iChristian

Our great lesson!

(James Smith, “The Pastor’s Morning Visit”)
“I will instruct you.” Psalm 32:8
At best we know but little, and we are slow to learn. 
But the Lord has promised to instruct us. 
The Lord’s teaching always produces . . .
  humility,
  self-loathing,
  confidence in God,
  zeal for His glory, and
  heart devotion to Him!

The Lord’s teaching always . . .
  brings us to the feet of Jesus, and
  delivers us from the present evil world. 

Under Divine instruction we learn . . .
  the true nature of sin,
  the vanity of the world,
  the emptiness of creatures, and
  the fullness and preciousness of Christ!

Is God willing to instruct us? 
Then let us be early and often at His throne of grace, praying, as the Psalmist did, 
“Show me Your ways, O LORD,
 teach me Your paths;
 guide me in Your truth and teach me;
 for You are God my Savior, and my hope is in You all day long.” Psalm 25:4-5 

Then shall we exclaim, as Elihu did, 
“God is exalted in His power. Who is a teacher like Him!” Job 36:22 

The Lord will teach us to profit, and sanctify us through the truth He imparts. 

Christ is our great lesson, and to know Him rightly is life, peace and joy!

Is Jesus your Teacher? Then . . .
  sit at His feet,
  treasure up His Words, 
  and show forth His praise! 

He says, “Learn of Me.” Learn to . . .
  know Him,
  love Him,
  obey Him, and
  live upon Him!

“Teach me Your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path!” Psalm 27:11 

We begin at the lowest grade

(J.R. Miller, 1909)

“Learn from Me–for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.” Matthew 11:29

All of Christian life is a school. “Learn from Me,” said the Master. We are only beginners when we first become Christians, and enter Christ’s school. We begin at the lowest grade. We do not have to wait until we know a great deal before we begin to attend school. School is not for finished scholars, but for the most ignorant. We may come to Christ when we know almost nothing. He is the teacher, and all believers are learners. 

“Learn from Me–for I am gentle.” Gentleness is a lesson which we are to learn. It will probably take us a good long while to learn this lesson, but we must learn it because it is in Christ’s curriculum for all His students.

Contentment is another lesson which we must learn. When he was well along in life, Paul said, “I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation.” It was a long and difficult lesson for him to learn. 

Patience is a lesson that has to be learned. 
An impatient person is not a complete Christian. 

Thoughtfulness is a necessary lesson. There are a great many thoughtless Christians. They are always blundering in their interactions with others. They say the wrong word, they do the wrong thing. They are always hurting other people’s feelings, giving pain to gentle hearts. Yet it is all from thoughtlessness. “I didn’t mean to offend him. I didn’t mean to be unkind. I just never thought!” There are few lessons in Christian life that more people need to learn, than this of thoughtfulness.

We have to learn to trust. Worry is a sin. It is probably as great a sin as dishonesty or profanity or bad temper. Yet a good many Christian people worry, and one of the most important lessons in Christ’s school, is to learn not to worry. 

Kindness is a lesson we must learn. It takes many years to learn the one little lesson of kindness.

Joy is a lesson to be learned. 

Peace is another. 

Humility is another necessary lesson. 

Praise is a great lesson. 

All of life is a school, and it is in learning these lessons that Jesus says we shall find rest for your souls. Christ Himself is our teacher, and with Him we should never fail to learn, though it be only slowly. Then as we learn our lessons, our lives will grow continually more and more into quietness, peace and Christlikeness.

“The Christian is not superficial in any sense, but is fundamentally serious and fundamentally happy. You see, the joy of the Christian is a holy joy, the happiness of the Christian is a serious happiness. … it is a solemn joy, it is a holy joy, it is a serious happiness; so that, though he is grave and sober-minded and serious, he is never cold and prohibitive.” 
― David Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount

Have you learned your lesson so badly?

(George Mylne, “Lessons for the Christian’s Daily Walk” 1859)
“All is vexation of spirit!” Ecclesiastes 1:14

Who has not felt vexation?
Who knows not what it means?

The infant in its cradle,
the schoolboy at his play,
youth in all its vitality,
manhood in its prime,
and especially old age—
all, all have felt vexation!

My soul, you know it well! Your sins, your fallen nature, your infirmities–all lay you open to vexation. 
How easily irritated you get! 
How quick to feel offenses! 
How swift to gather sorrows to yourself through your excess of sensitivity!
Often have you murmured at your lot, rising in mutiny against your Maker! 
How often has your patience failed! 
What trifles have often wounded you! 
Some scheme of pleasure has been thwarted–and you were quite vexed! 
A rainy day, or even some trifling inconvenience–has often ruffled your composure. 
How often a kind reproof, a friendly warning–some imagined slight–a look–a smile withheld, and yet with no intention of unkindness–has filled you with vexation! 
How often has . . .
  wounded pride; 
  a humbling sense of your infirmities;
  a deep conviction of your lack of judgment; 
  the fear of standing low in man’s opinion
–vexed you beyond expression! 

My soul, you are not singular in your vexation. 
Go where you will, you will find it. 
The world is full of vexation. “All is vexation of spirit!”

This does not mean that . . .
 woes may lawfully be brooded over, or 
 sense of injuries may be cherished in the soul, or 
 that morbid feelings may be indulged in, or 
 that moody silence, brooding vexation, and carking care–are healthful for the soul! Oh, no! 

