What doctrine is more emptying, humbling, and therefore sanctifying, than predestination? It lays the axe at the root of all human boasting!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the light of this truth, the most holy believer sees that\nthere is no difference between him and the vilest sinner that crawls the\nearth–but what the sovereign grace of God has made!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“By the grace of God I am what I am!” 1 Corinthians\n15:10<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sanctifying grace, as well as pardoning mercy!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (“Every Day!” Author unknown, 1872)<\/p>\n\n\n\n “You shall call His name Jesus \u2014 for He shall save His\npeople from their sins!” Matthew 1:21<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus! Precious name, how sweet it is! How well it befits Him\nwho bears it \u2014 and how glorious is the salvation which He accomplishes!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Misery is the natural consequence of sin. Everything that God\nenjoins is good \u2014 and everything that He forbids is evil. Jesus saves His\npeople from their sins \u2014 and so saves them from misery. He died to atone for\ntransgressions. He ever lives to save His people from the power and practice of\nsin \u2014 yes, and eventually from the very presence of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n My soul, let your whole trust be in Jesus, not only for\ndeliverance from guilt and its consequences \u2014 but from sin in its manifold\nworkings. You are powerless against your inward corruptions \u2014 but Jesus is\n“mighty to save.” He can subdue your iniquities. Trust Him then, for\nsanctifying grace, as well as pardoning mercy!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Dwell much on all He did and suffered for you. In His agony in\nthe garden of Gethsemane, and on the cross at Calvary \u2014 see something of the\nexceeding sinfulness of your sins, from which He died to save you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “He will subdue our iniquities \u2014 and cast all our sins into\nthe depths of the sea!” Micah 7:19<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus’ blood, for sinners spilt,<\/p>\n\n\n\n Shows my sin in all its guilt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ah, my soul, He bore your load,<\/p>\n\n\n\n You have slain the Lamb of God!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Farewell, world \u2014 your gold is dross!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Now I see the bleeding cross!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus died to set me free,<\/p>\n\n\n\n From the law, and sin, and thee!<\/p>\n\n\n\n God’s lancet!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “The Preciousness of Trial” by Octavius Winslow<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trials are a precious discipline, a precious correction,<\/p>\n\n\n\n a precious school, that lead you more fully into the<\/p>\n\n\n\n heartfelt experience of the preciousness of the Saviour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Trials make you more intimately acquainted with<\/p>\n\n\n\n your best Friend, your dearest Brother, the tender,<\/p>\n\n\n\n sympathising Beloved of your soul.<\/p>\n\n\n\n You will know more of Jesus in one sanctified<\/p>\n\n\n\n trial, than in wading through a library of volumes,<\/p>\n\n\n\n or listening to a lifetime of sermons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Sanctified trial opens an outlet for the escape<\/p>\n\n\n\n of much ‘soul distemper’. Deep rooted, hidden<\/p>\n\n\n\n and long pent up evil, the existence of which<\/p>\n\n\n\n has been as a fretting sore, inflaming, irritating,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and impairing the whole spiritual constitution<\/p>\n\n\n\n of the soul, has by this process been thrown<\/p>\n\n\n\n off, and thus a more wholesome state and<\/p>\n\n\n\n healthful action has come.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, what selfishness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n what carnality,<\/p>\n\n\n\n what rebellion,<\/p>\n\n\n\n what worldliness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n what secret declension,<\/p>\n\n\n\n has God’s lancet brought to light, revealing<\/p>\n\n\n\n it but to inspire self abhorrence, sin loathing,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and sin forsaking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All of this is the costly fruit of a deeply sanctified trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, precious trial! Oh, heaven sent affliction! that<\/p>\n\n\n\n breaks down the barriers, removes the restraints,<\/p>\n\n\n\n thaws the congealings that intercept and interrupt<\/p>\n\n\n\n my fellowship with God.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Our heavenly Father loves to hear the voice of<\/p>\n\n\n\n His children; and when that voice is still, when<\/p>\n\n\n\n there is a suspension of heart communion, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n the tones are silent which were wont to fall as<\/p>\n\n\n\n music upon His ear, He sends a trial, and then<\/p>\n\n\n\n we rise and give ourselves to prayer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps it is a perplexity, and we go to Him for counsel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps it is a need, and we go to Him for supply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps it is a grief, and we go to Him for soothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps it is a burden, and we go to Him for upholding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps it is an infirmity, and we go to Him for grace.