When you sink so low that\nyou can\u2019t find anything good in yourself and when you look inside your heart\nand you can see nothing but that which would condemn you, then you can take\nhope for the wind of God\u2019s Spirit is blowing in your direction. If that describes\nyou; come to God then as a criminal in your prison clothes. Confess you have\nnothing of your own, but sin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n Pastor\nScott Richardson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n A Believer\u2019s Attitude Toward Sin<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. He knows and rejoices that all of his sin and sins are\npardoned, paid for, and put away by the sacrifice of Christ the Lord. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. He condemns sin in himself! While sin does not reign it does\nremain in the believer, but he does not excuse or justify it. He grieves over\nit and daily confesses his sins before God. He hates a bad attitude as much as\nevil actions. He judges his motives as well as his manner by the holiness of\nChrist; and, when he finds iniquity in himself, he despises it and judges\nhimself. \u201cO wretched man that I am!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. He forgives sin in others! He does not forgive himself\u2014only\nGod can do that\u2014but he is quick to pity, have mercy upon, and forgive others.\nNot to be able to forgive is to forfeit the right to ask forgiveness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. He longs to be free from all sin and to be perfectly\nconformed to the image of Christ. While he rejoices in Christ, is content with\nhis lot, and finds joy in the fellowship of Christ\u2019s Church, he will only be\nsatisfied when he awakes in the likeness of Christ!<\/p>\n\n\n\n ~Henry Mahan <\/p>\n\n\n\n If a lobster loses its claw in\na fight<\/strong> Astonished, bewildered, and\noverpowered!<\/strong> A sin-expelling power over\nour lives!<\/strong> \u201cWhere\nthe Spirit of the Lord is<\/em>, there is<\/em> liberty.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2\nCorinthians 3:17<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n What\nliberty is this? Being brought into the family of God, we are brought into the\nsweet liberty of grace here and shall be brought into \u201cthe glorious\nliberty of the children of God<\/em>\u201d in the world to come. But what is that\nliberty that is ours in Christ?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Acknowledged\nFacts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Honesty\ncompels us to acknowledge certain facts. We are not here freed from the raging\nlusts of our sinful hearts; for we still carry about a body of sin under which\nwe groan. We are not freed from Satan\u2019s temptations; for he still roars against\nus and hurls his fiery darts at our souls. We are not freed from temptations,\ntrials, and troubles; for we still live in this world of sin and woe. It must\nbe confessed, too, that we are not freed from inward fears; for our shameful\nunbelief begets many. Blessed be his name, we are not here freed from the\nchastisement of our wise, kind, and ever-gracious heavenly Father; for then we\nwould never know many sweet visits of his love under the rod, by which he\ncauses us to know and love him. And we are not yet freed from sickness and\ndeath; for the stroke of death we must feel, often death preceded by painful\nand long illness. Our blessed Savior has promised to make our bed of sickness\nby his grace, and has taken death\u2019s sting away by his blood and righteousness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Blessed\nLiberty<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n From\nthese things we are not yet at liberty, though chosen in eternal love, redeemed\nby Christ\u2019s precious blood, and saved by almighty grace. What, then, is that\nliberty that is given to our souls in and with Christ Jesus by the Spirit of\nthe Lord?<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nGod the Spirit, discovering to our souls the glory of the Lord Jesus and our\ninterest in him, has brought us into liberty. Sweet and blessed liberty it is!\nWho can apprehend, let alone describe, the vastness of this liberty? We\nhave access to the Throne of Grace at all times and upon all occasions. Having\nreceived the Spirit of adoption, we cry, \u201cAbba, Father!<\/em>\u201d We lift our\nhearts to heaven and confidently call the Lord God himself our Father! The\nSpirit bears witness with our spirits that we are children of God. We are freed\nfrom the burden of sin\u2019s guilt and the fear of its punishment. \u2014 O sweet, sweet\nliberty!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n\u201cWhere the Spirit of the Lord is there is liberty!<\/em>\u201d \u2014 God\u2019s law being\nmagnified and made honorable by Christ, justice is satisfied and everlasting\nrighteousness is ours. Justice no longer terrifies. The accusations of Satan\nare all answered. Conscience is appeased. This is liberty; is it not? Having\npassed from death unto life, we have peace with God through the blood of the\ncross. \u201cThere is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in\nChrist Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nThis liberty is ours, child of God, because of our oneness with Christ. We can\nno more be brought into the bondage of sin, and guilt, and death, and law than\nhe can. This blessed liberty ought to sustain our souls and cheer our hearts in\nthe face of every temptation, every sorrow, every trial, and every affliction!