If God is true, if Scripture precept has its weight, and promises their meaning–then vexation, O my soul, should have no part in you! Open you must be to its trials day by day. But . . .
  where is your grace; 
  where is your holiness; 
  where is your consistency; 
  where is your strength, your comfort, and your steadfastness
–if you are conquered by vexation?

Have you, then, learned of Christ, the lowly and the meek One–and not found rest for your soul? (Matthew 11:29.) Have you learned your lesson so badly? Go, learn it over again. Fight, then, against this habit of vexation. Give it no place within you. Look to the Comforter to help you. Taste the tranquility of God. Take every trial, as it rises, to Jesus, your Savior-Friend. Then peace shall be your portion–not vexation.

“Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you.
 I do not give to you as the world gives.
 Do not let your hearts be troubled, and do not be afraid!” John 14:27 

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, 
 will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus!” Philippians 4:7

A life-giving stream for parched pilgrims!

The Word and the Spirit are so intimately conjoined, that we are scarcely warranted in thinking of the one without the other. The Word does not operate without the Spirit’s agency; and the Spirit does not work apart from the Word.

It was by the Spirit’s inspiration that the Word was first given, for “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:21).

It is by the Spirit that we are enlightened (Ephesians 1:17, 18), yet the Word is the means He employs. 

It is by the Spirit that we are sanctified (Romans 15:16), yet not apart from the Truth (John 17:17). 

It is by the Spirit, that we are strengthened (Ephesians 3:16) as He causes the Word to dwell in us richly (Colossians 3:16). 

It is by the Spirit, that we are comforted (Acts 9:31) as He applies the Divine promises to our hearts. 

How appropriate, then, that the grand instrument employed by the Spirit of grace, should be termed “the Word of His grace.”

The “Word of His grace” proclaims . . .
  rest for the weary,
  pardon to the guilty,
  justification to the ungodly,
  adoption to the outcast,
  eternal heavenly treasures for spiritual paupers! 

It is “the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind” who are to be called to the feast which free grace has spread! (Luke 14:13)

“The Word of His grace” not only instructs us where grace is to be found, and how further supplies of it are to be obtained–but it is the principal medium through which grace is actually imparted to the soul. It is a life-giving stream for parched pilgrims–as they journey through this “wilderness of sin.” 

As its sacred pages are reverently perused–
  the mind is instructed,
  the conscience is enlightened,
  the affections are warmed,
  and the will is moved. 

As its exceeding great and precious promises are meditated upon and treasured up in the heart–new strength is imparted to the soul. 

As its holy precepts are turned into earnest prayer–help is obtained for the discharge of duty. 

As its timely warnings and admonitions are heeded–temptations lose their power and the snares of Satan are avoided.

As its cheering revelation of what God has prepared for those who love Him is received by faith–new hope is kindled in the heart, and the trials of life are borne with greater fortitude. And as the end of the journey is neared–death loses its terrors and the call to leave this “valley of tears” becomes more desirable. 

Without “the Word of His grace” we would be mariners upon the sea of life–without chart or compass!
 
“Now I commit you to God and to the Word of His grace, which can build you up and give you an inheritance among all those who are sanctified!” Acts 20:32 

The transforming power of the Spirit!

(J.C. Ryle, “The Lord’s Garden“)
“To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints.” Romans 1:7

Believers are separated from the world by the effectual working of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit calls them out from the world, and separates them as effectually as if a wall were built between them and it. He puts in them . . .
  new hearts,
  new minds,
  new tastes,
  new desires,
  new sorrows,
  new joys,
  new wishes,
  new pleasures,
  new longings.

He gives them . . . 
  new eyes,
  new ears,
  new affections,
  new opinions. 

He makes them new creatures. They are born again–and with a new birth they begin a new existence. Mighty indeed is the transforming power of the Spirit!

No longer will there be any curse!

(Maria Sandberg, “Glimpses of Heaven!” 1880)

“No longer will there be any curse!” Revelation 22:3 
Our beautiful world, filled with the wonderful works of God, bears evident traces that it is not what it was created at first. It bears everywhere, the marks of a great change–which change is accounted for in the Bible by the fall of Adam. God made everything very good–but man sinned, and the curse came upon himself and the whole creation! Though still beautiful, yet how much is its beauty marred and defaced! Now, thorns and thistles spring up, where once were only lovely flowers and sweet fruits. The wild beasts of the forest, though still beautiful in outward form–now possess violent and ferocious dispositions; and the beasts of burden groan under the tyranny of man. Man himself is subject to labor and toil, to sorrow and sickness and death. Even his most innocent enjoyments are marred by sin!

But thanks be to God, the promise of deliverance from the curse sounds in our ears in this blessed Scripture, “No longer will there be any curse!” Where then, is this land of blessing and perfection? It is that Paradise which Christ has gone to prepare for His people; that “Rest which remains for the people of God.” 

Here on earth, even our very blessings are mixed with signs of the curse. 
But there shall be no more curse in our Heavenly home:
  no more toil and labor,
  no more weariness and faintness,
  no more hunger or thirst,
  no more bitter cold or burning heat,
  no more disappointment, 
  no more sorrow,
  no more pain,
  no more sickness, 
  no more death! 

In Heaven there shall be no more curse, but all will be the perfection of bliss. Who can conceive the happiness of such a state? For this, the whole creation groans and travails in pain, eagerly waiting for its consummation.

