If the possession of heaven could be obtained\nwith only a single act of goodness, never to all eternity should I find it.\n\u201cWhen I would do good, evil is present with me.\u201d Oh! Then for grace to know\nThee, to love Thee, to follow Thee, as my only good; my hope, my righteousness,\nmy portion forever! Amen!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
~Robert Hawker<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Sad but Evident Fact <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Down through the years there have been many men and women who\nhave heard the truth, and have apprehended the truth, but who have never been\napprehended by the truth. They have \u201cgotten hold of the truth,\u201d but the truth\nhas never \u201cgotten hold of them!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This is evidenced by the fact that they are able to compromise\nthe truth or turn away from it completely. I have seen some turn from the truth\nof God to fables and commandments of men (II Tim. 4:4; Titus 1:14). Others I\nhave seen turn the grace of our God into lasciviousness, denying the power of\nGod and His grace in the believer\u2019s heart (Jude 4). Still others, like Demas, I\nhave observed going altogether back to this present, evil world (II Tim. 4:10).\nIt would have been much better for them had they never had the privilege of\nhearing the gospel, than to have heard it and turned away from it (II Peter\n2:20-22).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Concerning the truth; that is, the salvation of guilty,\nhell-deserving sinners by Jesus Christ, there is not the slightest doubt in my\nmind (and heart) but that what I believe, confess and preach (what we believe)\nis the truth of Scripture. We have \u201cgotten hold\u201d of that truth, and thus far,\nby the grace of God, have not been able to compromise or turn away from it.\nThat is because the truth has \u201cgotten hold\u201d of our souls. Christ crucified is\nno mere doctrine to us. HE IS OUR LIFE!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cKeep us Lord, O keep us cleaving To Thyself, and still\nbelieving.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
~Maurice Montgomery<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“They are of those that rebel against the light.” Job\n24:13<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Octavius Winslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n So far from cooperating with the Spirit in the new creation, the\nnatural man presents every resistance and opposition to it. There is not only a\npassive aversion to, but there is an active resistance of, the work. The stream\nof man’s natural inclinations runs counter to all holiness. A strong and steady\ncurrent has set in against God and all that God loves. The pride of reason, the\nperverseness of the will, the enmity of the mind, the heart’s love of sin, all\nare up in arms against the entrance of the Holy Spirit. Satan, the great enemy\nof God and man, has been too long in quiet and undisturbed possession of the\nsoul, to resign his dominion without a strong and a fearful struggle to\nmaintain it. When the Spirit of God knocks at the door of the heart, every ally\nis summoned by the “strong man armed” to “quench the\nSpirit,” and bar and bolt each avenue to his entrance. All is alarm,\nagitation, and commotion within. There is a danger of being dispossessed, and\nevery argument, persuasion, and contrivance must be resorted to, in order to\nretain the long-undisputed throne. The world is summoned to throw out its most\nenticing bait\u2014ambition, wealth, literary and political distinction, pleasure in\nher thousand forms of fascination and power\u2014all are made to pass, as in review,\nbefore the mind. The flesh, exerts its influence\u2014the love of sin is appealed\nto, affection for some long-cherished lust, some long-indulged habit, some\n“fond amusement,” some darling taste\u2014these, inspired with new vigour,\nare summoned to the rescue. Thus Satan, the world, and the flesh are opposed to\nthe Father, the Son, and the Spirit, in the great work of spiritual\nregeneration. Oh let no individual be so deceived as to believe, that when God\nthe Eternal Spirit enters the soul, He finds the temple swept, and garnished,\nand prepared for His reception\u2014that without the exercise of His own omnipotent\nand irresistible power, the heart bounds to welcome Him, the reason bows\nsubmissively to His government, and the will yields an instant and humble compliance.\nOh no! if He that is in the regenerate were not greater and more powerful than\nhe that is in the world, such is the enmity of the heart to God, such the\nsupreme control which Satan exerts over the whole empire of man, God would be\nforever shut out, and the soul forever lost. See how clearly regeneration is\nproved to be the work of the Spirit. God has written it as with a sunbeam,\n“that we are His workmanship,” and that the Eternal Spirit is the\nmighty agent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The masterpiece!