Christian Life

Known by Our Christliness

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

“Christ is all in all.”-Colossians 3:11

The Apostle was arguing for holiness…Observe in this chapter that he begins by reminding the saints of their having risen with Christ. If they indeed have risen with Him, he argues that they should leave the grave of iniquity and the graveclothes of their sins behind, and act as those who are endowed with that superior life, which accounts sin to be death and corruption. He then goes on to declare that the believer’s life is in Christ, “for ye are dead, and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” He infers holiness from this also. Shall those who have Christ for their life defile themselves with guilt? Is it not inevitable that, if the Holy One of Israel be in them as their life, their life should be fraught with everything that is virtuous and good? And then he brings forward the third argument that in the Christian church Christ is the only distinguishing mark. In the new birth we are created in the image of Jesus, the second Adam, and in consequence all the distinctions that appertain to the old creation are rendered valueless; “there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all”: the argument from this fact being, that since the only abiding distinction in the new creation is Christ, we should take care that His image is most clearly stamped upon us so that we may not only confess with our tongues that we are Christians, but our conversation and our entire character shall bespeak us to be such. As you may recognize the Jew by his physiognomy, the Greek by his gracefulness, and the barbarian by his uncouthness; so should the Christian be known by his Christliness, by the light, love, and life of Christ streaming forth from him. This is the seal of God which is set upon the forehead of the faithful, and this is the mark of election which is in due season graven in the right hand of all the elect. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1006.cfm

Living with Christ

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

Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee. – Isaiah 26:3

There are many of us who could say, without any exaggeration, that though we do not think so much of our Lord as we should, and are not so much with Him in contemplation as we desire, yet we have spent more time with Him than we have spent with anybody else. Little as we know compared with what we hope to know, yet His love has become to us now the brightest, the most conspicuous fact in all our history. We know but few things; but we know that we are one with Christ in a union never to be broken.

If we are one with Him, to live with Him should be the most natural thing in our lives. Have I not heard, however, of some professors who have not had communion with Christ for many a day? I talked once with a brother, who said a great deal about many things; and when he had complained of this and of that, I leant forward to him, and said, “Brother, how long is it since you have had close fellowship with Christ?” He answered, “Oh, there you have got me!” When I asked him, “What do you mean by that?” he answered, “I am afraid that I have not had fellowship with Christ for months.” I had suspected that it must have been so, or else his conversation would not have been of the kind it was. What a sad thing it must be for a wife to live in her husband’s house, and not speak to him for weeks! But how much worse it is for us to profess to be one with Christ, and yet have no sort of communication with Him by the month together! This is something perfectly horrible. God save us all from such a thing! May we think continually of our Lord, and ever live with Him, because we are one with Him! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2244.cfm

If We are One with Christ…

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

Whoever transgresses and does not abide in the doctrine of Christ does not have God. He who abides in the doctrine of Christ has both the Father and the Son. – 2 John 1:9

If we are one with Christ, we should go through the world like princes; we should be like Abraham among his fellows, who claimed no princedom, and wore no crown, yet who could say to the King of Sodom what he had already vowed to God, “I will not take from thee a thread unto a shoe-latchet, and I will not take anything that is thine, lest thou shouldest say, I have made Abram rich.” If you are one with Christ, treat the world in that way. O world, thou canst not bless me! God hath blessed me. Thou canst not curse me! God hath blessed me. Dost thou laugh? Laugh if it pleaseth thee. Dost thou frown? What signifieth it to me? If God has smiled upon me, thou mayest spurn me. If I am one with Christ, I expect that thou shouldest think little of me; for thou didst spurn my Head. Should the body of Christ expect better treatment than the Head received?

If we are one with Christ, we shall remember that to dishonour ourselves is to implicate our Lord. If I dishonour any part of my body, my head feels the shame of it; and since we are the members of Christ, we should be very careful how to behave, lest we should cause Him pain. Men will judge Christ by His people. If I caught sight of a pair of legs very unsteadily walking along the street, I should be inclined to say that they belong to a drunken head. If our walk among men is not such “as becometh the gospel”, what hard thoughts those around us may have of our Saviour! Of course, we know that any ill estimate of Him will be false, for He is all fair, and there is no spot in Him; but still His name and His cause will suffer dishonour. Let us not, then, injure or defile ourselves, lest we should bring reproach upon Him whom we love! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2244.cfm

