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)
Saturday, July 13, 2019
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)
Saturday, June 29, 2019
Cross Bearing # 2
Cross Bearing # 2
I want to call your attention to the context. Turn with me for a moment to Matthew 16, verse 21: "From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him." He was staggered and said, "Pity Yourself, Lord!" That expressed the policy of the world. That is the sum of the world's philosophy - self-shielding and self-seeking; but that which Christ preached was not spare yourself - but sacrifice yourself. The Lord Jesus saw in Peter's suggestion a temptation from satan - and He flung it away from Him. Then He turned to His disciples and said, "if any man will come after Me - let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." In other words, what Christ said was this: I am going up to Jerusalem to the Cross - if anyone would be My follower - there is a cross for him. And, as Luke 14 says, "Whoever does not bear his cross - cannot be My disciple." Not only must Jesus go to Jerusalem and be killed - but everyone who comes after Him must take up his cross. The "must" is as imperative in the one care as in the other. Mediatorially, the Cross of Christ stands alone - but experimentally it is shared by all who enter into eternal life.
Now then, what does "the cross" stand for? What did Christ mean when He said that "unless a man takes up his cross?" My friends, it is deplorable that at this late date, such a question needs to be asked; and it is more deplorable still, that the vast majority of God's own people have such unscriptural conceptions of what the "cross" stands for. The average Christian seems to regard the cross in this text, as any trial or trouble that may be laid upon him. Whatever comes up that disturbs our peace, that is unpleasing to the flesh, or that irritates our temper - is looked upon as a cross. One says, "Well, that is my cross," and another says, "Well, this is my cross," and someone else says something else is their cross. My friends, the word is never so used in the New Testament!
The word "cross" is never found in the plural number, nor is it ever found with the indefinite article before it, "a cross." Note also that in our text the cross is linked to a verb in the active voice and not the passive. It is not a cross that is laid upon us - but a cross which must be "taken up!" The cross stands for definite realities which embody and express the leading characteristics of Christ's agony.
Others understand the "cross" to refer to disagreeable duties which they reluctantly discharge - or to fleshly habits which they grudgingly deny. They imaging that they are cross-bearing when, prodded at the point of conscience, they abstain from things earnestly desired. Such people invariable turn their cross into a weapon with which to assail other people. They parade their self-denial and go around insisting that others should follow them. Such conceptions of the cross areas Pharisaical as false, and as mischievous as they are erroneous!
Now, as the Lord enables me, let me point out three things that the cross stands for:
First, the cross is the expression of the world's hatred. The world hated Christ, and its hatred was ultimately manifested by crucifying Him. In the 15th chapter of John, seven times over, Christ refers there to the hatred of the world against Himself and against His people. And just in proportion as you and I are following Christ, just in proportion as our lives are being lived as His life was lived, just in proportion as we have come out from the world and are in fellowship with Him - so will the world hate us!
We read in the Gospels that one man came and presented himself to Christ for discipleship, and he requested that he might first go to bury his father - a very natural request, and perhaps a very praiseworthy one. But the Lord's reply is almost staggering. He said to that man, "Follow Me - and let the dead bury their dead." What would have happened to that young man if he had obeyed Christ? I do not know whether he did or not - but if he did, what would happen? What would his kinsfolk and his neighbors think of him? Would they be able to appreciate the motive, the devotion which caused him to follow Christ and neglect what the world would call a filial duty? Ah, my friends, if you are following Christ - the world will thin you are mad - and some of you will find it very hard to bear aspersions on your sanity. Yes, there are some who find the reproaches of the living a harder trial than the loss of the dead.
Another young man presented himself to Christ for discipleship and he requested the Lord that he might first be allowed to go home and say farewell to his friends - a very natural request, surely - and the Lord presented to him the cross: "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God!" Affectionate natures find the wrench of home ties, very hard to bear; harder still are the suspicions of loved ones and friends for having been slighted!