Let us, then, who have such exceedingly great and precious promises, when sighing under the effects of the curse in any of its forms–gladly turn our thoughts to meditate on Heaven’s glorious realities! And when admiring the beautiful works of God, which still exist to show us what they once were–let us also turn our thoughts to the greater beauty and glory of our Paradise above!

One reason why the church has so little influence over the world

(Charles Spurgeon)

“Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind!” Romans 12:2 

I believe that one reason why the church has so little influence over the world–is because the world has so much influence over the church!

It is overwhelming to see the growing worldliness of the visible church. Many professed Christians–the Lord alone knows whether they are true believers or not–give us grave cause for apprehension. We see them tolerating practices which would not have been endured by their fathers; my blood chills when I think of how far some fashionable professors go astray!

When the Church descends to the world’s level, her spiritual power is gone. Jesus said, “Preach the gospel to every creature!” But men are getting tired of the divine plan; they are going to be saved by the music, or by the theatricals, or by the amusements! Well, they may try these things as long as ever they like; but nothing can ever come of the whole thing but utter disappointment and confusion:
  God is dishonored,
  the gospel is travestied,
  hypocrites are manufactured by thousands, and 
  the church is dragged down to the level of the world!An unholy church! It is useless to the world–and of no esteem among men. It is . . .
  an abomination,
   Hell’s laughter, and
  Heaven’s abhorrence! “The world has absorbed the Church, and the church is content that it should be so!” Horatius Bonar

“Conformity to the world, in all ages, has proved the ruin of the church!” Rowland Hill

“The spirit of the world is eating out the very heart and life of true godliness!” George Everard

“Refined worldliness is the present snare of the Church of God!” Horatius Bonar

The antidote for fear!

(Alexander Smellie, “The Secret Place” 1907)  LISTEN to audio!  Download audio

“Fear not, for I have redeemed you! I have called you by your name–you are Mine!” Isaiah 43:1

God is intensely desirous to rid me of my needless fears. Does He not give me reason after reason for peacefulness, calmness and hope?

1. “Fear not,” He says, “for I have redeemed you!” 
  What a work it was! 
  What a price it demanded! 
  What a sorrow it involved!
It meant the surrender and sacrifice of His Son, His Only-Begotten, His Well-Beloved. It meant for the King of Glory, to be born in a lowly stable, with the ox and donkey and camel. After a life of suffering, it meant a stark and dreadful Cross on the Hill of Shame!

A Scottish professor, who retained to the last a childlike heart, speaking to his students one day about the atoning sacrifice of Calvary, said, with the tears running down his cheeks, “Ay, ay, do you know what it was? Do you know what it was? It was damnation–and He took it lovingly!”

It was my damnation–and He took it lovingly! And since God gave all this for me, then how can He ever abandon me? Let my heart be confident and strong.

2. There is His understanding of my case. “Fear not,” He continues, “for I have called you by name!” He has such multitudes to remember, and yet He knows me individually and intimately! The stars lie along the face of the sky like bright unnumbered dust; but He knows star from star. The flowers spring up in battalions; but not a single flower is “born to blush unseen”–He knows it, and rejoices in it. There are billions of people in the world today, and I cannot grasp the tremendous aggregate; but He is familiar with each beating soul. 

Just so, He comprehends . . .
  my special needs and circumstances,
  my overbearing duties,
  my sore temptations,
  my herculean difficulties,
  my subtle and persevering foes.
Should I not be strong and courageous, when the Lord of Heaven has such perfect acquaintance with me?

3. And there is His ownership of my soul. “Fear not,” He commands once more, “for you are Mine!” In a sense I was always His possession; but since He purchased me with Christ’s blood, I am among . . .
  His jewels,
  His trophies,
  His special possessions,
  His redeemed children! 

Why should I be afraid? I am Christ’s redeemed child, and He owns and keeps me!

My subtlest and strongest enemies are within myself!

(Alexander Smellie, “The Secret Place” 1907)

Fighting a long and hard campaign, I shall be very foolish if I underestimate my foes. 
There are many of them, but they serve under a trinity of wicked captains.

1. “If any man loves the WORLD,” writes John, “the love of the Father is not in him.” The world is my sworn and unrelenting enemy; an enemy all the more dangerous because it professes to be something so different–the best of comrades and the truest of friends. 

I must take my part, and that with diligence, in the world’s business. Yet what a risk there is, that it should absorb my thoughts morning and night! Then I shall become selfish and earthly and unspiritual. 

I must make acquaintance with the world’s literature, and much of it is beautiful and good. But I am prone to give it an undue attention, and to forget the divine library which God’s finger has penned. 

I must mingle among the world’s citizens, and many of them are love-worthy and full of charm. Yet, when I prize them overmuch, they separate me from Father and Son and Holy Spirit. 

Under its kindly face, the world is a hostile power!

2. “Your adversary the DEVIL,” writes Peter. Here is another stupendous antagonist. The accuser of the brethren prowls about, unseen and malignant, sleeplessly plotting my harm! Never should I leave off my spiritual armor.

3. “The FLESH lusts against the Spirit,” writes Paul. After all, my subtlest and strongest enemies are within myself! Old sin comes back, seeking the mastery again. And much in me loves it, and goes out to meet and embrace it. There, indeed, is my greatest hazard–there my most deadly snare!

