Nov 26
10
Only when we come to know God through faith in Christ are we able to see ourselves as we really are, as doomed, dammed, hell deserving rebels. Apart from knowing God in Christ we can never have a real knowledge of our self and sin. “For with thee is the fountain of life: in thy light shall we see light.” Psalm 36:9
~John Chapman
The most hideous blasphemy ever to be spewed from the pit of darkness!
(Don Fortner)
Universal atonement is the most hideous blasphemy ever to be spewed from the pit of darkness! No greater blasphemy ever spewed from the pit of Hell, than the blasphemous assertion that Christ died to redeem the multitudes who suffer the wrath of God there!
Universal love, universal grace, and universal redemption – is meaningless love, meaningless grace, and meaningless redemption. To preach such is to preach a meaningless gospel, a meaningless god, and a meaningless savior!
There is . . .
no love except distinguishing love,
no redemption except a particular redemption,
no atonement except a limited atonement,
no deliverance except an effectual deliverance, and
no grace except irresistible, omnipotent, saving grace!
“Christ loved the church, and gave Himself up for her!” Ephesians 5:25
Ask the Right Questions
Someone contacted me recently and wanted suggestions of some questions they could ask to stimulate a discussion in their marriage counselling group. I was happy to respond and sent them these three questions. 1) Who is Christ? 2) What did He accomplish? 3) What is the gospel? I do not think this is what they were looking for, but I know it is what they need. The full answer to these questions, answers all other questions. The answers to these questions are simple, yet infinitely profound. It takes all of scripture and all of life to answer these three simple questions. When God’s answers to these questions are believed, they settle all controversies and move the heart in love, and grace, and forgiveness, and hope and joy. For what more could a married couple ask?
Greg Elmquist
Christ is ALL
“Christ is all, and in all.” Col 3:11. Christ is only ALL, when He is ALL you have. Christ is ALL we have in salvation. He is ALL our wisdom. God has made the wisdom of the world foolishness unto us that Christ may be ALL the truth of God. He is ALL our righteousness. We cannot look anywhere else but to Him to fulfil the demands of God’s holy law. He is ALL our sanctification. We cannot look to any progression of holiness in our life to see the hope of our salvation. Christ Jesus Himself is ALL our sanctification. He is ALL our redemption. We cannot look anywhere else but to His sacrifice of Himself to put away ALL our sins and redeem us to God. If He is ALL we have, He will be all we need.
Greg Elmquist
False faith!
(Don Fortner)
There is a false faith in which multitudes are confidently resting.
There is a false faith by which multitudes are deceived and will perish for ever in Hell.
A false faith may be greatly enlightened and knowledgeable in gospel truth (Heb. 6:4).
A false faith excites the affections (Stony Ground Hearers).
A false faith reforms the outward life (The Pharisees).
A false faith may speak very well of Christ (The Jews).
A false faith confesses sin (Saul).
A false faith may humble itself in sackcloth and ashes (Ahab).
A false faith may repent (Esau – Judas).
A false faith may diligently perform religious works (The Pharisees).
A false faith may be very charitable and generous (Ananias).
A false faith may tremble at the Word of God (Felix).
A false faith may experience much in religion (Heb. 6:1-4).
A false faith may enjoy great religious privileges (Lot’s wife).
A false faith may preach, perform miracles, and cast out demons (Matt. 7:23).
A false faith may attain high office in the church (Diotrephes).
A false faith may walk with great preachers (Demas was Paul’s companion).
A false faith may be peaceful and carnally secure (The Five Foolish Virgins).
A false faith may even persevere and hold out until the day of judgment (Matt. 7:22-23).
If you have the faith of God’s elect, it will bear examination.
If you do not, if you are resting in a false faith, you need to be awakened so that you may flee to Christ in true faith.
All the heresies….
from Spurgeon’s sermon, “Self-Sufficiency Slain”
It is a remarkable fact that all the heresies which have
arisen in the Christian Church have had a decided tendency
to ‘dishonour God and to flatter man’.
