September 21, 2006

Is it winter with your soul? By Octavius Winslow

To the reader conscious of secret declension in his soul, we propose the same searching and tender inquiry. You did run well; who hindered you? What stumbling block has fallen in your way? What has impeded your onward course?

What has... enfeebled your faith, chilled your love, drawn your heart from Jesus, and lured you back to the weak and beggarly elements of a poor world? You set out fair; for a time you did run well; your zeal, and love, and humility gave promise of a useful life, of a glorious race, and of a successful competition for the prize; but something has hindered you.

What is it? Is it.... the world, creature love, covetousness, ambition, presumptuous sin, unmortified corruption, the old leaven unpurged? Search it out! Rest not until it be discovered. Your declension is secret, perhaps the cause is secret; some spiritual duty secretly neglected, or some known sin secretly indulged. Search it out, and bring it to light. You are not as you once were. Your soul has lost ground; the divine life has declined; the fruit of the Spirit has withered; the heart has lost its softness, the conscience has lost its tenderness, the mind has lost its lowliness, the throne of grace has lost its sweetness, the cross of Jesus has lost its attraction.

Oh, how sad and melancholy the change that has passed over you! And have you not the consciousness of it in your soul? Where is the blessedness you spoke of? Where is the sunlit countenance of a reconciled Father? Where are the rich moments spent before the cross? Where are the hallowed seasons of communion in the closet, shut in with God? Where is the voice of the turtledove, the singing of birds, the green pastures where you did feed, the still waters on whose banks you did repose? Is it all gone?

Is it winter with your soul? Ah! yes; your soul is made to feel that it is an evil and a bitter thing to depart from the living God. By Octavius Winslow

September 18, 2006

Saving Faith Always Accompanied by Saving Graces by Henry Mahan

The same gospel of the grace of God in our Lord Jesus Christ, which saves sinners, also sanctifies them and makes them obedient sons. A faith which does not produce obedience to God's word and godliness of character is not saving faith at all.

Spurgeon once said, "There was no need for special conventions and camp meetings on 'sanctification and holiness' until preachers left the gospel of sovereign grace and arminian message and methods prevailed in evangelism." The Westminster Confession teaches, "Faith is the alone instrument of justification; yet it is not alone in the person justified, but is ever accompanied with all other saving graces.'"

The Calvinistic message of God's electing love in Christ Jesus has produced generations of serious, God-fearing and persevering, obedient lovers of Christ and one another; for it is by that love for Christ, His word, and His people that we know that we have "passed from death unto life," and by which we make "our calling and election sure." By Henry Mahan

September 13, 2006

Four False Statements part 1 by Don Bell

There are false statements made from the average pulpit, parroted by those who hear them. I ask you to look at what these statements are with an open Bible, will you do that? Here they are; the first false statement is, "GOD LOVES YOU", second, "JESUS DIED FOR YOU", third, "WILL YOU ACCEPT JESUS"? fourth, "GIVE YOUR HEART TO JESUS".

Why are these statements false? Because they are unscriptural, and should never be preached nor told to men indiscriminately. Not one of these statements is found in the Bible. Where then did they come from? From men! Not once did any preacher in the Word Of God, not even the Lord Jesus EVER say to people "God loves you, Jesus died for you".

Let me put it this way. If anyone had told Esau, or Judas Iscariot that God loved them and Christ died for them they would have lied to them! God hated Esau, Judas was a devil. In the Book of the Acts of the Apostles, the word love is not mentioned once, nor do you find any one of the apostles at any time preaching God loves you, Jesus died for you". Instead of honoring the love of God and the death of Christ these statements belittle it and make it of NO VALUE. It is this pitiful concept of God's Love and the death Of Christ that has brought us to such a miserable state as a people. There is no fear of death or judgment, no fear of sin and it's consequences, because God loves everybody and Christ died for them, so what is there to fear?

God's love and the death of Christ in the Holy Scriptures is always addressed to a particular class of person. It is addressed to sinners, the elect, to beggars, to weak and heavy laden, to the sheep, even "to many", but never to all indiscriminately. Our Lord told the Pharisees; " How shall you escape the damnation of hell?" (Matt. 23:33). Does that sound like He loved them and died for them? If the average religionist was preaching to those same people today, they would have said: "Smile God loves you and Jesus gave his life for you." But they would also have been lying to them!