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 3)
I want to call your attention to the context. Turn with me for a moment to Matthew 16, verse 21: "From that time forth began Jesus to show unto His disciples, how that He must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. Then Peter took Him, and began to rebuke Him." He was staggered and said, "Pity Yourself, Lord!" That expressed the policy of the world. That is the sum of the world's philosophy - self-shielding and self-seeking; but that which Christ preached was not spare yourself - but sacrifice yourself. The Lord Jesus saw in Peter's suggestion a temptation from satan - and He flung it away from Him. Then He turned to His disciples and said, "if any man will come after Me - let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." In other words, what Christ said was this: I am going up to Jerusalem to the Cross - if anyone would be My follower - there is a cross for him. And, as Luke 14 says, "Whoever does not bear his cross - cannot be My disciple." Not only must Jesus go to Jerusalem and be killed - but everyone who comes after Him must take up his cross. The "must" is as imperative in the one care as in the other. Mediatorially, the Cross of Christ stands alone - but experimentally it is shared by all who enter into eternal life.
Now then, what does "the cross" stand for? What did Christ mean when He said that "unless a man takes up his cross?" My friends, it is deplorable that at this late date, such a question needs to be asked; and it is more deplorable still, that the vast majority of God's own people have such unscriptural conceptions of what the "cross" stands for. The average Christian seems to regard the cross in this text, as any trial or trouble that may be laid upon him. Whatever comes up that disturbs our peace, that is unpleasing to the flesh, or that irritates our temper - is looked upon as a cross. One says, "Well, that is my cross," and another says, "Well, this is my cross," and someone else says something else is their cross. My friends, the word is never so used in the New Testament!
The word "cross" is never found in the plural number, nor is it ever found with the indefinite article before it, "a cross." Note also that in our text the cross is linked to a verb in the active voice and not the passive. It is not a cross that is laid upon us - but a cross which must be "taken up!" The cross stands for definite realities which embody and express the leading characteristics of Christ's agony.
Others understand the "cross" to refer to disagreeable duties which they reluctantly discharge - or to fleshly habits which they grudgingly deny. They imaging that they are cross-bearing when, prodded at the point of conscience, they abstain from things earnestly desired. Such people invariable turn their cross into a weapon with which to assail other people. They parade their self-denial and go around insisting that others should follow them. Such conceptions of the cross areas Pharisaical as false, and as mischievous as they are erroneous!
Now, as the Lord enables me, let me point out three things that the cross stands for:
First, the cross is the expression of the world's hatred. The world hated Christ, and its hatred was ultimately manifested by crucifying Him. In the 15th chapter of John, seven times over, Christ refers there to the hatred of the world against Himself and against His people. And just in proportion as you and I are following Christ, just in proportion as our lives are being lived as His life was lived, just in proportion as we have come out from the world and are in fellowship with Him - so will the world hate us!
We read in the Gospels that one man came and presented himself to Christ for discipleship, and he requested that he might first go to bury his father - a very natural request, and perhaps a very praiseworthy one. But the Lord's reply is almost staggering. He said to that man, "Follow Me - and let the dead bury their dead." What would have happened to that young man if he had obeyed Christ? I do not know whether he did or not - but if he did, what would happen? What would his kinsfolk and his neighbors think of him? Would they be able to appreciate the motive, the devotion which caused him to follow Christ and neglect what the world would call a filial duty? Ah, my friends, if you are following Christ - the world will thin you are mad - and some of you will find it very hard to bear aspersions on your sanity. Yes, there are some who find the reproaches of the living a harder trial than the loss of the dead.
Another young man presented himself to Christ for discipleship and he requested the Lord that he might first be allowed to go home and say farewell to his friends - a very natural request, surely - and the Lord presented to him the cross: "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God!" Affectionate natures find the wrench of home ties, very hard to bear; harder still are the suspicions of loved ones and friends for having been slighted!
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 3)
Submission To God # 2
Submission To God # 2
The first aspect of submission is to receive as from God's hand, whatever comes to me in a providential way, with recognition of His absolute right to take the same way - when He deems that will be most for His glory and my good.
When we pray, as we are bidden to do, "May Your will be done in earth - as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10), the emphasis is to be placed on the word "done".
It is first, a request that the Divine will may be wrought in us, for we can only work out our "own salvation with fear and trembling," as God is pleased to work in us "both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12-13); for it is thus that God writes His law on our hearts. Only as His will is wrought in us - are our wayward wills brought into accord with God's.