They have always had for their covert, if not for their open aim,
the exaltation of human nature, and the casting down of
the sovereignty of divine grace.
Robbing God of the glory which is due unto his name,
these false prophets would shed a counterfeit lustre
upon the head of the rebellious and depraved creature.
On the other hand, the doctrines of the gospel, commonly known
as the doctrines of grace, are distinguished for this peculiarity
above every other, namely, that they sink the creature very low,
and present the Lord Jehovah before us as sitting upon a throne,
high and lifted up.
So true is this, that the most uneducated Christian may,
even if he is incapable of refuting an erroneous discourse,
always be able to discover its untruthfulness,
if it glorifies man at the expense of God.
The merest babe in grace may carry this test with him:
in the midst of the diversities of opinion with which he is surrounded,
he may always judge, and judge infallibly too, of the truth or
falsehood of a doctrine by testing it thus–
“Does it glorify God?” If it is so, it is true.
“Does it exalt man?” Then it must be false.
Does it lay man very low, and speak of him in terms which tend to
make him feel his degradation? Then doubtless it is full of truth.
And does it put the crown upon the head of God, and not upon
the head of man’s free-will, or free-agency, or good works?
Then assuredly it is a doctrine according to godliness,
for it is the very truth of the Lord our God.
Limited Atonement
Unless you believe all men will be saved and there is no such thing as eternal punishment, you believe in limited atonement. Limited atonement does not mean Christ’s atoning death is limited in its power to save. You cannot be too sinful to be saved! But there are those who limit the atoning work of Christ by the will of man. According to this view, Christ’s atonement is universal, for all men without exception, but it is limited by man’s will…. whether or not he accepts or rejects the atonement of Christ. The other belief concerning atonement is that God’s intention of who Christ’s atonement is for is limited to the elect. Those two beliefs cannot co-exist. One puts salvation dependent on the will of man. The other makes salvation conditioned upon the will of God. One makes salvation by works. The other ascribes salvation to be by grace. One is not supported by Scriptures. The other is. One is not the Gospel. The other is. One does not save. The other does! One says it is not finished. The other says, “It is finished.” ~Todd Nibert
“Enoch walked with God.” Genesis 5:22
Enoch, the seventh from Adam, prophesied about these men, “See, the Lord is coming with thousands upon thousands of his holy ones to judge everyone, and to convict all the ungodly of all the ungodly acts they have done in the ungodly way, and of all the harsh words ungodly sinners have spoken against him.” Jude 1:14-15
While Lamech sinned foully in the house of Cain, Enoch shone brightly in the family of Seth. In the worst times some godliness will raise its head. A star often glitters in the darkest night. In a waste wilderness some solitary flowers bloom. A green spot sparkles amid expanse of sands. When sin rushes in like a flood, a barrier from the Spirit meets it. When the Lord’s cause lies very low, some saint confesses God—some faithful hand points up to heaven—some noble champion draws the sword of truth—some preacher of righteousness uplifts the Gospel-banner. While the Head breathes, the members do not wholly die. Satan never reigns undisputedly. There was an Enoch in the midnight of the old world.
Henry Law
Thus Says the Lord!
The following is from Spurgeon’s sermon,
“Thus Saith the Lord” No. 591. Ezekiel 11:5.
“Thus says the Lord” is the only authority in God’s Church.
The faintest whisper of Jehovah’s voice should fill us with
solemn awe, and command the deepest obedience of our souls.
Brethren, how careful should we be that we do not set up in
God’s church anything in opposition to his Word, that we do
not permit the teachings of a creature to usurp the honour due
to the Lord alone.
“Thus says antiquity.”
“Thus says authority.”
“Thus says learning.”
“Thus says experience.”
-these are but idol-gods which defile the church of God!
Be it yours and mine as bold warriors to dash them in pieces
without mercy, seeing that they usurp the place of the Word of God.
“Thus says the Lord,” – this is the motto of our standard;
the war-cry of our spiritual conflict; the sword with which
we hope yet to smite through the loins of the mighty who
rise up against God’s truth.