“O wretched man that I am!” I re-echo the ancient cry, “who shall deliver me from the body of this death!” Yes, my worst foes are entrenched within the citadel of Mansoul, within my own heart!

My God, I have no might against this great company, neither do I know what to do! But my eyes are upon You!

“To Him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before His glorious presence without fault and with great joy–to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore!” Jude 1:24-25

The happiness of Heaven!

(Thomas Sherman, “Divine Breathings; Or, a Pious Soul Thirsting after Christ”)
“No eye has seen, 
 no ear has heard, 
 no mind has conceived,
 what God has prepared for those who love Him!” 1 Corinthians 2:9

The vessel of our soul is too capacious to be filled with all the pleasures and delights the world put together. But hereafter, our pleasures and delights shall be too great for the most capacious vessel to hold! Our glory shall be so great, that power as well as goodness, shall be given by God Himself to renew and enlarge these vessels, that they may be capable of receiving and retaining that glory. Strength and love shall go forth together, to prepare and elevate our dispositions, that they may be suitable for such a transcendent and exalted state!

At present, we are too weak to bear such a weight of glory; therefore God will immortalize us, that we may be able to sustain it! And because our eternal joys cannot fully enter into us while in this world, we shall fully enter into them in heaven. 

What fool would place only a few drops of carnal pleasures into so large a vessel as the soul; and neglect the spring, or rather the ocean of unspeakable bliss, and everlasting glory!

O my soul, what a glorious day is coming, when the vessels of mercy shall be cast into the ocean of mercy, and be filled to the very brim with divine mercy! Then the soul that is love-sick for Jesus–shall lie in the bosom of divine love, and forever be satisfied with unfathomable love! Then the children of God shall have a full fruition of God, and be forever satisfied with the presence of God! The joy of His glorious presence, the fullness of His joy, the sweetness of this fullness, the eternity of this sweetness–the heart of man can never adequately comprehend. 

Lord, let the glory which you have prepared for me, turn my soul from the vanities of earth!

“You have made known to me the path of life; You will fill me with joy in Your presence, with eternal pleasures at Your right hand!” Psalm 16:11

Such a god should be derided!

(William S. Plumer, “A Treatise on Providence” 1865)
The unrenewed heart is atheistic in its inclinations.

“They say: The Lord doesn’t see it. The God of Jacob doesn’t pay attention.” Psalm 94:7″The wicked say to themselves: ‘God isn’t watching! He will never notice!’
 Arise, O Lord! Punish the wicked, O God!” Psalm 10:11-12

Nothing more derogatory to the character of God can possibly be said, than that He does not rule the world. 

God reigns is a logical conclusion from God is. To deny God’s providence is as atheistic as to deny His existence! A god, who neither sees, nor hears, nor knows, nor cares, nor helps, nor saves–is a vanity, and can never claim homage from intelligent men. Such a god should be derided, not worshiped! He might suit the mythology of Paganism, or meet the demands of an infidel heart–but could never command the allegiance, or win the confidence of an enlightened and pious man! 

The world may as well be without a god–as have one who is incompetent to rule it, or, who, wrapping Himself in a mantle of careless indifference, abandons creation to the governance of puny mortals, to the rule of devils, or to the sway of blind chance! Such conduct may well comport with the character of false gods–but is wholly abhorrent to the nature of Jehovah! God’s tender mercies are over all His works. His kingdom rules over all!

“Our God is in Heaven and does whatever He pleases!” Psalm 115:3 

“For I know that the Lord is great; our Lord is greater than all gods. The Lord does whatever He pleases in Heaven and on earth, in the seas and all the depths!” Psalm 135:5-6″Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty, reigns!” Revelation 19:6

The result has been . . .

(Arthur Pink, “An Exposition of the Gospel of John”)
“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated Me first. If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you!” John 15:18-19 

“Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you!” 1 John 3:13 

The professing Church has boasted that it would convert the world. To accomplish this aim, it has sought to “popularize” religion. Innumerable devices have been employed to attract the ungodly–many of which even a sense of propriety should have suppressed! 

The result has been that the world has converted the professing Church! 

But notwithstanding this, it still remains true that the world hates the true followers of the Lamb. And nowhere is this more plainly evident, than in those who belong to what we may term the religious world!

If you resolve that by Divine grace you will live godly in Christ Jesus, then know that persecution must be your portion. And that persecution will come upon you not from atheists and infidels, but from those bearing the name of Christians. It will issue from those who still keep up a form (or semblance) of godliness, but who are strangers to its living power. It will come to you from empty professors whose compromising ways are condemned by your refusal to conform thereto; whose worldliness and carnality is rebuked by your spirituality. 

Remember, it was the religious leaders who hounded the Savior to His death!

 “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted!” 2 Timothy 3:12 

Love people and use things. Don’t love things and use people.

But he was a leper!

(Arthur Pink, “Gleanings from Elisha”)
“Naaman, commander of the army of the king of Syria, was a great man . . . but he was a leper!” 2 Kings 5:1 

Naaman was a great man . . . but he was a leper! He was the victim of a loathsome and incurable disease. He was a pitiful and repulsive object, with no prospect whatever of any improvement in his condition.

Yes, my reader, the highly-privileged and honored Naaman was a leper–and as such he portrays what you are and what I am by nature. God’s Word does not flatter man. It lays him in the dust, which is one reason why it is so unpalatable to the great majority of people. It is the Word of truth, and therefore instead of painting flattering pictures of human nature–it represents things as they actually are.
 
