Jan 26
25
A religious man
(Horatius Bonar, “The
Doom of the Double-Hearted”)
Then Balaam uttered this
oracle: “Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my last end be
like theirs!” Numbers 23:7, 10
“Which have left the right way, and gone astray, following
the way of Balaam son of Bosor, who loved
the wages of unrighteousness!” 2 Peter 2:15
Balaam is a specimen of multitudes in these last days. An
educated and intelligent man, shrewd and quick seeing, of respectable
character, high in favour with the rich and great–a
religious man too, after a fashion.
But he is fond of the world, fond of money,
fond of preferment. He is one who would not let his religion stand
in the way of his advancement. He could pocket all scruples, if only he could
pocket a little gold along with them. He is hollow of heart, but with an
acceptable outside.
His worldly interests are the main thing to him. He would rather
not risk offending God, but yet he would not like to lose Balak’s rewards and
honours. He would rather not take up his cross, nor deny himself, nor forsake
all for God.
So is it with multitudes among us! They want as much
religion as they imagine will save them from Hell–and not an atom more!
The world is their real God.
Gold is their idol.
It is in mammon’s temple that they worship.
Love God with all their heart?
They don’t so much as understand the meaning of such a thing.
Sacrifice riches, place, honour, friends to Christ?
They scoff at the thing as madness.
Don’t trifle with religion.
Don’t mock God.
Do not love the world.
Be pious in your inmost soul.
Don’t mistake sentimentalism for genuine piety; or a good
character for the New Birth.
This world OR the world to come–that is the alternative; not
this world AND the world to come.
Christ must be all–or nothing!
No middle ground; no half discipleship; no compromise.
The friendship of the world is enmity with God.
Come out and be separate.
The New Birth, or no religion at all.
Then Balaam uttered this
oracle: “Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my last end be
like theirs!” Numbers 23:7, 10
“Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray,
following the way of Balaam son of Bosor,
who loved the wages of unrighteousness!” 2 Peter 2:15
So
many truly sincere and religious people
(J.C.Philpot, “Answers to Inquiries”)
“a devout man, and one that feared God with all
his house, which gave much alms to the people, and prayed to God alway.”
Acts 10:2
Yet Cornelius and his family weren’t saved! (Acts 11:14)
–A generous centurion built a synagogue. (Luke 7:3-5)
–A young man keeps the commandments from his
youth up. (Luke 18:21)
–Balaam prophesies. (Numbers 23:16)
–Saul weeps. (1 Samuel 24:16)
–Judas preaches the gospel. (Matthew 10:5-8)
Yet none of these men were saved!
It is at times, enough to fill one’s heart with mingled
astonishment and sorrow, to see so
many truly sincere
and religious people,
whose religion will leave them short
of eternal life—because they are destitute of saving grace.
To see so much . . .
amiability,
benevolence,
devotedness,
self-denial,
liberality
loveliness of character,
integrity,
consistency of life,
all inescapably dashed against the rock of inflexible justice,
and there shattered and lost—swallowed up with its unhappy
possessors in the raging billows beneath—such a sight, did
we not know that the Judge of the whole earth cannot do
wrong, would indeed stagger us to the very centre of our being!
A
worldly Christianity?
(Octavius Winslow, “Morning Thoughts”)
“Be not conformed to this world.” Romans 12:2
Professor of the gospel! guard
against the world; it
is your undoing! Watch against conformity to it . . .
in your dress,
in your mode of living,
in the education of your children,
in the principles, motives, and policy that govern you.
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit
by . . .
any known inconsistency of conduct,
any sinful conformity to the world,
any inordinate pursuit of . . .
its wealth,
its honours,
its pleasures,
its friendships, and
its great things.
Pray against the sin of covetousness, that canker worm that feeds at the root of so many souls!
Pray against the love of dress, that sin that diverts the mind of so many professors from the simplicity of Christ, and takes the eye off from the true adornment!
Pray against a thirst for light and trifling reading, that strange and sinful inconsistency of so many, the certain tendency of which is to starve the life of God in the soul, to engender a distaste for spiritual nourishment, for the Word of God, for holy meditation, and for Divine communion and fellowship. Yes, pray against the spirit of worldly, sinful conformity in everything!
