Meditate On These Four Things

Over several days last week Grace Gems featured excerpts from William Dyer’s booklet Christ’s Famous Titles. Dyer, a 17th century English preacher, gives us a list of four things on which we need to meditate often; these are Death, Judgment, Hell, and Heaven. Here is what he wrote:

Meditate often on these four last things:
Death, which is most certain.
Judgment, which is most strict.
Hell, which is most doleful.
Heaven, which is most delightful.

Meditate upon DEATH, which is most certain.

"It is appointed unto men once to die."

Hebrews 9:27

Out of the dust was man formed; into the dust shall man be turned.

To think of death--is a death to some men!

Oh, sirs! Meditate upon death.

Meditation on death--will put sin to death!

Death to the wicked--is the end of all comfort, and the beginning of all misery!
Death to the godly--is the outlet to sin and sorrow, and the inlet to peace and happiness!

The saints' enjoyment shall be incomparable, when the sinners' torments shall be intolerable!

When a believer's soul goes out of his own bosom--it goes into Abraham's bosom! When a saint dies--he leaves all his bad behind him, and carries his good with him! When a sinner dies--he carries his bad with him, and leaves his good behind him!

The godly man goes from evil--to all good.
The wicked man goes from good--to all evil.

When a saint leaves the world--his soul returns to happiness and rest!
When a sinner leaves this world--his body goes to worms to be consumed, and his soul goes to flames to be tormented!

The saint goes to Abraham's bosom; the sinner goes to Beelzebub's bosom!

The wheat goes to the barn; the chaff goes to the fire!

Oh, sirs! meditate upon death!

Meditate upon JUDGMENT, which is most strict.

"We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ!"

Those who will not come before His mercy-seat, shall be forced to come before His judgment-seat!

Those who will not hear His Word--shall feel His Sword!

Those who are graceless in this day--will be speechless in that day!

At the world's end--such will be at their wits' end, to see:

the earth flaming,
the heavens melting,
the stars falling,
the graves opening,
the judgment hastening,
the sun and moon mourning,
Christ and His angels coming!

He who comes to raise the dead, will also come to judge the dead.

Oh! sirs, the great day to great sinners will be a dreadful day--when they shall see Christ coming in the clouds:

with great power and glory,
crowned with dignity,
enraged with anger, and
attended with His angel reapers!

He will bring all kings and nobles, high and low, rich and poor, to His judgment bar! And there He will judge them, not by the whiteness of their faces--but by the blackness of their hearts!

"He comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity!"

 Psalm 98:9

You who make no account of His coming--how can you give an account at His coming?

Sirs! Meditation on judgment--may make you judgment proof!

Those who now judge themselves in their own private sessions--shall not be judged by Christ at His great white throne judgment!

Meditate upon HELL, which is most doleful!

Heaven is a place where all is joyful; and Hell is a place where all is doleful.

In Heaven--there is nothing but happiness; but in Hell--there is nothing but heaviness!

"The wicked shall be turned into Hell, and all the nations that forget God.''

Psalm 9:17

Mark, sirs--the wicked shall be turned into hell.

Oh, dreadful place--where the devil is the jailer!

Hell is the prison, damnation is the punishment, eternity is the duration, brimstone is the fire, and men and devils are the fuel!

To endure this will be intolerable; and to avoid it will be impossible!

This is the day of God's long-suffering; that will be the day of man's long-suffering!

There they will suffer:

pain without ease,
torment without end,
sorrow without support,
and misery without mercy!

Sirs! Meditate upon Hell! Oh, what hells are there in Hell!
Hell is:

the loss of God,
the loss of Christ,
the loss of all good!

Endless, ceaseless, and remediless torments must be their eternal portion!

Oh, that you would often think of Hell!

If once you drop into Hell--then after a thousand years:you will be as far from coming out of Hell, as you were at your first entrance into Hell!

There is only one way to KEEP a man out of Hell--but there is no way to GET a man out of Hell!

In this world, the wheat and the chaff both grow together, but they shall not always both lie together!

In Hell, there shall not be a saint among those who are terrified!
In Heaven, there shall not be a sinner among those who are glorified!

The sea of damnation--shall never be sweetened with a drop of compassion!

Will you pity a person who is going to the gallows--and will you not pity a person who is going to the bottomless pit?

What a dreadful visitation is that--where the black horse of death goes before, and the red horse of wrath follows after!

Oh, that must needs be sad--when one death comes upon the back of another; when the second death comes upon the back of the first death!

A man's condition in this life may be honorable, and yet his state in eternity may be damnable!

Poor Lazarus goes to Heaven--when rich Dives goes to Hell.

It is far better to go to Heaven poorly--than it is to go to Hell richly!

Oh, sirs! let us go to Hell by contemplation, that we may never go to Hell by condemnation!

Oh sirs! Meditate upon Hell!

Meditate on HEAVEN, which is most joyful.

"Then the King will say to those on His right--Come, you who are blessed by My Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world!"                                                                                                     Matthew 25:34

"Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Lord!"

Matthew 25:21

Heaven is a place where all joy is enjoyed!
In Heaven, there will be:

mirth without sadness,
light without darkness,
sweetness without bitterness,
life without death,
rest without labor,
plenty without poverty!
Oh, what joy enters into the believer--when
the believer enters into the joy of his Lord!

Who would not . . .

work for glory with the greatest diligence, and
wait for glory with the greatest patience?

Oh, what glories are there in glory! Thrones of glory, crowns of glory, vessels of glory, a weight of glory, a kingdom of glory!

Here on earth--Christ puts His grace upon His spouse!
There in Heaven--He puts His glory upon His spouse!

In heaven the crown is made for them, and in Heaven the crown shall be worn by them!

In this life believers have some good things--but the rest and best are reserved for the life to come!

Oh, sirs! meditate upon Heaven, for meditation on Heaven will make us heavenly!

Heaven is not only a possession promised by Christ--but a possession purchased by Christ!

When our contemplations and minds are in Heaven--then we enjoy Heaven upon earth!
To be IN Christ is Heaven below; to be WITH Him is Heaven above!

There cannot be a better thing for us, than for us to be with the best of beings! "To me to live is Christ--and to die is gain!"
Philippians 1:21

Let our condition now be ever so great--it is Hell without Christ! Let our condition now be ever so bad--it is Heaven with Christ!

"I had rather be in Hell with Christ--than in Heaven without Him!" said Luther.

Hell itself would be Heaven--if Christ was in it!
Heaven would be Hell--if Christ was out of it!

That which makes Heaven so full of joy--is that it is above all fear!
That which makes Hell so full of horror--is that it is beyond all hope!

The vessels of grace--shall swim in the ocean of glory!

We may talk of the greatness of our crowns--but we shall never know the weight of our crowns--until they are set on our heads!

We would all do well to head this advice.

The Puritans (Part 10) - William Secker

Every morning I receive an email from a ministry called Grace Gems. If you are not signed up I highly recommend that you do; each day they send out an excerpt from a Puritan author such as Thomas Watson, Thomas Brooks, J.C. Ryle, etc... to challenge your faith and make you examine your walk with God. Most days what they send is very convicting, and they really will make you think and search your heart. A lot of days I find that the Grace Gems email fits perfectly with what I have been studying in my own quiet time and I end up meditating on that email all day. Today was one of those days.

The Grace Gem today was an excerpt from the 1660 William Secker book, The Consistent Christian, and as I read it I couldn't help but think that it went right along with what I was trying to say in my post yesterday discussing the need to tear down our idols and return to God. Therefore, as a followup to yesterday's post here is The Puddle of Their Own Merit by William Secker:

Many have passed the rocks of gross sins--who have suffered shipwreck upon the sands of self-righteousness.

It was the saying of one, that he "would swim through a sea of brimstone--if he might but arrive safely at heaven." Ah, how would natural men soar to heaven--upon the pinions of their own merit! The sunbeams of Divine justice--will soon melt such weak and wax wings!

