Pride # 3
II. The same spirit that exerts itself in opposition to God's providential dispensations as to our state and circumstances in this world, is found quarreling also with God's gracious dealings with our souls, especially in young converts.
Sensibly feeling the heavy load of guilt on their consciences, they become impatient in their distress, and cannot bear the yoke which the Lord has put upon them; but as Rachel said, "give me children, or I die!" so they cry, "give us peace, or we perish!" They being in a degree unhumbled, a secret but a stubborn rising of self-righteous pride will manifest itself in various ways - such as secret anger at heart, because they are thus - a sullenness, like a person disappointed, because they cannot be as they would - a desperate willfulness in complaining and in refusing comfort - and an aptness to fly in the face of God, and say, "why has he thus dealt, or why does He thus deal with us?"
And with these peevish and violent workings of pride, the devil joins at the same time with all his fore, setting forth everything in the most discouraging light, and insinuating, that there is little or no prospect of things being better.
In the mean time, unbelief is also raging; deliverance seems hardly possible; all the means of it seem insufficient; so many things stand in the way - such corruptions within,such difficulties without, and such guilt remaining. The soul is ready to sink under the burden, being almost determined to give up all for lost.
In such inward workings of our minds, there is more pride, and of an unhumbled spirit, dissatisfied with the sovereign pleasure of God respecting our condition, than we are apt to imagine! Being in such a spirit, do we not seek, and as it were, demand peace and comfort, as if they are our right - rather than the free and undeserved gifts of God? If not, why are we so fretful and uneasy under delays? Why do we presumptuously expostulate, "Why is He so long in coming?" If we narrowly examine our deceitful hearts, I doubt not, but that we shall find unhumbled pride at the bottom of all this impatience.
In proportion as this spirit prevails - is our utter unfitness to receive any gospel-blessing or comfort from the Lord. God never bestows His blessings, until He has brought us into a suitable frame to receive them. "God gives grace to the humble" - to those whom He has emptied of their pride and self-sufficiency. When effectually humbled, they are easily satisfied with His dealings with them. Then every mercy bestowed appears, as truly it is, great and undeserved - and the language of the soul is, "I deserve less than the least of all Your mercies."
We would be as gods; but the Lord will make us know, that He is Being to whom absolute sovereignty belongs; that He cannot be limited, nor have His ways prescribed to Him. He will have us to exercise absolute submission and acquiescence in all His dealings and dispensations towards us.
"O Lord," said David, "you are my God; my times are in your hands" - his times of trouble and of peace, of darkness and of light, he acknowledged with acquiescence and thankfulness, to be in the hand and at the disposal of God, and that it was his place humbly to wait the Lord's time and season for the enjoyment of His comforts and for the light of His countenance.
Nothing indeed can be well with us, until we are brought to this frame of mind - until we are satisfied that the Lord should carve for us both in temporal and spiritual things, until we are willing to bear His chastisements and thankfully to receive His comforts - when, and however He is pleased to send either the one or the other.
But when we are made willing, that the Lord should in every thing be God to us - we cannot but succeed in the end; and though we may have to wait for the vision - yet it will assuredly come, and will not tarry, and will fully answer our largest expectations. "Sorrow may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning." "You have heard of the patience of Job, and have seen the end of the Lord, that the Lord is very pitiful, and of tender mercy."
Hence we see, how this spirit of pride and independence operates, with respect to spiritual as well earthly things - and that it can feed on one as well as on the other. It is indeed changed in its form, and pursues its end in a different course; but it is the old man still, setting up for himself, though he wears the appearance of the new man in Christ. It is still satan, though he is transformed into an angel of light.
~Thomas Charles~
(continued with # 4)
Saturday, September 21, 2019
Saturday, September 14, 2019
The Necessity of Afflictions # 1
The Necessity of Afflictions # 1
"If need be!" (1 Peter 1:6).
What a blessed motto and superscription over the dark lintels of sorrow! - "If need be!" Every arrow from the guiver of God is feathered with it! Write it, child of affliction, over every trial your God sees fit to send!
If He calls you down from the sunny mountain-heights to the darksome glades, hear Him saying: "There is a need be!"
If He has dashed the cup of earthly prosperity from your lips, curtailed your creature comforts, diminished your "basket and store" - hear Him saying, "There is a need be!"
If He has ploughed and furrowed your soul with severe bereavement - extinguished light after light in your dwelling - hear Him thus stilling the turnult of your grief, "There is a need be!"
Yes! believe it, there is some profound reason for your trial, which at present may be indiscernible. No furnace will be hotter than He sees to be needed.
Sometimes, indeed, His teachings are mysterious. We can with difficulty spell out the letters, "God is love!" We can see no "bright light" - no luminous rainbow in "our cloud." It is all mystery; not one break is there in the sky! Nay! Hear what God the Lord speaks: "If need be!" He does not long leave His people alone, if He sees their chariot wheels dragging heavily. He will take His own means to sever them from an absorbing love of the world - to flush them out of self, and dislodge usurping clay-idols that may have vaulted on the throne which He alone should occupy!
Before your present trial - He may have seen your love waxing cold - your influence for good lessening. As the sun puts out the fire - the sun of earthly prosperity may have been extinguishing the fires of your soul. You may have been shining less brightly for Christ, effecting some guilty compromise with an insinuating and seductive world. he has appointed the very discipline and dealing needful - nothing else - nothing less could have been effectual!
Be still, and know that He is God! That "need be"," remember, is in the hands of Infinite Love, infinite Wisdom, infinite Power! Trust Him in little things - as well as in great things - in trifles as well as in emergencies. Seek to have an unquestioning faith. Though other paths, doubtless, would have been selected by you had the choice been in your hands - be it yours to listen to His voice at every turn of the road, saying, "This is the way - walk in it!"
We may not be able to understand it now - but one day we shall come to find that affliction is one of God's most blessed ministers - sent forth to "minister to those who are heirs of salvation." There would be no rainbow in the material heaven - but for the cloud! Lovelier, indeed, to the eye is the azure blue - the fleecy summer vapor - or the gold and vermilion of western sunsets. But what would become of the earth if no dark clouds from time to time hung over it; distilling their treasures - reviving and refreshing its drooping vegetable tribes?
Is it otherwise with the soul? Nay! The cloud of sorrow is needed. Its every raindrop has an inner meaning of love! If, even now, afflicted one, these clouds are gathering, and the tempest sighing - lift up your eye to the divine scroll gleaming in the darkened heavens, and remember that He who has put the rainbow of promise there - saw also a "need be" for the cloud on which it rests!