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Spurgeon, “THE CHILD OF LIGHT WALKING IN LIGHT”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The glorious Son of God condescends to become the<\/p>\n\n\n\n atonement for sin– He is taken to the tree; our sins are made<\/p>\n\n\n\n to meet upon his blessed head, and there he dies the just for<\/p>\n\n\n\n the unjust. He was made sin for us, that we might be made the<\/p>\n\n\n\n righteousness of God in him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Standing by the tree of doom, we look up to that blessed<\/p>\n\n\n\n Saviour with all-absorbing admiration and love. We admire him<\/p>\n\n\n\n as the masterpiece of divine wisdom, grace, power, and truth;<\/p>\n\n\n\n and, admiring, we love him; we pledge ourselves to him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Joy, joy, joy for ever! The brightest day that ever dawned on<\/p>\n\n\n\n us was that day when we saw all our sins numbered on our blessed<\/p>\n\n\n\n Scapegoat and carried away into the wilderness of forgetfulness!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Henceforth we live for Christ!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Henceforth our chief glory is the cross!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Henceforth our best ideal of glory for ourselves<\/p>\n\n\n\n is to see Jesus glorified!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The torrents have swept us away!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are no longer bound to this earth!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are borne along by the irresistible force of eternal love!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Walking with Jesus<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Letters of John Newton)<\/p>\n\n\n\n When I speak of walking with Jesus, my idea is helped by\nconsidering how it was with His first disciples\u2014they lived in His presence!\nWhile He stayed in a place, they stayed; and when He moved, they went with Him.\nHaving Him thus always near, always in view\u2014the sight of Him undoubtedly gave a\ncomposure to their whole behaviour; and was a check upon their eyes, their\ntongues, and their actions!<\/p>\n\n\n\n When they had hard questions upon their minds, they did not\npuzzle themselves with vain reasonings. When they were in need, they looked to\nHim for a supply. When they had difficulties and dangers\u2014they little doubted of\ndeliverance, knowing that He was with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Just so, I need a faith that shall have such an abiding,\nexperimental conviction of His nearness and presence\u2014as if I actually saw Him!\n“Lord, increase my faith!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Surely, if He were now upon earth and I expected a visit from\nHim this afternoon, my heart would bound at the thought! With what a mixture of\njoy and fear would I open the door to receive Him! How cautious would I be not\nto do or say anything that might grieve Him, and shorten His stay with me! And\nhow gladly, if He gave me permission to speak, would I catch the opportunity of\ntelling Him all my concerns! Surely I would be unwilling to let Him go until He\nhad healed the wounds in my soul, and renewed my spiritual strength; until He\nhad taught me better how to serve Him, and promised to support me in His\nservice. And if I heard Him say with an audible voice, “Though they fight\nagainst you they shall not prevail, for I am always with you to deliver\nyou!” I would bid adieu to fear!<\/p>\n\n\n\n But, alas, my unbelieving heart! Are not these things true, even\nat present? Is He not as near and as kind? Have I not the same reasons and the\nsame encouragement to set Him always before me\u2014and to tell Him . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n all my needs,<\/p>\n\n\n\n all my fears, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n all my troubles\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n as if I saw Him with my bodily eyes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of\nthe age!” Matthew 28:20<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you!”\nHebrews 13:5<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faith, in its practical exercise<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (John Newton’s Letters)<\/p>\n\n\n\n That faith which justifies:<\/p>\n\n\n\n purifies the heart,<\/p>\n\n\n\n works by love, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n overcomes the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That faith which justifies the soul, does likewise<\/p>\n\n\n\n receive grace from Jesus, whereby the heart is<\/p>\n\n\n\n purified, and the life regulated as befits the<\/p>\n\n\n\n Gospel of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faith is of great use and importance in the daily<\/p>\n\n\n\n concerns of life. Faith gives evidence and reality<\/p>\n\n\n\n to things not seen, and realizes the great truths<\/p>\n\n\n\n of the Gospel–so that they become abiding and<\/p>\n\n\n\n living principles of support and direction while<\/p>\n\n\n\n we are passing through this wilderness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is a believer’s privilege to walk with God in the<\/p>\n\n\n\n exercise of faith, and, by the power of His Spirit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n