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True Faith by A. W. Pink

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

“But without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Heb. 11:6)—“But the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it” (Heb. 4:2).  The linking together of these verses shows us the worthlessness of all religious activities where faith is lacking.  The outward exercise may be performed diligently and correctly, but, unless faith is in operation, God is not honored and the soul is not profited.  Faith draws out the heart unto God, and faith it is which receives from God—not a mere intellectual assent to what is revealed in Holy Writ, but a supernatural principle of grace which lives upon the God of Scripture.  This the natural man, no matter how religious or orthodox he be, lacks; and no labors of his, no act of his will, can acquire it.  It is the sovereign gift of God.

Faith must be operative in all the exercises of the Christian if God is to be glorified and the believer is to be edified.  First, in the reading of the Word: “But these are written that ye might believe” (John 20:31).  Second, in listening to the preaching of God’s servants: “The hearing of faith” (Gal. 3:2).  Third, in praying: “Let him ask in faith, nothing wavering” (James 1:6).  Fourth, in our daily life: “For we walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7); “the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God” (Gal. 2:20).  Fifth, in our exit from this world: “These all died in faith” (Heb. 11:13).  What the breath is to the body, faith is to the soul; for one who is destitute of faith to seek to perform spiritual actions is like putting a spring within a wooden dummy and making it go through mechanical motions.

Now an unregenerate professor may read the Scriptures and yet have no spiritual faith. Just as the devout Hindu peruses the Upanishads and the Mohammedan his Koran, so many in “Christian” countries take up the study of the Bible, and yet have no more of the life of God in their souls than have their heathen brethren.  Thousands in this land read the Bible, believe in its Divine authorship, and become more or less familiar with its contents.  A mere professor may read several chapters every day, and yet never appropriate a single verse.  But faith applies God’s Word: it applies His fearful threats and trembles before them; it applies His solemn warnings, and seeks to heed them; it applies His precepts, and cries unto Him for grace to walk in them.

It is the same in listening to the Word preached.  A carnal professor will boast of having attended this conference and that, of having heard this famous teacher and that renowned preacher, and be no better off in his soul than if he had never heard any of them.  He may listen to two sermons every Sunday, and fifty years hence be as dead spiritually as he is today.  But the regenerated soul appropriates the message and measures himself by what he hears.  He is often convicted of his sins and made to mourn over them.  He tests himself by God’s standard, and feels that he comes so far short of what he ought to be, that he sincerely doubts the honesty of his own profession.  The Word pierces him, like a two-edged sword, and causes him to cry “O wretched man that I am.”

So in prayer—The mere professor often makes the humble Christian feel ashamed of himself.  The carnal religionist who has “the gift of the gab” is never at a loss for words: sentences flow from his lips as readily as do the waters of a babbling brook—verses of Scripture seem to run through his mind as freely as flour passes through a sieve, whereas the poor burdened child of God is often unable to do any more than cry “God be merciful to me a sinner.”  Ah, my friends, we need to distinguish sharply between a natural aptitude for “making” nice prayers and the spirit of true supplication: the one consists merely of words, the other of  “groanings  which  cannot  be uttered”—the one is acquired by religious education, the other is wrought in the soul by the Holy Spirit.

Thus it is too in conversing about the things of God.  The frothy professor can talk glibly and often orthodoxy of “doctrines,” yes, and of worldly things, too: according to his mood, or according to his audience, so is his theme.  But the child of God, while being swift to hear that which is unto edification is “slow to speak.”  Ah, my reader, beware of talkative people; a drum makes a lot of noise, but it is hollow inside!  “Most men will proclaim every one his own goodness; but a faithful man who can find?” (Prov. 20:6).  When a saint of God does open his lips about spiritual matters, it is to tell of what the Lord, in His infinite mercy, has done for him; but the carnal religionist is anxious for others to know what he is “doing for the Lord.”

The difference is just as real between the genuine Christian and the nominal Christian in connection with their daily lives: while the latter may appear outwardly righteous, yet within they are “full of hypocrisy, and iniquity” (Matt. 23:28).  They will put on the skin of a real sheep, but in reality they are “wolves in sheep’s clothing.”  But God’s children have the nature of sheep, and learn of Him who is “meek and lowly in heart,” and, as the elect of God, they put on “mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering” (Col. 3:12).  They are in private what they appear in public.  They worship God in spirit and in truth, and have been made to know wisdom in the hidden parts of the heart.

So it is on their passing out of this world.  An empty professor may die as easily and as quietly as he lived—deserted by the Holy Spirit, undisturbed by the Devil; as the Psalmist says, “There are no bands in their death” (73:4).  But this is very different from the end of one whose deeply-plowed and consciously-defiled conscience has been “sprinkled” with the precious blood of Christ—“Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright: for the end of that man is peace” (Psa. 37:37).  Yes, [with] a peace which “passeth all understanding” having lived the life of the righteous, he dies “the death of the righteous” (Num. 23:10).

And what is it which distinguishes the one character from the other—wherein lies the difference between the genuine Christian and he who is one in name only?  This—a God-given, Spirit-wrought faith in the heart.  Not a mere head-knowledge and intellectual assent to the truth, but a living, spiritual, vital principle in the heart—a faith which “purifies the heart” (Acts 15:9), which “worketh by love” (Gal. 5:6), which “overcometh the world” (1 John 5:4).  Yes, [it is] a faith which is Divinely sustained amidst trials within and opposition without; a faith which exclaims “though He slay me, yet will I trust in Him” (Job 13:15).

