Daily Archives: November 7, 2009
FAITH—A RESOURCE OF POWER
Genesis 7:6-16a 6 Noah was six hundred years old when the floodwaters were on the earth. 7 So Noah, with his sons, his wife, and his sons’ wives, went into the ark because of the waters of the flood. 8 Of clean animals, of animals that are unclean, of birds, and of everything that creeps on the earth, 9 two by two they went into the ark to Noah, male and female, as God had commanded Noah. 10 And it came to pass after seven days that the waters of the flood were on the earth. 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep were broken up, and the windows of heaven were opened. 12 And the rain was on the earth forty days and forty nights. 13 On the very same day Noah and Noah’s sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah’s wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark— 14 they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. 15 And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. 16 So those that entered, male and female of all flesh,
Noah’s power to live triumphantly among his unbelieving contemporaries was a triumph of grace and faith. No man could be expected to find in himself the resources to live as he lived. He had the power to take decisive action as his society drifted toward self-destruction. He exhibited the power to make incisive declarations to those who did not heed what he was saying. He kept on saying it nevertheless. He had the power to show an alternative attitude to that which prevailed among the people of his day. He walked a lonely road. Any dead fish can float downstream—it takes a live one to swim against it.” Noah through his faith had resources of strength to be a live one!
Like Noah, the world we live in and the people around us have drifted toward a life of self-destruction. As society tries to convince us more and more that Christians need to drift to the center—with so many following suite. It is only our faith in God that will give us the power to resist—the power to stand up, stand alone and walk away. Faith gives us the power to step into the unknown. ~KP
FAITH—A READINESS TO OBEY
Genesis 7:2-5 2 You shall take with you seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; 3 also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For after seven more days I will cause it to rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and I will destroy from the face of the earth all living things that I have made.” 5 And Noah did according to all that the LORD commanded him.
James reminds us that “faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:17).
By faith Noah set to work building a mammoth ark. He gathered “seven each of every clean animal, a male and his female; two each of animals that are unclean, a male and his female; also seven each of birds of the air, male and female, to keep the species alive on the face of all the earth”. If the flood was universal then the task of gathering animals from all parts of the globe is mindboggling, not to mention feeding and cleaning up after them! One ancient writer solved this problem by asserting that they all hibernated so they only needed feeding once! If the flood was local then the task was not as great but was still immense. Neither was Noah overwhelmed with the responsibility thrust upon him. He took that in his stride of faith too. And he was clearly not at all deterred by the apparent incongruity of what he was doing. In other words, his faith worked!
Our ability to be ready to obey God is a major part of our faith. If we are not willing to do the things required for obedience, we have stalled out in our faith. Much like a person who buys a new car—yet refused to make the payments. Like Noah, faith requires us to work with seemingly overwhelming responsibilities—yet our faith in God gives us the ability to do the unthinkable. ~KP
Visible Churches Warned Pt.3
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches’ (Revelation 3:22).
I ask my readers to observe that in every epistle the Lord Jesus makes a promise to the man that overcomes. Seven times over Jesus gives to the churches exceeding great and precious promises. Each is different, and each full of strong consolation: but each is addressed to the overcoming Christian. It is always ‘he that overcometh’, or ‘to him that overcometh’. I ask you to take notice of this.
Every professing Christian is the soldier of Christ. He is bound by his baptism to fight Christ’s battle against sin, the world and the devil. The man that does not do this breaks his vow. He is a spiritual defaulter. He does not fulfill the engagements made for him. The man that does not do this is practically renouncing his Christianity. The very fact that he belongs to a church, attends a Christian place of worship, and calls himself a Christian, is a public declaration that he desires to be reckoned a soldier of Jesus Christ.
Armor is provided for the professing Christian, if he will only use it. ‘Take unto you’, says Paul to the Ephesians, ‘the whole armor of God’. ‘Stand, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness’. ‘Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God’. ‘Above all, take the shield of faith’ (Ephesians 6:13–17). And, not least, the professing Christian has the best of leaders: Jesus the Captain of salvation, through whom he may be more than conqueror; the best of provisions, the bread and water of life, and the best of pay promised to him, an eternal weight of glory.
All these are ancient things. I will not be drawn off from my subject, in order to dwell on them now.
The one point I want to impress upon your soul just now is this, that the true believer is not only a soldier, but a victorious soldier. He not only professes to fight on Christ’s side against sin, the world and the devil, but he does actually fight and overcome.
Now this is one grand distinguishing mark of true Christians. Other men, perhaps, like to be numbered in the ranks of Christ’s army. Other men may have lazy wishes and languid desires after the crown of glory. But it is the true Christian alone who does the work of a soldier. He alone fairly meets the enemies of his soul, really fights with them and in that fight overcomes them.