Second, it is a request that the Divine will may be performed by us. The first is in order to the second. God's will is done by us - when we consciously and voluntarily abstain from and avoid those things He has prohibited, and when we practice those things which He has enjoined upon us.
Third, it is a request that the Divine will may be acceptable unto us, that we may be pleased with whatever pleases Him: That so far from repining, we may thankfully receive whatever God is pleased to send or give us - His chastisements not excepted.
The perfect exemplification of what we have sought to bring out above, is found in our blessed Redeemer.
First, there was nothing whatever within Him which was contrary to God, which was capable of resisting His will. He was essentially holy - both in His divine Person and in His human nature; and as the God-man, He declared, "Your law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:8).
Second, when He entered this world, it was with the assertion, "Lo, I come to do Your will, O God" (Hebrews 10:7); and so completely did He make that good, He could say, "I always do those things that please Him" (John 8:29).
Third, He never uttered the slightest murmur against the Divine providence; but instead, declared, "You have assigned Me My portion and My cup; you have made My lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for Me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance" (Psalm 16:5-6). And when the supreme test came, He meekly bowed,saying, "The cup which My Father has given Me - shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11). When in Gethsemane, He prayed, "May Your will be done" (Matt. 26:42), He included all three things:
May Your will be wrought in Me.
May Your will be performed in Me.
May Your will be well-pleasing unto Me.
If, then, we are to be able to say as Job did when so severely tested, we must emulate his previous conduct and regularly tread the path of obedience. Furthermore, we must learn to sit loose to all worldly comforts and stand ready prepared to part with everything when God shall require it at our hands. Some of you may perhaps have friends who are as dear to you as your own souls; and others may have children in whose lives your own lives are bound up: All have their Isaacs, their particular delights. Labor for Christ's sake, labor you sons and daughters of Abraham to resign them hourly in affection to God, that when He shall require you really to sacrifice them - you may not confer with flesh and blood any more than the blessed patriarch did." (George Whitefield).
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
The first aspect of submission is to receive as from God's hand, whatever comes to me in a providential way, with recognition of His absolute right to take the same way - when He deems that will be most for His glory and my good.
When we pray, as we are bidden to do, "May Your will be done in earth - as it is in heaven" (Matt. 6:10), the emphasis is to be placed on the word "done".
It is first, a request that the Divine will may be wrought in us, for we can only work out our "own salvation with fear and trembling," as God is pleased to work in us "both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12-13); for it is thus that God writes His law on our hearts. Only as His will is wrought in us - are our wayward wills brought into accord with God's.
Second, it is a request that the Divine will may be performed by us. The first is in order to the second. God's will is done by us - when we consciously and voluntarily abstain from and avoid those things He has prohibited, and when we practice those things which He has enjoined upon us.
Third, it is a request that the Divine will may be acceptable unto us, that we may be pleased with whatever pleases Him: That so far from repining, we may thankfully receive whatever God is pleased to send or give us - His chastisements not excepted.
The perfect exemplification of what we have sought to bring out above, is found in our blessed Redeemer.
First, there was nothing whatever within Him which was contrary to God, which was capable of resisting His will. He was essentially holy - both in His divine Person and in His human nature; and as the God-man, He declared, "Your law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:8).
Second, when He entered this world, it was with the assertion, "Lo, I come to do Your will, O God" (Hebrews 10:7); and so completely did He make that good, He could say, "I always do those things that please Him" (John 8:29).
Third, He never uttered the slightest murmur against the Divine providence; but instead, declared, "You have assigned Me My portion and My cup; you have made My lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for Me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance" (Psalm 16:5-6). And when the supreme test came, He meekly bowed,saying, "The cup which My Father has given Me - shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11). When in Gethsemane, He prayed, "May Your will be done" (Matt. 26:42), He included all three things:
May Your will be wrought in Me.
May Your will be performed in Me.
May Your will be well-pleasing unto Me.