Reader! are you a professing Christian? Then guard against a worldly Christianity—a Christianity that wears a fair exterior, so far as it is composed of church attendance, but which excludes from it the cross of the meek and lowly Lamb of God—a Christianity which loves the world and the things of the world, “makes a fair show in the flesh,” speaks well of Christ, and yet betrays Him with a kiss. Oh, awful state! oh, fearful deception! oh, fatal delusion!
The world is the sworn enemy of your Saviour; let it not be your friend. No; come out of it and be separate.
IS THE LAW SIN? – GOD FORBID
If I measure a crooked wall with a perfect plumb line, it reveals the
crookedness of the wall, but does not remove it.
If I take out a bright light on a dark night, it reveals to me all the
pitfalls and hindrances, but it does not remove them.
Now the plumb line and the lamp do not create the evils which they
point out. They neither create nor remove, but simply reveal.
So it is with the law. It does not create the evil in man’s heart;
neither does it remove it. But with unerring accuracy, it reveals it.
“What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had
not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had
said, Thou shalt not covet.” Romans 7:7
Scott Richardson
No oil?
(Bonar, “Religion Without the Holy Spirit”)
“They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them:” Matthew 25.3
This parable has many sides and
aspects.
It is prophetical; it is also practical.
It suits all ages, but especially the last days.
It suits the world, but especially the church of God.
It is searching and sifting.
It is also quickening and comforting.
It suits us well in these days of . . .
profession,
fashionable religion and
religiousness.
It is a parable for the church.
It comes into the inner circle of Christian
profession, and sifts it, divides it.
There are points of likeness
between the two classes.
They get the same name, virgins;
they wear the same dress;
they are on the same errand;
they both have lamps;
they both slumber and sleep.
They have thus many features in common.
The peril of mere externalism
is that which our Lord
points out here. This externalism may not always
be hypocrisy, but it is imitation. It is not the
flower in its natural colour and growth, but painted,
artificial. Let us watch against an
artificial life, and an artificial religion. What does it profit now? What will it profit in the day of wrath? The name, the dress, the lamp, the outward show, will all go for nothing in that day of universal discovery and detection.
Though in most respects they
were all alike, yet
there was a difference. It was within; it was
imperceptible from without; it could only be
discovered when the bridegroom came. Up until
then all were completely similar. Only then the
deficiency came out in the foolish. Then was
it seen who were wise, and who
were foolish. That day is the day of certain and unerring detection. It is the day of weighing in the balances! It is the separation of the false from the true.
The difference was confined to a single point, the lack of oil. The oil is the Holy Spirit. Thus a man may be very like a Christian, and yet not be one. He may come very near the kingdom, and yet not enter in. He may have all the outward features of a Christian, and yet be lacking in the main one. He may have the complete dress of the saint, and yet not be one.
He may have a good life, a
sound creed, a strict profession;
he may be one who says and does many
excellent things; he may be a subscriber to all
the religious societies in the land, a member of all
their committees, or a speaker at all their meetings,
and supporter of all their plans; he may
profess to be looking for Christ’s coming, and
going forth to meet the bridegroom, yet
not necessarily a Christian!
He may lack the oil, the Holy Spirit.
A religion without the Holy Spirit profits nothing.
There is the religion . . .
of the intellect,
of the sense,
of the imagination,
of the flesh,
of the creed,
of the liturgy,
of the catechism,
of nature,
of poetry,
of sentiment,
of mysticism,
of humanity.
But what are these without the Spirit?
Christianity without Christ, what would that be?
Worship without God, what would that be?
So religion without the Holy Spirit, what would that be?
The five who were foolish took
no oil for their lamps.
“Sir! Sir!” they said. “Open the door for
us!”
But He replied, “I tell you the truth, I don’t know
you.”
“The Error of Balaam”
Jude 11
Balaam’s error was greed, the love of money. As all false prophets crave praise and are motivated by envy, so all false prophets are greedy for gain. They fleece the Lord’s sheep to line their own pockets.
Running “greedily after the error of Balaam,” men who have abandoned the gospel of God lead poor, deluded souls under their influence into idolatry, teaching them to mix law with grace, works with mercy, and logic with revelation.