One great lesson I want men to learn from these seven epistles is this, that if you would prove you are born again and going to heaven, you must be a victorious soldier of Christ. If you would make it clear that you have any title to Christ’s precious promises, you must fight the good fight in Christ’s cause, and in that fight you must conquer.
Victory is the only satisfactory evidence that you have a saving religion. You like good sermons perhaps You respect the Bible, and read it occasionally. You say your prayers night and morning. You have family prayers, and give to religious societies. I thank God for this. It is all very good. But how goes the battle? How does the great conflict go on all this time? Are you overcoming the love of the world and the fear of man? Are you overcoming the passions, tempers and lusts of your own heart? Are you resisting the devil and making him flee from you? How is it in this matter? You must either rule or serve sin and the devil and the world. There is no middle course. You must either conquer or be lost.
I know well it is a hard battle that you have to fight, and I want you to know it, too. You must fight the good fight of faith and endure hardships if you would lay hold of eternal life. You must make up your mind to a daily struggle if you would reach heaven. There may be short roads to heaven invented by man, but ancient Christianity, the good old way, is the way of the cross, the way of conflict. Sin, the world and the devil must be actually mortified, resisted and overcome.
This is the road that saints of old have trodden in, and left their record on high.
a. When Moses refused the pleasures of sin in Egypt, and chose affliction with the people of God, this was overcoming he overcame the love of pleasure.
b. When Micaiah refused to prophesy smooth things to king Ahab, though he knew he would be persecuted if he spoke the truth, this was overcoming he overcame the love of ease.
c. When Daniel refused to give up praying, though he knew the den of lions was prepared for him, this was overcoming he overcame the fear of death.
d. When Matthew rose from the receipt of custom at our Lord’s bidding, left all and followed Him, this was overcoming he overcame the love of money.
e. When Peter and John stood up boldly before the council and said, ‘We cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard,’ this was overcoming; they overcame the fear of man.
f. When Saul the Pharisee gave up all his prospects of preferment among the Jews, and preached that very Jesus whom he had once persecuted, this was overcoming he overcame the love of man’s praise.
The same kind of thing which these men did you must also do if you would be saved. They were men of like passions with yourself, and yet they overcame. They had as many trials as you can possibly have, and yet they overcame. They fought. They wrestled. They struggled. You must do the same.
What was the secret of their victory? Their faith. They believed on Jesus and, believing, were made strong. They believed on Jesus and, believing, were held up. In all their battles, they kept their eyes on Jesus, and He never left them nor forsook them. ‘They overcame by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony,’ and so may you (Revelation 12:11).
I set these words before you. I ask you to lay them to heart. Resolve, by the grace of God, to be an overcoming Christian.
I fear much for many professing Christians. I see no sign of fighting in them, much less of victory. They never strike one stroke on the side of Christ. They are at peace with His enemies. They have no quarrel with sin. I warn you, this is not Christianity. This is not the way to heaven.
I often fear much for those who hear the gospel regularly. I fear, lest you become so familiar with the sound of its doctrines, that insensibly you become dead to its power. I fear, lest your religion should sink down into a little vague talk about your own weakness and corruption, and a few sentimental expressions about Christ, while real practical fighting on Christ’s side is altogether neglected. Oh, beware of this state of mind. ‘Be doers of the word, and not hearers only’. No victory—no crown! Fight and overcome! (James 1:22).
Young men and women, and specially those who have been brought up in religious families, I fear much for you. I fear lest you get a habit of giving way to every temptation. I fear lest you become afraid of saying, ‘No!’ to the world and the devil and, when sinners entice you, think it least trouble to consent. Beware, I do beseech you, of giving way. Every concession will make you weaker. Go into the world resolved to fight Christ’s battle, and fight your way on.
Believers in the Lord Jesus, of every church and rank in life, I feel much for you. I know your course is hard. I know it is a sore battle you have to fight. I know you are often tempted to say, ‘It is of no use,’ and to lay down your arms altogether.
Cheer up, dear brothers and sisters. Take comfort, I entreat you. Look at the bright side of your position. Be encouraged to fight on. The time is short. The Lord is at hand. The night is far spent. Millions as weak as you have fought the same fight. Not one of all those millions has been finally led captive by Satan. Mighty are your enemies, but the Captain of your salvation is mightier still. His arm, His grace and His Spirit shall hold you up. Cheer up. Be not cast down.
What though you lose a battle or two? You shall not lose all. What though you faint sometimes? You shall not be quite cast down. What though you fall seven times? You shall not be destroyed. Watch against sin, and sin shall not have dominion over you. Resist the devil, and he shall flee from you. Come out boldly from the world, and the world shall be obliged to let you go. You shall find yourselves in the end more than conquerors; you shall ‘overcome’.