Instead of lauding man–it abases him.

Instead of speaking of the dignity and nobility of human nature, it declares it to be leprous–sinful, corrupt, depraved, defiled!

Instead of eulogizing human progress–it insists that “every man at his best state is altogether vanity!” (Psalm 39:5)

And when the Holy Scriptures define man’s attitude toward, and relationship with God–they insist that “There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understands, there is none that seeks after God” (Romans 3:10-11). They declare that we are His enemies by our wicked works (Colossians 1:21), and that consequently we are under the condemnation and curse of God’s law, and that His holy wrath abides on us! (John 3:36)

The Word of truth declares that by nature all of us are spiritual lepers–foul and filthy, unfit for the divine presence, “being alienated from the life of God.” (Ephesians 4:18) 

You may occupy a good position in this world, even an eminent station in the affairs of this life. You may have made good in your vocation, and wrought praiseworthy achievements by human standards. You may be honorable in the sight of your fellows–but how do you appear in the eyes of God? You are a leper–one whom His law pronounces unclean, one who is utterly unfit for His holy presence! As it was with Naaman, so it is with you: “He was a great man–but a leper!”

We would not be faithful to our calling were we to glide over that in God’s Word which is distasteful to proud flesh and blood. Nor would we be faithful to our readers if we glossed over their frightful and fatal natural condition. It is in their souls’ interests that they should face this humiliating and unpleasant fact: that in God’s sight, they are spiritual lepers!

But we must personalize it. Have you, my reader, realized this fact in your own case? Have you seen yourself as you are in God’s sight? Are you aware that your soul is suffering from a disease that neither you nor any human being can cure? It is so, whether you realize it or not. The Scriptures declare that from the sole of your foot to the crown of your head, there is no soundness in you. Yes, that in the sight of the holy God, you are a mass of “wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores!” (Isaiah 1:6) Only as you penitently accept that divine verdict, is there any hope for you.

“Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners!” 1 Timothy 1:15

Two Filthy Rooms!

(Arthur Pink)
“And when the Spirit comes, He will convict the world of sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.” John 16:8

One of the principle things which distinguishes a regenerate person from an unregenerate one, may be likened unto two filthy rooms:

In one room, the blinds are raised and the sunlight streams in, exposing the filth all around. 

In the other room, the blinds are lowered, and one walking through the room would be unable to discern its real condition.

Thus it is in the case of one who has been renewed by the Spirit: his eyes have been opened to see the awful filthwhich lurks in every corner of his heart.

But in the case of the unregenerate, though they have occasional twinges of conscience when they act wrongfully, they are very largely ignorant of the awful fact that they are a complete mass of corruption in the pure eyes of the thrice holy God.

Abraham acknowledged, “I am dust and ashes!” Genesis 18:27

Job said of himself, “I am vile!” Job 40:4

David admitted, “I am a worm!” Psalm 22:6

Isaiah confessed, “Woe is me! I am ruined!” Isaiah 6:5

Peter affirmed, “I am a sinful man, O Lord!” Luke 5:8

Paul considered himself, “The chief of sinners!” 1 Timothy 1:15

LOST!

(Arthur Pink, 1951)
“But if our gospel is hid–it is hid to those who are LOST! The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers!” 2 Corinthians 4:3-4 

What multitudes of people there are who have no concern over, in fact, no consciousness of, their woeful condition! While they do not regard themselves as perfect, yet they are not aware that there is anything seriously wrong with them. They are respectable people, law-abiding citizens, and nothing particular ever troubles their conscience. They consider that they are certainly no worse than their religious neighbors, and though they scarcely ever read the Bible or enter a church, they fully expect to go to Heaven when they die. 

Some of them will indeed admit that they are sinners, but imagine that their good works far outnumber their bad ones. Some of them were sprinkled as infants, attended a Sunday school class as children, said their prayers each night, and later joined the church. Nevertheless, to this moment, they have never realized that they are the enemies of God, an abomination in the eyes of His holiness, and that Hell is their just desert! They see no beauty or glory in the Gospel, no suitableness in it unto their case–and therefore do they despise and reject it.

Though Satan rules in their hearts and lives (Ephesians 2:2), yet it is by their own free consent. They voluntarily obey him and submit to his will. His dominion over them is maintained by . . .
  keeping their minds in darkness,
  deceiving and deluding them,
  blinding them by pride, prejudice, and the workings of their own corruptions. 

Nowhere but in the Scriptures, can we learn what is the real condition of the natural man. There his case is diagnosed with unerring precision by the divine Physician. Many are the terms used therein by the Holy Spirit to describe the solemn and direful state to which the fall has reduced every descendant of Adam; and among them probably none is more pointed and awesome than is the term LOST! How dismal is its sound! How much is summed up in that single word! It signifies . . .
  that the natural man is in a sinful, wretched, and perilous state, 
  that he is far astray from God,
  that he has willfully and wantonly forsaken the path of duty. 

Lost! A traveler from time to eternity, treading the road that leads to certain and everlasting destruction! 

Lost! A creature who has forfeited the approbation and favor of his Maker, and is now an outcast from Him!

Lost! One who has squandered his substance in riotous living, and is now a spiritual bankrupt and pauper. He is out of the way of eternal peace and blessing, and utterly incapable of finding his way back to it! 