True, this faith is not always in exercise, nor is it equally strong at all times. The favored possessor of it must be taught by painful experience that as he did not originate it neither can he command it; therefore does he turn unto its Author, and say, “Lord I believe, help Thou mine unbelief.”  And then it is that, when reading the Word he is enabled to lay hold of its precious promises—that when bowing before the Throne of Grace, he is enabled to cast his burden upon the Lord—that when he rises to go about his temporal duties, he is enabled to lean upon the everlasting arms—and that when he is called upon to pass through the valley of the shadow of death, he triumphantly cries, “I will fear no evil for Thou art with me.” “Lord, increase our faith.”

From Studies in the Scriptures, February 1933.

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Another Conversation on Assurance by A. W. Pink

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

Mr. Humble Heart: “Good morning, Sir.  May I beg the favor of an hour of your valuable time?”

Editor: “Come in, and welcome.  What can I do for you?”

Humble Heart: “I am sore troubled in spirit: I long so much to be able to call God ‘my father,’ but I fear I might be guilty of lying were I to do so.  There are many times when I have a little hope that He has begun a good work within me, but alas, for the most part, I find such a mass of corruption working within, that I feel sure that I have never been made a new creature in Christ.  My heart is so cold and hard toward God, that it seems impossible the Holy Spirit could have shed abroad God’s love in me; unbelief and doubtings so often master me, that it would be presumptuous to think I possess the faith of God’s elect.  Yet I want to love Him, trust Him, serve Him, but it seems I cannot.”

Editor: “I am very glad you called.  It is rare indeed to meet with an honest soul these days.”

Humble Heart: “Excuse me, Sir, but I do not want you to form a wrong impression of me: an honest heart is the very blessing I crave, but I am painfully conscious, from much clear evidence, that I possess it not.  My heart is deceitful above all things, and I am full of hypocrisy.  I have often begged God to make me holy, and right after, my actions proved that I did not mean what I said. I have often thanked God for His mercies, and then have soon fretted and murmured when His providence crossed my will.  I had quite a battle before I came here to see you tonight, as to whether I was really seeking help, or as to whether my secret desire was to win your esteem: and I am not sure now which was my real motive.”

Humble Heart: “To come to the point, Sir, if I am not intruding.  I have read and re-read your articles on “Assurance” which appeared in last year’s magazines.  Some things in those articles seemed to give me a little comfort, but other things almost drove me to despair.  Sometimes your description of a born-again soul agreed with my own experience, but at other times I seemed as far from measuring up to it as the poles are asunder.  So I do not know where I am.  I have sought to heed 2 Corinthians 13:5 and ‘examine’ myself, and when I did so, I could see nothing but a mass of contradictions; or, it would be more accurate to say, for each one thing I found which seemed to show that I was regenerate, I found ten things to prove that I could not be so.  And now, Sir, I’m mourning night and day, for I feel of all men the most miserable.”

Editor: “Hypocrites are not exercised about their motives, nor troubled over the deceitfulness of their hearts!  At any rate, I am thankful to see you are so deeply concerned about your soul’s eternal interests.”

Humble Heart: “Alas, Sir, I am not half as much concerned about them as I ought to be.  That is another thing which occasions me much anguish.  When the Lord Jesus tells us that the human soul is worth more than the whole world put together (Mark 8:36), I feel that I must be thoroughly blinded by Satan and completely under the dominion of sin, seeing that I am so careless.  It is true that at times I am alarmed about my state and fearful that I shall soon be in Hell; at times too, I seem to seek God more earnestly and read His Word more diligently; but alas, my goodness is ‘as a morning cloud, and as the early dew it goeth away’ (Hos. 6:4).  The cares of this life so soon crowd out thoughts of the life to come.  O, Sir, I want reality, not pretense; I want to make sure, yet cannot.”

Editor: “That is not so simple a task as many would have us believe.”

Humble Heart: “It certainly is not. I have consulted several Bible teachers, only to find them ‘physicians of no value’ (Job 13:4).  I have also conferred with some who boasted that they never have a doubt, and they quoted to me Acts 16:31, and on telling them I did believe, they cried ‘Peace, peace,’ but there was no peace in my heart.”

Editor: “Ah, dear friend, it is not without reason that God has bidden us ‘give diligence to make your calling and election sure’ (2 Peter 1:10).  And even after we have given diligence, we still need the Holy Spirit to ‘bear witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God’ (Rom. 8:16).  Moreover, spiritual assurance may easily be lost, or at least be clouded, as is evident from the case of him who wrote the 23rd Psalm, for at a later date he had to cry unto God, ‘Restore unto me the joy of Thy salvation.’

Editor: “Before proceeding further, had we not better ask the help of the Lord?  His Holy Word says, ‘In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths’ (Prov. 3:6).  And now, dear Brother, for such I am assured you really are, what is it that most causes you to doubt that you have passed from death unto life?”

Humble Heart: “My inward experiences, the wickedness of my heart, the many defeats I encounter daily.”

Editor: “Perhaps you are looking for perfection in the flesh.”

Humble Heart: “No, hardly that, for I know the ‘flesh’ or old nature is still left in the Christian.  But I have met with some who claim to be living ‘the victorious life,’ who say they never have a doubt, never a rising of anger, discontent, or any wicked feelings or desires; that Christ so controls them that unclouded peace and joy are theirs all the time.”

Editor: “Bear with me if I speak plainly, but such people are either hypnotized by the Devil, or they are fearful liars.  God’s Word says, ‘If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us’ (1 John 1:8).  And again, ‘There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good, and sinneth not’ (Eccl. 7:20).  And again, ‘In many things, we offend all’ (James 3:2).  The beloved Apostle Paul when well advanced in the Christian life, declared, ‘I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me.  For I delight in the law of God after the inward man: but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members’ (Rom. 7:21-23).