“Thus says the Lord God.” This is the trowel, and this the
hammer of God’s builders; this the trumpet of his watchmen
and the sword of his warriors.
Woe to the man who comes in any other name!
If we, or an angel from heaven, shall preach unto you anything but
a “Thus says the Lord,” no matter what our character or standing,
give no heed to us, but cleave unto the truth as it is in Jesus.
To the law and to the testimony, if we speak not according
to this word, it is because there is no light in us. (Isaiah 8:20)
That test which we demand to be exercised upon others we
cheerfully consent to be exercised upon ourselves, praying
that we may have grace to forsake our errors as we would
have other men forsake theirs.
We will listen to the opinions of great men with the respect
which they deserve as men, but having so done, we deny that
we have anything to do with these men as authorities in the
Church of God, for there nothing has any authority, but
“Thus says the Lord of hosts.”
Yes, if you shall bring us the concurrent consent of all tradition-
if you shall quote precedents venerable with fifteen, sixteen, or
seventeen centuries of antiquity, we burn the whole as so much
worthless lumber, unless you put your finger upon the passage
of Holy Writ which warrants the matter to be of God.
To the true Church of God the only question is this, is there
“Thus says the Lord” for it? And if divine authority be not
forthcoming, faithful men thrust forth the intruder as the cunning
craftiness of men.
Let us use much of Scripture, much of the pure silver
of sacred revelation, and no human alloy.
“What is the chaff to the wheat, says the Lord?”
Many sorrows shall be to those who dare to dash themselves
against the thick bosses of Jehovah’s buckler by opposing his
“Thus says the Lord.” Upon whomsoever this stone shall fall
it shall grind him to powder, and whosoever shall fall upon it shall
be broken to his own lasting damage.
O! my brethren, I would that we trembled and stood more in awe
of God’s Word. I fear that many treat the things of God as
though they were merely matters of opinion, but remember that
opinion cannot govern in God’s house.
God’s Word, not man’s opinion, claims your allegiance.
O for a stern integrity that will hold the Word and will never
depart from it, come what may.
The flaming sword of justice quenched in the holy, loving bosom of Jesus!
(Octavius Winslow)
“His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree!” 1 Peter 2:24
The most significant and appalling demonstration of God’s holiness that the universe ever beheld, infinitely distancing and transcending every other — is the sufferings and death of His only and beloved Son! The cross of Calvary exhibits God’s hatred and punishment of sin in a way and to an extent which the annihilation of millions of worlds, swept from the face of the universe by the broom of His wrath, could never have done!
Behold the most solemn display of God’s hatred of sin! Finding the sins of the Church upon Christ as its Surety, Substitute, and Saviour — the wrath of God was poured out upon Him without measure! Finding the sins of His people laid upon His Son — God emptied all the vials of His wrath due to their transgressions, upon His holy soul! Go, my soul, to Calvary, and learn how holy God is, and what a monstrous thing sin is, and how imperiously, solemnly, and holily bound, Jehovah is to punish it, either in the person of the sinner, or in the person of a Surety. Never was the Son of God dearer to the Father — than at the very moment that the sword of divine justice, flaming and flashing, pierced His holy heart to its hilt!
But it was the wrath of God, not against His beloved Son — but against the sins which met on Him when presenting Himself on the cross as the substitutionary sacrifice and offering for His Church. He gave Himself for us!
What a new conception must angels have formed of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, when they beheld the flaming sword of justice quenched in the holy, loving bosom of Jesus! And in what a dazzling light does this fact place the marvellous love of God to sinners! Man’s sin — and God’s love; the indescribable enormity of the one — and the immeasurable greatness of the other; are exhibited in the cross of Christ as nowhere else.
Oh, to learn experimentally these two great facts: sin’s infinite hatefulness — and a loving God’s infinite holiness! The love of God in giving His Son to die; the love of Christ in dying — and the essential turpitude and unmitigated enormity of sin, which demanded a Sacrifice so Divine, so holy, and so precious!