If the truths of God are obscured, the perfections of God are\nobscured, and God is represented in a false light; and consequently I am led to\nentertain false ideas of God, and to set up a false god in my own imagination,\nwhich will float and vary just as I do. “Thou thoughtest that I was\naltogether such an one as thyself; but I will reprove thee, and set them in\norder before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you\nin pieces, and there be none to deliver you,” Psalm 50:21, 22. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
False prophets lead to false\ndoctrines, false doctrines lead to false gods; and their false gods lead them\nto false devils, and devils led them to hell. And so it is now; for, if you\nobscure, or cast a false light upon any essential truth, you obscure an\nattribute of God that shines in that truth; for all his perfections shine in\nhis word; and hence it is that he has “magnified his word above all his\nname,” Psalm 138:2. And, by obscuring God’s truths, or setting them forth\nin a false light, they have obscured the tremendous and illustrious attributes\nof the MOST HIGH AND ETERNAL GOD. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
William Huntington<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I am\nTHE way<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nLord did not say, follow me, and I will show you the way. He said I AM the way.\nThe way to where? The eternal glory and presence of God in Heaven! The One who\nis himself holy, harmless, undefiled and separate from sinners, was made higher\nthan the heavens. Heb. 7:26. He alone is qualified for heaven. We don\u2019t follow\nhim there. We must enter that holy place, \u201cIn Him\u201d. If we are to be found in\nheaven, we must be found in Christ.\n \n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Greg\nElmquist<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLook\nunto Me and be ye saved\u2026\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Is.\n45:22<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t look for love, or\npeace, or comfort, or hope, or assurance. All those things can be counterfeited\nwith cheap substitutes. Look for Christ. With Him will come all that we want\nand all that we need. \n \n \n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Greg Elmquist<\/p>\n\n\n\n In\nChrist there is no further perfection to attain. In Christ, a sinner is\nmade to be everything that God requires him to be. In Christ, wisdom is\ncomplete, righteousness is complete, sanctification is complete, and redemption\nis complete. To know Him is to know it all, and to have Him is to have it\nall. In Christ, we are as perfectly complete as we will ever be (I\nCorinthians 1:30<\/em>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Gabe\nStalnaker<\/p>\n\n\n\n It\nwould greatly comfort all God’s people, if they would rely more upon the\npromise, covenant, and oath of God, and less on their own frames of mind and\nheart. Our feelings vary with a thousand influences; but the covenant of God is\nsure and unchangeable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n~William Plumer<\/p>\n\n\n\n Who\ncan express fully the blessings of these words: \u201cIn Christ?\u201d To be \u201cin Christ\u201d\nmeans to be chosen \u201cin Him before the foundation of the world.\u201d To be \u201cin\nChrist\u201d means that there is now \u201cno condemnation,\u201d accepted \u201cin the Beloved,\u201d\nand \u201ccomplete in Him.\u201d It means that \u201cas He is, so are we in this world.\u201d\n(Romans 8:1, Ephesians 1:6, Colossians 2:10 and 1 John 4:17.) It means\neverything to be \u201cin\nChrist.\u201d \n <\/p>\n\n\n\n David\nPledger<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nLaw Reveals Sin<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n If I\nmeasure a crooked wall with a perfect plumb line, it reveals the crookedness of\nthe wall, but does not remove it. If I take out a bright light on a dark night,\nit reveals to me all the pitfalls and hindrances, but it does not remove them.\nNow the plumb line and the lamp do not create the evils which they point out.\nThey neither create nor remove, but simply reveal. So it is with the law. It\ndoes not create the evil in man\u2019s heart; neither does it remove it. But with\nunerring accuracy, it reveals it. \u201cWhat shall we say then? Is the law sin? Let\nit not be! Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust,\nexcept the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.\u201d Rom. 7:7.\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Scott\nRichardson<\/p>\n\n\n\n The\nRiches of His Grace<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIn\nwhom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins,\naccording to the riches of his grace;\u201d \u2013 Ephesians 1:7 <\/p>\n\n\n\n Is\nanything on earth of greater value than the riches of God’s grace? When\nmy life here has come down to only a few minutes more, what could be worth\nmore to me at that time than the riches of His grace? And when I leave\nthis world and stand before the holy Lord God, how precious will be the\nriches of His grace then? Sinners are redeemed by the precious blood of\nChrist, according to the riches of His grace. Sinners enjoy the blessed\nreality of the forgiveness of all their sins according to the riches of His\ngrace. And when this sinner enters heaven itself and looks into the face\nof Jesus Christ, it will be according to the riches of His grace! How can all\nthe riches of this world compare to that? \n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Larry\nCriss<\/p>\n\n\n\n How\nfaint the best praise! How wandering the best prayer! How selfish\nthe best gift! When we feel that we are nearest to God, how far off we\nare! When we feel that we are most like God, how unlike God we are! \nWhat did the apostle say? \u201cWhen I am weak then am I\nstrong.