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nShout, my soul, and echo to the apostle\u2019s words, \u201cWhere the Spirit of the\nLord is there is liberty!<\/em>\u201d \u2014 All the liberty of grace and all the liberty\nof glory too! \u2014 Liberty to adore, worship, love, trust, and live forever with\nGod our Savior (Father, Son, and Holy Ghost), who opened our prison doors and\nbrought us out of the deep pit wherein was no water and no light!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Change\nMade<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When God\nthe Spirit reveals Christ in the chosen, redeemed sinner, causing the heaven\nborn soul to behold with open face, as in a mirror, \u201cthe glory of the\nLord,<\/em>\u201d a marvelous change takes place. Looking to our dear Savior by faith,\nwe are changed into his image. Beholding Christ in his glory, admiring him,\nbeing ravished with his love, we imitate the One we love. Constrained by his\nlove for us and the love he has created in us for him, saved sinners seek to be\nmade like the Savior, and are made like him. \u2014 O wondrous liberty!<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nBlessed Lord Jesus, be it my portion here to behold your face in righteousness,\nuntil I awake in your likeness in glory in complete and everlasting\nsatisfaction (Psalm 17:15). Truly, this is \u201cthe glorious liberty of the\nchildren of God!<\/em>\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\nFortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n No Change<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Ephesians 4:14<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n The Lord God gives His Church\npastors according to His own heart, who faithfully feed His people with\nknowledge and understanding, thereby sustaining the light of the Gospel in\npurity and passing it on unchanged, from generation to generation. Those pastors\nfaithfully preach the Word, without alteration, without addition, without\nsubtraction, and without adornment, in simplicity and truth, with clarity and\nboldness, \u2014 \u201cThat we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and\ncarried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning\ncraftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Not Looking<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Those men, being taught of God\nand sent of God, can say, with our Master, \u201cMy doctrine is not mine, but his\nthat sent me<\/em>\u201d (John 7:16). Their doctrine does not change from year to\nyear, but remains the same. Someone once asked my friend, Bro. David Pledger,\n\u201cHow can you be so dogmatic? What if your doctrine changes?\u201d Bro. Pledger\nreplied, \u201cIt\u2019s not going to change.\u201d Surprised by that, the man asked, \u201cHow can\nyou be sure?\u201d To that Bro. Pledger said, \u201cI\u2019m not looking for anything.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Faithful\nmen are not looking for anything. Since they are not looking for anything to\ngain from any man or group of men, they are not looking for any new doctrine or\nany excuse to modify their doctrine. What they preached last year, you will\nfind them preaching next year. Their message may be clearer and their\nassertions may be more dogmatic; but their doctrine will be unchanged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Always Looking<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n False prophets, hireling\npreachers are always looking for something, looking for something to gain,\nlooking for some advantage, and, therefore, are ready to change their doctrine\nto suit their pursuit. I was reminded of this sad fact last week, when I received\na letter from Piedmont Baptist College<\/em> in Winston-Salem, North\nCarolina (my alma mater). Trying to excuse a shift in doctrine, the letter\nasserted, \u201cCultural shifts and generational transitions have created a need for\na re-examination of our current beliefs and practices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nCultural shifts and generational transitions do not have anything to do with\nDivine truth. The Word of God does not bend with the wind. Yet, there are many\nwho determine their doctrine like politicians determine their positions, by\nholding their fingers in the air to see which way the wind is blowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \nHow many preachers I have seen alter their doctrine for advantage! As often as\n they change their company (the preachers\nand religious organizations with which they associate themselves), they alter\ntheir doctrine accordingly. Sometimes the alterations are modest. Sometimes\nthey are radical. But the motive is always evil. They are looking for some\nadvantage, looking for something to gain. \u2014 \u201cThese are murmurers,\ncomplainers, walking after their own lusts; and their mouth speaketh great swelling\nwords, having men\u2019s persons in admiration because of advantage\u2026who should walk\nafter their own ungodly lusts. These be they who separate themselves, sensual,\nhaving not the Spirit<\/em>\u201d (Jude 16-19).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n(Charles Spurgeon<\/a>)
\n
\n“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I\nput within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I\nwill give you an heart of flesh<\/strong>“<\/strong> Ezekiel\n36:26
\n
\nWhat a wonder it is, that a man could ever have a new heart!