Fearful beyond words, is the condition of fallen man. His case is as hopeless as that of a dying person whose disease is incurable. A lost child is a pitiful object–but what mind can estimate, or pen depict, the tragedy of a lost soul? Lost now, lost forever–unless a sovereign God intervenes and performs a miracle of mercy for its recovery! 

Man is lost positively, in that he is not what he should be. He is . . .
  a defiled creature,
  a guilty criminal, 
  a child of disobedience!

Lost judicially, under the curse of God’s broken Law, sentenced to death, “condemned already” (John 3:18), the wrath of God now abiding on him! (John 3:36)

Lost meritoriously, for his transgressions deserve eternal death, which is the wages of sin–and fully has he earned them. 

Lost experientially in point of ability or power to recover himself, he is “not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can he be” (Romans 8:7). The moral impotency of man is such that he is utterly incapable of performing a single spiritual act: “Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard its spots? Neither can you do good, who are accustomed to doing evil! (Jeremiah 13:23)

None will know how utterly man is lost, until they experience God’s wrath in Hell, and can then measure the fearful distance they have departed from Him!

Thus man is lost in every way, and in every sense! 
Federally, by the imputation to him of the guilt of his representative’s offence. 
Effectually, by the transmission of a corrupt nature from his parents. 
Actually, by his own evil conduct, “you have destroyed yourself” (Hosea 13:9). 
Practically, by the forming of evil habits, so that now he is “held with the cords of his sins” (Proverbs 5:22). 

Lost to God, for He has no love, no service, no glory from the unregenerate; so that they deprive Him of the honor of their creation. 

Man is lost to himself . . .
  to all reason and rational inducements, 
  to right conceptions and perceptions, 
  to every consideration of God’s claims upon him. 

Lost to all sense of shame for his horrible condition in the eyes of the Holy One. 

So lost as to have “delight in wickedness” (2 Thessalonians 2:12). 

Lost to piety and true happiness. 

Out of the way of holiness, peace, and security. 

Lost in sin, in ignorance, and error. 

Lost irretrievably, like a sheep that wanders farther and farther astray, until it perishes. Man is utterly unable to find his way back to God, for he is in total darkness–a wanderer in a pathless desert, perishing in a howling wilderness. What makes man’s case yet worse, is that he has no desire to be recovered! He has perversely set himself up to be his own master, and stubbornly determines to please himself and carve out his own career. 

Rather than return unto God, the unregenerate would take any road which leads farther away from Him. They resent His expostulations and resist the strivings of His Spirit. If not with their lips, with their hearts, they say unto God: “Depart from us, for we have no desire to know Your ways!” (Job 21:14). Yes, they would much prefer to be annihilated than yet meet God face to face, and have to give an account of themselves to Him (Romans 14:12). They hate His holiness and dread His justice, while despising His goodness and abusing His mercies! 

An unerring chart by which to steer through the dangerous sea of life!

(Arthur Pink, “The Attributes of God“)

God has placed His Word in our hands for an intensely practical purpose; namely, to direct our walk and to regulate our deportment. The primary purpose for which God gave the Scriptures, is to make a practicaluse of them–ordering the details of our lives by its rules and regulations.

“Your Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.” Psalm 119:105. The metaphor used here is taken from a man walking along a dangerous road on a dark night, in urgent need of a lantern to show him where to walk safely and comfortably, to avoid injury and destruction. 

God, in His infinite condescension and transcendent grace, has given us His Word for this very purpose, so that we need not stumble along blindly, ignorant of what pleases or displeases Him–but that we might know His mind. That divine Word is not given to us simply for information, but . . .
  to regulate our conduct,
  to enlighten our minds,
  and to mold our hearts.

The Word supplies us with an unerring chart by which to steer through the dangerous sea of life. If we sincerely and diligently follow, it will deliver us from disastrous rocks and submerged reefs; and direct us safely to the heavenly harbor. That Word has all the instructions we need for every problem, and every trouble we may be called upon to face. That Word has been given to us “that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:17. How thankful we should be, that God has favored us with such a Word!

This world is a dark place, and it is only as we take heed to the Word, to the light God has given us–that we shall be able to perceive and avoid “the broad road which leads to destruction,” and discern the narrow way which alone “leads unto eternal life.”

Our first duty, and our first aim, must be to take up the Scriptures to ascertain what is God’s revealed will for us–what are the paths He forbids us to walk, what are the ways pleasing in His sight.

The Scriptures are not given us, primarily for our intellectual gratification, nor for emotional admiration, but for life’s regulation. Nor are the precepts and commands, the warnings and encouragements contained therein, simply for our information. They are to be reduced to practice; they require unqualified obedience. He who treasures the divine precepts in his heart, and diligently seeks to walk by their rule, will escape those evils which destroy his fellows.

Thus the great business of the Christian is to regulate his life by, and conform his conduct to–the precepts of the written Word, and the example left us by the Incarnate Word. As he does so, and in proportion as he does so, he is . . . 
  emancipated from the darkness of his natural mind,
  freed from the follies of his corrupt heart,
  delivered from the mad course of this world,
  and escapes the snares of the devil.

Correcting in love–not smiting in wrath!

(Arthur Pink, “Comfort for Christians“)

LISTEN to audio! Download audio
(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

“Whom the Lord loves, He chastens.” Hebrews 12:6

The Father’s wise and loving discipline is in view here.

