Christian Life

The Holiness of Christians

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

What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost [which is] in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s. – 1Corinthians 6:19-20

Paul, who above all others, speaks most positively of salvation by grace, and is most clear upon the fact that salvation is not by the works of the law, is at the same time most intensely earnest for the holiness of Christians, and most zealously denounces those who would say, “Let us do evil, that good may come.” In this particular instance he sets the sin of fornication in the light of the Holy Spirit; he holds up, as it were, the seven-branched candlestick before it, and lets us see what a filthy thing it is. He tells us that the body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, and therefore ought not to be profaned; he declares that bodily unchastity is a sacrilegious desecration of our manhood, a violation of the sacred shrine wherein the Spirit takes up its dwelling-place; and then, as if this were not enough, he seizes the sin and drags it to the foot of the cross, and there nails it hand and foot, that it may die as a criminal; for these are his words: “Ye are not your own: for ye are bought with a price:” the price being the blood of Jesus. He finds no sharper weapon, no keener instrument of destruction than this. The redemption wrought on Calvary by the death of Jesus must be the death of this sin, and of all other sins, wherever the Spirit of God uses it as His sword of execution. Brethren and sisters, it is no slight thing to be holy. A man must not say, “I have faith,” and then fall into the sins of an unbeliever; for, after all, our outer life is the test of our inner life; and if the outer life be not purified, rest assured the heart is not changed. That faith which does not bring forth the fruit of holiness is the faith of devils. The devils believe and tremble. Let us never be content with a faith which can live in hell, but rise to that which will save us—the faith of God’s elect, which purifies the soul, casting down the power of evil, and setting up the throne of Jesus Christ, the throne of holiness within the spirit. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1004.cfm

Purchased with His Redeeming Blood

Sherry Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation Leave a comment

For ye are bought with a price. – 1 Corinthians 16:20

That the blood of Christ was shed to buy our souls from death and hell is a wonder of compassion which fills angels with amazement, and it ought to overwhelm us with adoring love whenever we think of it, glance our eye over the recording pages, or even utter the word “redemption.” What meant this purchasing us with blood? It signified pain. Have any of you lately been racked with pain? Have you suffered acutely? Ah! then at such times you know to some degree what the price was which the Savior paid. His bodily pains were great, hands and feet nailed to the wood, and the iron breaking through the tenderest nerves. His soul-pains were greater still, His heart was melted like wax, He was very heavy, His heart was broken with reproach, He was deserted of God and left beneath the black thunder-clouds of divine wrath, His soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. It was pain that bought you. We speak of the drops of blood, but we must not confine our thoughts to the crimson life-floods which distilled from the Savior’s veins; we must think of the pangs which He endured, which were the equivalent for what we ought to have suffered, what we must have suffered had we endured the punishment of our guilt for ever in the flames of hell. But pain alone could not have redeemed us; it was by death that the Savior paid the ransom. Death is a word of horror to the ungodly. The righteous hath hope in his death; but as Christ’s death was the substitute for the death of the ungodly, He was made a curse for us, and the presence of God was denied Him. His death was attended with unusual darkness; He cried, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” O think ye earnestly on this. The Ever-living died to redeem us; the Only Begotten bowed His head in agony and was laid in the grave that we might be saved. Ye are bought then “with a price”—a price incalculable, stupendous, infinite, and this is the plea which the apostle uses to urge upon us that we should “be holiness to the Lord.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1004.cfm

Ye Are Bought with a Price

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

“Ye are not your own: for ye are bought with a price: therefore, glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”- 1 Corinthians 6:19-20

 “Ye are bought with a price.” Paul might, if his object were to prove that we are not our own, have said: “Ye did not make yourselves.” Creation may well furnish motives for obedience to the great Lawgiver. He might also have said, “Ye do not preserve yourselves: it is God who keeps you in life; you would die if He withdrew His power.” The preservation of divine providence might furnish abundant arguments for holiness. Surely, He who feeds, nourishes, and upholds our life should have our service. But He prefers, for reasons known to Himself, which it would not be hard to guess, to plead the tenderer theme, redemption. The most potent plea for sanctity is not “Ye were made,” or, “Ye are nourished,” but “Ye are bought.” This the apostle selects as a convincing proof of our duty, and as a means to make that duty our delight. And truly, beloved, it is so. If we have indeed experienced the power of redemption we fully admit that it is so. Look ye back to the day when ye were bought, when ye were bondslaves to your sins, when ye were under the just sentence of divine justice, when it was inevitable that God should punish your transgressions; remember how the Son of God became your substitute, how He bared His back to the lash that should have fallen upon you, and laid His soul beneath the sword which should have quenched its fury in your blood. You were redeemed then, redeemed from the punishment that was due to you, redeemed from the wrath of God, redeemed unto Christ to be His for ever. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1004.cfm

The Hunger and Thirst Which are Blessed

Sherry Christian Life Leave a comment

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

Sermon Text

That Man is Hopeful

Sherry Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, repentance, salvation, The Holy Spirit 3 Comments