Humble Heart: “That relieves my mind somewhat, yet it scarcely reaches the root of my difficulty.  What troubles me so much is this: when God regenerates a man, he becomes a new creature in Christ Jesus: the change wrought in him is so great that it is termed a ‘passing from death unto life.’  It is obvious that if God the Holy Spirit dwells in a person, that there must be a radical difference produced, both inwardly and outwardly, from what he was before.  Now it is this which I fail to find in myself.  Instead of being any better than I was a year ago, I feel I am worse.  Instead of humility filling my heart, so often pride rules it; instead of lying passive like clay in the Potter’s hand to be molded by Him, I am like a wild colt; instead of rejoicing in the Lord always, I am frequently filled with bitterness and repinings.”

Editor: “Such experiences as you describe are very sad and humbling, and need to be mourned over and confessed to God.  They must never be excused nor glossed over.  Nevertheless, they are not incompatible with the Christian state.  Rather they are so many proofs that he who is experimentally [by experience] acquainted with the ‘plague of his own heart’ (1 Kings 8:38) is one in experience with the most eminent of God’s saints.  Abraham acknowledged he was ‘dust and ashes’ (Gen. 18:27).  Job said, ‘I abhor myself’ (42:6).  David prayed ‘Have mercy upon me, O Lord, for I am weak: O Lord, heal me; for my bones are vexed’ (Psa. 6:2).  Isaiah exclaimed, ‘Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips’ (6:5).  In the anguish of his heart, Jeremiah asked, ‘Wherefore came I forth out of the womb to see labor and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?’ (20:18).  Daniel once owned, ‘There remained no strength in me, for my comeliness was turned in me into corruption’ (10:8).  Paul cried, ‘O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?’ (Rom. 7:24).

“One of the principal things which distinguishes a regenerate person from an unregenerate one may be likened unto two rooms which have been swept but not dusted.  In one, the blinds are raised and the sunlight streams in, exposing the dust still lying on the furniture.  In the other, the blinds are lowered, and one walking through the room would be unable to discern its real condition.  Thus it is in the case of one who has been renewed by the Spirit: his eyes have been opened to see the awful filth which lurks in every corner of his heart.  But in the case of the unregenerate, though they have occasional twinges of conscience when they act wrongly, they are very largely ignorant of the awful fact that they are a complete mass of corruption unto the pure eyes of the thrice holy God.  It is true that an unregenerate person may be instructed in the truth of the total depravity of fallen man, and he may ‘believe’ the same, yet his belief does not humble his heart, fill him with anguish, make him loathe himself, and feel that Hell is the only place which is fit for him to dwell in.  But it is far otherwise with one who sees light in God’s light (Psa. 36:9); he will not so much as lift up his eyes to Heaven, but smites upon his leprous breast, crying, ‘God be merciful to me the sinner’.”

Humble Heart: “Would you kindly turn to the positive side, and give me a brief description of what characterizes a genuine Christian?”

Editor: “Among other gifts, every real Christian has such a knowledge of God in Christ, as works by love, that he is stirred up to earnestly inquire after the will of God, and studies His Word to learn that will, having a sincere desire and making an honest endeavor to live in the faith and practice of it.”

Humble Heart: “I cannot boast of my knowledge of God in Christ, yet by Divine grace this I may say: that I desire no other Heaven on earth than to know and to do God’s will, and be assured that I have His approval.”

Editor: “That is indeed a good sign that your soul has been actually renewed, and doubtless He who has begun a work of grace in your heart, will make the great change manifest in your life and actions.  No matter what he thinks or says, no unregenerate man really desires to live a life which is pleasing to God.”

Humble Heart: “God forbid that I should flatter myself, yet I hope I have often found delight when reading God’s Word or hearing it preached, and I do sincerely meditate upon it, and long that I may ‘grow in grace.’  Yet, at times, I am tempted with vain and vile thoughts, and I strive to banish them, my heart rising up against them; yet sometimes I yield to them.  I loathe lying and cursing, and cannot endure the company of those who hate practical godliness; yet my withdrawal from them seems nothing but pharisaic hypocrisy, for I am such a miserable failure myself.  I pray to God for deliverance from temptation and for grace to resist the Devil, but I fear that I do not have His ear, for more often than not I am defeated by sin and Satan.”

Editor: “When you thus fall in your duty, or fall into sin, what do you think of yourself and your ways?  How are you affected therewith?”

Humble Heart: “When I am in this deplorable condition, my soul is grieved, my joy of heart and peace of conscience gone.  But when I am a little recovered out of this sinful lethargy, my heart is melted with sorrow over my folly, and I address myself to God with great fear and shame, begging Him to forgive me, pleading 1 John 1:9, and humbly imploring Him to ‘renew a right spirit within me’.”

Editor: “And why is it that you are so troubled when sin conquers you?”

Humble Heart: “Because I truly wish to please the Lord, and it is my greatest grief when I realize that I have dishonored and displeased Him. His mercy has kept me, thus far, from breaking out into open and public sins, yet there is very much within which I know He hates.”

Editor: “Well, my dear brother and companion in the path of tribulation, God has ordained that the Lamb shall be eaten with ‘bitter herbs’ (Exo. 12:8).  So it was with the Apostle: ‘As sorrowful, yet always rejoicing’ (2 Cor. 6:10) summed up his dual experience: ‘sorrowful over his sinful failures, both of omission and commission; yet ‘rejoicing’ over the provisions which Divine grace has made for us while we are in this dreary desert – the Mercy Seat ever open to us, whither we may draw near, unburden our heavy hearts, and pour out our tale of woe; the Fountain which has been ‘opened for sin and for uncleanness’ (Zech. 13:1), whither we may repair for cleansing.  I am indeed thankful to learn that your conscience confirms what your tongue has uttered.  You have expressed enough to clearly evidence that the Holy Spirit has begun a good work in your soul.  But I trust you also have faith in the Lord Jesus, the Mediator, by whom alone any sinner can draw near unto God.”

