Christian Life

Live and Do This

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

Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven. – Matthew 5:16

It is a very great  fault in any ministry if the doctrine of justification by faith alone be not most clearly taught. I will go further, and add, that it is not only a great fault, but a fatal one; for souls will never find their way to heaven by a ministry that is indistinct upon the most fundamental of gospel truths. We are justified by faith, and not by the works of the law. The merit by which a soul enters heaven is not its own; it is the merit of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…it is a dangerous state of things if doctrine is made to drive out precept, and faith is held up as making holiness a superfluity. Sanctification must not be forgotten or overlaid by justification. We must teach plainly that the faith which saves the soul is not a dead faith, but a faith which operates with purifying effect upon our entire nature, and produces in us fruits of righteousness to the praise and glory of God. It is not by personal holiness that a man shall enter heaven, but yet without holiness shall no man see the Lord. It is not by good works that we are justified, but if a man shall continue to live an ungodly life, his faith will not justify him; for it is not the faith of God’s elect; since that faith is wrought by the Holy Spirit, and conforms men to the image of Christ. We must learn to place the precepts in their right position. They are not the base of the column, but they are the capital of it. Precepts are not given to us as a way to obtain life, but as the way in which to exhibit life. The commands of Christ are not upon the legal tenor of “this do and live,” but upon the gospel system of “live and do this.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1029.cfm

Complete in the Beloved

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises 7 Comments

There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. Romans 8:1

Dear brethren, you and I, if we are believers in Christ, are this day completely pardoned. There is no sin in God’s book against us. We are wholly and completely justified. The righteousness of Jesus Christ covers us from head to foot, and we stand before God as if we had never sinned. Now let no man rob you of this reward. Do not be tempted by anything that is said to doubt the completeness of a believer in Christ. Hold this, and, as you hold it, enjoy it. Do not let the man,  yourself, whom you have most to fear, beguile you. Even though conscience should upbraid you, and you should have many grave reasons for doubt, as you imagine, yet if you believe in Jesus, stand to it- “There is, therefore, now no condemnation to me, for I am in Christ Jesus; he that believeth on Him is not condemned; I have believed, and I am not condemned, neither will He permit condemnation to be thundered against me, for Christ has borne my sin for me, and I am clear in Him. Let no man beguile you of the reward of feeling that you are complete in Christ. Not only are you pardoned and safe in Christ, but you are accepted at this moment, in the Beloved. Your acceptance with God does not rest upon anything in you. You are accepted because you are in Christ, accepted for Christ’s sake. Now sometimes you will get robbed of this reward if you listen to the voice which says, “Why, there is sin in you still; your prayers are imperfect; your actions are stained.” Yes, but let no man beguile you of this conviction that, sinner as you are, you are still accepted in Christ Jesus. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3466.cfm

Walk in Holy Confidence

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

Offer the sacrifices of righteousness, and put your trust in the LORD. -Psalm 4:5

If you put your trust in Jesus Christ, there are some who will say it is presumption. Let them say it is presumption. “Wisdom is justified of all her children,” and so shall faith be. If you take the promise of God and rest upon it, there will be some who will say that you are hare-brained fanatics. Let them say it. They that trust in Him shall never be confounded. The result will honour your faith. You have but to wait a little while, and, perhaps, they that now censure you will have to hold up their hands in astonishment, and say with you, “What hath God wrought?” Your confidence in Christ, especially, my dear young friend, I trust does not depend upon the smile of your relatives. If it did, then their frown might crush it. Walk with your Saviour in the lowly walk of holy confidence, and let not your faith rest in man, but in the smile of God… Men will always give as bad a reason as they can for a good man’s actions. It seems to be innate in human nature never to give a man credit for being right if they can help it, and often tender minds have been greatly wounded when they have been misrepresented, and their actions have been imputed to sinister and selfish motives, when they have really desired to serve Christ. But do not let your heart be broken about that. You will appear before the judgment-seat of Christ: do not care about these petty judgment-seats of men. Go on with your Master’s work dauntlessly and fearlessly. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3466.cfm

Beware the Words of Men

Sherry Christian Life, promises 4 Comments

Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary (false) humility -Colossians 2:18