He who has no better righteousness than what is of his own providing, shall meet with no higher happiness than what is of his own deserving. "They disregarded the righteousness from God--and attempted to establish their own righteousness." They are determined to sail in their own ship--though they sink in the ocean!

We are so far from paying the utmost farthing, that at our utmost--we have not even a farthing to pay! That man will be a miserable spectacle of vanity--who stands upon the lame feet of his own ability!

Duties are but dry pits, though ever so meticulously wrought--until Christ fills them. Reader, I would neither have you be idle in duties--nor make an idol of duties.

What are duties without Christ--but like a fine cabinet without a jewel--or a golden cup without a cordial? The most diligent saint--has been the most self-distrusting saint, "that I may gain Christ and be found in him--not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ--the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith." If you are found in your own righteousness, you will be lost by your own righteousness. That garment which was worn to shreds on Adam's back--will never make a complete covering for you.

Duties may be good crutches to go upon--but they are bad Christs to lean upon. It is the greatest disparagement that professors can offer to Christ--to put their services in the scale with His sufferings. The beggarly rags of the first Adam--must never be put on with the princely robe of the second Adam!

Man is a creature too much inclined to warm himself by the sparks of his own fire--though he lies down in eternal flames for kindling them! Though Noah's dove made use of her wings--yet she found no rest, but in the ark. Duties can never have too much of our diligence--or too little of our confidence. A believer does not perform good works to live--but he lives to perform good works.

He shall have hell as his debt--who will not take heaven as a gift. "We boast in Christ Jesus, and do not put confidence in the flesh." A true Christian stands at as great distance from trusting in the best of his services--as in the worst of his sins! He knows that the greatest part of his holiness--will not make the least part of his justifying righteousness. He has unreservedly subscribed to that sentiment, "that when we have done all--we are only unprofitable servants."

When we have kept all the commandments, there is one commandment above all to be kept; that is, "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags!" In most of our works--we are abominable sinners; and in the best of our works--we are unprofitable servants. "O Sovereign Lord, I will proclaim Your righteousness, Yours alone!" You see, beloved, the righteousness of Christ is to be magnified--when the righteousness of a Christian is not to be mentioned.

It is hard for us to be "nothing in ourselves" amidst all our works; and to be "all things in Christ," amidst all our weakness. To undertake every duty--and yet to overlook every duty--is a lesson which none can learn, but Christ's scholars.

Our obedience, at best, is like good wine--which relishes of a bad cask. The 'Law of God' will not accept ninety-nine for a hundred. It will not accept the coin of our obedience, either short in quantity--or base in quality. The duty it exacts--is as impossible to be performed in this our fallen state; as the penalty it inflicts--is intolerable to be endured in our eternal state!

We do not sail to glory in the salt sea of our own tears--but in the red sea of the Redeemer's blood! The Cross of Christ--is the only key of paradise! We owe the life of our souls--to the death of our Savior. It was His going into the fiery furnace--which keeps us from going into the devouring flames! Man lives--by death: his natural life is preserved by the death of the creature; and his spiritual life is gained by the death of the Redeemer.

Those who carry their vessel of hope to the puddle of their own merit--will never draw the water of comfort, from the fountain of God's mercy!

Rest in Jesus - He is not only all we have, He is all we need!

The Nature Of True Repentance - Part 2

In part one of this series we talked about what true repentance is not. This time we will look at the positive side and see what true repentance is, and once again I will be quoting from Thomas Watson's book The Doctrine of Repentance - a book that I highly recommend.

Watson begins:

Repentance is a grace of God's Spirit whereby a sinner in inwardly humbled and visibly reformed.

He then goes on to say that true repentance is made up of six parts and that if any one of these is missing repentance has lost its virtue; these six ingredients are:

1. Sight of sin
2. Sorrow for sin
3. Confession of sin
4. Shame for sin
5. Hatred for sin
6. Turning from sin
   

We will look at each of these individually: the first two now, and the final four over the next two posts.

1. Sight of Sin

Before repentance can occur one must first know from what they are repenting. The Hebrew word for repentance literally means to turn around and the Greek word means to change your mind, but before we can turn around or change our mind we must first know what it is that we are turning from or changing our mind about. This is what Thomas Watson calls the sight of sin; we must see our sin for what it is - an offense against a holy God and a violation of His laws; he writes:

It is a great thing noted in the prodigal's repentance: he came to himself (Luke 15:17). He saw himself as a sinner and nothing but a sinner. Before a man can come to Christ he must first come to himself... A man must first recognize and consider what sin is, and know the plague of his heart before he can be humbled by it... The eye is mad for both seeing and weeping. Sin must be seen before it can be wept for.

This is a major problem in our modern Christianity - there is no sorrow for sin. And Watson writes:

Where there is no sight of sin, there can be no repentance.many who can spy faults in others see none in themselves. They cry they have good hearts.

But do we have good hearts? Not according to God's word; the apostle Paul wrote:

None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one. Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive. The venom of asps is under their lips. Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.There is no fear of God before their eyes.

Romans 3:10-18

This is not the picture of someone with a good heart - and this is what we are all like. We have been blinded to the sin on our lives and until we see it clearly for what it is we have not repented. Thomas Watson writes:

The devil does with them as the falconer with the hawk; he blinds them and carries them hooded to hell...

2. Sorrow for Sin

The next ingredient of true repentance is sorrow for sin; the Psalmist writes:

I confess my iniquity; I am sorry for my sin.

Psalm 38:18

And we cannot repent without sorrow over our sin. When we truly see our sin as God sees it the next step will be sorrow. Sorrow that we have offended God, sorrow that we have broken His laws and His commandments, and sorrow that we have violated His holiness. When we see our sin as God sees it we will repent in dust and ashes, we will turn from our sin and we will never want to return to it again. Watson writes here:

The Hebrew word 'to be sorrowful' signifies 'to have the soul, as it were, crucified'. This is a must for true repentance: 'They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn' (Zech. 12:10), as if they feel the nails of the cross sticking in their sides.

He then goes on to say:

A woman may as well expect to have a child without pangs as one can have repentance without sorrow.

Watson further explains that while sorrow for sin is necessary, not all sorrow is evidence of true repentance; he writes:

There is as much difference between true and false sorrow as between water in a spring, which is sweet, and water in the sea, which is briny.

He then gives us these six qualifications for godly sorrow; they are:

1. True godly sorrow is inward

By this he means that it is not a hypocritical sorrow that is outward only; he writes:

The sorrow of hypocrites lies in their faces: 'they disfigure their faces' (Matt. 6:16). They make a sour face, but their sorrow goes no further, like the due that wets the leaf but dies not soak to the root... Godly sorrow goes deep, like a vein which bleeds inwardly. The heart bleeds for sin... As the heart bears the chief part in sinning, so it must in sorrowing.

2. Godly sorrow is ingenuous

Our sorrow over sin should be for the offence rather then the punishment; Watson writes:

God's law has been infringed, his love abused. This melts the soul into tears. A man may be sorry, not repent, as a thief is sorry when he is taken, not because he stole, but because he has to pay the penalty. Hypocrites grieve only for the bitter consequences of sin... Godly sorrow, however, is chiefly for the trespass against God, so that even if there were no conscience to smite, no devil to accuse, no hell to punish, yet the soul would still be grieved because of the prejudice done to God.

3. Godly sorrow is fiducial (trustful)

By this he means that our sorrow must be intermixed with faith; Watson writes:

Spiritual sorrow will sink the heart if the pulley of faith does not raise it. As our sin is ever before us, so God's promise must be ever before us... The weeping is not good which blinds the eye of faith. If there is not some dawnings of faith in the soul, it is not the sorrow of humiliation but if despair.

4. Godly sorrow is a great sorrow

Here we have two questions that we must answer: (1) Do all have the same degree of sorrow? and (2) How great must sorrow for sin be? In answer to the first questions Thomas Watson writes:

No... in the new birth all have pangs, but some have sharper pangs than others.

Some are naturally of a more rugged disposition, of higher spirits, and are not as easily brought to stoop. These must have a greater humiliation, as a knotty piece of timber must have greater wedges driven into it.

