repentance

Striving is Needed

Sherry Christian Life, prayer, repentance, The Holy Spirit 7 Comments

Let no man beguile you of your reward.- Colossians 2:18

There is an allusion here to the prize which was offered to the runners in the Olympic games, and it is well for us to remark how very frequently the Apostle Paul conducts us by his metaphors to the racecourse. Over and over again he is telling us so to run that we may obtain, bidding us to strive, and at other times to agonize, and speaking of wrestling and contending. Ought not this to make us feel what an intense thing the Christian life is-not a thing of sleepiness or haphazard, not a thing to be left now and then to a little superficial consideration? It must be a matter which demands all our strength, so that when we are saved there is a living principle put within us which demands all our energies, and gives us energy over and above any that we ever had before. Those who dream that carelessness will find its way to heaven have made a great mistake. The way to hell is neglect, but the way to heaven is very different. “How shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?” A little matter of neglect brings you to ruin, but our Master’s words are “Strive to enter in at the straight gate, for many, I say unto you, shall seek”-merely seek-“to enter in, and shall not be able.” Striving is needed more than seeking. Let us pray that God the Holy Spirit would always enable us to be in downright, awful earnest about the salvation of our souls. May we never count this a matter of secondary importance, but may we seek first, and beyond everything else, the kingdom of God and His righteousness. May we lay hold on eternal life; may we so run that we may obtain. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

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

By Sovereign Mercy

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, repentance, salvation, Sovereignty of God 4 Comments

For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God -Ephesians 2:8

“Ah!” says the man, “I see I am a lost and ruined sinner-my hope has deceived me; but I have another wall I can make myself better. I can build and repair.” So he begins piling up the wall, and sits down behind it. He makes the covenant of grace into a covenant of works. He thinks faith is a kind of work, and that we are saved for it. He imagines we are to believe and repent, and that we thus earn salvation. He denies that faith and repentance are God’s gifts only, and sits down behind his self-sufficiency, thinking, “I can do all that,” Oh! blessed day when God directs his shots against that. I know I hugged that old idea a long while with my “cans,” “cans,” “cans;” but I found my “cans “would hold no water, and suffered all I put in to run out. There came an election sermon; but that did not please me. There came a law sermon, showing me my powerlessness; but I did not believe it; I thought it was the whim of some old experimental Christian, some dogma of ancient times that would not suit men now. Then there came another sermon, concerning death and sin; but I did not believe I was dead, for I knew I was alive enough, and could repent, and set myself right by-and-bye. Then there came a strong exhortation sermon; but I felt I could set my house in order when I liked, that I could do it next Tuesday week as well as I could do it at once. So did I continually trust in my self-sufficiency. At last, however, when God really brought me to myself, He sent one great shot which shivered it all, and, lo, I found myself utterly defenseless. I thought I was more than mighty angels, and could accomplish all things, then I found myself less than nothing. So also every truly convinced sinner finds that repentance and faith must come from God, that reliance must be placed alone on the Most High; and instead of looking to himself, he is forced to cast himself at the feet of sovereign mercy. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0038.cfm

Take Care of Your Graces, Christians!

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, confession of sin, repentance, salvation, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. -Proverbs 3:26

“My bad works,” said Erskine, “Always drove me to the Saviour for mercy; my good works often kept me from Him, and I began to trust in myself.” Is it not so with us? We often get a pleasing opinion of ourselves: we are preaching so many times a week, we attend so many prayer meetings; we are doing good in the Sabbath-school; we are valuable deacons; important members of the church; we are giving away so much in charity; and we say, “Surely I am a child of God-I must be. I am an heir of heaven. Look at me! See what robes I wear. Have I not indeed a righteousness about me that proves me to be a child of God?” Then we begin to trust in ourselves, and say, “Surely I cannot be moved, my mountain standeth firm and fast.” …Many a Christian owes his falls to a presumptuous confidence in his graces. I conceive that outward sin is not more abhorbed by God than this most wicked sin of reliance on ourselves. May none of you ever learn your own weakness by reading a black book of your own backslidings. More to be desired is the other method of God when He sends the light of the Spirit into the heart, and developes our corruption; Satan comes roaring there, conscience begins calling out, “Man you are not perfect.” All the corruptions burst up like a volcano that had slept for a little moment. We are taken into the dark chambers of imagery; we look at ourselves, and say, “Where are my battlements gone?” We go to the hill-top again, and see the battlements are all gone. We go by the side of the city-they are all departed. Then we go again to Christ, and say,

“I, the chief of sinners am,
Jesus died for me.”
“Nothing in my hands I bring;
Simply to Thy cross I cling.”

Heaven smiles again, for now the heart is right, and the soul is in the most fitting position. Take care of your graces, Christians! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0038.cfm

Our Only Joy

Sherry Attributes of God, Christian Life, repentance, Sovereignty of God Leave a comment

But let all those that put their trust in Thee rejoice: let them ever shout for joy, because Thou defendest them: let them also that love Thy name be joyful in Thee. -Psalm 5:11

The first thing, dearly beloved brethren, whereof we often make a fortress wherein to hide, is-the love of the creature. The Christians’ happiness should be in God, and God alone. He should be able to say, “All my springs are in Thee. From Thee, and Thee alone, I ever draw my bliss.” Christ in His person, His grace, His offices, His mercy, ought to be our only joy, and our glory should be that.” Christ is all.” But beloved, we are too much inclined by nature to hew out for ourselves broken cisterns that hold no water. There is a drop or two of comfort somewhere in the bottom of the leaky pitcher, and until it is dried up, we do not believe it is broken at all. We trust in that sooner than in the fountain of living waters. Now whenever any of us foolishly make a battlement of the creature, God will say to afflictions-“Go ye up against her: take away her battlements, for they are not the Lord’s.”