\n
\nYou know that if a\nlobster loses its claw in a fight<\/strong>, it may grow a new claw\u2014and\nthat is thought to be quite marvellous.
\n
\nIt would be far more astonishing, if men could be able to grow\nnew arms and new legs.
\n
\nBut who ever heard of a man who grew a new heart?<\/em>
\n
\nYou may have seen a bough lopped off a tree, and you may have\nthought that perhaps the tree will sprout again and there will be a new limb.\nBut who ever heard of a wooden fence post getting new sap and a new life?
\n
\nYet my Lord and Master, the crucified and exalted Saviour\u2014has\ngiven His people new hearts, and has and made new creations of them!
\n
\n“Therefore, if any man be in Christ\u2014he is a new creation:\nold things have passed away; behold, all things are become new!” 2\nCorinthians 5:17
\n
\nLet us rejoice together in this regenerating Savior!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n(Octavius Winslow<\/a>,\n“From Grace to Glory” 1864)
\n
\nThe unregenerate<\/strong> man does not worship the God\nof the Bible. Worshiping a god of his own imagination, he rears his altar to\n“THE UNKNOWN GOD.” Divesting the God of Scripture of His divine\nperfections . . .
\n His holiness,
\n His justice,
\n His truth,
\n His power
\n His wrath \u2014
\nhe completely undeifies <\/em>Him, robbing Him of His\nglory.
\n
\nBut when he is born again<\/strong>, lo! the God of the Bible\nbursts upon his new-found vision and his wondering gaze, as a ‘newly revealed\nGod’.
\nClothed with new attributes,
\narrayed with new perfections,
\nbathed with new glory,
\nstanding in a new relation \u2014
\nthe new creature falls down at His feet in adoring admiration\nand love, exclaiming, “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear; but\nnow my eye sees You! Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and\nashes!” Never did . . .
\n the being of God, appear so true,
\n the perfections of God, appear so glorious,
\n the character of God, appear so great,
\n the government of God, appear so holy,
\n the relation of God, appear so endearing \u2014 as now!
\n
\nBorn into a new world, the GOD of the new creation unveils to\nthe eye as infinitely, ineffably lovely!<\/strong>
\n
\nLike a being born and grown up in a dark mine, and brought to\nthe earth’s surface to gaze upon the sun in its noontide effulgence \u2014 the new\ncreated soul is astonished,\nbewildered, and overpowered<\/strong> by the splendour,\nglory, and greatness of the being, character, and perfections of Jehovah!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n(Charles Spurgeon<\/a>,\n“Flowers from a Puritan’s Garden” 1883)
\n
\n“Old leaves, if they remain upon the trees through\nthe autumn <\/em>and the winter<\/em> \u2014 fall off in\nthe spring<\/em>.”
\n
\nWe have seen a hedge all thick with dry leaves throughout\nthe winter<\/em>, and neither frost nor wind has removed the withered\nfoliage \u2014 but the spring <\/em>has soon cleared them off. The new\nlife dislodges the old, pushing it away as unsuitable to it.
\n
\nIn the same way, our old corruptions are best removed by\nthe growth of new graces.<\/em>
\n<\/em>
\n“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;\nold things have passed away; behold, all things have become new!” 2\nCorinthians 5:17
\n
\nIt is as the new life buds and opens, that the old worn-out\nthings of our former state are compelled to give up their hold of us. Our\nwisdom lies in living near to God, that by the power of His Holy Spirit all\nour graces<\/em> may be vigorous, and may exercise a sin-expelling power over our lives<\/strong> \u2014\nthe new leaves of grace<\/em> pushing off our old worldly affections\nand habits of sin.
\n
\nWith new converts, it is often better not to lay down stringent\nrules as to worldly amusements \u2014 but leave the new life and its holier joys, to\npush off the old pleasures. Thus it will be done more naturally and more\neffectively.
\n
\nWe have all heard of the expulsive power of a new\naffection<\/strong>. This new affection of love to God coming into the soul, expels\nlove to sin!
\n
\nLord, let Your life in me, push off the relics of my former\nsinful self \u2014 that I may put on the new man, and manifest Your transforming\ngrace!<\/p>\n\n\n\n