Some have been more heinous offenders, and their sorrow must be suitable to their sin. Some patients have their sores let out with a needle, others with a lance.

Some are designed and cut for higher service, to be eminently instrumental for God, and these must have a mightier work of humiliation pass upon them. Those whom God intends to be pillars in his church must be more hewn.

And in answer to the second question he writes:

Sorrow for sin must surpass worldly sorrow. We must grieve more for offending God than for the loss of dear relations... Sorrow for sin should be so great as to swallow up all other sorrow... We are to find as much bitterness in weeping for sin as we ever found in committing it.

He then concludes:

The Christian has arrived at a sufficient measure of sorrow when the love of sin is purged out.

5. Godly sorrow in some cases is joined with restitution

This one is self-explanatory - true godly sorrow will lead one to repay or make restitution for whatever ill-gotten gain sin may have come through a sinful act.

6. Godly sorrow is abiding

By this he means that the sorrow of true repentance will not be something that only lasts for a brief time and is then forgotten. Watson writes:

True sorrow must be habitual. O Christian, the disease of your soul is chronic and frequently returns upon you; therefore you must be continually physicking yourself by repentance. This is that sorrow which is 'after a godly manner.'

Thomas Watson then concludes this section by saying:

The more bitterness we taste in sin, the more sweetness we shall taste in Christ.

I hope this has opened your eyes, as it has mine, to what true repentance is. I encourage you to take some time today to examine yourself; ask yourself honestly if you have seen your sin the way God sees your sin, and if you have experienced a true, godly sorrow that leads to life, or if your sorrow has been worldly sorrow that is only concerned with escaping the punishment and consequences of your sin and not with the realization that you have offended a Holy God.

And rest assured that while you are searching your own heart I will also be searching my own.

Next time we will look at what Thomas Watson had to say about confession of sin and shame for sin.

The Nature of True Repentance - Part 1

I have been reading a book by Thomas Watson titled The Doctrine of Repentance. Thomas Watson was a Puritan Pastor who lived from 1620 to 1686 and this book was first published in 1668. In his introduction to the book Thomas Watson writes:

The two great graces essential to a saint in this life are faith and repentance. These are the two wings by which he flies to heaven.

We all know what Faith is, but I think we are sometimes confused today as to what true Biblical Repentance is, so Thomas Watson starts by saying that in order to understand true repentance one must first understand what repentance is not, he writes:

There are several deceits of repentance which might occasion that saying Augustine that 'repentance damns many.' He meant a false repentance; a person may delude himself with counterfeit repentance.

So what does counterfeit or false repentance look like? We are given three examples, they are:

1. The first deceit of repentance is legal terror

By this he means that just seeing that you are a sinner and then feeling guilt over that sin is not true repentance; he writes:

Do not be deceived: this is not repentance. Ahab and Judas had some trouble of mind. It is one thing tho be a terrified sinner and another to be a repentant sinner. Sense of guilt is enough to breed terror. Infusion of grace breeds repentance. If pain and trouble were sufficient to repentance, then the damned in hell should be the most penitent, for they are most in anguish. Repentance depends upon a change of heart.

The next point then is:

2. Another deceit about repentance is resolution against sin

Here he is talking about people who make a vow to not do some certain act because of the consequences that arise from its practice and not because they actually see the act as a sin against God. Here he gives us two possibilities for this attitude; he writes:

Resolutions against sin may arise:

(1) From present extremity; not because sin is sinful, but because it is painful.
(2) From fear of future evil, and apprehension of death and hell

In both of these examples we see that the motivation for resolving to not continue in a sin is not that God is Holy, nor that He has commanded against it, but that its practice brings personal discomfort. The problem with this is that once the pain and fear subside the sin will return; Watson writes:

What will not a sinner do, what vows will he not make, when he knows he must die and stand before the judgment-seat? Self-love raises a sick bed vow, and love of sin will prevail against it. Trust not to a passionate resolution; it is raised in a storm and will die in a calm.

His final point then is this:

3. The third deceit about repentance is the leaving of many sinful ways

In this third point Thomas Watson is not saying that leaving sin is not important; what he is saying, however, is that one can leave a sin and think that repentance has occurred but all the while still be holding on to another sin. When true repentance occurs all sin will be forsaken - nothing will be held back. Here Watson makes three sub-points indicating how this can occur; they are:

1. A man may part with some sins and keep others...
2. An old sin may be left in order to entertain a new...
3. A sin may be left [because]...a man sees that though such a sin may be for his pleasure, yet it is not for his interest

I found this point to be the most alarming and the most convicting personally. How many times have I looked at some sin and thought that I have no interest in that sin , I must be OK, and yet still overlooked a sin remaining in my own life. And there is no greater sin in any of our lives than the sin of pride - myself included.

Thomas Watson then concludes this chapter with these words:

True leaving of sin is when the acts of sin cease from the infusion of a principle of grace, as the air ceases to be dark from the infusion of light.

In other words, repentance can only occur in one's life when, through the grace and mercy of God, regeneration has occurred; it is only when one is born again that repentance can take place.

I know that there is much debate today as to whether a person is regenerated first and repentance results, or is repentance is first resulting in regeneration. I personally believe that regeneration is first, because Ephesians 2 clearly states that before regeneration we are dead in our trespasses and sins:

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—

Ephesians 2:1-5

Therefore, I do not believe that apart from the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives we have the ability to repent. However, one who has not repented cannot then claim to have been regenerated. Regeneration will always lead to repentance and repentance to faith. And if either of these elements is missing one can be assured that regeneration has not yet occurred.

That's it for today, next time we will look at what true, Biblical repentance looks like as we continue to work our way through Thomas Watson's book The Doctrine of Repentance.

Do You Believe

If you have spent any time here reading what I have written and posted over the past year you will know that I really like the Puritans and their writings, and that one of my favorite Puritans is Bishop J.C. Ryle. This morning I was reading one of Bishop Ryle's sermons, which he entitled Do You Believe. In this sermon he took as his text that famous verse, John 3:16 which says that those who believe will not perish - but have everlasting life.

Bishop Ryle made some good points here, and that this is something that we all need to take the time to think about, so I I thought it would be a good idea to post some excerpts from the sermon. I encourage you to prayerfully read through this and ask yourself the question, Do I Believe?

God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish—but have everlasting life.

John 3:16

Look at the well-known text which heads this page. Its words are probably familiar to your ears. You have very likely heard them, or read them, or quoted them, a hundred times. But have you ever considered what a vast amount of divinity this text contains? No wonder that Luther called it "the Bible in miniature!" And have you ever considered what an immensely solemn question arises out of this text? The Lord Jesus says, "Whoever believes shall not perish." Now, reader, DO YOU BELIEVE?

Questions about religion are seldom popular. They frighten people. They oblige them to look within and to think. The insolvent tradesman does not like his books to be searched. The faithless steward does not like his accounts to be examined. And the unconverted professing Christian does not like to be asked home-questions about his soul.

But questions about religion are very useful. The Lord Jesus Christ asked many questions during His ministry on earth. The servant of Christ ought not to be ashamed to do likewise. Questions about things necessary to salvation—questions which probe the conscience, and bring men face to face with God—such questions often bring life and health to souls. I know few questions more important than the one before you today. DO YOU BELIEVE?

Reader, the question before you is no easy one to answer. Think not to thrust it aside by the off-hand answer, "Of course I believe." I tell you this day, that true belief is no such "matter of course" as you suppose. I tell you that myriads of Protestants and Roman Catholics are constantly saying on Sundays, "I believe," who know nothing whatever of believing. They cannot explain what they mean. They neither know what, nor in whom, they believe. They can give no account of their faith. Reader, a belief of this kind is utterly useless. It can neither satisfy, nor sanctify, nor save.

I invite you in all affection, to consider the question which heads this tract. I ask you to give me your attention while I try to place it before you in its full proportions. In order to see clearly the importance of "believing," you should ponder well the words of Christ to which I have already referred. It is by the unfolding of these words, that I shall hope to make you feel the weight of the question, "Do you believe?"