It is of first importance that we learn to draw a sharp distinction between Divine punishment and Divine chastisement. The distinction is very simple, yet is it often lost sight of. 

God’s people can never by any possibility be punished for their sins, for God has already punished them at the Cross. The Lord Jesus, our Blessed Substitute, suffered the full penalty of all our guilt; hence it is written “The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin.” Neither the justice nor the love of God, will permit Him to again exact payment of what Christ discharged to the full. The difference between punishment and chastisement lies not in the nature of the sufferings of the afflicted. There is a threefold distinction between the two: 

First, the character in which God acts. In the former, God acts as Judge; in the latter, as Father. Sentence of punishment is the act of a judge–a penal sentence passed on those charged with guilt. Punishment can never fall upon the child of God in this judicial sense, because his guilt was all transferred to Christ, “Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree.”

But while the believer’s sins cannot be punished, while the Christian cannot be condemned (Romans 8:3)–yet he may be chastised. The Christian occupies an entirely different position from the non-Christian; he is a member of the Family of God. The relationship which now exists between him and God is that of parent and child; and as a son he must be disciplined for wrongdoing. Folly is bound up in the hearts of all God’s children, and the rod is necessary to rebuke, to subdue, to humble.

The second distinction between Divine punishment and Divine chastisement lies in the recipients of each.

The objects of the former are His enemies. 
The subjects of the latter are His children. 

As the Judge of all the earth, God will yet take vengeance on all His foes. 
As the Father of His family, God maintains discipline over all His children. 

The one is judicial; the other parental.

A third distinction is seen in the design of each.

The one is retributive–the other remedial. 

The one flows from His anger–the other from His love. 

Divine punishment is never sent for the good of unrepentant sinners–but for the honoring of God’s law and the vindicating of His government. 
But Divine chastisement is sent for the well-being of His children: “God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness.” (Hebrews 12:10)

When the believer is smarting under the rod let him not say, “God is now punishing me for my sins!” That can never be! That is most dishonoring to the blood of Christ. God is correcting you in love–not smiting in wrath! 

Chastisement proceeds from God’s goodness and faithfulness, and is one of the greatest blessings for which we have to thank Him. Chastisement evidences our Divine sonship. It is designed for our good, to promote our highest interests. Look beyond the rod–to the all-wise hand which wields it!

Some of the saintliest of God’s people, some of the most obedient of His children–have been, and are the greatest sufferers. 

Oftentimes, God’s chastenings are corrective. They are sent to empty us of self-sufficiency and self-righteousness. They are given to discover to us hidden transgressions, and to teach us the plague of our own hearts. 

Or again, chastisements are sent to strengthen our faith, to raise us to higher levels of experience, to bring us into a condition of usefulness. 

Still again, Divine chastisement is sent as a preventative, to keep under pride, to save us from being unduly elated over success in God’s service. 

Remember, your afflictions are among the “all things” which work together for good. Learn, then, to look upon trials as proofs of God’s love–purging, pruning, and purifying you.

(Arthur Pink, “Eternal Punishment”)

LISTEN to audio! Download audio
(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

It is my deepening conviction that what is most needed today, is a wide proclamation of those truths which are the least acceptable to the flesh.

What is needed today, is a scriptural setting forth of the character of God:
His absolute sovereignty,
His ineffable holiness,
His inflexible justice,
His unchanging veracity.

What is needed today, is a scriptural setting forth of the condition of the natural man:
his total depravity,
his spiritual insensibility,
his inveterate hostility to God,
the fact that he is “condemned already” and that
the wrath of a sin-hating God is even now abiding upon him!

What is needed today, is a scriptural setting forth of the alarming danger which sinners are in; the indescribably awful doom which awaits them; the fact that if they follow their present course only a little further–they shall most certainly suffer the due penalty of their iniquities!

What is needed today, is a scriptural setting forth of the nature of that dreadful punishment which awaits the lost:
the awfulness of it,
the hopelessness of it,
the unendurableness of it,
the endlessness of it!
Excepting the Cross of Christ, nothing else so manifests the heinousness of sin–as the doctrine of eternal punishment.

It is just because these truths have been withheld so much from public ministry to the saints–that we now find so many backboneless, sentimental, lop-sided Christians in our assemblies!

A clearer vision of the awe-inspiring attributes of God, would banish much of our levity and irreverence.

A better understanding of our depravity by nature, would humble us and make us see our deep need of using the appointed means of grace.

A facing of the alarming danger of the lost sinner, would cause us to “consider our ways” and make us more diligent to make our “calling and election sure.”

A realization of the unspeakable misery which awaits the lost (and which each of us has fully merited) would immeasurably deepen our gratitude, and bring us to thank God more fervently–that we have been snatched as brands from the burning, and delivered from the wrath to come! It would also make us far more earnest in our prayers, as we supplicate God on behalf of the unsaved.

(Charles Orr, “How to Live a Holy Life”)

LISTEN to audio!  Download audio
(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

We have only one life to live–only one! Think of this for a moment. 

Here we are in this world of time, making the journey of life. Each day we are farther from the cradle, and nearer to the grave! Solemn thought!

See the mighty concourse of human lives; hear their heavy tread in their onward march. 
Some are just beginning life’s journey, 
some are midway up the hill, 
some have reached the top, and 
some are midway down the western slope. 