It is only when men are taught by the Holy Spirit that they are sinners by birth and practice, that they deserve hell for their sins, they are also under the just condemnation of the Holy and Just God of the Bible, "No man can come unto me except the Father which sent me draw them, and they shall all be taught of God" (John 6:44-45). It is only a soul that is drawn and taught by the Holy Spirit that can find any assurance in the love of God and the death of Christ for them. God's love is manifested only in Christ and only towards them who believe on Christ for forgiveness of their sin and justification before God, but the wrath of God abides on everyone who does not believe on God's dear Son, the Lord Jesus(John 3:35-36).
by Don Bell

Four False Statements part 2 by Don Bell

In the last article we looked at four false statements that are preached and believed by most in religion today. They are, "God loves you", "Jesus died for you", "Will you accept Jesus?", and "Give your heart to Jesus". If you look at these four statements honestly, scripturally, and with your Bible open, you will find they are false.

Let us look together at the last two statements. "Will you accept Jesus?" This is a common question asked by preachers today, but do you know that the Lord Himself never asked anyone, ever, if they would please accept him? The thing this generation needs to face is whether the Lord Jesus Christ will accept you! He is the Creator – you are the creature. He is Lord of lords, King of kings, and He is the Sovereign of the universe with all power in heaven and earth vested in Him. Do you really think, for one moment, that He is begging, or that any of His preachers should go begging proud sinners to please "accept Jesus"? Have you ever heard of a king asking his subjects to accept him? Find if you can, any apostle, any prophet, any scripture that would even intimate that the Lord Jesus Christ is presented to sinners to accept or reject! You can find where sinners are told to repent, to bow the knee, to call on the Lord – but never to accept Him! The very thought is repugnant. It belittles the Lord Jesus' glory and power, and especially His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross. Do you think for one moment that he died such an ignominious death on the cross and then offer himself to be accepted or rejected by miserable sinners like you and I?

Now let us consider the last statement, "Give your heart to Jesus". Again, where is this found in all of God's word? What we do find is, "The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked" (Jer. 17:9, Mark 7:22). That man's heart is, "hard as a nether millstone" (Job 41:24). "Who can say I have clean hands and a pure heart?" The Bible truth is that we don't "give" our heart to Jesus – He is the one who must give us a new heart and a right spirit (Ezk. 36:26). Man by nature has a heart that is against God and His Christ. God, for Christ's sake, gives all who submit to Him a new heart. Because man's heart is hard and deceitful, he must be born again (John 3:3-8). A man cannot give himself life, only God can do that. In giving the New Birth, He gives a new heart, a right spirit. A new creature is born, one that knows, loves and obeys his Lord, his God, Jesus Christ.

It is only when men are taught by the Holy Spirit that they are sinners by birth and practice, that they deserve hell for their sins, they are also under the just condemnation of the Holy and Just God of the Bible, "No man can come unto me except the Father which sent me draw them, and they shall all be taught of God" (John 6:44-45). It is only a soul that is drawn and taught by the Holy Spirit that can find any assurance in the love of God and the death of Christ for them. God's love is manifested only in Christ and only towards them who believe on Christ for forgiveness of their sin and justification before God, but the wrath of God abides on everyone who does not believe on God's dear Son, the Lord Jesus(John 3:35-36).

You may not believe what I say. You may ridicule what I say, you may get angry at what I say, but you cannot refute what I say with the Scriptures. Read your bibles –
you conclude for yourselves who has all power; is it Christ? Or is it man? Today's preaching presents the Lord Jesus as the beggar, pleading with men, instead of man as the beggar, pleading with Christ for mercy. by Don Bell

September 11, 2006

Who makes you to Differ? By Todd Nibert

This is the question Paul set before the Corinthians. "For who maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive?" (I Cor. 4:7). The child of God does indeed differ from the unbeliever. Because he has been born again by the Spirit of God, he now has a different nature, a different Lord, different goals and objectives, and a different reason for living. He does differ!

The question Paul deals with is...WHO made the difference? Who gets the credit for this difference? Does the child of God have a greater intelligence or moral superiority over the unbeliever that causes them to differ? Absolutely not! When God passed through the land of Egypt to destroy the firstborn, He said in Exodus 11:7, "But against any of the children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against man or beast: that ye may know how that the Lord doth put a difference between the Egyptians and Israel." If you are a child of God, the answer to the question is, the Lord made you to differ! The question that naturally arises is, HOW has He made us to differ? The answer to that question is found in Ephesians 1:3-14, where Paul outlines the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit in salvation. Here we learn how God has made the believer to differ from the unbeliever. "Who maketh thee to differ from another?" First, God the Father did in eternal election. "According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world." If you are a child of God it is because God chose you. You will not give yourself the credit. Even though He could have justly passed you by, in His mercy He chose you out of the mass of fallen humanity to be His child. God the Father made you to differ in eternal election.