That is the question, and Bishop Ryle gives us a list of seven things that we can look at to determine if we really do believe; he writes:

1. He who truly believes in Christ—has inward PEACE and HOPE. It is written, "Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." "We which have believed do enter into rest" (Romans 5:1; Heb. 4:3). The believer's sins are pardoned, and his iniquities taken away. His conscience is no longer burdened with the load of unpardoned transgressions. He is reconciled to God, and is one of His friends. He can look forward to death, judgment, and eternity—without fear. The sting of death is taken away.

2. He who truly believes in Christ—has a NEW HEART. It is written, "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature—old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new." "To as many as received Christ, He gave power to become sons of God, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man—but of God." "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ—is born of God" (2 Cor. 5:17; John 1:12, 18; 1 John 5:1.) A believer has no longer the same nature with which he was born. He is changed, renewed, and transformed after the image of his Lord and Savior. He who minds first the things of the flesh—has no saving faith. True faith, and spiritual regeneration, are inseparable companions. An unconverted person is not a genuine believer!

3. He who truly believes in Christ—is a HOLY person in heart and life. It is written that God "purifies the heart by faith," and that Christians are "sanctified by faith." "Whoever has this hope in him, purifies himself." (Acts 15:9; 26:18; 1 John 3:3.). A believer loves what God loves, and hates what God hates. His heart's desire is to walk in the way of God's commandments, and to abstain from all manner of evil. His wish is to follow after the things which are just, and pure, and honest, and lovely, and of good report, and to cleanse himself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit. He falls far short of his aim, in many things. He finds his daily life a constant fight with indwelling corruption. But he fights on, and resolutely refuses to serve sin. Where there is no holiness, we may be sure there is no saving faith! An unholy man is not a genuine believer!

4. He who truly believes in Christ—works godly WORKS. It is written, that "faith works by love" (Gal. 5:6). True belief will never make a man idle, or allow him to sit still, contented with his own religion. It will stir him to do acts of love, kindness, and charity, according as he sees opportunity. It will constrain him to walk in the steps of his Master, who "went about doing good." In one way or another, it will make him work. The works that he does may attract no notice from the world. They may seem trifling and insignificant to many people. But they are not forgotten by Him who notices a cup of cold water given for His sake. Where there is no working love—there is no faith. A lazy, selfish professing Christian, has no right to regard himself as a genuine believer!

5. He who truly believes in Christ—overcomes the WORLD. It is written, that "whoever is born of God overcomes the world—and this is the victory which overcomes the world—even our faith" (1 John 5:4). A true believer is not ruled by the world's standard of right or wrong, of truth or error. He is independent of the world's opinion. He cares little for the world's praise. He is not moved by the world's censure. He does not seek for the world's pleasures. He is not ambitious of the world's rewards. He looks at things unseen. He sees an invisible Savior, a coming judgment, a crown of glory which never fades away. The sight of these objects, makes him think comparatively little of this present world. Where the world reigns in the heart, there is no genuine faith. A man who is habitually conformed to the world, has no title to the name of a true believer!

6. He who truly believes in Christ—has an inward TESTIMONY of his belief. It is written, that "he who believes on the Son of God, has the witness in himself" (1 John 5:10). The mark before us requires very delicate handling. The witness of the Spirit is unquestionably a very difficult subject. But I cannot shrink from declaring my own firm persuasion, that a true believer always has inward feelings peculiar to himself—feelings which are inseparably connected with his faith, and flow from it—feelings of which unbelievers know nothing at all. He has the spirit of adoption, by which he regards God as a reconciled Father, and looks up to Him without fear. He has the testimony of his conscience, sprinkled with Christ's blood, that, weak as he is, he rests on Christ. He has hopes, joys, fears, sorrows, consolations, expectations, of which he knew nothing before he believed. He has internal evidences which the world cannot understand—but which are better to him than all the books of evidence in existence. Feelings are, no doubt, very deceitful. But where there are no inward pious feelings—there is no faith. A man who knows nothing of an inward, spiritual, experimental religion, is not yet a genuine believer!

7. Last—but not least, He who truly believes in Christ—has a special regard in all his religion—to the person of CHRIST Himself. It is written, "Unto you that believe Christ is precious" (1 Peter 2:7). That text deserves especial notice. It does not say "Christianity" is precious, or the "Gospel" is precious, or "salvation" is precious—but Christ Himself. A true believer's religion, does not consist in mere intellectual assent to a certain set of propositions and doctrines. It is not a mere cold belief of a certain set of truths and facts concerning Christ. It consists in union, communion, and fellowship with an actual living Person, even Jesus the Son of God. It is a life of faith in Jesus, confidence in Jesus, leaning on Jesus, drawing out of the fullness of Jesus, speaking to Jesus, working for Jesus, loving Jesus, and looking for Jesus to come again. Such life may sound like enthusiasm to many. But where there is true faith, Christ will always be known and realized, as an actual living personal Friend. He who knows nothing of Christ as his own Priest, Physician, and Redeemer, knows nothing yet of genuine believing!

With this list we see that belief is not merely an intellectual endeavor; real genuine belief in Christ - the kind of belief that saves from the wrath of God - must include conversion. A believer is not one who just says that they have a belief in God, or even a belief in Jesus. A believer (in the John 3:16 sense of the word) is one who has a desire for holiness and a hatred for sin. And a true believer is one who views Christ as precious, because they realize that apart from His atoning death on their behalf they are under the wrath of God, destined for eternity in hell and fully deserving of that end.

Bishop Ryle then writes:

Reader, I place these seven marks of believing before you, and I ask you to consider them well. I do not say, that all believers have them equally. I do not say, that no one will be saved, who cannot discover all these marks in himself. I concede, freely, that many believers are so weak in faith, that they go doubting all their days, and make others doubt about them too. I simply say, that these are the marks to which a man should first direct his attention, if he would answer the mighty question, Do you believe?

I too, ask you this question, but I also ask it of myself. And what if these seven marks are missing in your life? Bishop Ryle continues:

Where the seven marks, of which I have just been speaking, are utterly lacking, I dare not tell a man that he is a true believer. He may be called a Christian, and attend a Christian church. He may have been baptized with Christian baptism, and be a member of a Christian church. But if he knows nothing of peace with God, conversion of heart, newness of life, victory over the world, I dare not pronounce him a believer. He is yet dead in trespasses and sins. Except he awakes to newness of life, he will perish everlastingly.

Show me a man who has about him the seven marks which I have described, and I feel a strong confidence about the state of his soul. He may be poor and needy in this world—but he is rich in the sight of God. He may be despised and sneered at by man—but he is honorable in the sight of the King of kings. He is traveling towards heaven! He has a mansion ready for him in the Father's house. He is cared for by Christ, while on earth. He will be owned by Christ before assembled worlds, in the life which is to come.

Do these seven marks describe you? What are you doing about it if they don't? Bishop Ryle then concludes by asking the question again:

Do you believe?

DO YOU BELIEVE? I think it impossible to overrate the immense importance of the question before you. Life or death, heaven or hell, blessing or cursing—all hinge and turn upon it. He who believes on Christ—is not condemned. He who believes not—shall be damned. If you believe—you are pardoned, justified, accepted in God's sight, and have a title to everlasting life. If you do not believe—you are perishing daily. Your sins are all upon your head, sinking you down to perdition. Every hour you are so much nearer to hell.

DO YOU BELIEVE? It matters nothing what others are doing. The question concerns yourself. The folly of other men is no excuse for yours. The loss of heaven will not be less bitter, because you lose it in company. Look at home. Think of your own soul.

DO YOU BELIEVE? It is no answer to say, that "you sometimes hope Christ died for you." The Scriptures never tell us to spend our time in doubts and hesitation on that point. We never read of a single case of one who stood still on that ground. Salvation is never made to turn on the question, whether Christ died for a man or not. The turning-point is always set before us as believing.

