Jesus Christ is precious!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John Newton was a rough, dirty sailor with a foul mouth and an\nappetite for filthy living. He hated life and life hated him. He was the\ncaptain of a slave ship and eventually became a slave himself. In due\ncourse, he escaped and was in a ship that hit an unmerciful storm and he ended\nup in the sea crying out \u201cLord Save me!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Lord saved him physically then saved him spiritually and\nmade him into a great gospel preacher and hymn writer! <\/p>\n\n\n\n
He preached for years and when he was well past his\n\u201cretirement\u201d age, he had to have an assistant stand in the pulpit with him on\nSundays. He was nearly blind and spoke in whispers, but nothing could keep him\nfrom preaching while he still had breath.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
One Sunday, while delivering his message he repeated the\nsentence: \u201cJesus Christ is precious.\u201d His helper whispered to him: \u201cBut you\nhave already said that twice.\u201d Newton turned to his helper and said loudly,\n\u201cYes, I\u2019ve said it twice, and I\u2019m going to say it again.\u201d The stones in the\nancient sanctuary fairly shook as the grand old preacher said again: \u201cJesus\nChrist is precious!\u201d <\/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 of\nevil working in my mind; every base corruption<\/p>\n\n\n\n
crawling in my heart; everything vile, sensual, and filthy\nrising up from its abominable deeps. Can I<\/p>\n\n\n\n
think that God can look down in love and mercy on such a\nwretch?”<\/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 morefit for God than Satan\nhimself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
“For when we were yet without strength in due time Christ\ndied for the ungodly!”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Romans 5:6<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Christ does not justify those who are naturally righteous, holy,\nand religious.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But He takes the sinner as he is, in all his filth and guilt;\nwashes him in the fountain opened<\/p>\n\n\n\n
for sin and uncleanness; and clothes the naked shivering wretch,\nwho 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 wretches that\ndeserve the damnation of hell; that<\/p>\n\n\n\n
the pure and spotless Jehovah should pity, save, and bless\nenemies and rebels, and make them<\/p>\n\n\n\n
endless partakers of His own glory; this indeed is a mystery,\nthe 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 sense of our\nvileness, the higher we rise in a<\/p>\n\n\n\n
knowledge of Christ. And the blacker we are in our own view, the\nmore lovely does Jesus<\/p>\n\n\n\n
appear!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
JCPhilpott<\/p>\n\n\n\n
| \n Lord, I feel my own utter helplessness!<\/strong> \n \n (J. C. Philpot, “Sending Out of Light and Truth” 1841) \n \n “O send out thy light\n and thy truth: let them lead me; \n let them bring me unto\n thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles” Psalm 43:3 \n \n The Christian is often dissatisfied with his state. He \n is well aware of the shallowness of his attainments \n in the divine life, as well as of the ignorance and the \n blindness that are in him. He cannot perceive the path \n of life. He sees and feels so powerfully the workings \n of sin and corruption, that he often staggers, and is \n perplexed in his mind. \n \n And therefore, laboring under the feeling of . . . \n his own shortcomings for the past<\/strong>, \n his helplessness for the present<\/strong>, \n and his ignorance for the future<\/strong>, \n he wants to go forward wholly and solely \n in the strength of the Lord, to be . . . \n led, \n guided, \n directed, \n kept, \n not by his own<\/strong> wisdom and power\u2014but by \n the supernatural entrance of light and truth \n into his soul. \n \n When thus harassed and perplexed, he will at times \n and seasons, as his heart is made soft, cry out with \n fervency and importunity, as a beggar that will not \n take a denial, “O send forth Your light and Your truth, \n let them guide me!” As though he would say, “Lord,<\/strong> \n I feel my own utter helplessness!<\/strong> I\n know I must go \n astray, if You do not condescend to guide me. I have \n been betrayed a thousand times when I have trusted \n my own heart<\/strong>. I have been entangled in my base \n lusts<\/strong>. I have been puffed up by presumption<\/strong>. I have \n been carried away by hypocrisy <\/strong>and pride<\/strong>. I have\n been \n drawn aside into the world<\/strong>. I have never taken a single \n step aright when left to myself. And therefore feeling \n how unable I am to guide myself a single step of the \n way, I come unto You, and ask You to send forth Your \n light and Your truth, that they may guide me, for I \n am utterly unable to lead myself<\/strong>.” \n \n The child of God\u2014feeling his own ignorance, darkness, \n blindness, and sinfulness\u2014causes him to moan, and \n sigh, and cry unto God\u2014that he might be . . . \n led <\/strong>every step, \n kept <\/strong>every moment, \n guided <\/strong>every inch. \n \n “O send out thy light\n and thy truth: let them lead me; \n let them bring me unto\n thy holy hill, and to thy tabernacles” Psalm 43:3\n <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n WHEREUNTO HE CALLED\nYOU BY OUR GOSPEL <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2 Thessalonians 2:13-14<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n In\nthese two verses, God the Holy Spirit tells us that the only reason any of us\nare found worshipping our great and glorious, almighty, sovereign God, rather\nthan kneeling before a stump, the only reason we are not deceived with the rest\nof the world by the idolatrous, free-will, works religion of antichrist is the\nfact that we have been chosen by God the Father, redeemed by God the Son, and\ncalled by God the Holy Spirit. Let us ever ascribe the whole of this great work\nto God alone and praise God alone for it! “Not unto us, O LORD,\nnot unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s\nsake.”