The Apostle gives us this warning, “Let no man beguile you of your reward,” reminding us that these persons are very likely to beguile us. They will beguile us by their character. Have I not often heard young people say of such and such a preacher who preaches error, “But he is so good a man.” That is nothing to the point. “Though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” If the life of the man should be blameless as the life of Christ, yet if he preach to you other than the gospel of Jesus Christ, take no heed of him; he weareth but the sheep’s clothing, and is a wolf after all. Some will plead, “But such and such a man is so eloquent”. Ah! brethren, may the day never come when your faith shall stand in the words of men. What is a ready orator, after all, that he should convince your hearts? Are there not ready orators caught any day for everything? Men speak, speak fluently, and speak well in the cause of evil, and there are some that can speak much more fluently and more eloquently for evil than any of our poor tongues are ever likely to do for the right. But words, words, words, flowers of rhetoric, oratory-are these the things that saved you? Are ye so foolish that having begun in the spirit by being convinced of your sins, having begun by being led simply to Christ, and putting your trust in Him-are you now to be led astray by these poetic utterances and flowery periods of men? God forbid! Let nothing of this kind beguile you. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3466.cfm

Stand Fast to the Old Truths

Sherry Christian Life, Sovereignty of God 3 Comments

Thy counsels of old are faithfulness and truth. -Isaiah 25:1

There is a certain class of persons who think that a sermon must be a good one when they cannot understand it, and who are always impressed with a man whose words are long; and if his sentences are involved they feel, poor souls, that because they do not know what he is talking about, there is no doubt that he is a very wise and learned man; and after a while when he does propound something that they can catch at, though it may be quite contrary to what they have learned at their mother’s knee or from their father’s Bible, yet they are ready to be led off by it. There are many men nowadays who seem to spend their time in nothing else but in spinning new theories, and inventing new systems, gutting the gospel taking the very soul and bowels out of it, and leaving there nothing but the mere skin and outward bones. The life and marrow of the gospel is being taken away by their learning, by their philosophies, by their refinements, by their bringing everything down to the test of this wonderfully enlightened nineteenth century to which we are all, I suppose, bound to defer. But a voice comes to us, “let no man beguile you of your reward.” Stand fast to the old truths; they will outlast all these philosophies. Stand fast to the old way of living; it will outlast all the inventions of men. Stand fast by Christ, for you want no other object of worship but Himself. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3466.cfm

Step by Step to False Worship

Sherry Christian Life, repentance, Sovereignty of God 2 Comments

However, the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands -Acts 7:48

One will say to you, “The place in which you worship-is it not very dear to you? That seat where you have been accustomed to sit and listen, is it not dear?”; and your natural instincts will say, “Yes. ” Then it will go a little farther. “That place is holy; it ought never to be used for anything but worship ” Then a little farther it will be, “Oh! that is the house of God,” and you will come to believe that, contrary to the words which you know are given to you of the Holy Ghost, that God dwells not in temples made with hands; that is to say, in these buildings, and you will get by degrees to have a worship of places, and a worship of days, and a worship of bread, and a worship of wine. And then it will be said to you, “Your minister, has he not often cheered you? Well then, you should reverence him; call him ‘Reverend.'” Go a little farther, and you will call him “Father”; yet a little farther, and he will be your confessor; get a little farther and he will be your infallible Pope. It is all step by step until it is done. The first step seems to be very harmless indeed. Indeed, it is a kind of voluntary humility. You look as if you were humbling yourselves, and were paying reverence to these things for God’s sake, whereas the object is to get you to pay reverence to them, instead of to God…

Recollect, you professors, you lose the reward if you lose the road to the reward…Oh! may we not be beguiled, then, so as to miss the reward of heaven at the last! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3466.cfm

Be Warned and Alert

Sherry Christian Life 5 Comments

Let no one cheat you of your reward, taking delight in false humility and worship of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, vainly puffed up by his fleshly mind -Colossians 2:18

In Paul’s day there were some who took off the attention of the Christian from the worship of God to the worship of angels. “Angels,” said they, “these are holy beings; they keep watch over you; you should speak of them with great respect”; and then when they grew bolder, they said, “You should ask their protection”; and then after a little while they said, “You should worship them; you should make them intermediate intercessors”; and so, step by step, they went on and established an old heresy which lasted for many years in the Christian church, and which is not dead even now, and thus the worship of angels crept in.

And nowadays you will meet with men who will say, “That bread upon the Table-why, it represents the body of Jesus Christ to you when you come to the Lord’s Supper; therefore, you ought to treat that bread with great respect.” By and bye they will get a little bolder, and then they say, “As it represents Christ, you may worship it, pay it respect as if it were Christ.” By and bye it will come to this, that you must have a napkin under your chin, lest you should drop a crumb; or it will be very wicked if a drop of the sacred wine should cling to your moustache when you drink; and there will be the directions which are given in some of the papers coming out from the High Church party-absurdities which are only worthy of the nursery-about the way in which the holy bread is to be eaten, and the holy wine is to be drunk-bringing in idolatry, sheer, clear idolatry, under the presence of improving upon the too bare simplicity of the worship of Christ. Have a care of the very first step, I pray you. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3466.cfm