DO YOU BELIEVE? This is the point to which all must come at last, if they would be saved. It will signify little, when we hang on the brink of the grave, what we have professed, and to what denomination we have belonged. All this will sink into nothing, in comparison with the question of this tract. All will be useless, if we have not believed.

DO YOU BELIEVE? This is the common mark of all saved souls. Episcopalians or Presbyterians, Baptists or Independents, Methodists or Plymouth Brethren, Churchmen or Dissenters, all meet on this common ground, if they are true men. On other matters they are often hopelessly disagreed. But in living by faith on Jesus Christ, they are all one.

DO YOU BELIEVE? What reason can you give for unbelief, that will bear examination? Life is short and uncertain. Death is sure. Judgment is inevitable. Sin is exceeding sinful. Hell is a dreadful reality. Christ alone can save you. There is no other name given under heaven, whereby you can be saved. If not saved, the blame will be on your own head. You will not believe! You will not come to Christ, that He may give you life!

Reader, take warning this day. You must either believe on Christ, or perish everlastingly. Rest not until you can give a satisfactory answer to the question before you. Never be satisfied, until you can say, By the grace of God I do believe!

I hope you found this sermon to be a blessing as I did, and if you would like to read the sermon in its entirety you can find it here: Do You Believe, J.C. Ryle

Is Christ Precious To You?

I didn't do any writing over the holiday weekend, and will be away from my computer all next week and unable to post, so in order to not have two or more weeks with nothing posted (and because I love them) I thought I would put up some more Puritan writings over the next few days. Today I have another excerpt of John Fawcett and his book Christ Precious to Those Who Believe. Is Christ precious to you?

"Yes, He is very precious to you who believe!"

1 Peter 2:7

If Christ is truly precious to us--we shall be ready to deny ourselves for Him. "If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me." Luke 9:23. Jesus Himself has been pleased to give us a safe and proper rule of judgment in this case: "If you love Me--keep My commandments. He who has My commandments and keeps them--he it is that loves Me." His Word and will have a prevailing, governing influence on the hearts and lives of those to whom He is precious. A steady desire and endeavor to avoid those things which are displeasing in His sight--is a practical proof that He is dear to us.

To deny ourselves is--to give up our own supposed wisdom, that we may be entirely under the guidance of God; to resign our own wills that we may be subject to His will; and to yield our passions to His government. To deny ourselves is--to forego everything sinful to which self is inclined; to practice every holy thing to which self is averse; and to be ready to give up everything dear to ourselves at the call of God--as our ease, our friends, our goods, our health, or even our life. It is a disowning, or renouncing ourselves for Christ; making ourselves nothing--that He may be all.

This cannot be sincerely done--unless Jesus is truly precious to us; or, which is the same thing--unless He is the object of our supreme affection. But if this is the case, we shall give up ourselves, with all that we have, to Him, without making any reserve. We shall, on a deliberate counting of the cost, choose the religion of Jesus, with all its difficulties--just as Moses chose to suffer affliction with the people of God, rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin which are but for a season, esteeming the reproach of Christ greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.

This is what our Lord means by the strong figurative expressions of plucking out the right eye, and cutting off the right hand. That is--parting with everything dear to us--when it stands in competition with Him, or is opposed to His service or His honor. For He justly reminds us, that "no man can serve two masters; either he will hate the one--and love the other; or else he will hold to the one--and despise the other." He constantly teaches us--the necessity of preferring Him and His interest and service--to the dearest objects on earth. "For he who loves father or mother, son or daughter more than Me--is not worthy of Me. Whoever does not take up his cross and follow Me--is not worthy of Me." When matters come to such a crisis--that a man must either break with his nearest and dearest relations and friends--or break with Christ--he who prefers their favor and friendship to Christ's, and will not give up temporal endearments for His sake--is not worthy to be owned as one of Christ's real disciples, nor can he partake of the spiritual and eternal blessings which belong to such. He who prefers his own ease and safety in this world--to the truths and the service of Christ, cannot be justly deemed one who sincerely loves Him, or one to whom He is precious.

The same lesson is taught us by the parable of the treasure hidden in a field, which, when a man has found it--he goes and sells all that he has, and buys that field. And likewise by that of a merchant-man, seeking fine pearls, who having found one pearl of great price--he goes and parts with all, that he may possess that pearl. He is willing to give up the riches, the honors and pleasures of this world--for the enjoyment of that inestimable treasure which he has discovered.

Self-denial, in respect to things in themselves sinful, should be universal; otherwise we do not give proper evidence of the sincerity of our love for Christ. Many go very far in a profession of religion, and yet live in the habitual indulgence of some sin--either great or small, secret or open. O reader, examine yourself, and beware of splitting upon this rock!

Let us labor then, to mortify corrupt passions, inclinations and affections; and not willfully indulge ourselves in any sinful habit, custom, or practice!

I hope this has been an encouragement to you in your walk with Christ, and that as you grow daily in sanctification that He would indeed become more and more precious to you.

Continuing The Theme

To continue with the theme of the Atonement, here is an excerpt of the book Christ Precious to Those Who Believe by John Fawcett that once again shows us the Biblical truth that on the cross Jesus took our place and He paid, in His own blood, the price for our sin.

"God has magnified His love, and set forth the riches of His grace towards us, in a manner which should effectually allure our hearts to Him. While we were enemies and rebels in open arms against Him--He was pleased to send his beloved Son to die for our sins--in order to redeem us from sin and hell. Christ came down from his Father's bosom--not to condemn the world of mankind, but to give His life and blood for our sakes; to make His soul an offering for our sins, to suffer inconceivable anguish and sorrow, and to die for us--that He might bring us back to God and happiness. He poured out His soul to death, to secure us from the deserved wrath and vengeance of God. He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, that we through His stripes might be healed. He was stricken and smitten and afflicted by God--that He might open the way for us to partake of Divine mercy, and render Himself a more engaging object of our love.

"He is the beloved Son of God, the first and the everlasting favorite of heaven, the highest object of his Father's delight; He is the great peace-maker between God and sinners, the chief messenger of divine love to men. If He had not undertaken to make peace by His atoning sacrifice, we would have continued the children of wrath forever! He came to deliver us from our state of enmity and rebellion, to save us from sin and its dreadful consequences, from the curse of God's righteous law, and from everlasting destruction. His heart was pierced for the sake of sinful men. The messages of His love--He has written to us in lines of blood. This is that divine Savior who, though disregarded by many, is precious to those that believe. 'Yes, He is very precious to you who believe!' 1 Peter 2:7

Love to the divine Redeemer is the distinguishing characteristic of a real Christian, and most indispensably requirement in order to our serving God acceptably in this world, and to our dwelling with Him in the next world. 'If anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed!' Corinthians 16:22"

John Fawcett (1740-1817)

The Marks Of A True Christian

The other day I wrote a post entitled Is There Any Such Thing As A Carnal Christian? and as I was going through my "stack of stuff" this morning I found this quote from J.C. Ryle that I had intended to post a few weeks ago. This goes right along with that post and shows us once again, the marks of a true Christian.

"There is a dead faith as well as a living one. There is a faith of devils as well as a faith of God's elect. There is a faith which is vain and useless, as well as a faith which justifies and saves. How shall a man know whether he has true saving faith? The thing may be found out! The Ethiopian may be known by the color of his skin; and the leopard may be known by his spots. True faith may always be known by certain marks. These marks are laid down unmistakably in Scripture. Reader, let me endeavor to set these marks plainly before you. Look at them carefully—and test your own soul by what I am going to say.

He who truly believes in Christ—has a NEW HEART. It is written, "If any man is in Christ, he is a new creature—old things are passed away; behold, all things have become new." (2 Cor. 5:17.) A believer has no longer the same nature with which he was born. He is changed, renewed, and transformed after the image of his Lord and Savior. He who minds first, the things of the flesh—has no saving faith. True faith, and spiritual regeneration, are inseparable companions. An unconverted person—is not a genuine believer!