There is therefore reason for this chastisement, for "Whom the Lord loves - He chastens." (Heb. 12:6). What! God loves me when He is discharging His quiver upon me! - emptying me from vessel to vessel! - causing the sun of my earthly joys to set in clouds? Yes! afflicted, tempest-tossed one! He chastens you - because He loves you! This trial comes from His own tender, loving hand - from His own tender, unchanging heart!
"I do believe," says Lady Powerscourt, "that He has purchased these afflictions for us - as well as everything else. Blessed be His name, it is a part of His covenant to visit us with the rod." What says our adorable Lord Himself? The words were spoken, not when He was on earth, a sojourner in a sorrowing world, but when enthroned amid the glories of heaven, "As many as I love - I rebuke and chasten." (Rev. 3:19).
~John R. McDuff~
(continued with # 2)
"If need be!" (1 Peter 1:6).
What a blessed motto and superscription over the dark lintels of sorrow! - "If need be!" Every arrow from the guiver of God is feathered with it! Write it, child of affliction, over every trial your God sees fit to send!
If He calls you down from the sunny mountain-heights to the darksome glades, hear Him saying: "There is a need be!"
If He has dashed the cup of earthly prosperity from your lips, curtailed your creature comforts, diminished your "basket and store" - hear Him saying, "There is a need be!"
If He has ploughed and furrowed your soul with severe bereavement - extinguished light after light in your dwelling - hear Him thus stilling the turnult of your grief, "There is a need be!"
Yes! believe it, there is some profound reason for your trial, which at present may be indiscernible. No furnace will be hotter than He sees to be needed.
Sometimes, indeed, His teachings are mysterious. We can with difficulty spell out the letters, "God is love!" We can see no "bright light" - no luminous rainbow in "our cloud." It is all mystery; not one break is there in the sky! Nay! Hear what God the Lord speaks: "If need be!" He does not long leave His people alone, if He sees their chariot wheels dragging heavily. He will take His own means to sever them from an absorbing love of the world - to flush them out of self, and dislodge usurping clay-idols that may have vaulted on the throne which He alone should occupy!
Before your present trial - He may have seen your love waxing cold - your influence for good lessening. As the sun puts out the fire - the sun of earthly prosperity may have been extinguishing the fires of your soul. You may have been shining less brightly for Christ, effecting some guilty compromise with an insinuating and seductive world. he has appointed the very discipline and dealing needful - nothing else - nothing less could have been effectual!
Be still, and know that He is God! That "need be"," remember, is in the hands of Infinite Love, infinite Wisdom, infinite Power! Trust Him in little things - as well as in great things - in trifles as well as in emergencies. Seek to have an unquestioning faith. Though other paths, doubtless, would have been selected by you had the choice been in your hands - be it yours to listen to His voice at every turn of the road, saying, "This is the way - walk in it!"
We may not be able to understand it now - but one day we shall come to find that affliction is one of God's most blessed ministers - sent forth to "minister to those who are heirs of salvation." There would be no rainbow in the material heaven - but for the cloud! Lovelier, indeed, to the eye is the azure blue - the fleecy summer vapor - or the gold and vermilion of western sunsets. But what would become of the earth if no dark clouds from time to time hung over it; distilling their treasures - reviving and refreshing its drooping vegetable tribes?
Is it otherwise with the soul? Nay! The cloud of sorrow is needed. Its every raindrop has an inner meaning of love! If, even now, afflicted one, these clouds are gathering, and the tempest sighing - lift up your eye to the divine scroll gleaming in the darkened heavens, and remember that He who has put the rainbow of promise there - saw also a "need be" for the cloud on which it rests!
There is therefore reason for this chastisement, for "Whom the Lord loves - He chastens." (Heb. 12:6). What! God loves me when He is discharging His quiver upon me! - emptying me from vessel to vessel! - causing the sun of my earthly joys to set in clouds? Yes! afflicted, tempest-tossed one! He chastens you - because He loves you! This trial comes from His own tender, loving hand - from His own tender, unchanging heart!
"I do believe," says Lady Powerscourt, "that He has purchased these afflictions for us - as well as everything else. Blessed be His name, it is a part of His covenant to visit us with the rod." What says our adorable Lord Himself? The words were spoken, not when He was on earth, a sojourner in a sorrowing world, but when enthroned amid the glories of heaven, "As many as I love - I rebuke and chasten." (Rev. 3:19).
~John R. McDuff~
(continued with # 2)
Pride # 2
Pride # 2
But how vain were his contrivances, and how miserably was he disappointed! Cherubim, and a flaming sword, which turned every way, were placed at the east of the garden of Eden, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Nothing, therefore but renouncing his own wisdom and strength, and submitting wholly to God, and embracing the way he is pleased to provide, can save him from the threatened ruin. He turned himself from God, to seek his comfort and his happiness in the creature - but behold, the whole earth, and all things in it, are cursed for man's sake - and its productions were to be thorns and thistles.
To prevent death, man would eat of the tree of life - but behold, the cherubim and a flaming sword stop his way. What then can he do, but miserably perish, except his willful and independent spirit be broken down, his pride humbled, and he be brought to lie at the foot of divine mercy?
Here is the difficulty: man's whole nature as corrupted, is wholly bent on seeking happiness for and in himself, separate from God. He knows not how to deny his own will, or discard his own wisdom and his own strength, or oppose his worldly lusts, which wholly lead him from God - besides, the way which God has provided for his happiness and salvation in Christ, is so extremely humiliating, that nothing but a total renunciation of himself in every view can ever enable him to embrace it. How can the pride and independent spirit of man stoop to this?
Here is the main controversy between man and God. Man would still be as God, knowing good and evil; and God cannot but unchangeably determine to bring down this idol, that He may be all in all. And if God saves man at all, it is inconsistent with his very nature, and opposite to all his holy perfections, to save him, but in a way, which effectually hides pride from man. He must cast down every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, so that he who glories, shall glory only in the Lord. We see this independent spirit working in various and opposite ways, but all leading further from God, and directly calculated to set up this idol, man.
1. We see the great body of mankind with their faces universally set towards the world, and their vigor exerted in one general race after the things of the world.
And what is this strong principle, which universally prevails, and actuates the whole mass? Every one seems as if he would have the whole world to himself - and were the whole in his possession, it would be too little to satisfy his insatiable desires. To what purpose is this bustle and striving? Why all these contentions and jarrings? Is it not, because man would have something to depend on, and to support himself by, independently of God? He would be as God - able to supply himself with the means of comfort and happiness. He will not depend on God, but he would prove for himself good and evil.
