Attributes of God

Come, Enter into His Kingdom

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

And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. – Mark 12:34

This man came so near to the kingdom: did he ever enter it? We do not know.

There was in after years another scribe, a rabbi-you will recollect his name-who said, “I consent unto the law, that it is good; but I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind, and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.” You see the process of thought. It is a very simple one. This scribe sees the law of God to be a spiritual law, demanding the obedience of his heart, his understanding, his soul, and his strength. If he had thought awhile, he would, as a candid man, have said, “I have not kept this law. What is more, I cannot keep it. If I try to keep it, I find a something within me against which I struggle, but which, nevertheless, brings me into captivity to another law-a law of selfishness, a law of sin.” Then, as a man anxious to be right, he would have said, “How can I be delivered? Oh, that I might be set free to keep the law of God! I cannot abide in this bondage. I ought to keep this law, I shall never be happy till I do love God with all my heart, for He ought to be so loved, and I perceive that there can be no heaven to a heart which does not love God intensely, for this is one of the essentials of peace and rest. How can I get at it?” In such a condition as that, if he had heard the sweet invitation of our Lord, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest,” would he not have leaped at the sound? Do you not see the simple doorway for such a man as that to become a Christian? He had come so far that surely, he should come a little farther. Let us trust that he did. At any rate, if any of you have come so far, may God’s sweet Spirit lead you to take those other steps, and to enter into the kingdom, submitting to the sweet sovereignty of the Prince Immanuel, whose scepter is of silver, and whose servitude is an honor and a delight to all His subjects. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1517.cfm

A Sweet Sign of Dawn

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

And to love Him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, and to love his neighbour as himself, is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. – Mark 12:33

It was clear to (the scribe) that there was but one God, and that man was made on purpose to be one and undivided in His service. He perceived that man should love, honor, and serve that one God with all his heart, with all his understanding, with all his soul, and with all his strength. Do you know that, dear friend? Come now, if you are not a saved man, I will ask you-do you recognize this to be true, that it is your bounden duty to serve your God with all your heart and understanding, and soul, and strength? Do you admit this? If you do, and if you are an honest man, you are not far from the kingdom of God, because honest men earnestly endeavor to pay their debts, and when they find that they cannot, they are distressed. If you are in distress of mind because you cannot meet your obligations to God, then you are not far from the kingdom. I rejoice in your discovery of shortcoming, failure, and inability, for these lie near that hearty penitence which is the sister of saving faith, and the sure herald of joy and peace. When a man feels his own inability to do as he ought, when he trembles before the law which, nevertheless, he honors and admits to be just and right, then he is not far from self-renunciation, and from accepting that matchless righteousness which Jesus Christ has come to bring. A consciousness of the supremacy of the sovereignty of God over us, so that he ought to have every thought, every breath, every pulse, is the work of the Spirit, who thereby convinces us of sin, and it is a sweet sign of dawn in the once darkened soul. Admit that God ought to be heartily loved, and you are not far from loving Him; feel that you are guilty for not loving, and the seeds of love are in your heart. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1517.cfm

The Only Acceptable Worship

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

And to love Him with all the heart…is more than all whole burnt offerings and sacrifices. – Mark 12:33

This scribe knew the superiority of an inward religion over that which is external, for he declares, “To love Him with all thy heart is more than whole burnt offerings and sacrifices.” Thousands at this hour are publicly teaching us that the principal point of religion is that you shall be duly and properly baptized and confirmed and shall reverently and properly receive the sacrament…Books have been written about how the service is to be performed, and how it is not to be performed, and a great noise has been made about a piece of bread which was brought before a court of law. I believe a very great dignitary has been so weak as to certify that this baked dough has been “reverently consumed”: and yet this is not a heathen country, nor are we worshippers of fetishes! Great importance is attached to the style of garment, which should be worn by priests on Holy Monday, or Good Friday. Colours vary according to the almanack, and the age of the moon. I must confess I need all my gravity when I think of copes, and girdles, and surplices, and gowns being matters of serious discussion. Surely these poor dupes of superstition are far, very far, from the kingdom of God, which is not meat and drink, nor clothing, nor posture, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. Their whole line of thought is alien to the mind of God, who is a spirit, and must be worshipped in spirit and in truth. In the whole business of exhibitional religion what is there to content the soul? What can there be in it to please God? If our God were a royal puppet I could conceive of His being pleased with ceremonial; or if He were like the heathens’ idiotic deities, I could understand that mummeries, masquerades, postures, processions, robes, and round-robins might please Him; but seeing that He is God, the only wise, be it far from me to dream of such a thing…Only spiritual worship is worship, and only as the heart adores does God accept the homage which is offered to Him. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1517.cfm