Believe Simply

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

I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day. – 2 Timothy 1:12

It used to be a fashion, and I fear in some quarters still, to think that mistrust of our own condition, and doubt concerning our own salvation, is a kind of virtue. I have met with good people, who would not say that they were saved; they “hoped” that they were; and I have met with others who were not sure that they were cleansed by the precious blood of Christ; they “trusted” that they were. This state of mind is not a credit either to Christ, or to ourselves. If I told my son something, and he were to say to me, “I hope you will keep your word, father,” I should not feel that he treated me as he ought. Surely, to believe Christ up to the hilt is the way to honour Him. If we are one with Him, we lose the comfort of it if we do not know certainly the fact of our blessed union; we miss much of the confidence that comes of it if we do not clearly apprehend the reality; and we are robbed of much of the joy which it brings, and how little of the meaning of that word “the joy of the Lord is your strength,” unless we believe simply like children, and take the word to mean what it says, and are certain about it. This is an age of doubt; but, as for me, I will have none of it; I have doubted enough, and more than enough; I have done with it long ago; and I can say with Paul, “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep which I have committed unto Him against that day.” Salvation is by faith. Damnation comes by doubt. Doubt is the death of all comfort, the destruction of all force, the enemy of God and man. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2244.cfm

United in Christ

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

For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. – Ephesians 5:30

Whatever belongs to Christ belongs to you, poor believer! Christ is rich, can you be poor? Even His Father is your Father, and His heaven is your heaven; for you are so one with Him that all the broad possession of His infinite wealth are given freely to you. He bestows upon you His bounty, not only “to the half of the kingdom”, but the whole of it. Joined to Him, all that He has is yours.

Christ is very dear to His Father’s heart. “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased,” was the word which came from the opened heaven concerning Christ; and as God delights in Christ, so is He also well pleased with you who are in Christ. Yes, He is as pleased with you as He is with Christ; for He sees you in Christ, and Christ in you. God makes no division between you and Him to whom He has joined you. “What therefore God hath joined together, let no man put asunder.” Certainly God will never separate that which He has united in Christ. Do not put yourself asunder from Christ, even in your thoughts, by supposing that you are not well-beloved of God even as His own covenant Head.

Whatever Christ is to be, you are to be a sharer of it all. How can you die while Jesus lives? How can the body die, while the head lives? If we go through the waters, they cannot overflow us until they overflow our head. While a man’s head is above water, he cannot be drowned. And Christ up yonder, in the eternities of glory, can never be conquered: neither can those be vanquished who are one with him…”We believe that we shall also live with Him: knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death shall have no dominion over Him.” Where He goes, we shall follow. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2244.cfm

The Sympathy of Head and Members

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

…even as Christ is the head of the church: and He is the saviour of the body. – Ephesians 5:23

The head and the members, in a healthy body, are practically one…All true Christians will do anything to save their Head. He saved us, and now our desire is to save Him. We cannot bear that He should be insulted, that His gospel should be despised, or that anything would be done against His sacred dignity. We are so one with our glorious Head, that the moment anyone strikes at Him, up goes our hand immediately in His defense. Oh! I trust that you know what this means; if you are ever put up to the pain of hearing Christ’s gospel falsely preached or seeing professedly Christian men bringing disgrace upon His dear name, you feel at once that you would rather bear any pain, or any reproach, than that Christ should be injured. The hand is so one with the head, that it endeavours to screen it.

Between the head and the members there is also union of feeling. If the head aches, you feel it all over, you are altogether ill; and if your finger aches, your head does not feel well. There is such a sympathy between all parts of the body that, “whether one member suffer, all members suffer with it; or one member is honoured, all the members rejoice with it. Now, ye are the body of Christ, and members in particular.” Christ is our Head, and the Head specially suffers with the members. I do not know whether it is always so clear that one hand suffers with another hand, as it is clear that the head suffers with either hand. So is it with the church. It may not always be clear that all the members sympathize with each other, but it is always clear that Christ sympathizes with each one of His people. There is a quicker way, somehow, from the head to the hand, than there is from one hand to the other, and there is a keener sympathy between Christ and His people than there often is between one of His servants and another. It is written concerning His people that “In all their affliction He was afflicted.” In all thy sorrows, child of God thy heavenly Head feels the pain! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2244.cfm

A Union of Life and Love

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

“For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church.” – Ephesians 5:23

Here you have a union, not only of life, but also of love. It is worthy of notice that the two words, “live” and “love”, should be so like each other. In spiritual things, the two things are not only similar, but they are also exactly alike. Love is the life; and life is always first sent, and chiefly sent in the form of love.

With the true husband, his wife is himself. The Scripture saith, “He that loveth his wife loveth himself;” and I believe that Christ considers that, when He loves His church, He loves Himself. His care for us is now His care for Himself. Since He has taken us to be in eternal wedded union with Himself, He regards us as Himself, and He cares for us as He cares for Himself: “For we are members of His body, of His flesh, and of His bones.” No sane man will injure his own flesh. “No man ever yet hated his own flesh; but nourisheth and cherisheth it, even as the Lord the church.” So Christ takes care of His people, because He regards them as being bound to Himself by those bonds which make them to be as Himself. Hence, we are kept as the apple of His eye.

However close may be the union of husband and wife, the union between the believer and Christ is closer still. Oh, to realize more and more of it each day!

“O Jesus! Make Thyself to me
A living, bright reality;
More present to faith’s vision keen
More than any outward object seen.
More dear, more intimately nigh,
Than e’en the sweetest earthly tie!”

~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2244.cfm