Law manifests what is in men–sin!
\nGrace manifests what is in God–love!
\nLaw demands righteousness from men!
\nGrace brings righteousness to men!
\nLaw sentences men to death!
\nGrace brings dead men to life!
\nLaw speaks of what I must do!
\nGrace tells what Christ has done!
\nLaw gives a knowledge of sin!
\nGrace puts away sin!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“Oh, to grace how great a debtor
\nDaily I’m constrained to be.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Henry Mahan, Pastor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
All of\nGrace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n by Don\nFortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n The glory,\nbliss, and perfection of heaven, whatever<\/p>\n\n\n\n it is and\nall that it includes, is but the consummation<\/p>\n\n\n\n of\nsalvation; and it is, in its totality, the gift and work<\/p>\n\n\n\n of God\u2019s\nfree and sovereign grace in Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In\nheaven’s glory we shall forever adore and praise<\/p>\n\n\n\n our great\nGod for the wondrous mystery of his grace,<\/p>\n\n\n\n by which\nwe are saved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Everything\nin the great work of salvation sets forth<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\nsplendour of the grace of the Most High God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What do we\nsee in election, predestination, redemption,<\/p>\n\n\n\n regeneration,\nand preservation, but his grace?<\/p>\n\n\n\n The whole\nwork of salvation displays God\u2019s rich, free,<\/p>\n\n\n\n almighty,\nirresistible, sovereign, saving grace in Christ!<\/p>\n\n\n\n In,\nsalvation as well as in creation, all things are of<\/p>\n\n\n\n God, all\nthings are by God, and all things are for God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Unto him\nalone all praise must be forever!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Idling\nlife away like an idiot or a madman<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Joseph\nPhilpot, “The Soul’s Growth in Grace” 1837)<\/p>\n\n\n\n When one\nis spiritually reborn, he sees<\/p>\n\n\n\n at one and\nthe same moment . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n God and\nself,<\/p>\n\n\n\n justice\nand guilt,<\/p>\n\n\n\n power and\nhelplessness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n a holy law\nand a broken commandment,<\/p>\n\n\n\n eternity\nand time,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the purity\nof the Creator, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\nfilthiness of the creature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n And these\nthings he sees, not merely as<\/p>\n\n\n\n declared\nin the Bible, but as revealed in<\/p>\n\n\n\n himself as\npersonal realities, involving all<\/p>\n\n\n\n his\nhappiness or all his misery in time and<\/p>\n\n\n\n in\neternity. Thus it is with him as though<\/p>\n\n\n\n a new\nexistence had been communicated,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and as if\nfor the first time he had found<\/p>\n\n\n\n there was\na God!<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is as\nthough all his days he had been asleep,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and were\nnow awakened; asleep upon the top of<\/p>\n\n\n\n a mast,\nwith the raging waves beneath; as if all<\/p>\n\n\n\n his past\nlife were a dream, and the dream were<\/p>\n\n\n\n now at an\nend. He has been . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n hunting\nbutterflies,<\/p>\n\n\n\n blowing\nsoap bubbles,<\/p>\n\n\n\n angling\nfor minnows,<\/p>\n\n\n\n picking\ndaisies,<\/p>\n\n\n\n building\nhouses of cards, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n idling\nlife away like an idiot or a madman.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He had\nbeen perhaps wrapped up in a religious<\/p>\n\n\n\n profession,\nadvanced even to the office of a deacon,<\/p>\n\n\n\n or mounted\nin a pulpit. He had learned to talk about<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ,\nand election, and grace, and fill his mouth<\/p>\n\n\n\n with the\nlanguage of Zion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But what\ndid he experimentally know of these<\/p>\n\n\n\n things?\nNothing, absolutely nothing!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ignorant\nof his own ignorance (of all kinds of<\/p>\n\n\n\n ignorance\nthe worst), he thought himself rich,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and\nincreased with goods, and to have need of<\/p>\n\n\n\n nothing;\nand knew not that he was wretched,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and\nmiserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWas\nthen that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might\nappear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the\ncommandment might become exceeding sinful.