That this is principle, which so vigorously operates within, must appear abundantly evident to us, if we for a moment consider: Why it is that we desire so earnestly to have our comforts and safety in our own hands. Is it not, because we think them not so sure, or so satisfactorily placed as we wish they should be, in the hands of God? What would the carnally-minded give, could he but have his life and health at his own disposal, to keep and enjoy them at his own pleasure? When he is sick or poor, how far preferable does it appear to him, to be able to be his own physician, or to supply his own needs, then to receive both from the Almighty. But why does he think so? Is it not, because he likes not to depend on God? Is it not, because he would be independent of Him? And as worldly things are the means, which bid fairest to help him in his ungodly pursuits - he thinks that he never can have enough.
But, alas! all is insufficient. He is still disappointed; and therefore he is full of impatience, murmurings, and complaints. The support that he seeks, independently of God, is still lacking - and pride being disappointed, impatience corrodes his vitals, of which murmurings and complaints are the natural expressions and effects. We would be as gods, possessing all fullness and sufficiency in ourselves - and when we cannot be what we would - not so rich, not so great, not such gods as we wish and attempt to be, then our pride bursts forth in impatience, discontent, rage and misery!
But when God brings us to Himself, He effectually teaches us to deny this ungodliness, and our worldly lusts. He crucifies us to the world, and brings us to forsake all that we have, in which we put confidence, and from which we seek any happiness. What He will take away, He will again restore suddenly and unexpectedly, and thereby convince us that we have all every moment from Him. He will embitter every blessing, and make us know and feel the misery of departing from Him. He will convince us, that there is no happiness to be found but in Himself only. And when He gives us all things richly to enjoy, He will teach us at the same time to use all, not for ourselves, but for Him, "for whom, through whom, and to whom are all things."
In short, He will be our God, and will act in everything as such towards us, and will bring us to live upon Him, and to Him; and not upon the creature, and to ourselves. And when we become possessed of the humble frame and temper of dependent creatures - then murmurings and complaints, impatience and disquietude, will all be banished - and we shall receive all good and evil things with holy submission and humble thankfulness, being abundantly satisfied, that the Lord is our God.
~Thomas Charles~
(continued with # 3)
But how vain were his contrivances, and how miserably was he disappointed! Cherubim, and a flaming sword, which turned every way, were placed at the east of the garden of Eden, to keep the way of the tree of life.
Nothing, therefore but renouncing his own wisdom and strength, and submitting wholly to God, and embracing the way he is pleased to provide, can save him from the threatened ruin. He turned himself from God, to seek his comfort and his happiness in the creature - but behold, the whole earth, and all things in it, are cursed for man's sake - and its productions were to be thorns and thistles.
To prevent death, man would eat of the tree of life - but behold, the cherubim and a flaming sword stop his way. What then can he do, but miserably perish, except his willful and independent spirit be broken down, his pride humbled, and he be brought to lie at the foot of divine mercy?
Here is the difficulty: man's whole nature as corrupted, is wholly bent on seeking happiness for and in himself, separate from God. He knows not how to deny his own will, or discard his own wisdom and his own strength, or oppose his worldly lusts, which wholly lead him from God - besides, the way which God has provided for his happiness and salvation in Christ, is so extremely humiliating, that nothing but a total renunciation of himself in every view can ever enable him to embrace it. How can the pride and independent spirit of man stoop to this?
Here is the main controversy between man and God. Man would still be as God, knowing good and evil; and God cannot but unchangeably determine to bring down this idol, that He may be all in all. And if God saves man at all, it is inconsistent with his very nature, and opposite to all his holy perfections, to save him, but in a way, which effectually hides pride from man. He must cast down every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, and bring every thought captive to the obedience of Christ, so that he who glories, shall glory only in the Lord. We see this independent spirit working in various and opposite ways, but all leading further from God, and directly calculated to set up this idol, man.
1. We see the great body of mankind with their faces universally set towards the world, and their vigor exerted in one general race after the things of the world.
And what is this strong principle, which universally prevails, and actuates the whole mass? Every one seems as if he would have the whole world to himself - and were the whole in his possession, it would be too little to satisfy his insatiable desires. To what purpose is this bustle and striving? Why all these contentions and jarrings? Is it not, because man would have something to depend on, and to support himself by, independently of God? He would be as God - able to supply himself with the means of comfort and happiness. He will not depend on God, but he would prove for himself good and evil.
That this is principle, which so vigorously operates within, must appear abundantly evident to us, if we for a moment consider: Why it is that we desire so earnestly to have our comforts and safety in our own hands. Is it not, because we think them not so sure, or so satisfactorily placed as we wish they should be, in the hands of God? What would the carnally-minded give, could he but have his life and health at his own disposal, to keep and enjoy them at his own pleasure? When he is sick or poor, how far preferable does it appear to him, to be able to be his own physician, or to supply his own needs, then to receive both from the Almighty. But why does he think so? Is it not, because he likes not to depend on God? Is it not, because he would be independent of Him? And as worldly things are the means, which bid fairest to help him in his ungodly pursuits - he thinks that he never can have enough.
But, alas! all is insufficient. He is still disappointed; and therefore he is full of impatience, murmurings, and complaints. The support that he seeks, independently of God, is still lacking - and pride being disappointed, impatience corrodes his vitals, of which murmurings and complaints are the natural expressions and effects. We would be as gods, possessing all fullness and sufficiency in ourselves - and when we cannot be what we would - not so rich, not so great, not such gods as we wish and attempt to be, then our pride bursts forth in impatience, discontent, rage and misery!
But when God brings us to Himself, He effectually teaches us to deny this ungodliness, and our worldly lusts. He crucifies us to the world, and brings us to forsake all that we have, in which we put confidence, and from which we seek any happiness. What He will take away, He will again restore suddenly and unexpectedly, and thereby convince us that we have all every moment from Him. He will embitter every blessing, and make us know and feel the misery of departing from Him. He will convince us, that there is no happiness to be found but in Himself only. And when He gives us all things richly to enjoy, He will teach us at the same time to use all, not for ourselves, but for Him, "for whom, through whom, and to whom are all things."
In short, He will be our God, and will act in everything as such towards us, and will bring us to live upon Him, and to Him; and not upon the creature, and to ourselves. And when we become possessed of the humble frame and temper of dependent creatures - then murmurings and complaints, impatience and disquietude, will all be banished - and we shall receive all good and evil things with holy submission and humble thankfulness, being abundantly satisfied, that the Lord is our God.