Humble Heart: “By Divine grace, I do desire to acknowledge and embrace the Lord Jesus upon the terms on which He is proclaimed in the Gospel: to believe all His doctrine as my Teacher, to trust in and depend upon the atoning sacrifice which He offered as the great High Priest, and to submit to His rule and government as King. But, alas, in connection with the last, ‘to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good, I find not’ (Rom. 7:18).

Editor: “No real Christian ever attains his ideal in this life; he never reaches that perfect standard which God has set before us in His Word, and which was so blessedly exemplified in the life of Christ.  Even the Apostle Paul, near the close of his life, had to say, ‘Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect; but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus’ (Phil. 3:12).  But may I ask if you are sensible of how you arrived at the good desires you mentioned?  Do you suppose that such a disposition is natural to you, or that it has resulted from your own improvement of your faculties?”

Humble Heart: “No, Sir, I dare not ascribe to nature that which is the effect and fruit of Divine grace.  If I have any measure of sanctification (which is what I long to be assured of), then it can only be by the gift and operation of God.  I am too well acquainted with my wretched self: I know too well that by nature I am alive to vanity and sin but dead to God and all real goodness; that folly possesses my soul, darkness shrouds my understanding; that I am utterly unable to will or to do what is pleasing in God’s sight, and that my natural heart is set contrary to the way of salvation proposed in the Gospel, rising up against its flesh-condemning precepts and commandments.  I see, I know, I feel that in me, that is, in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing.”

Editor: “Then do you realize what must be the outcome if God were to leave you unto yourself?”

Humble Heart: “Yes, indeed.  Without the assistance of His Holy Spirit, I should certainly make shipwreck of the faith.  My daily prayer is ‘Hold Thou me up, and I shall be safe’ (Psa. 119:117).  My earnest desire is that I may watch and pray against every temptation.  There is nothing I dread more than apostatizing, relaxing in my duty, returning to wallow in the mire.”

Editor: “These are all plain evidences of the saving grace of God at work within you, which I beseech Him to continue, so that you may be preserved with a tender conscience, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, and obtain a full assurance of His love for you.”

Humble Heart: “I thank you kindly, Sir, for your patience and help.  What you have said makes me feel lighter in heart, but I wish to go home and prayerfully ponder the same, for I dare not take any man’s word for it.  I want God Himself ‘to say unto my soul, I am thy salvation’ (Psa. 35:3).  Will you not pray that it may please Him so to do?”

Editor: “You shall certainly have a place in my feeble petitions.  The Lord be very gracious unto you.”

Excerpted and edited from A.W. Pink, Studies in the Scriptures, October, 1932.

Posted in A. W. Pink |

Coming to Christ by Solomon Stoddard

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

What we are to preach

The gospel—In Isaiah, it is good tidings, and so the Greek word signifies, so our word “gospel” signifies.  It comes from two Saxon words: God, that signifies good; and Spell, that signifies a word.  There are other good tidings, but the gospel is so by way of eminency.  The gospel brings tidings of the love of God to men, and of a glorious way of reconciliation and salvation.  They are much to blame who slight the gospel and reject it.  They carry on as if the gospel were not good tidings.

To whom we are to preach

To the poor–There are two sorts of poor:

1. They that are low in the world; that are destitute of riches, and the invitations of the gospel are sent to them as well as others, and they who receive it are more generally of that sort.  1 Corinthians 1:28, God hath chosen the base things of the world, and things that are despised.  James 2:5, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world, rich in faith, heirs of the kingdom.  Matthew 11:5, The poor have the gospel preached unto them.

2. Those that are poor in spirit, who are sensible that they have nothing to purchase heaven, who are sensible that they have no money nor price for their salvation.  And they are of two sorts:

(a)   Such as are legally poor, as those in Matthew 11:28, That labor and are heavy laden, who are convinced of the wretchedness of their hearts, and that God may justly condemn them.

(b)  Such as are evangelically poor in spirit, such as have the grace of humility, and live upon the mercy of God in Christ spoken of in Matthew 5:3, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Those who are called poor here are called meek in Isaiah 60:1.  Their hearts are meekened, either by conviction or by grace.  I do not exclude the latter, but it seems to have a particular respect to the former.

DOCTRINE. The gospel is especially to be preached to the poor in spirit.  They are particularly to be invited. Consider here these two propositions.

FIRST PROPOSITION.  The gospel is to be preached to all. Though there is no expectation that all will receive it, yet it is to be preached to all.  Ministers are not bound to preach it to everyone in the world, for that is impossible, but they are to preach to all as they have opportunity.  They may not designedly hide the gospel from any.  There are many differences among men, in respect of their estates, age, covenant, interest and sinfulness; but the gospel is to be preached to them all.  Christ forbade His disciples to go into the way of the Gentiles, or to enter into any city of the Samaritans, Matthew 10:5, but this was a temporary command.  But now, the gospel is to be preached unto all, Mark 16:15, Go into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature, that is, every human creature.  Acts 20:21, Testifying both to the Jew, and also to the Greeks, repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ.  Galatians 3:28, There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female, for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.  All are to be instructed in the gospel and to be invited to Christ.

