Repenting without the Holy Spirit

A sinner can no more repent and believe without the Holy Spirit's aid than he can create a world.
- Charles Spurgeon

Faith in Christ Saves?

"It is not thy hold on Christ that saves thee; it is Christ. It is not thy joy in Christ that saves thee; it is Christ. It is not even thy faith in Christ, though that be the instrument; it is Christ's blood and merit."

Charles Spurgeon

From the Greater to the Lesser

Paul reasons like this: since God did not spare his own Son, then sure he must and will freely give us all things with him. Why is that?
Paul is reasoning in Romans 8:32 from the hard to the easy, or from the greater to the lesser. God desired two things: not to see his Son made a mockery by sinneres; and not to see his peole denied infinite future grace. Surely it is more likely that he will spare his Son than that he will spare us. But no. He did not spare his Son.
What a truth! Giving us all things is the easy thing! Think on that every time you fear being denied something that owuld be good for you. Creating the world and running it for the good of his people is a relatively easy thing for God to do compared to handing over his Son to ridicule and torture. But he did it. Ann now all future grace is not only sure; it is easy.

Future Grace, by John Piper

"Saved Even As They"

Peter speaking to the Jews in Acts 15:11

But we believe through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ
we shall be saved even as they.

"[When] the apostle Peter got up to speak. [The Jews] expected him
to affirm them by saying, 'Why these Gentile dogs, as you call them, can be saved,
even as you.' Instead he adopted quite a different tone. He turned the tables and said to them,
'We believe that you may be saved, even as they.'"

C.H. Spurgeon's, Grace: God's Unmerited Favor

God's Ways with Men

God is the leading character in every biblical drama.

Getting the Message by Daniel M. Doriani
p. 74-75

Faith in Christ Without Doubt or Fear

(Mar 9:23) And Jesus said to him, "'If you can'! All things are possible for one who believes."

Many professed Christians are always doubting and fearing, and they forlornly think that this is the necessary state of believers. This is a mistake, for “all things are possible to him that believeth”; and it is possible for us to mount into a state in which a doubt or a fear shall be but as a bird of passage flitting across the soul, but never lingering there. When you read of the high and sweet communions enjoyed by favoured saints, you sigh and murmur in the chamber of your heart, “Alas! these are not for me.” O climber, if thou hast but faith, thou shalt yet stand upon the sunny pinnacle of the temple, for “all things are possible to him that believeth.” You hear of exploits which holy men have done for Jesus; what they have enjoyed of him; how much they have been like him; how they have been able to endure great persecutions for his sake; and you say, “Ah! as for me, I am but a worm; I can never attain to this.”

By Charles Spurgeon, E-Sword Devontional

God's Delight

God delights in the covenant, and so we are sure He will not turn back from it. It is the joy of His holy heart. He delights to do His people good. To pass over transgression, iniquity, and sin is the recreatino of Jehovah. Did you ever hear of God singing? It is extraordinary that the Divine One would solace Himself with song, yet a prophet has thus revealed the Lord to us:

The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee withjoy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing. (Zephaniah 3:17)



Grace: God's Unmerited Favor, by C.H. Spurgeon

Our thoughts of God are too human

Men imagine that the Most High is moved by sentiment, rather than actuated by principle. They suppose that his omnipotency is such an idle fiction that Satan is thwarting his designs on every side. They think that if he has formed any plan or purpose at all, then it must be like theirs, constantly subject to change. The openly declare that whatever power he possesses must be restricted, lest he invade the citadel of man's "free-will" and reduce him to a "machine." They lower the all-efficacious Atomenment, which has actually redeemed everyone for whom it was made, to a mere "remedy," which sin-sick souls may use if they feel disposed to; and the enervate the invincible work of the Holy Spirit to an "offer" of the Gospel which sinners may accept or reject as they please.
The "god" of the twentieth century no more resembles the Supreme Sovereign of Holy Writ than does the dim flickering of a candle the glory of the midday sun.


A.W. Pink's, The Attributes of God

Too Great a Sacrifice?

"If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice that I can make for Him could ever be too great."


By C.T. Studd, Truth for Life Personal Notes/ December 2007

The Greatest Sorrow

“The greatest sorrow and burden you can lay on the Father, the greatest unkindness you can do to Him, is not to believe that He loves you.”
- John Owen
Communion with God

The Tongue is as Dangerous as any Fire

"Today is Monday. That means that I mustn't interrupt anyone today and I must try not to finish anyone's sentence. I should explain. Some time ago, a friend gave me a series of drills in order to help me become a better communicator. Each day I have something to work on. For example:
Tuesday: Don't use more words than are necessary. Try to speak succinctly.
Wednesday: Avoid all lecturing and pontificating. Don't tell anyone what to do or how to do it.
Thursday: Don't be argumentative today, contradicting and correcting others.
Friday: Avoid being "over-definite" in how you state your opinion.
It's usually around lunchtime that I remember the drill and realize to my shame that I have once again failed miserably. Then I recall James's words, "The tongue is as dangerous as any fire..." and understand why Isaiah described himself (prophet of God that he was) as a man of unclean lips. How often do we find our areas of strength becoming the occasion of weakness! That's why I'm grateful for the nine members of our pastoral team to sit with me around the table this morning--we need each other to keep us in line."

