We Are Indebted to God

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, repentance, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Father Leave a comment

There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. – Luke 7:41,42

They had nothing at home or abroad that they could dispose of. Things had come to such a pass with them that they had neither stock nor money, nor anything in prospect which they could draw upon—they were brought to the last extremity—reduced to absolute beggary. Meanwhile, their great creditor was pressing them for settlement…We are all, by nature and by practice, plunged in debt—and this is the way in which we came to be so—hear it and mark it well! As God‘s creatures we, from the very first, owed to Him the debt of obedience. We were bound to obey our Maker! It is He that made us, not we, ourselves, and we were, therefore, bound reverently to recognize our Creator, affectionately to worship Him and dutifully to serve Him. This is an obligation so natural and reasonable that nobody can dispute it! …But, dear Friends, we have not done His will! We have left undone the things we ought to have done, and we have done the things we ought not to have done—and so we have come, in a second sense, into His debt! We now stand liable to penalty, yes, we are already condemned!

I remember when I felt the burden of sin and though, but a child, my heart failed me for anguish, and I was brought very low. Sin was no bugbear to scare me—it was a grim reality—as a lion, it tore me in pieces. And now, today, I know the reality of pardon—it is no fancy, no dream—for my inmost soul feels its power! I know that my sins are forgiven and I rejoice because of that belief, but I should never have known the real truth of this happy condition if I had not felt the oppressive load of sin upon the conscience. I could not afford to play at conversion, for sin was an awful fact in my soul. Our heavenly Father does not wish us to use lightness in a matter concerning which Jesus shed His blood—and so He brings us into trouble of soul—and afterwards into a vivid realization of Free Grace.

Bankrupt Debtors Discharged by C. H. Spurgeon

Without Money and Without Price

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You who are King of kings and Lord of lords, we worship You. Before Jehovah’s awful throne we bow with sacred joy.

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The Riches of Redeeming Love!

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And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. – Luke 7:42

There is forgiveness with God! Why should it not be so, since Jesus is exalted on high to give repentance and remission of sins? He delights in mercy! He can cast all our sins into the depths of the sea that they may not be mentioned against us any more forever! While we are compelled to go together two‐thirds of the road, what a pity it would be that we should be divided in the third portion of it! That first two‐thirds of the road is a very muddy, boggy piece of way and we sorrowfully wade along it in company—all in debt and all of us unable to pay! But that next part of the road is well‐made, smooth and good for travelers—and it leads into the gardens of happiness! Oh that we may traverse it and find the free pardon of God! Oh, for free remission for all of us without exception! Why not? May God send it of His great mercy at this good hour!

As long as a man can scrape the meal barrel and find a little in it; as long as he can hold up the oil cruse and it drips, if it only yields a drop in a week, he will never come to Christ for heavenly provision! As long as he has one rusty counterfeit farthing hidden away in the corner of his till, the sinner will never accept the riches of redeeming love! But when it is all up over him—when he has nothing in the parlor, nothing in the kitchen, nothing in the cellar—when there is neither stick nor stock left, then he prizes Jesus and His salvation! We break to make! We are emptied to be filled! When we cannot give, God can forgive! If any of you have any goodness of your own, you will perish forever! If you have anything you can trust to of your own, you will be lost as sure as you are living men and women!

Bankrupt Debtors Discharged by C. H. Spurgeon

Bankrupt Debtors Forgiven

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Holy Spirit Leave a comment

“There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both.” – Luke 7:41,42

There are distinctions among unconverted men, very great distinctions. One of them, a young man, came to Jesus, and he had so many fine traits in his character that the Lord, looking upon him, loved him. But when the Pharisees gathered about Him, our Lord looked round upon them with indignation! The soil, which was none of it yet sown with the good Seed, yet varied greatly, and some of it was honest and good ground before the power of the Holy Spirit came to it. Sinners differ from each other.

But I call your particular notice to the fact that though there was one point of difference in the two debtors, there were three points of similarity, for they were both debtors—and so all men have sinned, be it little or be it much! And, secondly, they were both alike, bankrupt, neither of them could meet his debt. The man who owed 50 pence could no more pay than he who owed 500 pence, so that they were both insolvent debtors. But what a mercy it is that they were alike in a third point, for, “when they had nothing to pay,” their creditor “frankly forgave them both”! Oh, my dear Hearers, we are all alike in the first two things! Oh that we might be, all of us, alike in this last point, that the Lord our God may grant to every one of us the free remission of sins according to the riches of His Grace through Christ Jesus!

Bankrupt Debtors Discharged by C. H. Spurgeon

What Did It Mean?