The first reason is because the promise is to all.  There is a conditional promise made to all who believe in Christ.  There is no exception of any who believe in Christ.  The sin against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven, but the conditional promise is true of them, and no man knows that he has committed that sin.  The offer of the gospel is made to men without any exception. It is propounded in general terms so as to comprehend all.  Acts 10:43, Whosoever believeth on Him shall have remission of sins.  Men are ready to except themselves, but God makes no exceptions.  Sometimes the promise is propounded indefinitely, John 3:36, He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life.  But sometimes it is propounded universally, for there is no other condition joined to this and, not only so, but the notes of universality are added to the promise, as “whosoever,” John 3:16, and “all,” Acts 13:39, or “any,” Revelation 3:20.  And, therefore, it must be preached to all.

The second reason is that they who are not poor in spirit may receive benefit by the gospel. The gospel is many ways useful to make men poor in spirit.  Preparation for Christ is carried on by the law and the gospel in conjunction.  When men hear that there is a way of salvation by Christ, that makes them more willing to see their danger, and not altogether so opposed to receiving conviction.  It encourages them to pray to God to show them their misery.  When men hear that Christ died for our sins, that makes them sensible that God is very angry for sin; that He will execute vengeance.  This is an evidence of the justice and severity of God.  Men may learn from thence that sin is a great offense and must be punished. Luke 23:31, If they do such things in a green tree, what shall be done in a dry? When men hear that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son to suffer for them, this reveals the vile nature of sin whereby men abuse a God of such grace.  Psalm 130:4, There is forgiveness with Thee, that Thou mayest feared. When men hear that Christ has redeemed us from the curse, that may convince them that their own works cannot save them.  Galatians 2:21, If righteousness comes by the law, then Christ is dead in vain. When they hear the command to believe in Christ, that convinces them that, though they are civil and religious, yet if they do not believe, they are rebellious and in a miserable estate.

The third reason is because they who are not poor in spirit now may be poor in spirit afterwards. If men hear the gospel and do not make right use of it now, yet they will retain the knowledge of it and it may do them service afterwards, though they are not sensible of their lost condition now, but are senseless and carnally confident, yet they may be poor in spirit hereafter.  And then, what they have heard may come to mind and become powerful upon their hearts.  It may be, when they do not have an opportunity to hear the gospel, they will call to mind what they have heard some years before, and ponder on what has been preached to them formerly.

SECOND PROPOSITION.  The gospel is especially to be preached to the poor in spirit.  It is fit that ministers should make a particular application of the calls of the gospel to them.  It is true they may do so to young men, to ancient men, and to great sinners: but there is a peculiar reason to make particular application to them who are poor in spirit.  These persons are, in a particular manner, invited in the Scripture, Isaiah 55:1, Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy and eat, buy wine and milk without money, and without price.  They are thirsty who are parched up for want of something to quench their thirst. The like we have in Matthew 11:28, Come unto Me, all ye that are weary and heavy laden, and ye shall find rest for your souls.  They are weary and heavy laden that are oppressed with the weight of God’s wrath.  So it is in Revelation 22:17, The Spirit and the Bride say, Come. And let him that is athirst, come. And whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely.  God is here teaching ministers to have  particular regard to such.  The invitations are not confined to these, but they are to be particularly applied to these.  Some others have special need to have the terrors of the law preached to them; but the invitations of the gospel are especially to be propounded to those that are poor in spirit.

The reason for this is not from any excellency in this poverty of spirit.  There is nothing of spiritual goodness in this.  It is indeed a reasonable thing.  It is according to the dictates of right reason, but there is nothing of piety or love to God, or godly sorrow in it.  It is a mere forced thing and, accordingly, it is not acceptable unto God.  The first good act that is done by the soul is believing in Christ and, accordingly, there is no promise made in the Scripture to this legal poverty of spirit.  No man is under any promise of salvation until he comes to Christ.  It is probable that God may give grace to all those who have this poverty of spirit; but there is no promise in the Word that he will.  Indeed, there is an inconsistency in it that there should be any promise made to it.  For when a man is poor in spirit, he owns that it is in God’s liberty to do with him as he pleases; and he continues some time in this frame and continues to acknowledge it.  But if there were any promise of salvation to it, then after the first act of submission, it would not be in God’s liberty to do with him as He pleased.  But he would be bound to bestow grace upon him, and he might challenge and lay claim to faith.  But the reason is because such men are prepared to receive the gospel.  This poverty of spirit brings men near to Christ, so that it is very hopeful that they will accept him.

Now they see a lack of salvation.  Men who are seeking their felicity in the world, and do not have a sense of the wrath of God, do not mind Christ.  They take more notice of the market and worldly opportunities than of gospel invitations. Matthew 22:5, They made light of it and went one to his farm, and another to his merchandise. But —

a)     When they are poor in spirit, they are like thirsty men who are even parched up.  Revelation 22:17, Let him that is thirst come. They tremble as Paul did, Acts 9:6.  This is some preparation.

b)     Now they see that they can get salvation in no other way.  If men have hope to work out their salvation themselves, they will not come to Christ.  If they can cure their own souls, they will not come to this Physician.  If the prodigal thinks that he can earn his living, he will not return to his father, Luke 15:15.  But he who is poor in spirit has tried all conclusions, and everything fails him.  He sees himself a dead man, Romans 7:9, Sin revived, and I died.  So he sees greater necessity.  This is a farther degree of preparation.

USE 1. The need to preach the law to those not “poor in spirit.”