By Alistair Begg, Truth for Life Personal Notes/ December 2008

Your Biggest Influence

“I find myself saying it all the time. When people hear it they laugh, but actually I’m being quite serious when I say it. Here it is. No one is more influential in your life than you are because no one talks to you more than you do. You’re in an unending conversation with yourself. You’re talking to yourself all the time, interpreting, organizing, and analyzing what’s going on inside you and around you.”

Paul Trip
From his blog:
http://paultrippministries.blogspot.com/

What God Sends

"Everything is necessary that [God] sends; nothing can be necessary that he witholds."
from John Newton, please email me if you know the source.

Only God's Wounds Can Speak

Jesus of the Scars

If we have never sought, we seek Thee now;
Thine eyes burn through the dark, our only stars;
We must have sight of thorn-pricks on Thy brow;
We must have Thee, O Jesus of the Scars.

The heavens frighten us; they are too calm;
In all the universe we have no place.
Our wounds are hurting us; where is the balm?
Lord Jesus, by Thy Scars we claim Thy grace.

If when the doors are shut, Thou drawest near,
Only reveal those hands, that side of Thine;
We know today what wounds are; have no fear;
Show us Thy Scars; we know the countersign.

The other gods were strong, but Thou wast weak;
They rode, but Thou didst stumble to a throne;
But to our wounds only God’s wounds can speak,
And not a god has wounds, but Thou alone.

Poem by Edward Shillito
http://wmson.wordpress.com/2006/05/19/
poets-corner-jesus-of-the-scars/

God's Love is Not...

"This is shocking. The love of God is not God's making much of us, but God's saving us from self-centeredness so that we can enjoy making much of him forever. And our love to others is not our making much of them, but helping them to find satisfaction in making much of God. True love aims at satisfying people in the glory of God. Any love that terminates on man is eventually destructive. It does not lead people to the only lasting joy, namely, God. Love must be God-centered, or it is not true love; it leaves people without their final hope of joy."

The Goal of God's Love May Not Be What You Think It Is, by John Piper
http://www.desiringgod.org/ResourceLibrary/Articles/ByDate/2000/1515_The_Goal_of_Gods_Love_May_Not_Be_What_You_Think_It_Is/

What is God's Purpose?

"...when we do ask about God's design, we are too prone to describe it with ourselves at the center of God's affections. We may say, for example, that His design is to redeem the world. Or to save sinners. Or to restore creation. Or the like.
But God's saving designs are penultimate, not ultimate. Redemption, salvation, and restoration are not God's ultimate goal these He preforms for the sake of something greater: namely, the enjoyment He has in glorifying Himself."

Desiring God by John Piper / Multnomah Books / 2003 / pg. 31

The Five Blind Men and the Elephant

"In the famous story of the blind men and the elephant, so often quoted in the interest of religious agnosticism, the real point of the story is constantly overlooked. The story is told from the point of view of the king and his courtiers, who are not blind but can see that the blind men are unable to grasp the full reality of the elephant and are only able to get hold of part of the truth. The story is constantly told in order to neutralize the affirmation of the great religions, to suggest that they learn humility and recognize that none of them can have more than one aspect of the truth. But, of course, the real point of the story is exactly the opposite. If the king were also blind, there would be no story. The story is told by the king, and it is the immensely arrogant claim of one who sees the full truth which all the world’s religions are only groping after."

The Gospel in a Pluralist Society by Lesslie Newbigin (Pages 9-10)
Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing: Grand Rapids, Michigan, 1989.

Explaining Away the Explanations

"You cannot go on `seeing through things' for ever. The whole point of seeing through something is to see something through it. It is good that the window should be transparent, because the street or garden beyond it is opaque. How if you saw through the garden too? It is no use trying to `see through' first principles. If you see through everything, then everything is transparent. But a wholly transparent world is an invisible world. To `see through' all things is the same as not to see."

- The Abolition of Man by CS Lewis
Chapter 3; http://www.columbia.edu/cu/augustine/arch/lewis/abolition3.htm

Can I Diminish God's Glory?

"A man can no more diminish God's glory by refusing to worship Him than a lunatic can put out the sun by scribbling the word "darkness" on the walls of his cell. But God wills our good, and our good is to love Him (with that responsive love proper to creatures) and to love Him we must know Him: and if we know Him, we shall in fact fall on our faces."

from C. S. Lewis' The Problem of Pain
Chapter 3, "Divine Goodness,"
New York: Macmillan Company, 1948, p. 41.
Harper, SanFrancisco, 2001.

Sin Canceled by Lawful Living?

"Sin is not canceled by lawful living, for no person is able to live up to the Law. The Law reveals guilt, fills the conscience with terror, and drives men to despair. Much less is sin taken away by man-invented endeavors. The fact is, the more a person seeks credit for himself by his own efforts, the deeper he goes into debt. Nothing can take away sin except the grace of God."

Commentary on the Epistle to the Galatians by Martin Luther
http://blueletterbible.org/Comm/martin_luther/Gal/Gal001.html