~Thomas Charles~
(continued with # 3)
Saturday, September 7, 2019
Repent or Perish !
Repent or Perish!
"Unless you repent you too will all perish!" (Luke 13:3).
These were the words of the incarnate Son of God. They have never been cancelled; nor will they be as long as this world lasts. Repentance is absolute and necessary if the sinner is to make peace with God (Isaiah 27:5), for repentance is the throwing down the weapons of rebellion against Him. Repentance does not save, yet no sinner ever was or ever will be saved without it. None but Christ saves - but an impenitent heart cannot receive Him.
A sinner can not truly believe - until he repents. This is clear from the words of Christ concerning His forerunner, "For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him" (Matt. 21:32).
It is also evident from His clarion call in Mark 1:15, "Repent - and believe the gospel." This is why the apostle Paul testified "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). Make no mistake on this point dear reader, God "now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30).
In requiring repentance from us, God is pressing His righteous claims upon us. He is infinitely worthy of supreme love and honor, and of universal obedience. This we have wickedly denied Him. Both an acknowledgement and amendment of this is required from us. Our disaffection for Him and our rebellion against Him are to be owned and made an end of. Thus repentance is a heartfelt realization of how dreadfully I have failed, all through my life, to give God His rightful place in my heart and daily walk. The righteousness of God's demand for my repentance, is evident if we consider the heinous nature of sin. Sin is a renouncing of Him who made me. It is refusing Him His right to govern me. It is the determination to please myself; thus, it is rebellion against the Almighty. Sin is spiritual lawlessness, and utter disregard for God's authority. It is saying in my heart: "I do not care what God requires - I am going to have my own way! I do not care what God's claim upon me is - I am going to be master over myself!" Reader, do you realize that this is how you have lived?
True repentance issues from a realization in the heart, wrought therein by the Holy Spirit, of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, of the awfulness of ignoring the claims of Him who made me, of defying His authority. It is therefore a holy hatred and horror of sin, a deep sorrow for it, and acknowledgment of it before God, and a heart-forsaking of it. Not until this is done will God pardon us.
"He who covers his sins shall not prosper! But whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy" (Prov. 28:13). In true repentance the heart turns to God and acknowledges, "My heart has been set upon a vain world, which could not meet the needs of my soul. I forsook You, the fountain of living waters, and turned unto broken cisterns that can hold no water. I now own and bewail my folly!" But more, it says, "I have been a disloyal and rebellious creature - but I will be so no longer. I now desire and determine with all my might to serve and obey You as my only Lord. I flee to You as my present and everlasting Portion!"
Reader, be you a professing Christian or not - it is repent or perish. For everyone of us, church members or otherwise, it is either turn - or burn! Turn from your course of self-will and self-pleasing; turn in brokenness of heart to God, seeking His mercy in Christ; turn with full purpose of heart to please and serve Him - or be tormented day and night, forever and ever, in the lake of fire! Which shall it be? Oh, get down on your knees right now and beg God to give you the spirit of true repentance!
"Him has God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour - to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31). "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death!" (2 Corinthians 7:10).
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
"Unless you repent you too will all perish!" (Luke 13:3).
These were the words of the incarnate Son of God. They have never been cancelled; nor will they be as long as this world lasts. Repentance is absolute and necessary if the sinner is to make peace with God (Isaiah 27:5), for repentance is the throwing down the weapons of rebellion against Him. Repentance does not save, yet no sinner ever was or ever will be saved without it. None but Christ saves - but an impenitent heart cannot receive Him.
A sinner can not truly believe - until he repents. This is clear from the words of Christ concerning His forerunner, "For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him" (Matt. 21:32).
It is also evident from His clarion call in Mark 1:15, "Repent - and believe the gospel." This is why the apostle Paul testified "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). Make no mistake on this point dear reader, God "now commands all men everywhere to repent" (Acts 17:30).
In requiring repentance from us, God is pressing His righteous claims upon us. He is infinitely worthy of supreme love and honor, and of universal obedience. This we have wickedly denied Him. Both an acknowledgement and amendment of this is required from us. Our disaffection for Him and our rebellion against Him are to be owned and made an end of. Thus repentance is a heartfelt realization of how dreadfully I have failed, all through my life, to give God His rightful place in my heart and daily walk. The righteousness of God's demand for my repentance, is evident if we consider the heinous nature of sin. Sin is a renouncing of Him who made me. It is refusing Him His right to govern me. It is the determination to please myself; thus, it is rebellion against the Almighty. Sin is spiritual lawlessness, and utter disregard for God's authority. It is saying in my heart: "I do not care what God requires - I am going to have my own way! I do not care what God's claim upon me is - I am going to be master over myself!" Reader, do you realize that this is how you have lived?
True repentance issues from a realization in the heart, wrought therein by the Holy Spirit, of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, of the awfulness of ignoring the claims of Him who made me, of defying His authority. It is therefore a holy hatred and horror of sin, a deep sorrow for it, and acknowledgment of it before God, and a heart-forsaking of it. Not until this is done will God pardon us.
"He who covers his sins shall not prosper! But whoever confesses and forsakes them shall have mercy" (Prov. 28:13). In true repentance the heart turns to God and acknowledges, "My heart has been set upon a vain world, which could not meet the needs of my soul. I forsook You, the fountain of living waters, and turned unto broken cisterns that can hold no water. I now own and bewail my folly!" But more, it says, "I have been a disloyal and rebellious creature - but I will be so no longer. I now desire and determine with all my might to serve and obey You as my only Lord. I flee to You as my present and everlasting Portion!"
Reader, be you a professing Christian or not - it is repent or perish. For everyone of us, church members or otherwise, it is either turn - or burn! Turn from your course of self-will and self-pleasing; turn in brokenness of heart to God, seeking His mercy in Christ; turn with full purpose of heart to please and serve Him - or be tormented day and night, forever and ever, in the lake of fire! Which shall it be? Oh, get down on your knees right now and beg God to give you the spirit of true repentance!
"Him has God exalted with His right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour - to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins" (Acts 5:31). "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death!" (2 Corinthians 7:10).
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
Pride # 1
Pride # 1
"You shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5).
The temptation by which satan ruined our first parents, he too successfully applies daily to us, their wretched posterity. "God knows," said he, that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened; and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." It seems as if this were verified in the event; for "the Lord God" said: "Behold man is become as one of us, to know good and evil."