Hence see that those who are not poor in spirit especially need to have the law preached to them.  It is useful to all sorts of men to hear the preaching of the law.  Saints stand in need of it to keep them humble, to put them upon it to renew their faith in Christ and to make them thankful; but especially such as are not poor in spirit.  They need to be brought to Mount Sinai, and to hear the thunderings, and to see the lightnings.  Secure sinners do not love to hear the terrors of the law.  They would rather be entertained with some more comfortable doctrines; but they are in great necessity to hear the law.  If there had been no law, there would have been no necessity of the gospel.  And men who are not sensible of the terrors of the law will not regard the invitations of the gospel.  Such as are not poor in spirit need to hear the law often so that they may be prepared to receive the gospel, that their hearts may be broken and humbled. Galatians 3:24, The law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ.

(1) That they may be sensible of the terribleness of damnation. Many men are not aware what a terrible thing it is to be damned.  They have a deeper sense of poverty and reproach than they have a damnation.  They look upon hell as an uncomfortable place.  They think if it must be their portion to go to hell, they shall bear it as well as others.  They are not likely to go there alone.  They seldom think of it.  They look upon it as a remote thing, at a great distance, and it does not terrify them; but the law reveals that it is intolerable.  If the sense of the terribleness of damnation sinks into their hearts, they will not regard the world, they will not stick at their pains.  They will not think much to part with their sins.  They would rather undergo any sorrow than be damned.

(2) That they may be sensible of the great danger of damnation.  Men are wont to soothe themselves that God will not send them to hell.  He is kind and gracious, and they pray to Him.  They are in covenant and enjoy privileges; they live orderly and are sorry for their sins, and so they hope they are in no great danger.  But the law shows that sinners are under a sentence of condemnation.  Romans 6:23, The wages of sin is death.  The law shows that God is very angry with ungodly men, Psalm 50:21-22, I will reprove thee, and set thy sins in order before thee. Consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver.  The law shows that the threatening must be executed.  The law must take place that the faithfulness of God is engaged for the fulfilling of the law.  Matthew 5:18, Not one jot or tittle shall pass from the law, but all shall be fulfilled.  Hence many men are afraid they shall not escape.  They are afraid there is no mercy for them.  They have a “fearful expectation of fiery indignation.”  They have a “dreadful sound in their ears,” as we find in Job 15:21.   And their hearts are meditating terror.  They confess, they reform, they cry, they plead, but yet it rings in their ears, Cursed is every one that continues not in all things that are written in the book of the law to do them.

(3) That they may be sensible of the danger of sudden destruction.  There is an inclination in men to put far away the evil day, and then they think they may have a long opportunity to enjoy worldly comforts.  Men see that God exercises patience towards others, and they flatter themselves that He will be patient towards them.  But by the law, they see that God will destroy many sinners suddenly.   1 Thessalonians 5:3, When they say peace and safety, then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. And the law shows them that God is very angry; that He sets their iniquities before Him, their secret sins in the light of His countenance.  And so they are afraid God will not wait upon them.  It is with them as in Deuteronomy 28:66-67, Thy life shall hang in suspense, and thou shall fear day and night, and shalt have none assurance of thy life. In the morning thou shalt say, “Would God it were evening;” and at evening thou shalt say, “Would God it were morning;” for the fear of thine heart wherewith thou shalt fear.”

(4) That they may be sensible of the justice of their damnation.  Men have an abundance of objections against the justice of God.  They argue that sins do not hurt God; He is happy forever, notwithstanding their sins.  They object that they could not prevent their sins, they are according to the decree of God; that they did not consent to sin, it was imputed to them, and so they were conceived in sin and born in iniquity.  They object that they have done service and that the pains of hell are intolerable.  But the law shows that their damnation is just, Romans 3:19, Whatsoever things the law saith, it saith to them that are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.  It is very evident from the law that men have deserved destruction; that they are worthy of death for they have broken a holy law and, according to the sentence of it, which is a rule of justice, they have merited damnation.  It is evident that they are the proper causes of their own sins, and they have therein run upon the point of the sword, and have thrown themselves into a gulf of misery, Hosea 13:9, 0 Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself.

USE 2.  Of warning to sinners.

Do not be afraid to see that you are poor.  There is he who makes himself rich, yet has nothing, Proverbs 13:7.  So it is with some in this case, Revelation 3:17, Thou sayest thou art rich, and increased in goods, and hast need of nothing, but art poor, and wretched, etc. Men miserably deceive themselves by such imaginations, Galatians 6:3, He that thinketh himself some thing when he is nothing deceiveth himself. It is awful for men to see themselves poor.  It is frightful but, if you are poor, it is best to see it.  The case of such men is doleful, but not desperate.  Such have no foundation to trust in themselves, but they have ground of encouragement, for the gospel is especially to be preached to them who are poor in spirit.  In the invitations of the gospel, he has a singular regard to them, Luke 4:8.  Your condition is not the more dangerous, but the more hopeful for seeing yourselves poor.

Consider:

1. You are wholly empty of goodness. Some of you have considerable shows of goodness.  There is an appearance of good desires, gracious sorrow, love to ordinances and Sabbaths, and there is care to avoid sin; but there is nothing of goodness in all this.  You are acted in your religion by a spirit of self-love.  Fear of hell and hopes of heaven are the great principles that influence you.  You are acted by a lust of self-love in all your religion.  You make a considerable profession, but God may say of you as of them in Deuteronomy 5:29, O that there were such an heart in them.  All that you do is for yourselves, Hosea 10:1.  If you are swept and garnished, yet you are empty.  There is some similitude of faith and love, but no reality.  There is not one spark of goodness in your heart.  Though corruption is restrained, yet it reigns and, as long as corruption reigns, there is a total lack of goodness.  Faith is the first good thing that is wrought in the heart.  You are afraid of judgment; so are the devils, James 2:19, The devils believe and tremble. You are much in prayer; so would the devils be if the had hopes of deliverance.