Oh, what a mercy it is that He does not make a “full end,” beloved!..There may be an end of our hopes, an end of our faith, an end of our confidence at times, but it is not a full end… Though He has taken away many joys, and blasted many hopes, though many of our fair flowers have been blighted, He has left something. One star will twinkle in the sky, one faint lamp glimmers from yonder distant cottage-thou art not quite lost, O wanderer of the night. He has not made a full end; but He may do so unless we come to Him. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0038.cfm

The Bulwark of Extreme Caution

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

For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God. -Acts 20:27

I think that the worst battlement the churches have now, is an earthwork of great and extreme caution. It is held to be improper that certain obnoxious truths in the Bible should be preached; sundry reasons are given why they should be withheld. One is, because it tends to discourage men from coming to Christ. Another is, because certain persons will be offended on account of these rough edges of the gospel. Some would say, “O keep them back! You need not preach such and such a doctrine. Why preach distinguishing grace? Why divine sovereignty? Why election? why perseverance? why effectual calling? These are calculated to offend the people, they cannot endure such truths.” If you tell them about the love of Christ, and the vast mercy of God, and such like it will always be pleasing and satisfying; but you must never preach deep searching law-work, you must not be cutting at the heart and sending the lancet into the soul-that would be dangerous. Hence most churches are shielding themselves behind an ignominious bulwark of extreme caution. You never hear their ministers spoken against; they are quite safe behind the screen you will be very much puzzled to tell what are the real doctrinal views of our modern divines. I believe you will pick up in some poor humble chapel more doctrinal knowledge in half an hour, than in some of your larger chapels in half a century. God’s church must be brought once more to rely upon the pure truth, upon the simple gospel, the unalloyed doctrines of the grace of God. O may this church never have any bulwark but the promises of God! May He be her strength and shield!…And whether men hear, or whether they forbear, may we say-

“Should all the forms that men devise
Assault my soul with treach’rous art
I’ll call them vanities and lies
And bind the gospel to my heart.”

~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0038.cfm

Set Your Affections on Things Above

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

Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. – Colossians 3:2

There is a father-he has a son. That son is as dear to him as his own flesh and blood. Let him take heed lest that child become too much his darling, lest he sets him in the place of the Most High God, and makes an idol of him for as sure as ever he does, God, by affliction, will say to the enemy, “Go up against him: take away his battlements, for they are not the Lord’s.” There is a husband. He coats upon his wife, as he should do. The Scripture telleth us, that a man cannot love his wife too much: “Husbands love your wives, as Christ also loves the Church”-and that is infinitely. Yet this man has proceeded to a foolish fondness and idolatry. God says, “Go ye up against him make not a full end; take away his battlements, for they are not the Lord’s.” We fix our love and affection on some dear friend of ours, and there is our hope and trust. God says, “What though ye take counsel together, ye have not taken counsel of Me, and therefore, I will take away your trust. What though ye have walked in piety, ye have not walked with Me as ye should. Go ye up against her, O death! go ye against her, O affliction! Take away that battlement, it is not the Lord’s. Ye shall live on Me-ye shall not feed, like Ephraim, on the wind. Ye shall lean on My arm; ye shall not trust in the staff of these broken reeds. Ye shall set your affections on things above, and not on things on earth. For I will blast the Joy of earth. I will send a blight upon your fair harvest. I will make the clouds obscure your sun, and you shall cry unto Me, ‘O God, Thou art my trust, my sun, my hope, my all.'” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0038.cfm

God’s Use of Wicked Men

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

Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements; for they are not the Lord’s. – Jeremiah 5:10

Jerusalem had sinned against God; she had rebelled against the most High, had set up for herself false gods, and bowed before them; and when God threatened her with chastisement, she built around herself strong battlements and bastions. She said “I am safe and secure. What though Jehovah hath gone away, I will trust in the gods of nations. Though the Temple is cast down, yet we will rely upon these bulwarks and strong fortifications that we have erected.” “Ah!” says God, “Jerusalem, I will punish thee. Thou art My chosen one, therefore will I chastise thee. I will gather together mighty men, and will speak unto them; I will bid them come unto thee, and they shall visit thee for these things. My soul shall be avenged on such a nation as this.” And He calls together the Chaldeans and Babylonians, and says to those fierce men who speak in uncouth language, “Go ye up upon her walls, and destroy; but make not a full end: take away her battlements, for they are not the Lord’s.” Thus God used wicked men to be His scourge to chastise a still more wicked nation, who were yet the objects of His affection and love…God often bids troubles and enemies go up against Christians to take away their battlements that are not the Lord’s …May His (shield) be o’er our head and be our constant guard! May we never depart from the simplicity of the faith! ~ C.H.Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0038.cfm