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps it is a temptation, and we go to Him for help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps it is a sin, and we repair to Him for pardon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But whatever form the trial takes, it has a voice,<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Rise, and call upon your God!” and to God it brings\nus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Five devilisms!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (“Reconciliation by Death, and Salvation by Life”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Preached at Providence Chapel, Eden Street, London,<\/p>\n\n\n\n on Tuesday Evening, July 30, 1850, by J. C. Philpot)<\/p>\n\n\n\n As regards sin in its workings, we may say<\/p>\n\n\n\n there are five devilisms from which we need<\/p>\n\n\n\n to be saved . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. The GUILT of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. The FILTH of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. The LOVE of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. The DOMINION of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. The PRACTICE of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. We need the application of Christ’s precious blood<\/p>\n\n\n\n to our conscience, to take away the guilt of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. We need the Spirit of Christ to sanctify and<\/p>\n\n\n\n to wash the soul in the fountain, to cleanse<\/p>\n\n\n\n from the filth of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. We need the love of Christ shed abroad in<\/p>\n\n\n\n our hearts, to take away the love of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. We need the power of Christ, to rescue<\/p>\n\n\n\n us from the dominion of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. We need the grace of Christ, to preserve<\/p>\n\n\n\n us from the practice of sin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is feeling sin in its various workings, which<\/p>\n\n\n\n makes us value Christ! Strange mysterious way!<\/p>\n\n\n\n O, strange path! that to be exercised with sin,<\/p>\n\n\n\n is the path to the Saviour!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Very painful, very mysterious, very inexplicable<\/p>\n\n\n\n –that the more you feel yourself a wretched,<\/p>\n\n\n\n miserable sinner; the more you long after Jesus,<\/p>\n\n\n\n who is able to save you to the uttermost!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Thus, we shall find that we need all that Christ is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For we are no little sinners; and He is no little Saviour!<\/p>\n\n\n\n We are great sinners!<\/p>\n\n\n\n He is a Saviour–and a great one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n “He is able to save to the uttermost!” Hebrews 7:25<\/p>\n\n\n\n The separated life!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Charles Spurgeon)<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own\nblood, suffered outside the gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore let us go forth to Him, outside the camp,\nbearing His reproach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For here we have no continuing city, but we are seeking\nthe city which is to come.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hebrews 13:12-14<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus, bearing His cross, went forth to suffer outside the gate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Christian’s reason for leaving the camp of the world’s sin\nand the world’s religion, is not because he loves to be singular\u2014but because\nJesus did so, and the disciple must follow his Master. Christ was “not of\nthe world”\u2014His life and His teachings were a constant protest against\nconformity with the world. Never was there such overflowing affection for men\nas you find in Him; but still He was “separate from sinners.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n In like manner, Christ’s people must “go forth unto\nHim.” They must take their position “outside the camp,” as\nwitness-bearers for the truth. They must be prepared to tread the straight and\nnarrow path. They must have bold, unflinching, lion-like hearts, loving Christ\nfirst, and His truth next\u2014and Christ and His truth beyond all the world!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jesus would have His people “go forth to Him, outside the\ncamp” for their own sanctification. You cannot grow in grace to any high\ndegree\u2014while you are conformed to the world. The life of separation may be a\npath of sorrow\u2014but it is the highway of safety. And though the separated life\nmay cost you many pangs, and make every day a battle\u2014yet it is a happy life\nafter all. No joy can excel that of the soldier of Christ; Jesus reveals\nHimself so graciously, and gives such sweet refreshment, that the warrior feels\nmore calm and peace in his daily strife\u2014than others in their hours of rest!