But where are we all going? 

Listen, and you will hear but one answer, “Eternity!” Beyond the fading, dying gleams of the sunset of life–lies a boundless, endless ocean called Eternity! There, you and I are daily traveling.

Time is like a great wheel going its round. On and on it goes. Some are stepping on, and some are stepping off. But where are these latter stepping? Into eternity! 

See that old man with bent form, snow-white locks, and tottering steps–his has been a long round, but he has reached his end at last. 

See the middle-aged man–his round has not been so long, but he must also step off. 

See the youth–he has been on only a little while, but he is brought to the stepping-off place. He thought his round would be much longer. He supposed that he was just getting started–when that icy hand was laid upon him and the usher said, “Come, you have made your round, and you must go!” 

The infant that gave its first faint cry this morning, may utter its last feeble wail tonight!

And thus they go. But where? Oh, where? ETERNITY!

If you were to start today and ask each person you met the question, “Where are you going?” and, if possible, you were to travel the world over and ask each one of earth’s inhabitants–there could be but one correct answer, “Eternity!”

“Oh, eternity, Long eternity! 
 Hear the solemn footsteps of eternity!”

Only one life to live! Only one life–and then we must face vast, endless eternity! We shall pass along the pathway of life but once. Every step we take, is a step that can never be taken again. 

This world is not a play-ground–or a place to trifle with time. 
Life is not given us to squander nor fritter away. 
To trifle away time, is indeed, to be the greatest of spendthrifts. 
If you squander a dollar, you may regain it; but a moment wasted, can never be regained. God gives us all the time we need to accomplish all that He purposes us to accomplish–but He does not give us one moment to trifle away.

We have only one life to live–only one!”So teach us to number our days aright, that we may gain a heart of wisdom.” Psalm 90:12 

(J.C. Philpot, “Meditations on Matters of Christian Faith & Experience”)

LISTEN to audio! Download audio
(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

“To the praise of the glory of His grace, wherein He  has made us accepted in the Beloved.” Ephesians 1:6

We are ever looking for something in self to make ourselves acceptable to God. 
We are often sadly cast down and discouraged when we cannot find in ourselves . . .
  that holiness,
  that obedience,
  that calm submission to the will of God,
  that serenity of soul,
  that spirituality and heavenly-mindedness, 
which we believe to be acceptable in His sight. 

Our crooked tempers,
our fretful, peevish minds,
our rebellious thoughts,
our coldness and barrenness,
our alienation from good,
our headlong proneness to evil,
with the daily feeling that we get no better, but rather worse, 
make us think that God views us just as we view ourselves. And this brings on great darkness of mind and bondage of spirit, and we seem to lose sight of our acceptance in Christ, and get into the miserable dregs of self–almost ready to quarrel with God because we are so vile, and only get worse as we get older.

Now the more we get into these dregs of self, and the more we keep looking at the dreadful scenes of wreck and ruin which our heart presents to daily view–the farther do we get from the grace of the gospel, and the more do we lose sight of the only ground of our acceptance with God. It is “in the Beloved” that we are accepted, and not for any . . .
  good works,
  good words,
  good thoughts,
  good hearts, or
  good intentions of our own.

If our acceptance with God depended on anything in ourselves, we would have to believe we might be children of God today, and children of the devil tomorrow.

What, then, is to keep us from sinking altogether into despair, without hope or help? Why, a knowledge of our acceptance in the Beloved, independent of everything in us, good or bad. 

“You are complete in Him!” Colossians 2:10

“Their righteousness is from Me, says the Lord.” Isaiah 54:17

“He saved us, not because of the good things we did, but because of His mercy.” Titus 3:5

(J.C. Philpot, “The Abiding Comforter” 1858)

LISTEN to audio! Download audio
(You will find it helpful to listen to the audio above, as you read the text below.)

“The Spirit of truth. The world cannot receive Him, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him.” John 14:17

The world–that is, the world dead in sin, and the world dead in profession, men destitute of the life and power of God–must have something that it can see. And, as heavenly things can only be seen by heavenly eyes, they cannot receive the things which are invisible.

Now this explains why a religion that presents itself with a degree of beauty and grandeur to the natural eye, will always be received by the world; while a . . .
  spiritual,
  internal,
  heartfelt and
  experimental 
religion will always be rejected.

The world can receive a religion that consists of . . .
  forms, 
  rites, and 
  ceremonies. 
These are things seen.

Beautiful buildings,
painted windows,
pealing organs,
melodious choirs,
the pomp and parade of an earthly priesthood,
and a whole apparatus of ‘religious ceremony’, 
carry with them something that the natural eye can see and admire. The world receives all this ‘external religion’ because it is suitable to the natural mind and intelligible to their reasoning faculties.

But the . . .
  quiet, 
  inward, 
  experimental, 
  divine religion,
which presents no attractions to the outward eye, but is wrought in the heart by a divine operation–the world cannot receive this, because it presents nothing that the natural eye can rest upon with pleasure, or is adapted to gratify their general idea of what religion is or should be.

Do not marvel then, that worldly professors despise a religion wrought in the soul by the power of God. Do not be surprised if even your own relatives think you are almost insane, when you speak of the consolations of the Spirit, or of the teachings of God in your soul. They cannot receive these things, for they have no experience of them; and being such as are altogether opposed to the carnal mind, they reject them with enmity and scorn.