Character of Jesus

Unpurchaseable

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

Remember the words of Scripture,

Scarcely for a righteous man will one die; peradventure, for a good, a generous man, one might even dare to die; but God commendeth his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly. -Romans 5:7-8

He gave Himself. We cannot purchase the love of God. This highest expression of divine love, the gift of His own Son, was, in the nature of things, unpurchaseable. What could we have offered that God should come into this world, and be found in fashion as a man, and should die? Why, the works of all the angels in heaven put together could not have deserved one pang from Christ. If for ever the angels had continued their ceaseless songs, and if all men had remained faithful, and could have heaped up their pile of merit to add to that of the angels, and if all the creatures that ever were, or ever shall be, could each bring in their golden hemp of merit-yet could they ever deserve His cross? Could they deserve that the Son of God should hang bleeding and dying there? Impossible! It must be a gift, for it was utterly unpurchaseable; though all worlds were coined and minted, yet could they not have purchased a tear from the Redeemer; they were not worth it. It must be grace; it cannot be merit; He gave Himself.

And the gift is so thoroughly a gift that no prep of any kind was brought to bear upon the Saviour. There was no necessity that He should die, except the necessity of His loving us. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3513.cfm

He Gave Himself for Us

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

…the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave Himself for us… -Titus 2:13-14

Who is this that is spoken of? and the text gives the answer. It is “the great God and our Saviour, Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us.” We had offended God; the dignity of divine justice demanded that offenses against so good and just a law as that which God had promulgated should not be allowed to go unpunished. But the attribute of justice is not the only one in the heart of God. God is love, and is, therefore, full Of mercy. Yet, nevertheless, He never permits one quality of His Godhead to triumph over another. He could not be too merciful, and so become unjust; He would not permit mercy to put justice to an eclipse. The difficulty was solved thus: God Himself stooped from His loftiness and veiled His glory in a garb of our inferior clay. The Word-that same Word without whom was not anything made that was made-became flesh, and dwelt amongst us; and His apostles, His friends, and His enemies, beheld Him-the seed of the woman, but yet the Son of God, very God of very God, in all the majesty of deity, and yet man of the substance of His mother in all the weakness of our humanity, sin being the only thing which separated us from Him, He being without sin, and we being full of it. It is, then, God, who “gave Himself for us”; it is, then, man, who gave Himself for us. It is Jesus Christ, co-equal and co-eternal with the Father, who thought it not robbery to be equal with God; who made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Himself the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of sinful flesh, and, being found in fashion as a man, humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. It is Christ Jesus, the man, the God, “who gave Himself for us.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3513.cfm

The Soul is Precious

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

For you know that it was not with perishable things like silver or gold that you have been ransomed from the worthless way of life handed down to you by your ancestors -1Peter 1:18

You may tell how serious it is to lose the soul, from its intrinsic value. The soul is a thing worth ten thousand worlds; in fact, a thing which worlds on worlds heaped together, like sand upon the sea shore, could not buy. It is more precious than if the ocean had each drop of itself turned into a golden globe, for all that wealth could not buy a soul. Consider! The soul is made in the image of its Maker; “God made man,” it is said, “in His own image.” The soul is an everlasting thing like God; God has gifted it with immortality; and hence it is precious. To lose it, then, how fearful! Consider how precious a soul must be, when both God and the devil are after it. You never heard that the devil was after a kingdom, did you? No, he is not so foolish; he knows it would not be worth his winning; he is never after that; but he is always after souls. You never heard that God was seeking after a crown, did you! No, He thinketh little of dominions; but He is after souls every day; His Holy Spirit is seeking His children; and Christ came to save souls. Do you think that which hell craves for, and that which God seeks for, is not precious?

The soul is precious again, we know, by the price Christ paid for it. “Not with silver and gold,” but with His own flesh and blood did He redeem it. Ah! it must be precious, if He gave His heart’s core to purchase it. What must it be to lose your soul?..Oh! sirs, because the soul is capable of heaven, its loss is a dreadful and terrific thing. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0092.cfm

Seek to Know Him

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, promises, salvation, The Father 3 Comments

And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. _ John 17:3

Should a man despise the wine of which he has never sipped. It may be sweeter than he dreams. Oh! taste and see that the Lord is good, and so sure as ever you taste, you will see His goodness. I will venture to say, again, that there are many who make light of the gospel, simply through ignorance; and if that is so, I am somewhat in hopes that when they are a little enlightened by sitting under the Word, the Lord may be pleased graciously to bring them to Himself; and then I know they will never make light of Christ again. Oh! do not be ignorant, “for that the soul be without knowledge is not good.” Seek to know Him whom to know aright is life eternal; and when you know Him you will never make light of Him.