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The highway of holiness is the highway of sweet communion with\nJesus. It is thus we shall hope to win the crown, if we are enabled by divine\ngrace faithfully to follow Christ “outside the camp.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The cross of separation\u2014will be followed by the crown of glory!<\/p>\n\n\n\n A moment’s shame\u2014will be well recompensed by eternal honor when\nwe are “forever with the Lord!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n One fiery trial!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Octavius Winslow, “The God of Comfort”)<\/p>\n\n\n\n One fiery trial, sanctified by the grace of the Holy Spirit, has\ndone more to break up the crusted ground of the heart, to penetrate beneath the\nsurface, to dissect, and winnow, and separate\u2014than a lifetime of reading and\nhearing could have done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Oh, what secret sins have been detected,<\/p>\n\n\n\n what carelessness of walk has been revealed,<\/p>\n\n\n\n what spiritual and unsuspected declension of soul has been\ndiscovered\u2014<\/p>\n\n\n\n all leading to deep self-loathing, and to the laying the mouth\nin the dust before God!<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my\neye sees You!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and\nashes.” Job 42:5-6<\/p>\n\n\n\n As many heads as a Hydra \u2014 and as many lives as a cat!<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Letters of John Newton, 1775)<\/p>\n\n\n\n My chief and abiding trial lies within; and I hope that the Lord\nwill sanctify it \u2014 to make me by degrees ‘little’ in my own eyes. I long to be\nable to use Job’s words, with the same feeling as I believe Job had when he\nspoke them, “Behold, I am vile!” (Job 40:4.) The acknowledgment in\nwords is quite easy \u2014 but really and in good earnest to “abhor\nmyself” and repent in dust and ashes \u2014 is most difficult. I know that I\nought to be humbled before Him \u2014 but I want to be so indeed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But that monster SELF has as many heads as a Hydra \u2014 and as many\nlives as a cat! It is more than 25 years since I hoped it was fast nailed to\nthe cross \u2014 but alas, it is still very much alive \u2014 and still mixing with, and\nspoiling everything I do!<\/p>\n\n\n\n That sympathizing, merciful, feeling,<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n tender, and compassionate heart<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n (Philpot, “A Compassionate High Priest” 1847)<\/p>\n\n\n\n “For we do not have a High Priest who is unable<\/p>\n\n\n\n to sympathize with our infirmities.” Hebrews 4:15<\/p>\n\n\n\n The child of God, spiritually taught and convinced,<\/p>\n\n\n\n is deeply sensible of his infirmities. Yes, that he is<\/p>\n\n\n\n encompassed with infirmities, that he is nothing else<\/p>\n\n\n\n but infirmities. And therefore the great High Priest<\/p>\n\n\n\n to whom he comes as a burdened sinner, to whom<\/p>\n\n\n\n he has recourse in the depth of his extremity, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n at whose feet he falls overwhelmed with a sense<\/p>\n\n\n\n of his helplessness, sin, misery, and guilt; is so<\/p>\n\n\n\n suitable to him as one able to sympathize with<\/p>\n\n\n\n his infirmities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We would, if left to our own conceptions, naturally<\/p>\n\n\n\n imagine that Jesus is too holy to look down in<\/p>\n\n\n\n compassion on a filthy, guilty wretch like ourselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Surely, surely, He will spurn us from His feet. Surely,<\/p>\n\n\n\n surely, His holy eyes cannot look upon us in our . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n blood,<\/p>\n\n\n\n guilt,<\/p>\n\n\n\n filth,<\/p>\n\n\n\n wretchedness,<\/p>\n\n\n\n misery,<\/p>\n\n\n\n and shame.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Surely, surely, He cannot bestow . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n one heart’s thought,<\/p>\n\n\n\n one moment’s sympathy,<\/p>\n\n\n\n or feel one spark of love<\/p>\n\n\n\n towards those who are so unlike Him.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nature, sense, and reason would thus argue,<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I must be holy, perfectly holy, for Jesus to love;<\/p>\n\n\n\n I must be pure, perfectly pure, spotless and<\/p>\n\n\n\n sinless, for Jesus to think of. But . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n that I, a sinful, guilty, defiled wretch;<\/p>\n\n\n\n that I, encompassed with infirmities;<\/p>\n\n\n\n that I, whose heart is a cage of unclean birds;<\/p>\n\n\n\n that I, stained and polluted with a thousand iniquities;<\/p>\n\n\n\n that I can have any inheritance in Him, or that He can<\/p>\n\n\n\n have any love or compassion towards me; nature, sense,<\/p>\n\n\n\n reason, and human religion in all its shapes and forms,<\/p>\n\n\n\n revolts from the idea.