Considering the relevancy of this whole subject, let us look into how this whole doctrine touches upon us in practical terms:
1. For one thing, let me warn all who are living only for the world, to take heed what they are doing. You are enemies to Christ, though you may not know it. He marks your ways, though you turn your back on Him and refuse to give Him your hearts. He is observing your daily life, and reading your daily ways. There will yet be a resurrection of all your thoughts, words and actions. You may forget them, but God does not. You may be careless about them, but they are carefully marked down in the book of remembrance. Oh, worldly man, think of this! Tremble, tremble and repent.
2. Let me warn all formalists and self–righteous people to take heed that they are not deceived. You fancy you will go to heaven because you go regularly to church. You indulge an expectation of eternal life, because you are always at the Lord’s table, and are never missing in your pew. But where is your repentance? Where is your faith? Where are your evidences of a new heart? Where is the work of the Spirit? Where are your evidences of regeneration? Oh, formal Christian, consider these questions! Tremble, tremble and repent.
3. Let me warn all careless members of churches to beware lest they trifle their souls into hell. You live on year after year as if there was no battle to be fought with sin, the world and the devil. You pass through life a smiling, laughing, gentleman–like, or lady–like person, and behave as if there was no devil, no heaven and no hell. Oh, careless churchman, or careless Dissenter, careless Episcopalian, careless Presbyterian, careless Independent, careless Baptist, awake to see eternal realities in their true light! Awake and put on the armor of God! Awake and fight hard for life! Tremble, tremble and repent.
4. Let me warn everyone who wants to be saved, not to be content with the world’s standard of religion. Surely no man with his eyes open can fail to see that the Christianity of the New Testament is something far higher and deeper than the Christianity of most professing Christians. That formal, easy–going, do–little thing, which most people call ‘religion’, is evidently not the religion of the Lord Jesus. The things that He praises in these seven epistles are not praised by the world. The things that He blames are not things in which the world sees any harm. Oh, if you would follow Christ, be not content with the world’s Christianity! Tremble, tremble and repent.
5. Lastly, let me warn everyone who professes to be a believer in the Lord Jesus, not to be content with a little religion.
Of all sights in the church of Christ, I know none more painful to my own eyes, than a Christian contented and satisfied with a little grace, a little repentance, a little faith, a little knowledge, a little charity and a little holiness. I do beseech and entreat every believing soul that reads this tract not to be that kind of man. If you have any desires after usefulness, if you have any wishes to promote your Lord’s glory, if you have any longings after much inward peace, be not content with a little religion.
Let us rather seek, every year we live, to make more spiritual progress than we have done, to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus; to grow in humility and self–acquaintance; to grow in spirituality and heavenly–mindedness; to grow in conformity to the image of our Lord.
Let us beware of leaving our first love like Ephesus, of becoming lukewarm like Laodicea, of tolerating false practices like Pergamos, of tampering with false doctrine like Thyatira, of becoming half dead, ready to die, Iike Sardis.
Let us rather covet the best gifts. Let us aim at eminent holiness Let us endeavor to be like Smyrna and Philadelphia. Let us hold fast what we have already, and continually seek to have more. Let us labor to be unmistakable Christians. Let it not be our distinctive character, that we are men of science, or men of literary attainments, or men of the world, or men of pleasure, or men of business, but ‘men of God’. Let us so live that all may see that to us the things of God are the first things, and the glory of God the first aim in our lives, to follow Christ our grand object in time present, to be with Christ our grand desire in time to come.
Let us live in this way, and we shall be happy. Let us live in this way, and we shall do good to the world. Let us live in this way, and we shall leave good evidence behind us when we are buried. Let us live in this way, and the Spirit’s word to the churches will not have been spoken to us in vain.
Visible Churches Warned Pt.2
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches’ (Revelation 3:22).
I ask my readers to observe that in every epistle the Lord Jesus says, ‘I know thy works’. That repeated expression is very striking. It is not for nothing that we read these words seven times over.
To one church the Lord Jesus says, ‘I know thy labour and patience’, to another, ‘thy tribulation and poverty’, to a third, ‘thy charity and service and faith’. But to all He uses the words I now dwell on ‘I know thy works’. It is not ‘I know thy profession, thy desires, thy resolutions, thy wishes’, but ‘thy works’. ‘I know thy works’.
The works of a professing Christian are of great importance. They cannot save your soul. They cannot justify you. They cannot wipe out your sins. They cannot deliver you from the wrath of God. But it does not follow because they cannot save you, that they are of no importance. Take heed and beware of such a notion. The man who thinks so is fearfully deceived.
I often think I could willingly die for the doctrine of justification by faith without the deeds of the law. But I must earnestly contend, as a general principle, that a man’s works are the evidence of a man’s religion. If you call yourself a Christian, you must show it in your daily ways and daily behavior. Call to mind that the faith of Abraham and of Rahab was proved by their works (James 2:21–25). Remember it avails you and me nothing to profess we know God, if in works we deny Him (Titus 1:16). Remember the words of the Lord Jesus: ‘Every tree is known by its own fruit’ (Luke 6:44).