Before the fall man knew nothing, as to good, but the will of His Creator; and it was enough for him implicitly to follow that. But since that direful event, he has become independent of God, and chooses for himself; "He has become like one of us," says God, "to know good and evil." Instead of being a child, provided for by His Father, under His care and protection - he has become his own master, and his own physician, choosing good and rejecting evil, according to his own inclination. Thus he set up, as it were, for himself - a spirit of independence had taken possession of his soul.
This is the spirit which constitutes essentially the character of satan himself. "Whence do you come?" said the Lord to him. His answer was, "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it," boldly intimating, that he acknowledged no superior, and was his own master, going where he would, and doing what he pleased - yes, even boasting as if the earth was his own, and that here none could control him, or at least had a right to do so.
We, as satan's children, faithfully bearing his image, and exactly copying his example - are under the influence of the same independent spirit. And were the Lord to put the same question to us, our answer, if according to truth, must be similar - we go to and fro, live to ourselves, and do what we please, as independently of God as if there were no such Being. Thus we are like satan. We are practical atheists, seeking for sufficiency and comfort in ourselves, and not in God - in the creature, and not in the Creator. No temper or frame of mind can be more opposite to God than this, or further from true godliness.
While this self-sufficiency influences the heart, there is an utter impossibility of any reconciliation between us and God. "God resists the proud." And hence our Saviour says, "Except you are converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." We must be "converted," and become what man was at his creation, "as little children" - that is, dependent on God, submissive to His will, seeking all our happiness in Him alone, being contented, that He should forever be the source of all our happiness, and that He should communicate it in the time, way, and degree He pleases.
When thus converted, we, as the creatures of God, become humble in spirit, and, as forgiven sinners, we become contrite in heart. And in this frame we are to walk with God, and He will dwell in us: "for thus says the High and Lofty One, who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy place; with Him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." Here the religion of Christ begins - our progress in the divine live is always measured by our progress in humility. Humility is the strength and ornament of all other graces - it is the food that nourishes them; it is the soil in which they grow.
Though the whole scheme of gospel salvation in every view of it, and all the different providential dispensations of God towards us, are directly calculated to hide pride from man; yet so deeply rooted is this spirit of independence and self-sufficiency in our hearts, that nothing but the effectual operations of the Holy Spirit can bring us to possess the humility of creatures, and the contrition of sinners. As creatures, we would possess all-self-sufficiency for happiness in ourselves; and, as sinners, we would be even our own saviours, sufficient to rescue ourselves from sin and guilt, from destruction and misery.
This seems to be intimated by the words, "Behold man has become as one of us, to know good and evil" - as one of us, in the plural number - as the whole Trinity, in themselves essentially considered, and also in their various relations to us, as Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, were rejected, and man sought for sufficiency, relief, and happiness in himself only.
This seems further intimated in the latter part of the verse, "And now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever; therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden and the ground from whence he was taken." These words plainly set forth a total rejection of God and His will, and a strange and a willful propensity to seek a remedy for his misery, the consequence of his disobedience, in a way of his own finding out. He would still live, though he had sinned; and he thought he had sagacity sufficient to provide effectual means to prevent the execution of the threatening.
~Thomas Charles~
(continued with # 2)
"You shall be as gods, knowing good and evil" (Genesis 3:5).
The temptation by which satan ruined our first parents, he too successfully applies daily to us, their wretched posterity. "God knows," said he, that in the day you eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened; and you shall be as gods, knowing good and evil." It seems as if this were verified in the event; for "the Lord God" said: "Behold man is become as one of us, to know good and evil."
Before the fall man knew nothing, as to good, but the will of His Creator; and it was enough for him implicitly to follow that. But since that direful event, he has become independent of God, and chooses for himself; "He has become like one of us," says God, "to know good and evil." Instead of being a child, provided for by His Father, under His care and protection - he has become his own master, and his own physician, choosing good and rejecting evil, according to his own inclination. Thus he set up, as it were, for himself - a spirit of independence had taken possession of his soul.
This is the spirit which constitutes essentially the character of satan himself. "Whence do you come?" said the Lord to him. His answer was, "From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it," boldly intimating, that he acknowledged no superior, and was his own master, going where he would, and doing what he pleased - yes, even boasting as if the earth was his own, and that here none could control him, or at least had a right to do so.
We, as satan's children, faithfully bearing his image, and exactly copying his example - are under the influence of the same independent spirit. And were the Lord to put the same question to us, our answer, if according to truth, must be similar - we go to and fro, live to ourselves, and do what we please, as independently of God as if there were no such Being. Thus we are like satan. We are practical atheists, seeking for sufficiency and comfort in ourselves, and not in God - in the creature, and not in the Creator. No temper or frame of mind can be more opposite to God than this, or further from true godliness.
While this self-sufficiency influences the heart, there is an utter impossibility of any reconciliation between us and God. "God resists the proud." And hence our Saviour says, "Except you are converted, and become as little children, you shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." We must be "converted," and become what man was at his creation, "as little children" - that is, dependent on God, submissive to His will, seeking all our happiness in Him alone, being contented, that He should forever be the source of all our happiness, and that He should communicate it in the time, way, and degree He pleases.
When thus converted, we, as the creatures of God, become humble in spirit, and, as forgiven sinners, we become contrite in heart. And in this frame we are to walk with God, and He will dwell in us: "for thus says the High and Lofty One, who inhabits eternity, whose name is holy, I dwell in the high and holy place; with Him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones." Here the religion of Christ begins - our progress in the divine live is always measured by our progress in humility. Humility is the strength and ornament of all other graces - it is the food that nourishes them; it is the soil in which they grow.
Though the whole scheme of gospel salvation in every view of it, and all the different providential dispensations of God towards us, are directly calculated to hide pride from man; yet so deeply rooted is this spirit of independence and self-sufficiency in our hearts, that nothing but the effectual operations of the Holy Spirit can bring us to possess the humility of creatures, and the contrition of sinners. As creatures, we would possess all-self-sufficiency for happiness in ourselves; and, as sinners, we would be even our own saviours, sufficient to rescue ourselves from sin and guilt, from destruction and misery.
This seems to be intimated by the words, "Behold man has become as one of us, to know good and evil" - as one of us, in the plural number - as the whole Trinity, in themselves essentially considered, and also in their various relations to us, as Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifier, were rejected, and man sought for sufficiency, relief, and happiness in himself only.