\u201d Romans 7:13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Octavius\nWinslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n NO child\nof God, if he is advancing in the divine life, but must mourn over his\ndefective views of sin. The holier he grows, the more sensible he is of this:\nyes, may we not add, the deeper the view of his own vileness, the stronger the\nevidence of his growth in sanctification. A growing hatred of sin, of little\nsins, of great sins, of all sin\u2014sin detected in the indwelling principle, as\nwell as sin observable in the outward practice\u2014oh, it is one of the surest\nsymptoms of the onward progress of the soul in its spiritual course. The believer\nhimself may not be sensible of it, but others see it; to him it may be like a\nretrograde, to an observer it is an evidence of advance. The child of God is\nnot the best judge of his own spiritual growth. He may be rapidly advancing\nwhen not sensible of it; the tree may be growing downwards, it roots may be\nexpanding and grasping more firmly the soil in which they are concealed, and\nyet the appearance of growth do not be very apparent. There is an inward,\nconcealed, yet effectual growth of grace in the soul; the believer may not be\nsensible of it, and even others may overlook it, but God sees it: it is His own\nwork, and He does not think meanly of it. God, in His gracious dealings with\nthe believer, often works by contraries. He opens the eye of His child to the\ndeep depravity of the heart, discloses to him the chamber of imagery, reveals\nto him the sin unthought of, unsuspected, unrepented, unconfessed, that lies\ndeeply embedded there\u2014and why? only to make His child more holy; to compel him\nto repair to the mercy-seat, there to cry, there to plead, there to wrestle for\nits subjection, its mortification, it crucifixion. And through this, as it\nwere, circuitous process, the believer presses on to high and higher degrees of\nholiness. In this way, too, the believer earnestly seeks for humility, by a\ndeep discovery which the Lord gives him of the pride of his heart\u2014for meekness,\nby a discovery of petulance, for resignation to God\u2019s will, by a sense of\nrestlessness and impatience\u2014and so on, through all the graces of the blessed\nSpirit. Thus there is a great growth in grace, when a believer\u2019s views of sin\u2019s\nexceeding sinfulness and the inward plague are deepening.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But how\nare these views of sin to be deepened? By constant, close views of the blood of\nChrist\u2014realizing apprehensions of the atonement. This is the only glass through\nwhich sin is seen in its greater magnitude. Let the Christian reader, then,\ndeal much and often with the blood of Christ. Oh! that we should need to be\nurged to this!\u2014that once having bathed in the \u201cfountain opened,\u201d we should ever\nlook to any other mode of healing, and of sanctification! For let it never be\nforgotten, that a child of God is as much called to live on Christ for\nsanctification as for pardon. \u201cSanctify them through your truth.\u201d And who is\nthe truth? Jesus Himself answers, \u201cI am the truth.\u201d Then we are to live on\nJesus for sanctification: and happy and holy is he who thus lives on Jesus. The\nfullness of grace that is treasured up in Christ, why is it there? for the\nsanctification of His people\u2014for the subduing of all their sins. Oh, do not\nforget, then, that He is the Refiner as well as the Savior\u2014the Sanctifier as\nwell as the Redeemer. Take your indwelling corruptions to Him; take the easy\nbesetting sin, the weakness, the infirmity, of whatever nature it is, at once\nto Jesus: His grace can make you all that He would have you to be. Remember,\ntoo, that this is one of the great privileges of the life of faith; living on\nChrist for the daily subduing of all sin. This is the faith that purifies the\nheart, and it purifies by leading the believer to live out of himself upon\nChrist. To this blessed and holy life our Lord Jesus referred, when speaking of\nits necessity in order to the spiritual fruitfulness of the believer: \u201cAbide in\nme, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in\nthe vine; no more can you, except you abide in me. I am the vine, you are the\nbranches: he that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit;\nfor without me you can do nothing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n This wily\ndevil!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Joseph\nPhilpot, “Daily Words for Zion’s Wayfarers”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n What a foe\nto one’s peace is one’s own spirit!<\/p>\n\n\n\n What shall\nI call it? It is often an infernal spirit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why?\nBecause it bears the mark of Satan upon it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pride\nof our spirit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\npresumption of our spirit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\nhypocrisy of our spirit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\nintense selfishness of our spirit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n are often\nhidden from us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This wily\ndevil, SELF, can wear such<\/p>\n\n\n\n masks and\nassume such forms!<\/p>\n\n\n\n This\nserpent, SELF, can so creep and crawl,<\/p>\n\n\n\n can so\ntwist and turn, and can disguise itself<\/p>\n\n\n\n under such\nfalse appearances, that it is often<\/p>\n\n\n\n hidden\nfrom ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who is the\ngreatest enemy we have to fear? We all<\/p>\n\n\n\n have our\nenemies. But who is our greatest enemy?<\/p>\n\n\n\n He whom\nyou carry in your own bosom; your daily,<\/p>\n\n\n\n hourly,\nand unmovable companion, who entwines<\/p>\n\n\n\n himself in\nnearly every thought of your heart; who . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n sometimes\npuffs up with pride,<\/p>\n\n\n\n sometimes\ninflames with lust,<\/p>\n\n\n\n sometimes\ninflates with presumption, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n sometimes\nworks under pretend humility and fleshly holiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God is\ndetermined to stain the pride of human glory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He will\nnever let SELF, (which is but another word for<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\ncreature,) wear the crown of victory. It must be<\/p>\n\n\n\n crucified,\ndenied, and mortified.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE GOSPEL\nOF GOD’S GRACE<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n by Don\nFortner–<\/p>\n\n\n\n “However,\nI consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I<\/p>\n\n\n\n may finish\nthe race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has<\/p>\n\n\n\n given me–\nthe task of testifying to THE GOSPEL OF GOD’S<\/p>\n\n\n\n GRACE.”\nActs 20:24<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grace is\nthe solitary source from which the goodwill,<\/p>\n\n\n\n love, and\nsalvation of God flow to his chosen people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grace is completely\nunmerited and unsought.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is\naltogether unattracted by us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grace\ncannot be bought, earned, or won by anything in us or done by us.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If it\ncould, it would cease to be grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grace is\nbestowed upon sinners without attraction,<\/p>\n\n\n\n without\ncondition, without qualification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When God’s\nsaving grace comes to a sinner, it comes as a<\/p>\n\n\n\n matter of\npure charity, unsought, unasked, and undesired.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you\nsearch the Scriptures, you will find that there are five things<\/p>\n\n\n\n which\nalways characterize the grace of God. Whenever men speak contrary<\/p>\n\n\n\n to these\nfive things they deny the grace of God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. The\ngrace of God is eternal (Rom. 8:28-30; 2 Tim. 1:9).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. The\ngrace of God is free (Rom. 3:24).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. The grace\nof God is sovereign (Rom. 9:16).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. The\ngrace of God is distinguishing (1 Cor. 4:7).<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. The\ngrace of God is in Christ, only in Christ (Eph. 1:3-14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grace is\nnot something God offers to sinners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Grace is\nthe operation of God in sinners, by which he<\/p>\n\n\n\n effectually\nsaves the objects of his everlasting love.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gospel\nof God is the message of grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To the\nself-righteous religionist, it is a stumbling block.<\/p>\n\n\n\n To the\nlearned, philosophical worldling, it is foolishness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Why?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Because\nthere is nothing in the gospel to gratify the pride of man.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gospel\nof God declares that man can never be saved,<\/p>\n\n\n\n but by the\ngrace of God. It declares that apart from Christ,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\nunspeakable gift of God’s grace, there is no salvation,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and that\nthe state of every human being is desperate, hopeless,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and\nirretrievable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gospel\naddresses men and women as depraved,<\/p>\n\n\n\n guilty,\ncondemned, perishing sinners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It puts us\nall upon one level-<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gospel\ndeclares that the purest moralist is in the same<\/p>\n\n\n\n condition\nas the vilest profligate, that the zealous religionist<\/p>\n\n\n\n is no\nbetter than the most profane infidel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Without\nChrist, without grace, all are lost!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gospel\naddresses every descendant of Adam as a fallen,<\/p>\n\n\n\n polluted,\nhell-bent, hell-deserving sinner, utterly incapable<\/p>\n\n\n\n of\nchanging his ruined condition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The grace\nof God in Christ is our only hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All men,\nby nature, stand before God’s holy law as justly condemned<\/p>\n\n\n\n felons,\nawaiting the execution of his wrath upon us (John 3:18,36;<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rom.3:19).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our only\nhope is grace!