But whatever the works of a professing Christian may be, Jesus says, ‘I know them!’ His eyes are in every place, beholding the evil and the good (Proverbs 15:3). You never did an action, however private, but Jesus saw it. You never spoke a word, no, not even in a whisper, but Jesus heard it. You never wrote a letter, even to your dearest friend, but Jesus read it. You never thought a thought, however secret, but Jesus was familiar with it. His eyes are as a flaming fire. The darkness is no darkness with Him. All things are open and manifest before Him. He says to every one, ‘I know thy works’.
a. The Lord Jesus knows the works of all impenitent and unbelieving souls, and will one day punish them. They are not forgotten in heaven, though they may be upon earth. When the great white throne is set, and the books are opened, the wicked dead will be judged ‘according to their works’.
b. The Lord Jesus knows the works of His own people, and weighs them. ‘By Him actions are weighed’ (1 Samuel 2:3). He knows the why and the wherefore of the deeds of all believers. He sees their motives in every step they take. He discerns how much is done for His sake, and how much is done for the sake of praise. Alas, not a few things are done by believers, which seem very good to you and me, but are rated very low by Christ.
c. The Lord Jesus knows the works of all His own people, and will one day reward them. He never overlooks a kind word, or a kind deed done in His name. He will own the least fruit of faith, and declare it before the world in the day of His appearing. If you love the Lord Jesus, and follow Him, you may be sure your work and labor shall not be in vain in the Lord. The works of those that die in the Lord ‘shall follow them’ (Revelation 14:13). They shall not go before them, nor yet by their side, but they shall follow them, and be owned in the day of Christ’s appearing. The parable of the pounds shall be made good. ‘Every man shall receive his own reward, according to his own labour’ (1 Corinthians 3:8). The world knows you not, for it knows not your Master. But Jesus sees and knows all. ‘I know thy works’.
Think what a solemn warning there is here to all worldly and hypocritical professors of religion. Let all such read, mark and digest these words. Jesus says to you, ‘I know thy works’. You may deceive me or any other minister; it is easy to do so. You may receive the bread and wine from my hands, and yet be cleaving to iniquity in your hearts. You may sit under the pulpit of an evangelical preacher, week after week, and hear his words with a serious face, but believe them not. But, remember this, you cannot deceive Christ. He who discovered the deadness of Sardis and the lukewarmness of Laodicea, sees you through and through, and will expose you at the last day, except you repent.
Oh, believe me, hypocrisy is a losing game. It will never answer to seem one thing and be another; to have the name of Christian, and not the reality. Be sure, if your conscience smites you and condemns you in this matter, be sure your sin will find you out. The eye that saw Achan steal the golden wedge and hide it is upon you. The book that recorded the deeds of Gehazi and Ananias and Sapphira is recording your ways. Jesus mercifully sends you a word of warning today. He says, ‘I know thy works’.
But think also, what encouragement there is here for every honest and true–hearted believer. To you also, Jesus says, ‘I know thy works’. You see no beauty in any action that you do. All seems imperfect, blemished and defiled. You are often sick at heart of your own shortcomings. You often feel that your whole life is one great arrear, and that every day is either a blank or a blot. But know now, that Jesus can see some beauty in everything that you do from a conscientious desire to please Him. His eye can discern excellence in the least thing which is a fruit of His own Spirit. He can pick out the grains of gold from amid the dross of your performances, and sift the wheat from amid the chaff in all your doings. Your tears are all put into His bottle. Your endeavors to do good to others, however feeble, are written in His book of remembrance. The least cup of cold water given in His name shall not lose its reward. He does not forget your work and labor of love, however little the world may regard it.
It is very wonderful, but so it is. Jesus loves to honor the work of His Spirit in His people, and to pass over their frailties. He dwells on the faith of Rahab, but not on her lie. He commends His apostles for continuing with Him in His temptations, and passes over their ignorance and want of faith (Luke 22:28). ‘Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear Him’ (Psalms 103:13). And as a father finds a pleasure in the least acts of his children, of which a stranger knows nothing, so I suppose the Lord finds a pleasure in our poor feeble efforts to serve Him.
I can well understand the righteous in the day of judgment saying, ‘Lord, when saw we Thee an hungred, and fed Thee, or thirsty, and gave Thee drink? When saw we Thee a stranger, and took Thee in? Or naked, and clothed Thee? Or when saw we Thee sick or in prison, and came unto Thee?’ (Matthew 25:37–39). It may well seem incredible and impossible that they can have done anything worth naming in the great day! Yet so it is. Let all believers take the comfort of it. The Lord says, ‘I know thy works.’ It ought to humble you. But it ought not to make you afraid.