If, then, we are to be able to say as Job did when so severely tested, we must emulate his previous conduct and regularly tread the path of obedience. Furthermore, we must learn to sit loose to all worldly comforts and stand ready prepared to part with everything when God shall require it at our hands. Some of you may perhaps have friends who are as dear to you as your own souls; and others may have children in whose lives your own lives are bound up: All have their Isaacs, their particular delights. Labor for Christ's sake, labor you sons and daughters of Abraham to resign them hourly in affection to God, that when He shall require you really to sacrifice them - you may not confer with flesh and blood any more than the blessed patriarch did." (George Whitefield).
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
Saturday, June 22, 2019
Cross Bearing # 1
Cross Bearing # 1
"Jesus said unto His disciples - if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24).
"Then said Jesus unto His disciples, if any man will"; the word "will" here means "desire to" just as in that verse, "If any will live godly." It signifies "determine to." If any man will or desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross (not a cross - but "his" cross) and follow me." Then in Luke 14:27 Christ declared, "And whoever does not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple." So cross bearing is NOT optional. The Christian life is far more than subscribing to a system of truths, or adopting a code of conduct - or of submitting to religious ordinances. The Christ life is primarily a person; experience of fellowship with the Lord Jesus, and just in proportion as your life is lived in communion with Christ, to that extent are you living the Christian life, and to that extent only.
The Christian life is a life that consists of following Jesus. "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." O that you and I may gain distinction for the closeness of our walk with Christ! There is a class described in Scripture of whom it is said, "these are those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes." But sad to say, there is another class, and a large class, who seem to follow the Lord fitfully, spasmodically, half-heartedly, occasionally, distantly. There is much of the world and must of self in their lives - and so little of Christ. Thrice happy shall he be, who like Caleb - follows the Lord fully.
Now, beloved, our chief business and desire is to follow Christ - but there are difficulties in the way. There are obstacles in the path, and it is to them, that the first part of our text refers. You notice that the words "follow Me" come at the end. SELF, self stands in the way, and the world with its ten thousand attractions and distractions is an obstacle; and therefore Christ says, "If any man will come after Me - (first) let him deny himself, (second) take up his cross, (third) and follow Me." And there we learn the reason why so few professing Christians are following Him closely, manifestly, consistently.
The first step toward a daily following of Christ, is the denying of SELF. There is a vast difference, brethren and sisters, between denying self and so-called self-denial. The popular idea which prevails both in the world and among Christians, is that of giving up things which we like. There is a great diversity of opinion as to what should be given up. There are some who would restrict it to that which is characteristically worldly - such as theater-going, dancing, or other certain kinds of amusements. But such methods as those only foster spiritual pride, for surely I deserve some credit - if I give up more than my friends.
What Christ speaks of in our text (and O may the Spirit of God apply it to our souls this morning) as the first step toward following Him, is - the denial of SELF itself - not simply some of the things that are pleasing to self. Not some of the things after which self hankers - but the denying of SELF itself - but the denying of SELF itself. What does that mean, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself?"
It means in the first place, abandoning his own righteousness; but it means far more than that. That is only its first meaning. It means refusing to rest upon my own wisdom. It means far more than that. It means ceasing to insist upon my own rights. It means repudiating SELF itself. It means ceasing to consider our own comforts, our own ease, our own pleasure, our own aggrandizement, our own benefits. It means being done with SELF. It means, beloved, saying with the apostle, "For me to live is, not self - but Christ. For me to live is to obey Christ, to serve Christ, to honor Christ, to spend myself for Him. That is what it means. And "if any man will come after Me," says our Master, "let him deny himself," - let self be repudiated, be done with. In other words it is what you have in Romans 12:1, "Present your bodies a living sacrifice unto God."
The second step toward following Christ, is the taking up of the CROSS. "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross." Ah, my friends, to live out the Christian life is something more than a passive luxury; it is a serious undertaking. It is a life that has to be disciplined in sacrifice. The life of discipleship begins with self-renunciation and it continues by self-mortification. In other words, our text refers to the CROSS not simply as an object of faith - but as a principle of life, as the badge of discipleship, as an experience in the soul. And, listen! Just as it was true that the only way to the Father's throne for Jesus of Nazareth was by the Cross - so the only way for a life of communion with God and the crown at the end for the Christian, is via the Cross. The legal benefits of Christ's sacrifice are secured by faith, when the guilt of sin is cancelled; but the cross only becomes efficacious over the power of indwelling sin, as it is realized in our daily lives.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
"Jesus said unto His disciples - if any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me" (Matthew 16:24).