This seems further intimated in the latter part of the verse, "And now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat and live forever; therefore the Lord God sent him forth from the garden of Eden and the ground from whence he was taken." These words plainly set forth a total rejection of God and His will, and a strange and a willful propensity to seek a remedy for his misery, the consequence of his disobedience, in a way of his own finding out. He would still live, though he had sinned; and he thought he had sagacity sufficient to provide effectual means to prevent the execution of the threatening.
~Thomas Charles~
(continued with # 2)
Saturday, August 31, 2019
The Cure for Despondency
The Cure for Despondency
"Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Saviour and my God" (Psalm 42:5).
When the Psalmist gave utterance to these words, his spirit was dejected and his heart was heavy within him. In the checkered career of David, there was much which was calculated to sadden and depress: the cruel persecutions of Saul, who hunted him as a partridge upon the mountains; the treachery of his trusted friend Ahitophel; the betrayal of Absalom; and the remembrance of his own sins - were enough to overwhelm the stoutest heart! And David was a man of like passions with us - he was not always upon the mountain top of joy, but sometimes spent seasons in the slough of despond and the gorge of gloom.
But David did not give way to despair, nor succumb to his sorrows. He did not lie down like a stricken beast and do nothing but fill the air with his howling. No, he acted like a rational creature, and like a man, looked his troubles squarely in the face. But he did more; he made diligent inquiry, he challenged himself, he sought to discover the cause of his despondency: he asked, "Why are you cast down, O my soul?" He desired to know the reason for such depression. This is often the first step toward recovery from depression of spirit. Repining and murmuring get us nowhere. Fretting and wringing our hands bring no relief either temporally or spiritually. There needs to be self-interrogation, self-examination, self- condemnation.
"Why are you cast down, O my soul?" We need to seriously take ourselves to task. We need to fearlessly face a few plain questions. What is the good of giving way to despair? What possible gain can it bring me? To sit and sulk - is not "redeeming the time" (Eph. 5:16). To mope and mourn - will not mend matters. Then let each despondent one call his soul to account, and inquire what adequate cause could be assigned for peevishness and fretting.
"We may have great cause to mourn for sin, and to pray against prevailing impiety. But our great dejection, even under the severest outward afflictions or inward trials - springs from unbelief and a rebellious will. We should therefore strive and pray against it."
"Why are you cast down, O my soul?" Can you not discover the real answer, without asking counsel from others? Is it not true that, deep down in your heart, you already know, or at least suspect - the root of your present trouble? Are you cast down because of distressing circumstances which your own folly has brought you into? Then acknowledge with the Psalmist, "I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right, and You in faithfulness have afflicted me" (Psalm 119:75).
Are you grieved because Providence has not smiled upon you so sweetly as it has on some of your neighbors? "For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills" (Psalm 73:3-5).
Perhaps the cases suggested above do not exactly fit that of some of our readers. Not a few may say, "My soul is cast down and my heart is heavy because my finances are at so low an ebb, and the outlook is so dark." Can He who fed two millions Israelites for forty years not minister to you? Can He who sustained Elijah in the time of famine not keep you from starving?
Returning to our opening text, let us observe how that David not only did not succumb to his sorrows, interrogated his soul, and rebuked his unbelief - but he also preached to himself: "Hope in God!" Ah, that is what the despondent needs to do - nothing else will bring relief to the depressed. The immediate outlook may be dark - but the Divine promises are bright. There is One who is "a very present help in times of trouble" (Psalm 46:1), and He never deserts those who really make Him their refuge. The writer has proved this many, many time - and so may the reader.
"Hope in God!"
Hope in His mercy. Hope in His power, hope in His faithfulness, and hope in His love.
"For I will yet praise Him, my Saviour and my God." Such is ever the blessed assurance of those who truly hope in God. They know that, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous - but the Lord delivers him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19).
God has told them that "weeping may endure for a night - but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30;5). So Christian reader, when the fiery trial has done its work, and your bonds are burned off (Daniel 3:25), you will thank Him for the trials which are now so unpleasant! Then hopefully anticipate the future. Count upon God - and He will not fail you.
Let each Christian reader who is not no passing through deep waters join with the writer in fervent prayer to God, that He will graciously sanctify the "present distress" unto the spiritual good of His own people, and mercifully supply their needs.
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
"Why are you cast down, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Saviour and my God" (Psalm 42:5).
When the Psalmist gave utterance to these words, his spirit was dejected and his heart was heavy within him. In the checkered career of David, there was much which was calculated to sadden and depress: the cruel persecutions of Saul, who hunted him as a partridge upon the mountains; the treachery of his trusted friend Ahitophel; the betrayal of Absalom; and the remembrance of his own sins - were enough to overwhelm the stoutest heart! And David was a man of like passions with us - he was not always upon the mountain top of joy, but sometimes spent seasons in the slough of despond and the gorge of gloom.
But David did not give way to despair, nor succumb to his sorrows. He did not lie down like a stricken beast and do nothing but fill the air with his howling. No, he acted like a rational creature, and like a man, looked his troubles squarely in the face. But he did more; he made diligent inquiry, he challenged himself, he sought to discover the cause of his despondency: he asked, "Why are you cast down, O my soul?" He desired to know the reason for such depression. This is often the first step toward recovery from depression of spirit. Repining and murmuring get us nowhere. Fretting and wringing our hands bring no relief either temporally or spiritually. There needs to be self-interrogation, self-examination, self- condemnation.
"Why are you cast down, O my soul?" We need to seriously take ourselves to task. We need to fearlessly face a few plain questions. What is the good of giving way to despair? What possible gain can it bring me? To sit and sulk - is not "redeeming the time" (Eph. 5:16). To mope and mourn - will not mend matters. Then let each despondent one call his soul to account, and inquire what adequate cause could be assigned for peevishness and fretting.
"We may have great cause to mourn for sin, and to pray against prevailing impiety. But our great dejection, even under the severest outward afflictions or inward trials - springs from unbelief and a rebellious will. We should therefore strive and pray against it."
"Why are you cast down, O my soul?" Can you not discover the real answer, without asking counsel from others? Is it not true that, deep down in your heart, you already know, or at least suspect - the root of your present trouble? Are you cast down because of distressing circumstances which your own folly has brought you into? Then acknowledge with the Psalmist, "I know, O Lord, that Your judgments are right, and You in faithfulness have afflicted me" (Psalm 119:75).
Are you grieved because Providence has not smiled upon you so sweetly as it has on some of your neighbors? "For I envied the arrogant when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. They have no struggles; their bodies are healthy and strong. They are free from the burdens common to man; they are not plagued by human ills" (Psalm 73:3-5).