2. You have no power to do any good. You have power to do all manner of external duties, but you have no power to keep the law.  Romans 8:7, The natural mind is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. If you have the help of ordinances, of afflictions, of deliverances, of examples, yet you cannot work up any gracious frame in your own heart.  If there were a seed of grace in your heart, by being cherished it might grown and flourish, but there is none.  A man who is in a swoon may be brought to be sensible, and to walk and work, but a man that is dead cannot.

Thus it is with you. You are dead in trespasses and sins, Ephesians 2:1.  A watch or a clock, by springs and weights, may move briskly, but it has no principle of life.  It is quite beyond you to do any spiritual good.  You cannot receive the gospel.  There is encouragement enough set before you, and it would be exceedingly profitable to you to receive it, but you cannot.  You do not have a heart to receive it, John 6:44, No man can come unto Me, except the Father that sent Me draw him.

3. God is not bound to change your heart. God is absolutely free.  He may help you but, if He will not, He is blessed forever.  It is true, He may help you without any wrong to Himself, but that lays Him under no necessity.  It is His choice whether He will glorify His justice or His mercy on you.  He may pass over you and take another.  Romans 9:16, It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. God is under no constraint to change your heart.  His justice does not necessitate Him.  You have deserved condemnation, and your prayers and tears lay no bonds on the justice of God. His faithfulness does not necessitate Him.  He has promised to convert some, but there is no absolute promise to any natural man.  His mercy does not necessitate Him.  The merciful nature of man, many times, forces him to pity and help others, but God is wholly voluntary in the exercises of His mercy.  God is not of such a tender heart that he cannot bear to see men in misery.  God can take pleasure in the exercises of justice.  His honor does not necessitate Him to convert you.  It would have been as much for His honor to have converted Esau as Jacob, Judas as Peter, Saul as David.  If he does not convert you, He will be glorified forever.  You cannot bring God under any necessity to convert you.  If He does not, He does you no wrong; you are in His hands.  He is the potter and you are the clay.  He may make you a vessel of honor or dishonor, Romans 9:21.

USE 3. Of exhortation to them that are poor to receive the gospel.

If it were not offered to you, it would be obtrusion and presumption, a thrusting of yourselves upon Christ; it would be an impudent thing.  But God offers mercy to you; yes, in a special manner, as the message concerning Christ’s resurrection was sent in a particular manner to Peter.  So He charges His ministers to make a particular application of the gospel to you, Luke 4:18, Isaiah 55:1, Revelation 22:17. Consider:

1. It is not beyond His mercy to pardon you.  Salvation is a great work.  If your sins had been fewer in number, and smaller in their nature and aggravations, it would require great mercy to pardon and save you.  But as great as your sins are, it is not beyond the grace of God.  You must beware that you do not limit the holy One of Israel.  Ephesians 2:4, God is rich in mercy.  His grace is like the ocean, it is sufficient to cover all your sins.  Ephesians 3:18, to comprehend the breadth, and length, and height, and depth of the love of Christ. There are three dimensions that belong to bodies; here are four ascribed to mercy.  Thickness may be measured downwards, so it is depth; and upwards, so it is height.  Mercy brings sinners from deep misery to the pinnacle of happiness.  God’s mercy is greater than man’s.  God can find mercy for such as men cannot find mercy for.  Hosea 11:9, I will not return to destroy Ephraim, for I am God and not man.  God’s mercies are greater than your sins.  Men think if they had not sinned so much, or so long, their sin would not have been beyond God’s mercy.  But God’s mercy can conquer all their provocations.  Grace may prevail over all, Romans 5:21, Grace reigns through righteousness unto eternal life.

The mercy of God is greater than we can conceive of.  The understanding of man is large.  We can conceive of how many minutes there are in a thousand years; how many inches there are to the center of the earth, but we cannot comprehend the love of Christ.  Ephesians 3:19, the love of Christ passeth knowledge.  We cannot comprehend the bitterness of the cup that He drank for our sakes.  We cannot comprehend the duration of His love.  We cannot comprehend the great good that He has procured for us.

2. God has designed to save many lost sinners.  It is the purpose of His heart to bring many poor sinners to heavenly glory.  If He had taken up a resolution against it, men might well be discouraged; but He has not resolved against it, neither is He at a loss what to do.  His not loath to do it; but it is His full determination.  He is resolved in His way, and He purposes to break over all objections and conquer all oppositions.  He is set in His way and will not be put out of it.  And He has done a great  deal in order to the salvation of such sinners.  The price of it is paid.  Sin laid a bar in the way, but that bar is removed by the death of Christ.  There is no need of any contrivance how to satisfy the law—that is done already by Christ.  God has sent Christ to save us. Galatians 3:13, Christ redeemed us from the curse, being made a curse for us.  And God makes a proposal to you, and gives you liberty to be saved, if you will accept Jesus Christ.  He does not tell you that His heart is hardened against you; but He tells you that you shall be welcome if you will come to Christ.  Revelation 22:17, Whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.  Yes, He beseeches you to come for salvation.  God is of infinite majesty, yet He entreats you to be saved.  He condescends to your infirmity and stoops so low as to plead with you.  He becomes, as it were, a petitioner to you.  He begs you to come, and urges it as a courtesy to come, with tender-heartedness.  2 Corinthians 5:20, We are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.

3. This is a principal way wherein God glorifies Himself. The end of all things is God’s glory, and He has done many great things for His glory.  He made the world for His glory that His power and wisdom might be manifested.  He preserved the holy angels from sinning for the glory of His goodness.  He gave the law for the glory of His holiness.  He drowned the old world, saved Israel out of Egypt, destroyed Sodom, brought Judah from Babylon for His glory.  But this is a principal way wherein He glorifies Himself in working out the salvation of sinners by Christ.  There is a great manifestation of the Trinity of Persons in the Godhead.