Who made you to differ? God the Son did in redemption. "In whom we have redemption through His blood " (Eph. 1:7). If you are a child of God it is because Christ died for you, Christ paid for your sins by His death on the cross, and if Christ paid for them, then that are paid! Everybody He died for must be saved! He said in John 6:39 "And this is the will of Him that sent Me, that of all which He hath given Me, I should lose nothing." The difference between the saved and the lost is the blood!

Who made you to differ? God the Holy Spirit in regeneration. "Ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of Promise" (Eph. 1:13). Everybody that God elected and Christ died for will be regenerated, or born again by the Holy Spirit of God. The fact that one trusts Christ and another doesn't cannot be attributed to some moral excellence or will that the one has over the other. God the Holy Spirit made the difference. He gave the believer the ability to believe and repent. No true child of God will give his works or free-will the credit for making the difference between himself and the unbeliever! He knows God has made the difference!

The issue at stake in who makes the believer to differ from the unbeliever is this: WHO does the saving, God or man? WHO gets the glory: God or man? Without doubt the Bible teaches that it is God who makes the believer to differ from the unbeliever. Peter and Judas serve to illustrate this. Peter was saved and Judas was lost. Was Peter a better man than Judas? Was the difference what one did that the other did not do, or what Christ did for the one and not the other. If you say the difference lies in the men's works , you must conclude salvation is by works. In light of this, let me give you four question to thoughtfully consider.
1. If God loves all men the same ..... What does the love of God have to do with salvation? Nothing!
2. If God willed the salvation of all men the same.....What does the will of God have to do with salvation.....Nothing!
3. If Christ died for all men the same.....What does the death of Christ have to do with salvation? Nothing!
4. If God the Holy Spirit calls all men the same.....What does the work of the Holy Spirit have to do with salvation? Nothing!
If we do not give God all the credit in making us to differ, in reality we give Him no credit at all! Who Makes You To Differ? GOD!
By Todd Nibert

September 05, 2006

All Things are of God by Tom Harding

"For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom(God) be glory for ever." Here is a glorious and comforting truth to the believer, who is resting in the Lord Jesus Christ, all things are of God. This truth echoes throughout the pages of inspired scripture (Rom. 8:28; 2 Cor. 5:18) and declares that God is God, beside Him there is no other (Isa. 45:22). The Apostle clearly states that, "all things are of Him," God is the first cause and last end of all things (Isa.45:7). He also says that, "all things through Him," God in time executes His wise decrees to His own will and pleasure (Isa. 46: 9-12). Further he says that, "all things are to Him," our sovereign God is working all things to an eternal end that will glorify Himself. We can apply this three fold rule to many things, such as creation and providence, but lets us consider them in salvation.

1). ALL THINGS IN SALVATION ARE OF GOD! Salvation is of the Lord (Jonah 2:9). None but God could have devised such a way of salvation such as the gospel of Jesus Christ presents, wherein God can be just and the justifier of the ungodly (Rom. 3:26). God ordained the hour when the Saviour would come (Gal. 4:4). God ordained the hour when He would die as the believers substitute for sin (2 Cor. 5:21). God ordained the hour when Jesus Christ would be raised from the dead and exalted to glory (Rom. 4:25).

2). ALL THINGS IN SALVATION ARE THROUGH HIM! Salvation is a work given to Jesus Christ by the Father to accomplish. He did not fail to complete the task He was given (Isa. 42:4). He prayed and declared in John 17:4, "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do." In the fulfillment and accomplishment of salvation man has no part in it. Carefully read this scripture: "When He had by Himself purged our sins, He sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Heb. 1:3). Every spiritual blessing we enjoy comes to us through Jesus Christ alone (Eph. 1:3). God apart from Christ is a consuming fire (Heb.12:29).

3). ALL THINGS IN SALVATION ARE TO HIM! What is the grand design of God in the salvation of His people? His glory! Our eternal God is wisely and rightly working all things to the honor and glory of Jesus Christ. "Wherefore receive ye one another, as Christ also received us to the glory of God" (Rom. 15:7). The motive of God to save His people from their sin is found in Himself, and that motive and purpose is His glory. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive, power, and riches, and wisdom and honour, and glory (Rev. 5:12). By Tom Harding