then stands for obedience, consecration, surrender, a life placed at the disposal of God. "If any man will come after Me - and "Whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me - cannot be My disciple." In other words, dear friends, the Cross stands for the principle of discipleship, our life being actuated by the same principle that Christ's was. He made Himself of no reputation: so must I. He went about doing good: so should I. He came not to be ministered unto - but to minister; so should we. He became obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross. That is what the Cross stands for:
First, the reproach of the world - because we have antagonized it, raised its ire by separating ourselves from it, and are walking on a different plane - because we are actuated by different principles, from those by which it walks.
Second, a life sacrificed unto God - laid down in devotion to Him.
In the third place, the Cross stands for vicarious sacrifice and suffering. Turn to the first Epistle of John, the third chapter, verse 16, "Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down His life for us - and we ought to lay down our lives." That is the logic of Calvary. We are called unto fellowship with Christ, our lives to be lived by the same principles that His was lived by - obedience to God, sacrifice for others. He died that we might live and, my friends - we have to die (to self) that we may live.
Look at the 25th verse of Matthew 16, "For whoever will save his life - shall lose it." That means every Christian, for Christ was speaking there to disciples. Every Christian who has lived a self-centered life, considering his own comforts, his own peace of mind, his own welfare, his own advantages and benefits - that "life" is going to be lost forever - all wasted so far as eternity is concerned; wood, hay and stubble - which will go up in smoke! But "whoever will lose his life for My sake," that is, whoever has not lived his life considering his own well-being, his own interests, his own profit, his own advancement - but has sacrificed that life, has spent it in the service of others for Christ's sake - he shall find life! That life has been built of imperishable materials which will survive the testing fire in the day to come. He shall find "LIFE". Christ died that we might live; and we have to die - if we are to live! "Whoever will lose his life for My sake - shall find it."
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 4)
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