"Then said Jesus unto His disciples, if any man will"; the word "will" here means "desire to" just as in that verse, "If any will live godly." It signifies "determine to." If any man will or desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross (not a cross - but "his" cross) and follow me." Then in Luke 14:27 Christ declared, "And whoever does not bear his cross, and come after Me, cannot be My disciple." So cross bearing is NOT optional. The Christian life is far more than subscribing to a system of truths, or adopting a code of conduct - or of submitting to religious ordinances. The Christ life is primarily a person; experience of fellowship with the Lord Jesus, and just in proportion as your life is lived in communion with Christ, to that extent are you living the Christian life, and to that extent only.
The Christian life is a life that consists of following Jesus. "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me." O that you and I may gain distinction for the closeness of our walk with Christ! There is a class described in Scripture of whom it is said, "these are those who follow the Lamb wherever He goes." But sad to say, there is another class, and a large class, who seem to follow the Lord fitfully, spasmodically, half-heartedly, occasionally, distantly. There is much of the world and must of self in their lives - and so little of Christ. Thrice happy shall he be, who like Caleb - follows the Lord fully.
Now, beloved, our chief business and desire is to follow Christ - but there are difficulties in the way. There are obstacles in the path, and it is to them, that the first part of our text refers. You notice that the words "follow Me" come at the end. SELF, self stands in the way, and the world with its ten thousand attractions and distractions is an obstacle; and therefore Christ says, "If any man will come after Me - (first) let him deny himself, (second) take up his cross, (third) and follow Me." And there we learn the reason why so few professing Christians are following Him closely, manifestly, consistently.
The first step toward a daily following of Christ, is the denying of SELF. There is a vast difference, brethren and sisters, between denying self and so-called self-denial. The popular idea which prevails both in the world and among Christians, is that of giving up things which we like. There is a great diversity of opinion as to what should be given up. There are some who would restrict it to that which is characteristically worldly - such as theater-going, dancing, or other certain kinds of amusements. But such methods as those only foster spiritual pride, for surely I deserve some credit - if I give up more than my friends.
What Christ speaks of in our text (and O may the Spirit of God apply it to our souls this morning) as the first step toward following Him, is - the denial of SELF itself - not simply some of the things that are pleasing to self. Not some of the things after which self hankers - but the denying of SELF itself - but the denying of SELF itself. What does that mean, "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself?"
It means in the first place, abandoning his own righteousness; but it means far more than that. That is only its first meaning. It means refusing to rest upon my own wisdom. It means far more than that. It means ceasing to insist upon my own rights. It means repudiating SELF itself. It means ceasing to consider our own comforts, our own ease, our own pleasure, our own aggrandizement, our own benefits. It means being done with SELF. It means, beloved, saying with the apostle, "For me to live is, not self - but Christ. For me to live is to obey Christ, to serve Christ, to honor Christ, to spend myself for Him. That is what it means. And "if any man will come after Me," says our Master, "let him deny himself," - let self be repudiated, be done with. In other words it is what you have in Romans 12:1, "Present your bodies a living sacrifice unto God."
The second step toward following Christ, is the taking up of the CROSS. "If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross." Ah, my friends, to live out the Christian life is something more than a passive luxury; it is a serious undertaking. It is a life that has to be disciplined in sacrifice. The life of discipleship begins with self-renunciation and it continues by self-mortification. In other words, our text refers to the CROSS not simply as an object of faith - but as a principle of life, as the badge of discipleship, as an experience in the soul. And, listen! Just as it was true that the only way to the Father's throne for Jesus of Nazareth was by the Cross - so the only way for a life of communion with God and the crown at the end for the Christian, is via the Cross. The legal benefits of Christ's sacrifice are secured by faith, when the guilt of sin is cancelled; but the cross only becomes efficacious over the power of indwelling sin, as it is realized in our daily lives.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
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