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Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. And behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom… – Matthew 27:50,51

The more you think of the death of the Son of God, the more will you be amazed at it. As much as a miracle excels a common fact, so does this wonder of wonders rise above all miracles of power. That the Divine Lord, even though veiled in mortal flesh, should condescend to be subject to the power of death so as to bow His head on the Cross and submit to be laid in the tomb is among mysteries the greatest. Yet the rending of the veil of the temple is not a miracle to be lightly passed over. It was made of “fine twined linen, with Cherubim of cunning work.” This gives the idea of a substantial fabric, a piece of lasting tapestry, which would have endured the severest strain. No human hands could have torn that sacred covering. And it could not have been divided in the midst by any accidental cause. Yet, strange to say on the instant when the holy Person of Jesus was rent by death, the great veil which concealed the holiest of all was “rent in two from the top to the bottom.” What did it mean?

Did not the miracle also mean that from that hour the whole system of types and shadows and ceremonies had come to an end? The ordinances of an earthly priesthood were rent with that veil. In token of the death of the ceremonial Law, the soul of it quit its sacred shrine and left its bodily tabernacle as a dead thing. The legal dispensation is over. The rent of the veil seemed to say— “Henceforth God dwells no longer in the thick darkness of the Holy of Holies and shines forth no longer from between the cherubim. The special enclosure is broken up and there is no inner sanctuary for the earthly high priest to enter—typical atonements and sacrifices are at an end.”

Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh… – Hebrews 10:19,20

The Rent Veil by C. H. Spurgeon

God’s Wise Way of Deliverance

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation, Sovereignty of God 3 Comments

And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up His spirit. – Matthew 27:50

…to whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering…Now when He had spoken these things, while they watched, He was taken up, and a cloud received Him out of their sight. – Acts 1:3,9

God’s way of delivering those who trust in Him is always the best way. If the Father had taken His Son down from the cross, what would have been the result? Redemption unaccomplished, salvation work undone, and Jesus returning with His life-work unfinished. This would not have been deliverance, but defeat. It was much better for our Lord Jesus to die. Now He has paid the ransom for His elect, and having accomplished the great purpose of atonement, He has slept a while in the heart of the earth and now has ascended to His throne in the endless glories of heaven. It was deliverance of the fullest kind; for from the pangs of His death has come the joy of life to His redeemed. It is not God’s will that every mountain should be levelled, but that we should be the stronger for climbing the Hill Difficulty. God will deliver; He must deliver, but He will do it in our cases, as in the case of our Lord, in the best possible manner.

He will deliver His chosen: the taunt of the adversary shall not cause our God to forget or forego His people. I know that the Lord will no more fail me than any other of His servants. He will not leave a faithful witness to His adversaries. “I know that my Avenger liveth, and that He shall stand at the latter day upon the earth: and though after my skin worms destroy this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God: whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.” Is this also your confidence? Then do not sit down in sorrow, and act as though you despaired. Quit yourselves like men. Be strong, fear not. Cast yourselves on the love that never changeth and never fainteth, and the Lord will answer all the revilings of Rabshakeh, and the blusterings of Sennacherib. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

Let Him Deliver Him Now

Sharing in Jesus’ Triumph

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“He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him; Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him!” – Psalm 22:8

Some of God’s servants have been bitterly persecuted, but God has delivered them. Daniel came forth from the lions’ den, and the three holy children from the midst of the burning fiery furnace. These are only one or two out of millions who trusted God and He delivered them. Out of all manner of ill the Lord delivered them. God brought this crowd of witnesses through all their trials unto His throne, where they rest with Jesus, and share the triumph of their Master at this very day.

But God’s ways of deliverance are His own. He does not deliver according to the translation put upon “deliverance” by the ribald throng. He does not deliver according to the interpretation put upon “deliverance” by our shrinking flesh and blood. He delivers, but it is in His own way. Let me remark that, if God delivers you and me in the same way as He delivered His own Son, we can have no cause of complaint. If the deliverance which He vouchsafed to us is of the same kind as that which He vouchsafed to the Only Begotten, we may well be content. Well, what kind of a deliverance was that? Did the Father tear up the cross from the earth? Did He proceed to draw out the nails from the sacred hands and feet of His dear Son? Did He set Him down upon that “green hill far away, beyond the city wall,” and place in His hand a sword of fire with which to smite His adversaries? Did He bid the earth open and swallow up all His foes? No; nothing of the kind. Jehovah did not interpose to spare His Son a single pang; but He let Him die. He let Him be taken as a dead man down from the cross and laid in a tomb. Jesus went through with His suffering to the bitter end. O brothers and sisters, this may be God’s way of delivering us. We have trusted in God that He would deliver us; and His rendering of His promise is that He will enable us to go through with it; we shall suffer to the last, and triumph in so doing. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

Let Him Deliver Him Now