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n It is as though Jesus specially address Himself to the<\/p>\n\n\n\n poor, burdened child of God who feels his infirmities,<\/p>\n\n\n\n who cannot boast of his own wisdom, strength,<\/p>\n\n\n\n righteousness, and consistency; but is all weakness<\/p>\n\n\n\n and helplessness. It seems as if He would address<\/p>\n\n\n\n Himself to the case of such a helpless wretch, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n pour a sweet cordial into his bleeding conscience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We, the children of God; we, who each knows his own<\/p>\n\n\n\n plague and his own sore; we, who carry about with us<\/p>\n\n\n\n day by day a body of sin and death, that makes us<\/p>\n\n\n\n lament, sigh, and groan; we who know painfully what<\/p>\n\n\n\n it is to be encompassed with infirmities; we, who come<\/p>\n\n\n\n to His feet as being nothing and having nothing but sin<\/p>\n\n\n\n and woe; “we do not have a High Priest who is unable<\/p>\n\n\n\n to sympathize with our infirmities,” but One who carries<\/p>\n\n\n\n in His bosom that . . .<\/p>\n\n\n\n sympathizing,<\/p>\n\n\n\n merciful,<\/p>\n\n\n\n feeling,<\/p>\n\n\n\n tender, and<\/p>\n\n\n\n compassionate heart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSanctify\nThem through Thy Truth\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n John 17:17<\/p>\n\n\n\n We have very little\ndifficulty discussing the matter of being washed by the blood of Christ and\njustified by his righteousness. Particular, effectual redemption and free\njustification are matters in which we all rejoice. But when it comes to\nsanctification, our thinking may not be as clear. Many, I fear, are still\nconfused and a little uncomfortable. Because we are so much influenced by false\nreligion, many of God\u2019s saints still imagine that sanctification is something\nbeyond their reach. If you are God\u2019s, if you trust Christ, the Lord Jesus\nChrist, your Saviour, your Advocate, your great High Priest, asks the Father to\nsanctify you. \u2014 That means sanctification is yours. You are sanctified. If you\ntrust Christ, God the Holy Ghost declares in 1st Corinthians 6:11 \u2014 \u201cYe are\nsanctified!\u201d That means you are sanctified. Christ is made of God unto you\nSanctification. Christ is your Sanctification. He is God\u2019s Truth; and he is\nyour Sanctification. But what does that mean? What does it mean to be\nsanctified? What was our Savior asking for us when he prayed, \u201cSanctify them\u201d?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Set Apart<\/p>\n\n\n\n The first meaning of the\nword \u201csanctify\u201d is \u201cto set apart,\u201d particularly, \u201cto set apart for God or for\ndivine service\u201d. Sanctification is taking something that is common and ordinary\nand setting it apart, separating it unto God\u2019s service alone. This is the first\nand primary meaning of the word as it is used in the Bible (Genesis 2:3; Exodus\n13:2; 29:44). It is in this sense that our Lord Jesus Christ says he was\nsanctified by the Father and sanctified himself (John 10:36; 17:19). He was set\napart from all other men to do the will of God by God the Father. And in this\nsense our Savior sanctified himself to do the work he was sent to do, to\naccomplish his Father\u2019s will in the redemption and salvation of his people\n(John 17:19). \u2014 God\u2019s elect were set apart for God from eternity in the purpose\nof God (Jude 1).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Regard as Holy<\/p>\n\n\n\n Second, as the word\n\u201csanctify\u201d is used in the Word of God, it means \u201cto regard as holy,\u201d \u201cto treat\nas holy,\u201d and \u201cto declare that a person or thing is holy.\u201d \u2014 For example: God\nhimself is frequently said to be sanctified by his people. We do not make God\nmore holy! And we do not separate God unto himself. But we do regard him as\nholy, treat him as one who is holy, and declare that he is holy. That is what\nit is to sanctify the Lord God in your heart. \u2014 The Lord God commands us to\nregard him as holy (Isaiah 8:13). \u2014 God regards his people as holy through the\nsin-atoning blood of Christ (Hebrews 10:10-14).<\/p>\n\n\n\n Make Holy<\/p>\n\n\n\n The third meaning of the\nword \u201csanctify\u201d is \u201cto actually purify something and make it holy\u201d. \u2014 This is\nmore than a declaration. This is an actual change in the nature of things. The\nthing sanctified is not only set apart for God and declared to be holy, it is\nactually made holy (Exodus 19:10-11; Joshua 3:5). \u2014 The Lord God makes his\nelect holy by making every heaven-born soul \u201ca new creature\u201d in Christ (2\nCorinthians 5:17, making us \u201cpartakers of the divine nature,\u201d creating us anew\n\u201cin righteousness and true holiness\u201d (Ephesians 4:24), forming \u201cChrist in you,\nthe Hope of Glory\u201d (Colossians 1:27)<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" What doctrine is more emptying, humbling, and therefore sanctifying, than predestination? It lays the axe at the root of all human boasting! In the light of this truth, the most holy believer sees that there is no difference between him and the vilest sinner that crawls the earth–but what the sovereign grace of God has […]<\/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-6150","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\/6150","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=6150"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6150\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6151,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6150\/revisions\/6151"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6150"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6150"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6150"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}