He who truly believes in Christ—is a HOLY person in heart and life. It is written that God "purifies the heart by faith," and that Christians are "sanctified by faith." "Whoever has this hope in him, purifies himself." (Acts 15:9; 26:18; 1 John 3:3.). A believer loves what God loves—and hates what God hates. His heart's desire is to walk in the way of God's commandments, and to abstain from all manner of evil. His wish is to follow after the things which are just, and pure, and honest, and lovely—and to cleanse himself from all filthiness of flesh and spirit. He falls far short of his aim, in many things. He finds his daily life, a constant fight with indwelling corruption. But he fights on—and resolutely refuses to serve sin. Where there is no holiness, we may be sure there is no saving faith! An unholy man is not a genuine believer!

He who truly believes in Christ—works godly WORKS. It is written, that "faith works by love" (Gal. 5:6). True belief will never make a man idle, or allow him to sit still, contented with his own religion. It will stir him to do acts of love, kindness, and charity, according as he sees opportunity. It will constrain him to walk in the steps of his Master, who "went about doing good." In one way or another, it will make him work. The works that he does may attract no notice from the world. They may seem trifling and insignificant to many people. But they are not forgotten by Him who notices a cup of cold water given for His sake. Where there is no working love—there is no faith. A lazy, selfish professing Christian—has no right to regard himself as a genuine believer!

He who truly believes in Christ—overcomes the WORLD. It is written, that "whoever is born of God, overcomes the world—and this is the victory which overcomes the world—even our faith" (1 John 5:4). A true believer is not ruled by the world's standard of right or wrong, of truth or error. He is independent of the world's opinion. He cares little for the world's praise. He is not moved by the world's censure. He does not seek for the world's pleasures. He is not ambitious of the world's rewards. He looks at things unseen—he sees an invisible Savior, a coming judgment, and a crown of glory which never fades away. The sight of these objects, makes him think comparatively little of this present world. Where the world reigns in the heart—there is no genuine faith. A man who is habitually conformed to the world—is not a genuine believer!

He who truly believes in Christ—has the witness of the Holy Spirit. He has hopes, joys, fears, sorrows, consolations, expectations, of which he knew nothing before he believed. He has internal evidences which the world cannot understand. Where there are no inward pious feelings—there is no faith. A man who knows nothing of an inward, spiritual, experimental religion—is not a genuine believer!

He who truly believes in Christ—has a special regard to the person of CHRIST Himself. It is written, "Unto you who believe—Christ is precious" (1 Peter 2:7). That text deserves especial notice. It does not say "Christianity" is precious, or the "Gospel" is precious, or "salvation" is precious—but Christ Himself! A true believer's religion, does not consist in mere intellectual assent to a certain set of propositions and doctrines. It is not a mere cold belief of a certain set of truths and facts concerning Christ. It consists in union, communion, and fellowship with an actual living Person, even Jesus the Son of God. It is a life of . . .

• faith in Jesus,
• confidence in Jesus,
• leaning on Jesus,
• drawing out of the fullness of Jesus,
• speaking to Jesus,
• working for Jesus,
• loving Jesus, and
• looking for Jesus to come again.

Such life may sound like enthusiasm to many. But where there is true faith, Christ will always be known and realized, as an actual living personal Friend! He who knows nothing of Christ as his own Priest, Physician, Redeemer, Advocate, Friend, Teacher, and Shepherd—knows nothing yet of genuine believing!

Where these marks of which I have been speaking, are utterly lacking, I dare not tell a man that he is a true believer. He may be called a Christian, and attend a Christian church. But if he knows nothing of these marks—I dare not pronounce him a believer. He is yet dead in trespasses and sins. Except he awakes to newness of life, he will perish everlastingly.

Show me a man who has these marks—and I feel a strong confidence about the state of his soul. He may be poor and needy in this world—but he is rich in the sight of God. He may be despised and sneered at by man—but he is honorable in the sight of the King of kings. He is traveling towards heaven! He has a mansion ready for him in the Father's house. He is cared for by Christ, while on earth. He will be owned by Christ before assembled worlds, in the life which is to come!"

J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)

So how do you measure up? If you find that you have fallen short in any of these areas repent and turn back to God. He is gracious and merciful and He will save all who call out to Him in repentance and faith.

A Sermon & A Quote

I have two things that I would like to share with you today: The first is an excerpt from the book A Cabinet of Choice Jewels, written in 1669 by Thomas Brooks. This was the first thing I saw this morning when I logged into my email and I couldn't help but wonder what the church would be like if we all (myself included) were to sincerely pray this prayer every day of our lives. If we are truly living the Christian life this should be the deepest desire of our heart - to be completely free of all sin and totally committed to holiness - no matter what it costs. In Hebrews we read that without holiness we will not see God (Hebrews 12:14), so as you read this excerpt do so with an attitude of prayer and ask the Holy Spirit to reveal any sin that needs to be forsaken today, and then do it.

"Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin."

Psalm 51:2

If the Lord would say to a gracious Christian: "Ask what
you will, O Christian--and it shall be granted to you."
The answer would be: "Lord, rid me of my sins! Lord, take
away my iniquities! Lord, mortify my corruptions! Lord,
whoever lives--let these lusts die! Lord, drown these
Egyptians in the red sea of your Son's blood, who have
so violently and unweariedly pursued after the blood of
my precious soul! Lord, kill and crucify all these sinful evils
which have killed and crucified the Lord of life and glory!
Lord, my carnal reason, and flesh and blood, would gladly
have such and such pleasurable sins, and such and such
profitable sins, indulged and spared. But, Lord, the earnest,
the ardent desires of my soul, are that I may be rid of them!"
And thus, every gracious soul is more willing to be rid of
his sins--than he is to keep his sins.
A sick man is not more willing to be rid of his disease,
nor a beggar of his nasty lousy rags, nor a prisoner
of his chains--than a gracious soul is willing to be rid
of his lusts!

"Hide Your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity."

Psalm 51:9

Thomas Brooks (1669)

The second thing I have today is a sermon that I happened upon this morning that talks about the heretical teachings of Open Theism. I am not sure where Brian Branam stands on the Doctrines of Grace, but he makes it clear in this sermon where he stands on this subject. But his sermon is not in any way an attack on open theists, he simply shows from the Bible why this view of God is contradictory to both Scripture and to Historical Christianity. I encourage you to take a few minutes to grab you Bible and prayerfully follow along.

We Believe in God (Open Theism)

God Is Not Mocked

I was reading through Galatians last night and when I got to chapter 6 I had to stop and spend some time in prayer. There is a verse there at the end of Paul's letter to the Galatians that says:

Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.

Galatians 6:7

As I read this in the context of what was being said here I had to ask myself, what am I sowing? Am I sowing to the flesh which leads to destruction, or am I sowing to the Spirit which leads to everlasting life? This is a question that each of us must ask, and the answer to this question will determine if you are walking (or are not walking) with Christ.

As I was reading this and praying my way through it I remembered an excerpt I had read from Puritan author Matthew Mead. In his book The Almost Christian he wrote:

"God has set a day on which He is going to judge the world in righteousness."

Acts 17:31

Reader! Meditate much on the strictness and suddenness of that judgment-day, through which you must pass, into your everlasting state; wherein God, the impartial judge, will require an exact account at your hands of all your talents and blessings. You must then account . . .

• for time—how you have spent that;
• for estate—how you have employed that;
• for strength—how you have laid out that;
• for afflictions and mercies—how they have been improved;
• for the duties—how they have been discharged;

and for means of grace—how they have been improved.

Look! how we have sowed here on earth—we shall reap for eternity!

Reader, these are things which above all others, deserve most of, and call loudest for—our utmost care and endeavors; though they are least minded, by most people.