In America, it is said, they worship the almighty dollar; I believe that in London many men worship the almighty sovereign; they have the greatest possible respect for an almighty bank note; that is the god which many men are always adoring. The prayer-book they carry so religiously in their hands is their cash-book…. it is the height of folly, the very climax of absurdity, excelling all that the fool, with his cap and bells, ever did, to be living just to gather up the pelf of this world, and not for things to come. Worldliness is a demon that hath wrung the neck of many souls; God grant that we may not perish through our worldliness!! C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0098.cfm

Chaff and Tares

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, salvation 3 Comments

Then saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. – Matthew 22:8

We have some in our churches that are not so good as chaff, for they do not seem to have been near the wheat at all; they are nothing better than tares. They have come into our churches, just as they would into a trade-association, because they think it will improve their business. It gives respectability to their name to take the sacrament; it makes them esteemed to have been baptized, or to be a member of a Christian church; and so they come in by shoals after the loaves and fishes, but not after Jesus Christ. Ah! hypocrite, thou makest light of Christ if thou thinkest that He is a stalkinghorse to get thee wealth. If thou dreamest that thou art to saddle and bridle Christ, and ride to wealth upon Him, thou makest a grand mistake, for He was never meant to carry men anywhere except to heaven. If you suppose that religion was intended to gild your homes, to carpet your floors, and line your purses, you have greatly erred. It was intended to be profitable to the soul; and he who thinks to use religion to his own personal advantage thinks lightly of Christ: and at the last day this crime shall be laid to his charge-that he has made light of it; and the King shall send His armies to cut him in pieces, among those who have despised His Majesty, and would not obey His laws.

Oh! dear friends, if you once knew what a blessed Master Christ is, if you once knew what a blessed thing the gospel is, if you could once be brought to believe what a blessed God our God is, if you could only have one hour’s enjoyment such as the Christian experiences, if you could only have one promise applied to your heart, you would never make light of the gospel again. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0098.cfm

Slighters of Jesus

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, salvation 3 Comments

And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. – Matthew 22:12.13

I have seen some men weep beneath a powerful sermon; I have marked the tears chase each other-tears, blessed tell-tales of emotions within. I have sometimes said to myself, it is marvelous to see these people weep under some telling word from God, which is alarming them, as if Sinai itself were thundering in their ears. But there is something more marvelous than men’s weeping under the word. It is the fact that they soon, too soon, wipe all their tears away. But ah! my dear hearer, recollect that if thou hearest of these things and shakest off a solemn impression, thou art, in doing that, slighting God and making light of His truth; and take heed how you do that, lest your own garments be red with the blood of your soul, and it be said, “Oh, Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself.”

He who gives Christ a little of his affections, makes light of Christ; for Christ will have the whole heart or none at all. He who gives Christ a portion, and the world a portion, despises Christ, for he seems to think that Christ does not deserve to have the whole. And inasmuch as he says that, or thinks that, he hath mean and unholy thoughts of Christ. Oh! carnal man, thou who art half religious, and half profane; thou who art sometimes serious, but as often frivolous; sometimes apparently pious, but yet so often unholy, thou makest light of Christ…The self-righteous man who sets himself up as a partner with Christ in the matter of salvation, notwithstanding all his trumpery good works, is such a ringleader among despisers, that I would gibbet him in the very middle of them, and bid all like him tremble, lest they also be found slighters of Jesus.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0098.cfm

Making Light of the King’s Only Son

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, promises, The Father 3 Comments

But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth: and he sent forth his armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city. – Matthew 22:7

Ah! sinner, when thou makest light of the gospel, thou makest light of Christ-of that Christ before whom glorious cherubs bow themselves-of that Christ at whose feet the high archangel thinks it happiness to cast his crown; thou makest light of Him with whose praise the vault of heaven rings; thou makest light of Him whom God makes much of, for He has called Him, “God over all, blessed for ever.” Ah! it is a solemn thing to make light of Christ. Despise a prince, and ye shall have little honour at the king’s hand for it; but despise the Son of God, and the Father will have vengeance on you for His slighted Son. Oh! my dear friends, it seems to me to be a sin, not unpardonable, I know, but still most heinous, that men should ever despise my blessed Lord Jesus Christ and treat Him with cruel scorn. Make light of Thee, sweet Jesus! Oh! when I see Thee with Thy shirt of gore, wrestling in Gethsemane, I bow myself o’er Thee, and I say, “O, Redeemer, bleeding for sin, can any sinner make light of Thee?” When I behold Him with a river of blood rolling down His shoulder, beneath the cursed flagellation of Pilate’s whip, I ask, “Can a sinner make light of such a Saviour as this?” And when I see Him yonder, covered with His blood, nailed to a tree, expiring in torture, shrieking, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani,” I ask myself, “Can any make light of this?” Ay, if they do, then, indeed, it were sin enough to damn them, if they have no other sin-that they have lightly esteemed the Prince of Peace, who is glorious and altogether lovely. Oh! my friend, if thou makest light of Christ, thou hast insulted the only One who can save thee-the only One who can bear thee across the Jordan-the only One who can unbolt the gates of heaven and give thee welcome. O, sinner, think of thy sin, if thou art making light of Him, for then art thou making light of the King’s only Son.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0098.cfm