Beginning at Jerusalem. – Luke 24:47

And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment; of sin, because they do not believe in Me… – John 16:9

Begin, dear friend, where you may expect opposition. That is a strange thing to advice, but I recommend it because the Savior advised it. If (the disciples) began at Jerusalem, they would awaken a ferocious opposition. But nothing is much better for the gospel than opposition. A man comes into the Tabernacle tonight, and as he goes away he says, “Yes, I was pleased and satisfied.” In that man’s case I have failed. But another man keeps biting his tongue, for he cannot endure the preaching. He is very angry. Something in the doctrine does not suit him, and he cries, “As long as I live I will never come here again.” That man is hopeful. He begins to think. The hook has taken hold of him. Give us time, and we will have that fish. It is no ill omen when a man gets angry with the gospel. It is bad enough, but it is infinitely better than that horrible lethargy into which men fall when they do not think. Some are not good enough even to oppose the gospel of Jesus Christ. Be hopeful of the man who will not let you speak to him, he is one that you must approach again. And if when he does let you speak to him, he seems as if he would spit on you, be grateful for it. He feels your words. You are touching him on a sore place. You will have him yet. When he swears that he does not believe a word of what you say, do not believe a word of what he says, for often the man who openly objects secretly believes. Just as boys whistle when they go through a churchyard in order to keep their courage up, so many a blasphemer is profane in order to silence his conscience. When he feels the hook, like the fish, the man will drag away from it. Give him line. Let him go. The hook will hold, and in due time you will have him. Do not despair. Do not think it a horrible thing that he should oppose you. You should rather be grateful for it, and go to God and cry that He will give you that soul for your hire. Begin courageously where you may expect opposition. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

Click to access chs1729.pdf

A Precious Jewel

Sherry Christian Life, promises Leave a comment

…beginning at Jerusalem. – Luke 24:47

It is hard work, dear friends, to preach to certain people. They have been preached to so long, like the people at Jerusalem. They know all about the gospel. It is hard to tell them anything fresh, and yet they have felt nothing, but remain wedded to their sins. The Jerusalem people had been taught in vain for centuries, and yet Christ’s disciples were to speak to them first. We must not pass the gospel-hardened, we must labor for the conversion of those who have enjoyed privileges but have neglected them, those who have had impressions and have crushed them out, those who seem now as if they had sealed their own death warrants and will never be saved. Do not hesitate to go to them. The Lord has already done much. It may be that He has laid the fire, and you are to strike the match and set it all alight. Many people have a love to the gospel, a love to the house of God, a love to God’s people, and yet they have no saving faith. What a pity! Do not hesitate to address them…The Savior’s disciples were to begin where the prophets had prophesied, and had been put to death, where sinners had rejected God’s voice times out of mind. Therefore do not pass by your fellow seat holders. Perhaps you say, “Sir, I have spoken to them a great many times, but I cannot make anything of them.” No, you cannot, but God can. Try again. Suppose that for 20 years you were to sit in this Tabernacle side by side with an unconverted person, and you were to speak to that person twice every Sunday and twice in the week, and all the twenty years it should be in vain? Yet if the individual were brought to Christ at last, would not his conversion repay you? Is your time so very precious? Is your ability so very great? Oh, my dear friend, if you were an archangel it would be worthwhile for you to work a thousand years to bring one soul to Christ! A soul is such a precious jewel that you would be abundantly rewarded if a century of service only brought you one conversion. Wherefore, in working for Christ, do not hesitate to go to those who have refused the gospel up to now, for you may yet prevail. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

Click to access chs1729.pdf

Begin at Home

Sherry Character of Jesus, Christian Life, prayer Leave a comment

…beginning at Jerusalem. – Luke 24:46

“Beginning at Jerusalem,” must surely mean begin at home. Jerusalem was the capital city of their country. You know the old proverb, “The cobbler’s wife goes barefoot.” I am afraid that this proverb is verified by some Christians. They do a deal of good five miles from home, but none at home. I knew a man who used to go out with preachers every night in the week, and try to preach himself, poor soul that he was. But his children were so neglected that they were the more wicked children in the street, and they grew up in all manner of vice. The father was prancing about and looking after other people, and did not care for his own family. Now, if you are going to serve Christ to the very ends of the earth, take care that you begin at home. Dear parents, need I urge you to look to your own children? It is a great joy to me to know that the members of the church for the most part do this. When a dear sister came to me on Wednesday night with three of her children, making four that had come within the last six weeks, I felt grateful to God that parents were looking after their offspring. But if any of you are in the Sunday school, and never have a Sunday school at home, if any of you talk to strangers in the aisles, but are neglecting your own sons and daughters—oh, let it not be so! The power of a father’s prayers with his arms about his boy’s neck I know full well. The power of a mother’s prayers with her children all kneeling round her is far greater with the young than any public ministry will be. Look well to your children…Do not have family prayer merely as a matter of form, but let it be a reality…..Oh, dear friends, begin at Jerusalem! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

Click to access chs1729.pdf