Perhaps the cases suggested above do not exactly fit that of some of our readers. Not a few may say, "My soul is cast down and my heart is heavy because my finances are at so low an ebb, and the outlook is so dark." Can He who fed two millions Israelites for forty years not minister to you? Can He who sustained Elijah in the time of famine not keep you from starving?
Returning to our opening text, let us observe how that David not only did not succumb to his sorrows, interrogated his soul, and rebuked his unbelief - but he also preached to himself: "Hope in God!" Ah, that is what the despondent needs to do - nothing else will bring relief to the depressed. The immediate outlook may be dark - but the Divine promises are bright. There is One who is "a very present help in times of trouble" (Psalm 46:1), and He never deserts those who really make Him their refuge. The writer has proved this many, many time - and so may the reader.
"Hope in God!"
Hope in His mercy. Hope in His power, hope in His faithfulness, and hope in His love.
"For I will yet praise Him, my Saviour and my God." Such is ever the blessed assurance of those who truly hope in God. They know that, "Many are the afflictions of the righteous - but the Lord delivers him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19).
God has told them that "weeping may endure for a night - but joy comes in the morning" (Psalm 30;5). So Christian reader, when the fiery trial has done its work, and your bonds are burned off (Daniel 3:25), you will thank Him for the trials which are now so unpleasant! Then hopefully anticipate the future. Count upon God - and He will not fail you.
Let each Christian reader who is not no passing through deep waters join with the writer in fervent prayer to God, that He will graciously sanctify the "present distress" unto the spiritual good of His own people, and mercifully supply their needs.
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
An Evangelical Spirit # 2 (and others)
An Evangelical Spirit # 2 (and others)
It is, however, to be pointed out that whereas an "evangelical spirit" is the opposite of a "legal" one; it is also the very reverse of a licentious spirit. Christ saves His people "from their sins" (Matt. 1:21), that is, from the love and dominion of sins - as well as from the pollution and penalty of their sins. The Gospel announces the amazing grace of God - but His grace is not exercised at the expense of righteousness, rather does it "reign through righteousness" (Romans 5:21). The very grace which proclaims a free and full salvation without money and without price - also works mightily and transformingly in its recipients, "teaching us (effectually, not theoretically) that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world" (Titus 2:12). The Gospel is very far from inculcating lawlessness. When the Apostle asked, "Do we then (by preaching salvation by grace alone) make void the Law through faith?" he answered, "God forbid - yes we establish the Law" (Romans 3:31), for the believer is "under the Law of Christ" (1 Corinthians 9:21).
The more the Gospel works effectually in those who believe, the more are they conformed, both inwardly and outwardly, unto the image of Christ. And the Lord Jesus declared, "I delight to do Your will, O My God - yes Your Law is within My heart" (Psalm 40:8). This, too, in their measure, is the experience and acknowledgement of each one saved by Him. Said the Apostle, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man" (Romans 7:22), which was the voicing of an essential element in an "evangelical spirit". Where the heart beats true to the Gospel, the possessor is not only delivered from legality or self-righteousness, but he is also preserved from spiritual lawlessness. While no sinner is or can be saved on account of his own doings, so far from the Gospel and salvation by grace being the enemy of good works, it inculcates them, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10; Titus 2:14).
An "evangelical spirit" then, is one which cleaves to the Scriptural balance between two evil and fatal extremes - legality and lawlessness; self-righteousness and self-pleasing. Against these two evils - the Christian needs to be constantly on his guard both in doctrine and practice. For while on the one hand there is ever a tendency in him to "frustrate the grace of God" (Gal. 2:21), to "fall from grace" (Gal. 5:4), which is done whenever we bring anything of our own as the ground of our acceptance with God. On the other hand we are ever prone to "turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness" (Jude 4), which is done when we presumptuously give license to the flesh and follow a course of self-will, on the pretext that this cannot jeopardize our eternal security in Christ. To counter the uprisings of the spirit of legality we must constantly remind ourselves that we have nothing good - but what God has wrought in us - and therefore we have no cause for boasting - that we are what we are - by the grace of God. To oppose the workings of licentiousness we must continually ponder the fact that we are not our own - but "purchased at a high price," and that we must glorify Christ as we follow the example which He has left us.
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
_____________________
More fit to be called a devil than a parent!
(Richard Baxter)
"Bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4
Parents! Your example and life are a continual and powerful sermon which is always seen by your children!
Parents! Your children have an everlasting inheritance of happiness to attain--and it is that which you must bring them up for. They have an endless misery to escape--and it is that which you must diligently teach them. If you don't teach them to know God, and how to serve Him, and be saved, and to escape the flames of Hell--you teach them nothing, or worse than nothing. It is in your hands to do them the greatest kindness or cruelty in all the world! Help them to know God and to be saved, and you do more for them than if you helped them to be kings or princes.
If you neglect their souls, and bring them up them in ignorance, worldliness, ungodliness, and sin--you betray them to the devil, the enemy of their souls, even as truly as if you sold them to him! You sell them to be slaves to Satan! You betray them to him who will deceive them and abuse them in this life--and torment them in eternity!
If you saw but a burning furnace, much more the flames of Hell--would you not think that man or woman more fit to be called a devil than a parent, who could find in their hearts to cast their child into it? What monsters then of inhumanity are you, who read in Scripture what is the way to Hell, and who they are that God will deliver up to Satan, to be tormented by him--and yet will bring up your children in that very way, and will not take pains to save them from it!
If you love them, show it in those things on which their everlasting welfare depends. Do not say you love them, and yet lead them unto Hell! If you do not love them, yet do not be so unmerciful to them as to damn them! You cannot possibly do more to damn them, than to bring them up in . . .
ignorance,
carelessness,
worldliness,
sensuality and
ungodliness!
There is no other way to Hell. And yet, will you bring them up in such a life--and say that you do not desire to damn them?
But if you train up your children in ungodliness, you may as well say that you intend to have them damned! And is not the devil more excusable, for dealing thus cruelly to your children--than you who are their parents, who are bound by nature to love them, and prevent their misery?
Let me seriously speak to the hearts of those careless and ungodly parents, who neglect the holy education of their children. Oh, do not be so unmerciful to those who you have brought into the world! Oh, pity and help the souls that you have defiled and undone! Have mercy on the souls that must perish in Hell, if they are not saved! Oh help them who have . . .
so many enemies to assault them;
so many temptations to pass through;
so many difficulties to overcome;
so severe a judgment to undergo!