to mortify the whole body of sin, to gain a growing<\/p>\n\n\n\n victory over the world and self, and to make daily<\/p>\n\n\n\n advances in conformity to the mind of Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faith, in its practical exercise, has for its object<\/p>\n\n\n\n the whole word of God; and forms its estimate of all<\/p>\n\n\n\n things with which the soul is at present concerned,<\/p>\n\n\n\n according to the standard of Scripture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When our Lord was upon earth, and conversed with<\/p>\n\n\n\n His disciples, their eyes and hearts were fixed upon<\/p>\n\n\n\n Him. In danger He was their defender; their guide<\/p>\n\n\n\n when in perplexity; and to Him they looked for the<\/p>\n\n\n\n solution of all their doubts, and the supply of all their<\/p>\n\n\n\n needs. He is now withdrawn from our eyes; but faith<\/p>\n\n\n\n sets Him still before us, for the same purposes, and,<\/p>\n\n\n\n with the same effects, as if we actually saw Him!<\/p>\n\n\n\n His spiritual presence, apprehended by faith, is . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n a restraint from evil,<\/p>\n\n\n\n an encouragement to every service, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n affords a present refuge and help in every time of\ntrouble.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The duty, the privilege, the safety, the unspeakable happiness!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (John Newton)<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Looking unto Jesus!” Hebrews 12:2<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look unto the Lord Jesus Christ!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look unto Him as He hung exposed, wounded, bleeding, dead, and\nforsaken upon the cross!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Look unto Him again as He now reigns in glory, possessed of all\npower in Heaven and in earth, with thousands of thousands of saints and angels\nworshiping Him! And then compare . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n your sins \u2014 with His blood,<\/p>\n\n\n\n your needs \u2014 with His fullness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n your unbelief \u2014 with His faithfulness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n your weakness \u2014 with His strength,<\/p>\n\n\n\n your inconstancy \u2014 with His everlasting love!<\/p>\n\n\n\n If the Lord opens the eyes of your understanding, you would be\nastonished at the comparison!<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Looking unto Jesus” is the duty, the privilege, the\nsafety, the unspeakable happiness, of a believer \u2014 are all comprised in that\none sentence!<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is by looking to Jesus, that the believer is enlightened and\nstrengthened, and grows in grace and sanctification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n THE MASTER PASSION<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Spurgeon, “The Believer A New Creature”<\/p>\n\n\n\n He who believes in Christ, finding himself completely<\/p>\n\n\n\n pardoned as the result of his faith in the precious blood of<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus, loves Christ, and loves the God who gave Christ to<\/p>\n\n\n\n be his redemption.<\/p>\n\n\n\n That love now becomes a master passion!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have all heard of the expulsive power of a new affection-<\/p>\n\n\n\n this new affection of love to God coming into the soul, expels<\/p>\n\n\n\n love to sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It enters into the heart of man with such a royal majesty<\/p>\n\n\n\n about it that it puts down all his predispositions towards<\/p>\n\n\n\n evil, and his prejudices against the Most High, and with<\/p>\n\n\n\n a real and divine power it reigns within the soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The sum & substance of all vital godliness<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n J.C.Philpot<\/p>\n\n\n\n A profession of religion, without a real experimental knowledge\nof Christ\u2014is but a deceit or a delusion. There is a solid reality and enduring\nsubstance in the divine teachings and gracious operations of the blessed Spirit\nin the heart. “Possession and enjoyment”\u2014personal possession, and\nspiritual, experimental enjoyment\u2014of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ\u2014of the\nlove of God\u2014and of the communion of the Holy Spirit\u2014is the peculiar privilege\nand supreme blessedness of the children of God. This is also the soul of all\ntrue religion\u2014and the sum and substance of all vital godliness. I desire to\nknow nothing in my own soul but what God is pleased to teach me out of the\nScriptures by His blessed Spirit, that I may apprehend, firmly grasp, inwardly\nseize, blessedly realize, and experimentally enjoy Christ!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The more lovely does Jesus appear!