There is a manifestation of the power, of the justice, and of the manifold wisdom of God and of His unsearchable grace.  In this way, He is greatly exalted. Micah 7:18, Who is a God like unto thee, pardoning iniquity, and passing by the transgression.  Revelation 5:12-13, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain, to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and honor, and strength, and glory, and blessing. And every creature which is in heaven, and in the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I, saying, Blessing, and honor, and glory, and power be unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and to the Lamb forever and ever.

From A Guide to Christ.

Posted in Solomon Stoddard |

Theme Study: Perseverance by Jim Ehrhard

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

Preface to the Study

The Perseverance of the Saints is an essential corollary to the doctrine of Assurance.  Assurance places the emphasis upon what God has done to secure salvation for the believer – not what the believer has done or will do to secure it.  As such, assurance provides the believer with confidence that God’s work of salvation shall be completed – “He who began a good work in you is able to bring it forth until the day of completion.” (Philippians 1:6).   Some might even refer to this as the preservation of the saints, placing the emphasis on God continuing to keep believers, rather than on what believers do to keep themselves.

Perseverance emphasizes the result of God’s work of preservation.  Believers only persevere because of God’s preservation.  They are “kept by the power of God” (1 Peter 1:5) and they are presented faultless before His glory with exceeding joy” (Jude 24).  Our assurance is because of what God did in salvation; our preservation is because of what God continues to do in keeping all that He has saved.

Preservation is an essential doctrine.  In reality, it also has impact on our salvation.  For example, in John 6, Jesus says, “All that the Father gives me will come to me and he that comes to me, I will in no way cast out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of him that sent me.  And this is the will of my Father who sent me, that of all that he has given me, I should lose none, but raise them up on the last day” (John 6:37-39).  Jesus not only saves us; He keeps us.  This is the Father’s will.  And if even one were to be lost eternally, all would be lost eternally, because Jesus would not have done the will of His Father!

In some ways, this issue is a continuance of the previous issue on Assurance.  Thus we begin this issue with another article by A. W. Pink which provides a conversation with “Mr. Humble Heart.”  Here Pink provides, through means of a dialogue, some helpful insights into the nature of true conversion.  We pray that this “conversation” will be helpful to those struggling to come to a full assurance of their faith.  Likewise, the article by J. C. Ryle, “Reasons Assurance is Not Attained,” is designed to provide help for those who wonder why they do not have “confidence to come boldly before the throne.”

The question of “falling from grace” is often presented as proof that some do fall away and lose their salvation.  Since this issue is often misunderstood by well-meaning believers, we have included the article “Falling from Grace” in this issue to help provide some answers to this theological question.

Finally, we have included two excellent sermons by Charles Spurgeon regarding the doctrine of Perseverance and a short section from the Miscellanies of Jonathan Edwards on Perseverance.  Spurgeon preached often on this glorious doctrine to the great comfort and encouragement of many believers.  The greatest task in preparing this issue was sorting through the many sermons he preached on perseverance to find a few to edit and reprint.  The volume was so large and the teaching so wonderful that we have included a number of additional sermons by Spurgeon on Perseverance on our website.  We pray that these will be a great encouragement to you as you read them.

Most of all, the Doctrine of Preservation gives credit where credit is due.  Like the emphasis on Assurance that rests solely on what God has done, the emphasis on Perseverance/Preservation also gives God the glory alone.  Those whom He by His grace has saved, He by His grace will be keep!  To God be the Glory, alone and forever!

By His Grace, Jim & Debbie

Posted in Jim Ehrhard |

Faith that Emboldens the Heart by Joseph Bellamy

January 16, 2010 by ADMIN

Saving faith consists in that entire trust, reliance, or dependence on Jesus Christ, [on] His satisfaction and merits.  The opposite to justifying faith is a self-righteous spirit and temper, whereby a man, from a conceit of and reliance upon his own goodness, is emboldened and encouraged to trust and hope in the mercy of God, (Heb. 10:19, 23; Luke 13:9, 14).

Faith emboldens the heart. In a legal humiliation, which is antecedent to spiritual light, the sinner is brought to a kind of despair.  The things which used to embolden him do now entirely fail: he finds no good in himself; yea, he feels himself dead in sin and, upon this, his heart dies within him.  “I was alive without the law once; but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” But now faith emboldens the heart, begets new courage, lays the foundation for a new kind of hope—a hope springing entirely from a new foundation.  “Having, therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus, let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.”  By faith, the heart is emboldened to return to God, in hopes of acceptance.

Now, the believer, understanding the way of acceptance by Christ, and seeing the safety of it, ventures his all upon this sure foundation, and thereby is emboldened to return.  “He that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” That is, first, he must see what God is [and] behold him in his glory, or he cannot, in a genuine desire, desire to come to him.  And secondly, he must see that He is ready to be reconciled unto and to save those who from a genuine desire to be his do heartily return to him.  But when both these are seen and believed, now the soul will return, and come and give up itself to God to be the Lord’s forever.

Faith in Christ emboldens the heart to look to and trust in the free grace of God through Him, for all things that just such a poor creature wants; even for all things offered in the gospel to poor sinners.  “Let us, therefore, come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace.”  Pardoning mercy and sanctifying grace are the two great benefits of the new covenant; and these are the two great things which an enlightened soul feels the want of, and for which [faith] emboldens him to come to God by Jesus Christ.  “I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people,” saith the Lord in the new covenant.”  “And this is all my salvation, and all my desire,” saith the believer.

Excerpted and edited from True Religion Delineated.

Posted in Joseph Bellamy |

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