<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Pay\nclose attention to the Words of Holy Scripture. Too often we read the Word of\nGod like we would read a newspaper, just scanning for the highlights. In the\nBook of God the highlights are in the details. Here the Apostle Paul, writing\nby divine inspiration, tells us five things which go right to the heart of the\ngospel. The things here described are words of assurance given to every sinner\nwho trusts Christ alone for redemption, righteousness, grace, salvation, and\neternal life. If you have been granted faith in the Son of God, here are five\nthings of which you ought to be assured by the Word of God. As surely as you\ntrust Christ, these five things are true of you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cGod\nhath from the beginning CHOSEN YOU!\u201d <\/em><\/strong>What\nblessed, good news that is! The holy Lord God chose you as the object of his\nspecial love and distinguishing grace in Christ before the worlds were made by\nhis hand. Indeed, the reason why he made this world is that he chose you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God\nchose \u201cyou TO SALVATION\u201d! <\/em><\/strong>The\nLord did not choose you to have a chance at salvation. He did not choose you to\nreceive an offer of salvation. He did not choose you to hear about salvation.\nHe chose you to save you! Election is for salvation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God\nchose \u201cyou to salvation THROUGH\nSANCTIFICATION OF THE SPIRIT\u201d. <\/em><\/strong>The\nLord God chose to save his elect in Christ, upon the grounds of justice\nsatisfied, by the irresistible grace and power of the Holy Spirit, in\nregeneration. He has saved you, not only by imputing righteousness to you in\njustification, but also by imparting righteousness to you in regeneration. The\nHoly Spirit, in regeneration, sanctifies God\u2019s elect by giving us a new, holy\nnature, a nature created in the image of Christ in true holiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God\nchose \u201cyou to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit AND BELIEF OF THE TRUTH\u201d. <\/em><\/strong>Faith\nin Christ, who is the Truth, is as essential to salvation as election,\nredemption, and regeneration. And this faith in Christ, who is the\nTruth, is inseparably connected with believing the truth of God revealed about\nChrist in the gospel<\/strong>. We believed on the Son of God only \u201cafter\nthat we heard the Word of truth, THE GOSPEL of our salvation\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n God\nchose \u201cyou to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief\nof the truth, WHEREUNTO HE CALLED YOU BY OUR GOSPEL.\u201d<\/em><\/strong> It\nis absolutely essential that we understand the teaching of Holy Scripture in\nthis regard. Chosen, redeemed sinners are brought into the blessed experience\nof God\u2019s grace in salvation only by the effectual call of the Holy Spirit,\nwhich comes only through the preaching of the gospel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n “I\nAm The Truth” <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n John 14:6<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n When I was nineteen years old Bro.\nHenry Mahan came to my hometown for a series of meetings, and I went to hear\nhim. I remember distinctly some of the messages he preached. How blessed of God\nthey were to my heart! I also remember a statement he made, which seemed to me\nto be out of order and confusing. He said, to the congregation, “You don’t\narrive at Christ through doctrine. You arrive at doctrine through Christ.”\nAs a young theology student, with what I proudly assumed was a head full of\nknowledge, I thought, “That is not right. A man has to know doctrinal\ntruth before he can know Christ.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Today, I understand the meaning of\nmy dear friend’s words. And I see their importance. “YOU DON’T ARRIVE AT\nCHRIST THROUGH DOCTRINE. YOU ARRIVE AT DOCTRINE THROUGH CHRIST.” That is\nexactly what the Lord Jesus said when he declared, “I am the way, the\ntruth, and the life.” Christ is the Way to God. Without him there is no\ngoing. Christ is the Truth of God. Without him there is no knowing. And Christ\nis the Life. Without him there is no living. If you would go to God, you must\nbe in THE WAY, which is Christ. If you would have eternal life, the gift of\nGod, you must have THE LIFE, which is Christ. If you would know the truth of\nGod, you must know THE TRUTH, which is Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n All divine truth, all spiritual\nknowledge, comes to men only by divine revelation. And God reveals his truth to\nfaith. We know and understand the truth of God only by believing the testimony\nof God (Heb. 11:3). And that begins with believing the Son of God. “He\nthat hath received his testimony hath set to his seal that God is true”\n(John 3:33).<\/p>\n\n\n\n True gospel knowledge, true\ndoctrinal knowledge is not the result of diligent study and precise reasoning.\nIt is not a position we come to by following a path of precise, intelligent\nlogic. Rather it is that which we know and understand through faith, by\nreading, hearing and believing the Word of God. Believing Christ, we be-\nlieve everything revealed in and by Christ, no matter how inconsistent his\nrevelation may be to man’s per- verted reason and experience. And\nbelieving, we under- stand. Knowledge is given to those who believe.\n“You don’t arrive at Christ through doctrine. You arrive at doctrine\nthrough Christ,”who declares,”I AM THE TRUTH.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don Fortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n |