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The poor believer feels, “I continually find all kinds<\/p>\n\n\n\n of evil working in my mind; every base corruption<\/p>\n\n\n\n crawling in my heart; everything vile, sensual, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n filthy rising up from its abominable deeps. Can I<\/p>\n\n\n\n think that God can look down in love and mercy<\/p>\n\n\n\n on such a wretch?”<\/p>\n\n\n\n When we see . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n our vileness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n our baseness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n our carnality,<\/p>\n\n\n\n our sensuality,<\/p>\n\n\n\n how our souls cleave to dust,<\/p>\n\n\n\n how we grovel in evil and hateful things,<\/p>\n\n\n\n how dark our minds,<\/p>\n\n\n\n how earthly our affections,<\/p>\n\n\n\n how depraved our hearts,<\/p>\n\n\n\n how strong our lusts,<\/p>\n\n\n\n how raging our passions;<\/p>\n\n\n\n we feel ourselves, at times, no more<\/p>\n\n\n\n fit for God than Satan himself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You see, at just the right time, when we were<\/p>\n\n\n\n utterly helpless, Christ died for the ungodly!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Romans 5:6<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christ does not justify those who are naturally<\/p>\n\n\n\n righteous, holy, and religious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But He takes the sinner as he is, in all his filth<\/p>\n\n\n\n and guilt; washes him in the fountain opened<\/p>\n\n\n\n for sin and uncleanness; and clothes the naked<\/p>\n\n\n\n shivering wretch, who has nothing to cover him<\/p>\n\n\n\n but filthy rags, in His own robe of righteousness!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gospel of the grace of God brings glad tidings . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n of pardon to the criminal,<\/p>\n\n\n\n of mercy to the guilty, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n of salvation to the lost!<\/p>\n\n\n\n That the holy God should look down in love on<\/p>\n\n\n\n wretches that deserve the damnation of hell; that<\/p>\n\n\n\n the pure and spotless Jehovah should pity, save,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and bless enemies and rebels, and make them<\/p>\n\n\n\n endless partakers of His own glory; this indeed<\/p>\n\n\n\n is a mystery, the depth of which eternity itself<\/p>\n\n\n\n will not fathom!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The deeper we sink in self-abasement under a<\/p>\n\n\n\n sense of our vileness, the higher we rise in a<\/p>\n\n\n\n knowledge of Christ. And the blacker we are<\/p>\n\n\n\n in our own view, the more lovely does Jesus<\/p>\n\n\n\n appear!<\/p>\n\n\n\n J C Philpott<\/p>\n\n\n\n TRUE HOLINESS<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThat which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is\nborn of the Spirit is spirit.\u201d-John 3:6<\/p>\n\n\n\n There is no promise made that we shall be set free in this life\nfrom the in-being and the in-working of sin. Many think that they are to become\nprogressively holier and holier, that sin after sin is to be removed gradually\nout of the heart, until at last they are almost perfect in the flesh. But this\nis an idle dream, and one which, sooner or later in the case of God\u2019s people,\nwill be rudely and roughly broken to pieces. Nature will ever remain the same;\nand we shall ever find that the flesh will lust against the spirit. Our Adam\nnature is corrupt to the very core. It cannot be mended, it cannot be\nsatisfied, it is at the last what it was at the first, inherently evil, and\nsuch will never cease to be corrupt till we put off mortality, and with it the\nbody of sin and death. All we can hope for, long after, expect, and pray for is\nthat this evil nature may be subdued, kept down, mortified, crucified, and held\nin subjection under the power of grace. But as to any such change passing upon\nit or taking place in it as to make it holy, it is but a pharisaic delusion,\nwhich, promising a holiness in the flesh, leaves us still under the power of\nsin while it opposes with deadly enmity that true sanctification of the new man\nof grace, which is wrought by a divine power and is utterly distinct from any\nfancied holiness in the flesh or any vain dream of its progressive\nsanctification. J. C. Philpot <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If the possession of heaven could be obtained with only a single act of goodness, never to all eternity should I find it. \u201cWhen I would do good, evil is present with me.\u201d Oh! Then for grace to know Thee, to love Thee, to follow Thee, as my only good; my hope, my righteousness, my […]<\/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-6142","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\/6142","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=6142"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6142\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6149,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6142\/revisions\/6149"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6142"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6142"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6142"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}