Help them who are so weak, and so easily deceived and overthrown!
Help them speedily--before sin hardens them, and Satan makes a stronger fortress in their hearts!
Oh be not cruel to their souls!
Do not sell them to Satan, and that for nothing! Do not betray them by your ungodly negligence, to Hell!
If any of them will perish, let it not be because of you--who are so much bound to do them good.
The undoing of your children's souls is a work much fitter for Satan, than for their parents!
Consider how odious soul-betraying parents are--who betray their children to be the slaves of Satan here, and the firebrands of Hell forever! O do not join with the devil in this unnatural, horrid wickedness!
"Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with the rod, he will not die.
You shall beat him with the rod, and shall deliver his soul from Hell." Proverbs 23:13-14
It is, however, to be pointed out that whereas an "evangelical spirit" is the opposite of a "legal" one; it is also the very reverse of a licentious spirit. Christ saves His people "from their sins" (Matt. 1:21), that is, from the love and dominion of sins - as well as from the pollution and penalty of their sins. The Gospel announces the amazing grace of God - but His grace is not exercised at the expense of righteousness, rather does it "reign through righteousness" (Romans 5:21). The very grace which proclaims a free and full salvation without money and without price - also works mightily and transformingly in its recipients, "teaching us (effectually, not theoretically) that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously and godly in this present world" (Titus 2:12). The Gospel is very far from inculcating lawlessness. When the Apostle asked, "Do we then (by preaching salvation by grace alone) make void the Law through faith?" he answered, "God forbid - yes we establish the Law" (Romans 3:31), for the believer is "under the Law of Christ" (1 Corinthians 9:21).
The more the Gospel works effectually in those who believe, the more are they conformed, both inwardly and outwardly, unto the image of Christ. And the Lord Jesus declared, "I delight to do Your will, O My God - yes Your Law is within My heart" (Psalm 40:8). This, too, in their measure, is the experience and acknowledgement of each one saved by Him. Said the Apostle, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man" (Romans 7:22), which was the voicing of an essential element in an "evangelical spirit". Where the heart beats true to the Gospel, the possessor is not only delivered from legality or self-righteousness, but he is also preserved from spiritual lawlessness. While no sinner is or can be saved on account of his own doings, so far from the Gospel and salvation by grace being the enemy of good works, it inculcates them, "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God has before ordained that we should walk in them" (Eph. 2:10; Titus 2:14).
An "evangelical spirit" then, is one which cleaves to the Scriptural balance between two evil and fatal extremes - legality and lawlessness; self-righteousness and self-pleasing. Against these two evils - the Christian needs to be constantly on his guard both in doctrine and practice. For while on the one hand there is ever a tendency in him to "frustrate the grace of God" (Gal. 2:21), to "fall from grace" (Gal. 5:4), which is done whenever we bring anything of our own as the ground of our acceptance with God. On the other hand we are ever prone to "turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness" (Jude 4), which is done when we presumptuously give license to the flesh and follow a course of self-will, on the pretext that this cannot jeopardize our eternal security in Christ. To counter the uprisings of the spirit of legality we must constantly remind ourselves that we have nothing good - but what God has wrought in us - and therefore we have no cause for boasting - that we are what we are - by the grace of God. To oppose the workings of licentiousness we must continually ponder the fact that we are not our own - but "purchased at a high price," and that we must glorify Christ as we follow the example which He has left us.
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
_____________________
More fit to be called a devil than a parent!
(Richard Baxter)
"Bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord." Ephesians 6:4
Parents! Your example and life are a continual and powerful sermon which is always seen by your children!
Parents! Your children have an everlasting inheritance of happiness to attain--and it is that which you must bring them up for. They have an endless misery to escape--and it is that which you must diligently teach them. If you don't teach them to know God, and how to serve Him, and be saved, and to escape the flames of Hell--you teach them nothing, or worse than nothing. It is in your hands to do them the greatest kindness or cruelty in all the world! Help them to know God and to be saved, and you do more for them than if you helped them to be kings or princes.
If you neglect their souls, and bring them up them in ignorance, worldliness, ungodliness, and sin--you betray them to the devil, the enemy of their souls, even as truly as if you sold them to him! You sell them to be slaves to Satan! You betray them to him who will deceive them and abuse them in this life--and torment them in eternity!
If you saw but a burning furnace, much more the flames of Hell--would you not think that man or woman more fit to be called a devil than a parent, who could find in their hearts to cast their child into it? What monsters then of inhumanity are you, who read in Scripture what is the way to Hell, and who they are that God will deliver up to Satan, to be tormented by him--and yet will bring up your children in that very way, and will not take pains to save them from it!
If you love them, show it in those things on which their everlasting welfare depends. Do not say you love them, and yet lead them unto Hell! If you do not love them, yet do not be so unmerciful to them as to damn them! You cannot possibly do more to damn them, than to bring them up in . . .
ignorance,
carelessness,
worldliness,
sensuality and
ungodliness!
There is no other way to Hell. And yet, will you bring them up in such a life--and say that you do not desire to damn them?
But if you train up your children in ungodliness, you may as well say that you intend to have them damned! And is not the devil more excusable, for dealing thus cruelly to your children--than you who are their parents, who are bound by nature to love them, and prevent their misery?
Let me seriously speak to the hearts of those careless and ungodly parents, who neglect the holy education of their children. Oh, do not be so unmerciful to those who you have brought into the world! Oh, pity and help the souls that you have defiled and undone! Have mercy on the souls that must perish in Hell, if they are not saved! Oh help them who have . . .
so many enemies to assault them;
so many temptations to pass through;
so many difficulties to overcome;
so severe a judgment to undergo!
Help them who are so weak, and so easily deceived and overthrown!
Help them speedily--before sin hardens them, and Satan makes a stronger fortress in their hearts!
Oh be not cruel to their souls!
Do not sell them to Satan, and that for nothing! Do not betray them by your ungodly negligence, to Hell!
If any of them will perish, let it not be because of you--who are so much bound to do them good.
The undoing of your children's souls is a work much fitter for Satan, than for their parents!
Consider how odious soul-betraying parents are--who betray their children to be the slaves of Satan here, and the firebrands of Hell forever! O do not join with the devil in this unnatural, horrid wickedness!
"Do not withhold correction from a child, for if you beat him with the rod, he will not die.
You shall beat him with the rod, and shall deliver his soul from Hell." Proverbs 23:13-14
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