\u201d <\/em>Our strength is always Christ, never in anything we are\nor\ndo. \n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Henry\nMahan<\/p>\n\n\n\n Peace, peace!<\/strong> “My\nPeace I Give Unto You” <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n John\n14:27<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Here\nis a peace that transcends all others, a peace that “passeth\nunderstanding.” It is the peace which the man Christ Jesus enjoyed\nperfectly and fully when he lived upon this earth. And it is a peace which he\nfreely bestows upon his believing people in this world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n WHAT\nIS THIS PEACE?<\/p>\n\n\n\n (1.) It is the peace of a\nconscience that never felt a shadow of a sense of guilt; the peace of a man who\nknew no sin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n (2.) It is the peace of a man\nwho was always perfectly submissive and obedient to the will of God, one who\ncould always truthfully say, “I delight to do thy will, O my God!” <\/p>\n\n\n\n (3.) It is the peace of a man\nwho was assured of both his sonship and his immutable acceptance with God the\nFather, the peace of one who heard God declare, “This is my beloved Son,\nin whom I am well pleased.” <\/p>\n\n\n\n (4.) It is the peace of one\nwho was assured of everlasting life and eternal glory, while living in this\nworld. And <\/p>\n\n\n\n (5.) it is a peace that could\nnever be destroyed, or taken away. It was tempted in the wilderness, but not\ndestroyed.It was subjected to poverty, pain, persecution, sorrow, and\nbereavement, but not broken. It was tried in the garden of Gethsemane,\nbut not taken away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This\nis the peace of the man Christ Jesus. Ands this is Christ’s gift to his own.\nWhat a priceless treasure! And it is the earnest of an even greater peace to\ncome. Great as this peace is, it cannot even be compared\nto the peace that our Saviour now has in heaven, the peace that he holds in\nstore for his own elect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n HOW\nCAN I HAVE THIS PEACE? It is a peace that only Christ can give. But it is a\npeace he has promised to give to all who come to him in faith\n(Matt. 11:28). Horatius Bonar wrote, “The result of our `receiving\nHim,’ or `believing on his name,’ is to bring us into that same state of\nconscience and that same kind of peace which He who knew no sin possessed. Our\nvessels are indeed small, and can contain little. His was large and could\ncontain much. But the kind, or quality of that peace which fills them\nis the same. He has made peace by the blood of His cross. Indeed, He is our\npeace. And as soon as we come to know this and take Him as our peace, we are\nmade partakers not merely of peace, but of that which He here calls, `my\npeace!'” What a blessed gift of grace!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\nFortner<\/p>\n\n\n\n Engraved!<\/strong> A SIGHT OF SELF<\/strong> He may talk like an angel, and\nlive like a devil. “Then\nWere The Disciples Glad” <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n John\n20:20<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n The\ndisciples were a band of poor men and women, disowned and disinherited by their\nfamilies, maligned by their neighbors, and persecuted for their faith. They had\nnothing of this world’s comforts. They met in secrecy, behind closed doors, for\nfear of the Jews. Yet, something made them glad. When the Lord Jesus revealed\nhimself to them, spoke peace to them, and showed them his hands and his side,\n“Then were the disciples glad, when they saw the LORD.” When they saw\ntheir redemption accomplished by Christ and realized the love and grace it\nrevealed, they were glad. What makes you glad?<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\nFortner<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" If the truths of God are obscured, the perfections of God are obscured, and God is represented in a false light; and consequently I am led to entertain false ideas of God, and to set up a false god in my own imagination, which will float and vary just as I do. “Thou thoughtest that […]<\/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-6873","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\/6873","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=6873"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6874,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6873\/revisions\/6874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.shoalhavengospelchurch.org.au\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
\n
\n(J. C. Philpot, from his ‘Reviews’)
\n
\nFor they have healed the hurt of the daughter of my people\nslightly,
\nsaying, Peace, peace<\/strong>; when there is<\/em> no\npeace. Jeremiah 8:11
\n
\nHow Jeremiah testifies against those prophets
\nwho prophesy smooth things<\/strong>\u2014who prophesy
\ndeceits\u2014who know not the way of the Lord,
\nnor have walked in His counsel.
\n
\nThere is no greater mark of false ministers given
\nin the word of truth, than healing the wound of God’s
\npeople slightly, saying, “Peace, peace!<\/strong>” when there
\nis no peace.