<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Grace\nis a provision for men who are–<\/p>\n\n\n\n so FALLEN\nthat they cannot lift the ax of justice,<\/p>\n\n\n\n so CORRUPT\nthat they cannot change their own nature,<\/p>\n\n\n\n so AVERSE\nTO GOD that they cannot turn to him,<\/p>\n\n\n\n so BLIND\nthat they cannot see him,<\/p>\n\n\n\n so DEAF\nthat they cannot hear him,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and so\nDEAD that God must himself open their graves<\/p>\n\n\n\n and lift\nthem into resurrection” (George S. Bishop).<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only\nhope any sinner has of salvation and eternal<\/p>\n\n\n\n life is\nthe grace of God freely bestowed upon sinners<\/p>\n\n\n\n through\nJesus Christ,the sinner’s Substitute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The only\nbestower of grace is God the Holy Spirit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n who is\ncalled “the Spirit of grace” (Zech. 12:10).<\/p>\n\n\n\n He is the\nOne who applies the gospel to the hearts<\/p>\n\n\n\n of chosen,\nredeemed sinners by his effectual, saving power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\nQUICKENS God’s elect while they are yet spiritually dead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He\nCONQUERS the rebel’s will, MELTS the hard heart,<\/p>\n\n\n\n OPENS the\nblind eye, and CLEANSES the soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He gives\nears to hear, eyes to see, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n a heart to\nbelieve on the Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Where\nshall we hide our blushing face?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Octavius\nWinslow)<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is\nmuch indeed in ourselves of which we<\/p>\n\n\n\n have\nreason truly to be ashamed, and to be filled<\/p>\n\n\n\n with\nprofound self abhorrence. We have need to<\/p>\n\n\n\n be ashamed\n. . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n of our\nunbelief;<\/p>\n\n\n\n of our low\nthoughts of the Savior;<\/p>\n\n\n\n of our\nlittle love to God;<\/p>\n\n\n\n of our\nslow advance in the divine life;<\/p>\n\n\n\n of our\nimperfect conformity to Christ;<\/p>\n\n\n\n of the\npower of indwelling sin;<\/p>\n\n\n\n of our\nslender spiritual attainments in . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n knowledge,<\/p>\n\n\n\n personal\nholiness, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n heavenly\nmeekness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n What\nshamefacedness should cover us,<\/p>\n\n\n\n that we are\nso ready . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n to\ncompromise,<\/p>\n\n\n\n to falter,\nand<\/p>\n\n\n\n to halt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n How deeply\nhumbled should we be that there<\/p>\n\n\n\n still\nexists in us so much carnality, love of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n world, and\nconformity to the world; so little of<\/p>\n\n\n\n the\ncrucified spirit of a cross bearing Savior!<\/p>\n\n\n\n What cause\nof shame that, with all our profession,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the pulse\nof spiritual life beats in our souls so faintly,<\/p>\n\n\n\n the spirit\nof prayer breathes in us so feebly, that we<\/p>\n\n\n\n possess so\nlittle real, vital religion, and follow Christ<\/p>\n\n\n\n at so\ngreat a distance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Filled\nwith self abasement should we be, that the<\/p>\n\n\n\n fruits and\ngraces of the Spirit are in us so sickly,<\/p>\n\n\n\n drooping,\nand dwarfed; that we have so limited<\/p>\n\n\n\n a measure\nof faith, love, and humility; are so<\/p>\n\n\n\n defective\nin our patience and meekness, wisdom,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and\ngentleness; that, with all our blossom and<\/p>\n\n\n\n foliage,\nthere is so little real fruit to the glory<\/p>\n\n\n\n of our\nFather.<\/p>\n\n\n\n May we\nnot, in view of all this, exclaim with Ezra,<\/p>\n\n\n\n in his\ndeep grief and humiliation for the sins of the<\/p>\n\n\n\n people,\n“O my God, I am utterly ashamed; I blush<\/p>\n\n\n\n to lift up\nmy face to You. For our sins are piled<\/p>\n\n\n\n higher\nthan our heads, and our guilt has reached<\/p>\n\n\n\n to the\nheavens.” Ezra 9:6.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, where\nshall we fly; where shall we hide<\/p>\n\n\n\n our\nblushing face but in the blood of atonement!<\/p>\n\n\n\n sprinkled\nafresh with which, we may lift up our<\/p>\n\n\n\n heads and\nnot be ashamed.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Law manifests what is in men–sin! Grace manifests what is in God–love! Law demands righteousness from men! Grace brings righteousness to men! Law sentences men to death! Grace brings dead men to life! Law speaks of what I must do! Grace tells what Christ has done! Law gives a knowledge of sin! Grace puts away […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5627","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bulletin-editions"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5627","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5627"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5627\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5628,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5627\/revisions\/5628"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5627"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5627"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5627"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}