Make no mistake. — These deceivers know exactly what they are doing. Balaam knew that God’s people were blessed of God and could never be cursed. Yet, he took Balak’s money, prayed, acted very pious, and sought the destruction of God’s church, teaching Israel to worship idols and call it worshipping Jehovah. — God’s servants are not like them (2 Corinthians 4:5-7).
Three Things That Demand Our Constant Attention
Matthew 6:19-34
Here our Lord identifies three snares by which satan seeks to destroy our souls and rob us of the joy and peace of faith.
WORLDLINESS is the love of the world (I John 3:15). It is not, as most assume, a conformity to the world in dress style. Unless such conformity involves immodesty, we ought to dress the way other people do. It is conformity to the self-serving principles, aspirations, and behaviour of the world. It is an immoderate attachment to the things of this world. Worldliness is one of the greatest dangers we face. It is one of satan’s most cleverly disguised snares. It seems an innocent thing to pay close attention to business and seek advancement and prosperity in the world, so long as we avoid the open sins of immorality. Yet, our Lord warns us that worldliness is the rock on which many have made shipwreck of their souls.
DOUBLEMINDEDNESS is the foolish attempt of religious men to serve God and the world at the same time. It is impossible to do so. The ark of God will not allow Dagon to stand in the same house with it. Christ must be King in our hearts, ruling over us, so that his will, his glory, and his kingdom receives the devotion of our hearts and the commitment of our lives. Unless our lives are so ordered, everything is confusion. “Thy whole body shall be full of darkness.” We must be a people of “one thing” (Psa. 27:4; Lk. 10:42; Phil. 3:13). “Set your affections on things above!”
FRETFULNESS is the result of an overly anxious spirit concerning the matters of divine providence. Four times our Lord says, “Take no thought.” He is telling us to stop worrying and fretting about earthly concerns. Prudent concern and care about earthly responsibilities is proper. We are to work, provide for our families, and fulfil our responsibilities in this world. But greed, worry, and self-tormenting care about earthly things is contrary to the faith we profess to have.Worry is a useless thing.It never changed anything (v. 27). If our heavenly Father feeds the sparrows and clothes the wildflowers, why should we question his provision for us. Seek his kingdom, his righteousness, and his glory, and “my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus!”
Don Fortner
What is
a successful ministry?
(Don Fortner)
“Now it is required that those who have been given a trust
must prove faithful.” 1 Corinthians 4:2
The desperate need of the hour is faithful men in
the pulpits of our churches. We have an over-abundance of preachers. We do not
need any more slick, polished, well-educated professionals in “the
ministry”. But we do, most desperately, need some faithful men –
pastors after God’s own heart, who feed His people with knowledge and
understanding. Thank God, we have a few!
In this day of big business religion, when churches
are measured not by their orthodoxy, but by the opinions of men; when a
preacher’s success is measured not by his faithfulness, but by the number of
names added to the church roll – it might be wise to consider what a successful
ministry is according to the measure of Holy Scripture.
According to the Word of God, those preachers and churches are
successful who are faithful to the work to which God has
called them. Never in the Old Testament or in the New was a prophet, apostle,
or preacher measured by the opinions of men. God’s servants never courted the
favour of men, and were never favoured by the majority of the people. The
church of God has always been out of step with society. The servants of God
have always been looked upon as peculiar, bigoted dogmatists, intolerant and
incapable of compromise. But they were faithful – faithful to God, faithful to
His truth, and faithful to the souls of men.
Do not be so foolish as to measure God’s work by man’s
yardstick. Do not measure the success or failure of preachers and churches
by men, by numbers, or by popular opinion. The only measure of success for
churches and preachers is faithfulness. Those who faithfully seek
and promote the glory of God, who faithfully proclaim the truth of God, and who
faithfully serve the eternal interests of immortal souls are successful. Those
who are not are failures. The one will stand the fire of judgment. The other
will not.
The greatest blessing God can ever bestow upon any people in
this world is to establish in their midst a faithful Gospel church with a
faithful Gospel preacher as his messenger.
“Tychicus . . . is a dear brother, a faithful minister and fellow servant in the Lord.” Colossians 4:7