Consider what a spirit of atheism (if we may judge the tree by the fruits—and the principle by the practice) the hearts of most men are filled with, who live, as if

God were not to be served,
nor Christ to be sought,
nor lust to be mortified,
nor self to be denied,
nor the Scripture to be believed,
nor the judgment-day to be minded,
nor hell to be feared,
nor heaven to be desired,
nor the soul to be valued;

but give up themselves to a worse than brutish sensuality, "Having lost all sensitivity, they have given themselves over to sensuality so as to indulge in every kind of impurity, with a continual lust for more!" (Ephesians 4:19). This is a reflection fit enough to break our hearts!

"Know that for all these things God will bring you to judgment!"

Ecclesiastes 11:9

"Remember, each of us will stand personally before the judgment seat of God!"

Romans 14:10

"Don't be deceived: God is not mocked. For whatever a man sows he will also reap!" Galatians 6:7

Matthew Mead "The Almost Christian" (1661)

I encourage you to take some time to prayerfully read through the book of Galatians over the next few days and ask yourself the question, "to what am I sowing?" If you find that you have been sowing to the flesh in any area of your life, repent of it and turn to God. He is merciful and He will forgive! Then do what Paul said and walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

The Puritans (Part 9) - True Christianity

As those who read this blog regularly know, I really enjoy writing verse-by-verse studies, and that is usually what I post here. But I will also occasionally post something that I have read (usually written by a Puritan author) when I have found something that has convicted and challenged me in my walk with Christ, and I share these things with the readers of The Christian Journey with the hope that they will challenge you in your walk as well.

Over the past few weeks I have been finding more and more things that fit this description and my collection of these articles, sermons, and book excerpts has grown considerably. So over the next few weeks in addition to continuing the study of 1 John, and anything else that God lays on my heart to write about, I hope to do several postings of the things I have been collecting lately. It is my prayer that you will find something helpful or challenging in each of these and that your walk with Christ will be strengthened by what you read here.

Today I am posting an excerpt from the 1895 sermon What Is Needed by Anglican Bishop J.C. Ryle. In this excerpt Bishop Ryle describes what true Christianity looks like - something that is very confused in our world today. We would do well as a church to get back to what is outlined below and stop trying to please the world and attract them; if we lift up Jesus, He will draw all men to Himself (John 12:32)

True Christianity

(1) True Christianity has always taught the inspiration, sufficiency, and supremacy of Holy Scripture. It has told men that "God's written Word" is the only trustworthy rule of faith and practice in religion; that God requires nothing to be believed that is not in this Word; and that nothing is right which contradicts it. It has never allowed reason, or the voice of the Church, to be placed above, or on a level with Scripture. It has steadily maintained that, however imperfectly we may understand it, the Old Book is meant to be the only standard of life and doctrine.

(2) True Christianity has always taught fully the sinfulness, guilt and corruption of human nature. It has told men, that they are born in sin, deserve God's wrath and condemnation, and are naturally inclined to do evil. It has never allowed that men and women are only weak and pitiable creatures, who can become good when they please, and make their own peace with God. On the contrary, it has steadily declared man's danger and vileness, and his pressing need of a Divine forgiveness and atonement for his sins, a new birth or conversion, and an entire change of heart.

(3) True Christianity has always set before men, the Lord Jesus Christ as the chief object of faith and hope in religion--as the Divine Mediator between God and men, the only source of peace of conscience, and the root of all spiritual life. The main things it has ever insisted on about Christ, are--the atonement for sin He made by His death, His sacrifice on the cross, the complete redemption from guilt and condemnation by His blood, His victory over the grave by His resurrection, His active life of intercession at God's right hand, and the absolute necessity of simple faith in Him. In short, it has made Christ the Alpha and the Omega in Christian theology.

(4) True Christianity has always honored the Person of God the Holy Spirit, and magnified His work. It has never taught that all professing Christians have the grace of the Spirit in their hearts, as a matter of course--because they are baptized, or because they belong to a Church. It has steadily maintained that the fruits of the Spirit are the only evidence of having the Spirit, and that those fruits must be seen! It has always taught, that we must be born of the Spirit, led by the Spirit, sanctified by the Spirit, and feel the operations of the Spirit--and that a close walk with God in the path of His commandments, a life of holiness, love, self-denial, purity, and zeal to do good--are the only satisfactory marks of the Holy Spirit.

Such is true Christianity. Well would it have been for the world, if there had been more of it during the last nineteen centuries! Too often, and in too many parts of Christendom, there has been so little of it--that Christ's religion has seemed extinct, and has fallen into utter contempt!

This is the Christianity which, in the days of the Apostles, "turned the world upside down!" It was this which emptied the idol temples of their worshipers, routed the Greek and Roman philosophers, and obliged even heathen writers to confess that the followers of the "new superstition," as they called it, were people who loved one another, and lived very pure and holy lives!

Let it never be forgotten, that its leading principles are those which are least likely to please the natural man. On the contrary, they are precisely those which are calculated to be unpopular and to give offense. Proud man does not like to be told that he is a weak, guilty sinner--that he cannot save his own soul, and must trust in the work of another--that he must be converted and have a new heart--that he must live a holy, self-denying life, and come out from the world.

Yet, this is the Christianity which is doing good at this day, wherever real good is done. The only religious teaching which can show solid, positive results--is that which gives prominence to the doctrines which I have endeavored to describe. Wherever they are rightly taught, Christianity can point to fruits which are an unanswerable proof of its Divine origin. There are myriads of professing Christians who have no life or reality in their religion--and are only nominal members of Christ's Church. Except for going to church on Sundays, they give no evidence of true Christianity. If you mark their daily life--they seem neither to think, nor feel, nor care for their souls, or God, or eternity. Men and women who crowd churches on Sundays--and then live worldly selfish lives all the week--are the best and most efficient allies of the devil.

True faith is not a mere "mental assent" to certain theological propositions--but a living, burning, active principle--which works by love, purifies the heart, overcomes the world, and brings forth much fruit of holiness and good works. Let us live as if we really believed every jot and tittle of Scripture--and as if a dying, risen, interceding, and coming Christ, were continually before our eyes!

J.C. Ryle (1885)

How does this compare to your view of Christianity?

The Puritans (Part 8) - The Necessity Of Holiness

Once again, I am amazed and deeply convicted by the writings of the Puritan's. This time it is an excerpt from a sermon by Anglican Bishop J. C. Ryle, speaking on the subject of the necessity of holiness in the life of the believer. We have gotten so far away from this type of preaching in most of our churches today that the average Christian has no idea that genuine salvation leads to personal holiness.

Do I have this down? No Way - that's why I need Christ! but just like Paul I can say:

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:12-14

As each of us submits to the leading on the Holy Spirit in our lives we will find that little by little this becomes the direction of the course of our life; we will find that we are pressing on for the goal - Christ likeness - and that as we look at where we have come from we will see that we are not where we want to be, but we are also not where we were. Will the Christian ever reach perfection in this life? No. But that does not mean that the Christian doesn't strive for holiness anyway. As a Christian our ultimate goal is to do the will of our Heavenly Father, and His will is our sanctification (1 Thessalonians 4:3).

It is my prayer that you would give this subject some thought today, and I hope that this excerpt from Bishop Ryle will touch you like it touched me.

"Every man who has his hope in Christ, purifies himself." 1 John 3:3

Suppose for a moment, that you were allowed to enter heaven without holiness. What would you do? What possible enjoyment could you feel there? To which of all the saints would you join yourself—and by whose side would you sit? Their pleasures are not your pleasures, their tastes are not your tastes, their character not your character. How could you possibly be happy in heaven—if you had not been holy on earth?

Now you love the company of the frivolous and careless, the worldly-minded and the covetous, the reveler and the pleasure-seeker, the ungodly and the profane. There will be none such in heaven! Now you think that the people of God are too strict and particular and serious. You rather avoid them. You have no delight in their society. But remember, there will be no other company in heaven.

Now you think that praying and Scripture reading, and hymn singing, are dull and melancholy and stupid work. But remember, the inhabitants of heaven rest not day and night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty!" and singing the praise of the Lamb! How could an unholy man find pleasure in such an environment as this?