Candour with Enlightenment

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises Leave a comment

And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. – Mark 12:34

To be ignorant of the law of God is to be far off from the kingdom; and to be ignorant of the gospel is also to be in a measure far off from the kingdom: but this man knew the law and knew it well. He had a spiritual appreciation of its range, meaning, and spirituality. Notice how he puts it: he puts it well. He says, “To love God with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and with all the strength, -this is the first commandment.” Here we see, first, that he mentions sincere love, in the words “to love God with all the heart.” God is to be loved, not in name, not with lip language, not with mere pretense, but with the heart. God requireth by His law the hearty obedience of His creatures. Next, the scribe puts it, “With all thy understanding “; that is, God deserves and demands the intelligent love of His creatures. He does not ask blind love of them: He desires them to know something of Him, and of His works, and of His claims upon them, so as to love Him because He deserves their affection. The understanding must justify and impel the affections. Then, he puts it, “with all thy soul “; that is, with the emotional nature. Love God with feeling-not coolly, but with the whole force of your feeling. Love Him with your soul, for soul love is the soul of love. And then he adds, “and with all thy strength “; that is to say, intensity is to be thrown into our love to God. We are to serve Him with our might and throw all our whole energy into His worship. Thus, he gives us, under four heads, a description of the kind of love which the law of God requires of us-sincere-“with all thy heart”; intelligent-“with all thy understanding”; emotional-“with all thy soul”; intense and energetic-“with all thy strength.” This the scribe knew, and it was most valuable knowledge…Give us candour, and let that candour be attended with enlightenment, and we are sure that the possessor of these things is not far from the kingdom of God. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1517.cfm

Good Ground

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation 1 Comment

And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, He said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. – Mark 12:34

The Savior called some men, “honest and good ground,” and they were such even before the seed of the Word fell upon them. Of course, even this natural openness and sincerity of character is God’s gift, but assuredly these are the people upon whom the heavenly work takes most effect. Your tricksters, shufflers, players, make-believers, and men without principle or heart, are seldom converted. I speak from wide observation. I have seen scores of blustering blasphemers, who were downright in their profanity, brought to Jesus’ feet, but I do not remember seeing a deceitful person brought there. Your deeply lying character-I will not say that it is beyond the power of grace to save him, but I will say this, it is the rarest thing under heaven for a man who has long been a liar ever to be converted. I will say nothing in the praise of human nature, nor give any reason for the absolutely free election of grace, but still, I notice that for the most part there is a sort of honest openness and freedom from trickery about those whom the Lord calls to Himself. I notice that characteristic in the first fishermen apostles, who were no doubt ignorant and weak, but they were as transparent as glass, and as free from guile as Nathanael. Even in their follies, and their sins, and their blunders they were always open-hearted, and so, in general, are those upon whom the Lord looks with an eye of love. Tricksters come in like Judas, but they go out again, for they are not of us. They experience no change from their association with godliness, or from their knowledge of truth, but would pick the purse of Christ Himself, and sell their Redeemer for pieces of silver. Far otherwise is it with a man of candid and thorough spirit, for he is glad to receive the gospel, and it soon displays its gracious power in him. We may say of the candid man as Christ did of this scribe, “Thou art not far from the kingdom of God.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1517.cfm

Believe God’s Everlasting Salvation for You

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For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith. – 1 John 5:4

The Lord God of Israel will never stain His glory, wherefore be ye confident that He who brought you out of Egypt will bring you into Canaan. “Ah” murmurs one, “I don’t believe that!” Then I am sorry for you; for “according to your faith be it unto you.” “I believe,” says one, “that men fall away and perish.” It will be an evil thing for you if it should be to you according to your faith. If you have grace enough to grasp the whole range of blessing which the covenant of God offers you, then the whole shall be yours by a covenant of salt. He that thinks he can be off and on with God, saved today and lost to-morrow, and then saved again has a comfortless creed to defend, and a world of absurdities to meet. You are born again. Suppose that you could lose the new life which comes by the new birth, what then? I have heard of people being born again, but could they be born again, and again, and again? According to the notion of some, certain persons are born again, and again, and again, and again, and again; I do not know how many times. There is nothing in Scripture to warrant such a strange idea. If you, my friend, will come and cast yourself on Christ, and take Him to be your Saviour once for all, He will save you now with an everlasting salvation. He saith, “The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.” Jesus Himself has said it, “I give unto My sheep eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand.” Believe for this with heroic faith. Believe for eternal salvation in Jesus Christ, who is able to work in you a lifelong escape from sin. According to your faith, so shall it be. Our sins and our fears hath He thrown into the sea. So be it. Hallelujah! Amen. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2188.cfm

God Will Be Faithful for His Name’s Sake

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

And Israel saw that great work which the LORD did upon the Egyptians: and the people feared the LORD, and believed the LORD, and his servant Moses. – Exodus 14:31

Do I hear some one say, “I fear that I shall never get out of my difficulties”? Yet you believe that the Lord has brought you out from the dominion of Satan? Tell me, has God brought you so far to let you perish? He has broken off the yoke of sin; He has given you a hope in Christ, and you are a changed man. Do you think that He would do all this for you, and then leave you? Come, my brother, has the Lord brought you out of Egypt, by the precious blood of the Lamb, that you should die in the wilderness? Do you believe that Jesus has redeemed you to let you be lost after all? …Do not doubt Him now, I pray you. Do not please the devil by distrusting your faithful God.

Suppose that the Israelites had been left to perish when Pharaoh said they were shut in, what then? What would the Lord have done for His great name? Would not the Egyptians have exulted over Israel’s God? A Scotch minister tells the story of an aged saint who, on her dying bed, said that her Saviour would never leave her to perish. “But suppose that He did not keep His promise, and you were to be lost?” She answered, “He would be a greater loser than I.” When asked what she meant, she answered, “It is true that I would lose my soul; but God would lose His honor and His glory if He were not true.” Brethren, if we have trusted in God, and have come out of the Egypt of the world through His grace, and have left all its sins behind us, if we were left to die in the wilderness, the Lord Jesus Christ would lose His glory as a Saviour, the divine Father would lose His name for immutable faithfulness, and the Holy Ghost would lose His honor for perseverance in completing every work which He undertakes. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2188.cfm