\n
\nIf we carefully read the book of Jeremiah, we shall
\nsee that the great sin and the chief deception of all
\nthe false prophets who sprang up in scores during the
\nperiod of his ministry, was to build up the people in a
\nfalse hope\u2014to assure them that they had no reason
\nto fear the judgments of God\u2014that the Lord would
\nnot execute against them what He threatened. They
\ntherefore hardened the people in sin and disobedience,
\nled them to trifle with and despise the judgments of God,
\nand built them up in a false confidence that, because they
\nwere the people of God by external profession, they were
\nHis also by regenerating grace.
\n
\nIf our eyes were fully open to see the effect of the false
\nteaching of our day, we would see it equally dishonouring
\nto God\u2014and pregnant with equally awful consequences<\/strong>.
\n
\nWe would see hundreds of dead professors built up
\nwithout a foundation of repentance <\/strong>toward God. We
\nwould see sin <\/strong>made a little matter of\u2014the awful anger
\nof the Almighty against it, and His dreadful indignation
\nagainst transgressors passed by as a thing of little
\nimportance. We would see the strait and narrow path
\nwidened out in all directions\u2014and the distinguishing
\ntruths of the gospel beaten down and amalgamated
\nwith the grossest errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n(by John MacDuff)
\n
\n“Behold! I have graven thee upon the palms of My hands!”\n Isaiah 49:16<\/strong>
\n
\n“Behold,” says Immutable One, “I have engraved <\/strong>you\non the palms of My hands!”
\nNot on the mountains, as colossal as they are \u2014 for they shall depart;
\non no page of nature’s vast volume \u2014 for the last fires shall scorch them;
\nnot on blazing sun \u2014 for he shall grow dim with age;
\nnot on glorious heavens \u2014 for they shall be folded together as a scroll.
\nBut on . . .
\n the hands of might and love<\/strong>,
\n the hands which made the worlds,
\n the hands which were transfixed on Calvary,
\n<\/strong> \u2014 I have engraved <\/strong>you there!
\n
\nNo corroding power can efface the writing, or obliterate your name!
\n
\nYou are Mine now \u2014 and Mine forever!
\n
\n“<\/strong>I give unto them eternal life;\nand they shall never perish, neither shall any man<\/em> pluck them\nout of my hand.<\/strong>“<\/em><\/strong> John\n10:28<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nfrom Spurgeon’s, “A SIGHT OF SELF”<\/em>
\n
\n“all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…” Isaiah 64:6
\n
\nThere is sin in our prayers- they need to be prayed over again.
\nThere is filth in the very tears that we shed in penitence.
\nThere is sin in our very holiness.
\nThere is unbelief in our faith.
\nThere is hatred in our very love.
\nThere is the ‘slime of the serpent’ upon
\nthe fairest flower of our garden.
\n
\nI am sure when the soul is convinced of sin it will look upon
\n‘self-righteousness’ as the most detestable lie that ever was
\nforged by hell; and it will regard all ‘self-confidence’ as the
\nmost frightful delusion and deception into which the soul can fall.
\n
\nTrust in our ‘doings’, brethren? If our ‘best works’ are bad,
\nand so bad that they are as filthy rags, what must our ‘bad works’ be?
\n
\n“all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags…” Isaiah 64:6<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n(Philpot, “Abounding of Love in Knowledge and Experience”)
\n
\nThere is “a knowledge of the things of God” which a
\nman may possess without a personal experience of
\nthe new birth–without any divine operation upon his
\nsoul whatever, or any participation of the grace of God.
\n
\n>From reading the scriptures and hearing the Gospel
\npreached, many attain to a carnal, intellectual,
\nbarren head knowledge of the truth;<\/strong> who, as to
\nany experimental, vital, saving acquaintance<\/strong>
\nwith it, are still in the very gall of bitterness and
\nthe bond of iniquity.
\n
\nA man may have the ‘knowledge of an apostle<\/strong>‘
\nand the ‘worldliness of a Demas<\/strong>‘.
\n
\nHe may be clear in head<\/strong>, and rotten in heart<\/strong>.
\n
\nHe may talk like an angel, and live like a devil.<\/strong>
\n
\nHe may understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
\nand be nothing but a hypocrite and an impostor.
\n
\nIn our day such characters abound in the churches.
\n
\nBut distinct from this “head knowledge”, as distinct
\nfrom it as heaven from hell, there is a most blessed
\n“spiritual knowledge” of the things of God, with
\nwhich the people of God are favoured.
\n
\n“Then He opened their understanding<\/strong> that they might
\n understand the Scriptures.” Luke 24:45<\/p>\n\n\n\n