An unholy man would feel like a stranger in a land he knew not, a black sheep amid Christ's pure flock. The song of angels and archangels, and all the company of heaven—would be a language he could not understand! The very air would seem an air he could not breathe! I know not what others may think, but to me it does seem clear—that heaven would be a miserable place to an unholy man! It cannot be otherwise.

People may say, in a vague way—that they "hope to go to heaven after they die." But surely, they do not consider what they say. We must be heavenly-minded, and have heavenly tastes, in the present life—or else we shall never find ourselves in heaven, in the life to come.

Are you holy? I do not ask whether you attend your church regularly, whether you have been baptized, or whether you profess to be a Christian. Are you yourself holy this very day—or are you not? Why do I ask so straightly, and press the question so strongly? I do it because the Scripture says, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." It is written—it is not my imagination; it is the Bible—not my private opinion; it is the Word of God—not of man: "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." (Heb. 12:14).

Alas, what searching, sifting words are these! I look at the world—and see the greater part of it lying in wickedness. I look at professing Christians—and see the vast majority having nothing of Christianity, but the mere name. I turn to the Bible and I hear the Spirit saying, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." Surely it is a text which ought to make us solemnly consider our ways, and search our heart.

You may say, that "if you were so holy—you would be unlike other people." I answer, "I know it well. It is just what you ought to be. Christ's true servants were always unlike the world around them—a holy nation, a separate people—and you must be so too, if you would be saved!" You may say, "at this rate very few will be saved!" I answer, "I know it. It is precisely what Jesus told us in His sermon on the mount—Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there are who find it!" Few will be saved, because few will take the trouble to seek salvation--men will not deny themselves the pleasures of sin for a little season.

You may say, "these are hard sayings; the way is very narrow!" I know it is. The Lord Jesus said so eighteen hundred years ago. He always said that men must take up the cross daily, and that they must be ready to cut off hand or foot, if they would be His disciples. That religion which costs nothing—is worth nothing!

J.C. Ryle (1816-1900)

The Importance of Self Examination

I love the writings of the Puritans. Every time I read any of them I come under the conviction of the Holy Spirit and I see all of the areas of my life that I have fallen short of what God requires of us all. There is just something about they way that they wrote that shows me what is truly in my heart and leads me to repentance. I thank God for the power that they had in the words that they put to paper, I thank God that He has seen fit to preserve them for us today, and I pray that He will use the words that I write to touch people the way that the writings of men like Thomas Watson, Thomas Vincent, Octavius Winslow, and many others have touched me.

Here is another very convicting excerpt from Puritan writer Matthew Mead. This short excerpt, taken from "The Almost Christian" shows us the importance of making sure that we are truly in the faith.

A man may preach like an apostle, pray like an angel—and yet may have the heart of a devil!

Many have gone to hell, laden with spiritual gifts. No doubt Judas had great gifts, for he was a preacher of the gospel. What a grand profession Judas had! He followed Christ, left all for Christ, he preached the gospel of Christ, he cast out devils in the name of Christ, he ate and drank at the table of Christ—and yet Judas was but a hypocrite!

The Scriptures speak of some who have "a form of godliness, yet deny the power thereof." That is, they do not live in the practice of those graces, which they pretend to profess. He who pretends to godliness by a specious profession—and yet does not practice godliness by a holy life, he has a mere form of godliness—but denies the power.

Grotius compares such to the ostrich, which has great wings—but yet does not fly. Just so—many have the wings of a fair profession—but yet do notuse them to mount upward in spiritual affections,and a heavenly life. As many go to heaven with the fear of hell in their hearts—so many go to hell with the name of Christ in their mouths!

Matthew Mead (1661)

The apostle Paul also wrote of the importance of examination; in his second letter to the Corinthians he wrote:

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?

2 Corinthians 13:5 (NASB)

From this verse we can see that it is possible to think that we are in the faith and discover that we are not; it is possible to fail the test. Take some time today and examine yourself in light of God's Word. Ask Him to show you anywhere you fall short, repent of what He shows you, and then praise Him for the salvation that He provides. That is what I will be doing today.

The Puritans (Part 7) - The Wrath To Come

Yesterday I finished up the post on 1 John 2:2 and this morning I opened my email to find this from Grace Gems. If you have any question about what it was that Jesus saved us from, or why it is that we need a Savior, just read this.

"Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come!" 1 Thessalonians 1:10

By "the wrath to come" we are to understand the infinite wrath of the sin-avenging God—in comparison with which, the wrath of all other creatures in the world is mild, and not in the least to be regarded.

This wrath which is to come, will be most bitter—beyond any gall or wormwood to the taste. This wrath will be most pure—without any allay or mixture of any comfortable ingredients. This wrath will be most plentiful—the treasury of which will be opened in hell, and all the damned will be filled with it abundantly. This wrath will be most weighty—beyond any mountain of lead, to sink sinners down into the bottomless pit. This wrath will be most fierce—and so powerful that all the powers of men and devils shall not be able to make the least resistance. This wrath will be intolerable—and yet must be borne; it will be implacable—so as never to be appeased; and it will be eternal—so as never to be ended!

This wrath will include the punishment of loss—will consist of the loss of the crown, glory, and happiness of heaven, where the righteous shall be admitted to the immediate vision and full fruition of God the chief good, which will fill them with soul-ravishing, inconceivable, and eternal joy. But from this, all the wicked will be eternally shut out, and wholly denied any share in the least of that happiness which, when they come to understand the worth and excellency of it—will above all things be most vexing to them!

This wrath will include the punishment of sense—will consist in the horrible pains and tortures which shall in extreme measure be inflicted upon every part of the bodies of all the wicked, by the most dreadful and unquenchable fire into which they shall be thrown; and the horrible anguish which, through the immediate impressions of God's wrath, shall be inflicted upon every faculty of their souls in hell, where they shall have no ease or release forever! Matthew 25:41, "Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!" Revelation 14:10-11, "They shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night."

The wicked are vessels fitted by sin for destruction, and prepared for wrath; and therefore they shall be filled with it! God has treasured up wrath for the wicked—as they have treasured up sin! God will give them that which they have so much deserved, and which He has prepared for them. However sinners may vainly hope to flee or hide themselves from the stroke of God's vengeance, yet God's right hand will find all those who hate Him; and He will make them as a fiery oven in the time of His anger, swallow them up in His wrath, and devour them with the fire of His indignation! (Psalm 21:8-9).

The souls of the wicked, as soon as they are loosened by death from the ruinous habitation of their bodies, presently appear before God, are condemned to hell, and are dragged by the devil, hell's jailer, into that prison where they are bound in chains of darkness, filled with horror and anguish until the day of eternal judgment!

Oh, the dread and confusion which the wicked then shall be filled with—when they are summoned and dragged to the tribunal seat of Christ—and there have the books opened before them, where all their sins are written, and which will then be made manifest to the whole world; and when the sentence "Depart, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire!" shall be passed upon them; and when the Lord shall open the treasury of wrath to them, and give them that portion thereof, which is their due; and when they shall see the mouth of hell open beneath them, and a horrible flame issuing forth from there, giving notice of a more horrible fire within which is prepared for them!

Oh, the dread! Oh, the shrieks! Who can dwell with such devouring fire! Who can inhabit such everlasting burnings! How welcome would a great rock or mountain be—if they could find any that would fall upon them, and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb, and keep off the strokes of God's vengeance, which then will be inflicted upon them!

But, the sentence being pronounced—the execution will follow—and none can escape it! From Christ's tribunal seat, the wicked will be thrown into the fiery prison of hell, where they will be shut down and shut in, and that forever! There they will lie; there they will fry, and there they will cry! Though always dying—they will never die! The fire there will burn most dreadfully and continually, yet will never be extinguished! The wicked will be tormented there, in every part and in extreme measure—and their torment will never be ended!

Thomas Vincent (1670)

Remember, it is the kindness of God that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4), and what could be more kind than being saved from this? Take some time today to thank God for sending Jesus to redeem us and thank Jesus for the salvation that He provided.

What an awesome God we serve!