salvation

Deliverance is of God Alone

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

God is to us a God of deliverances; And to GOD the Lord belong escapes from death. -Psalm 68:20

By salvation, I understand deliverance from the house of bondage, wherein by nature I am born, and being brought out into the liberty wherewith Christ makes us free, together with a putting “on a rock, and establishing my goings.” This I understand to be wholly of God. And I think I am right in that conclusion, because I find in Scripture that man is dead; and how can a dead man assist in his own resurrection? I find that man is utterly depraved, and hates the divine change. How can a man, then, work that change which he himself hates? I find man to be ignorant of what it is to be born again, and like Nicodemus, asking the foolish question, “How can a man enter again into his mother’s womb, and be born?” I cannot conceive that a man can do that which he does not understand: and if he does not know what it is to be born again, he cannot make himself to be born again. No. I believe man to be utterly powerless in the first work of his salvation. He cannot break his chains, for they be not chains of iron, but chains of his own flesh and blood; he must first break his own heart before he can break the fetters that bind him. And how should man break his own heart? What hammer is that which I can use upon my own soul to break it, or what fire can I kindle which can dissolve it? Nay, deliverance is of God alone…and he who doth not believe it doth not receive God’s truth. Deliverance is of God alone. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0080.cfm

My Salvation

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

He shall cry unto Me, You are my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation. -Psalm 89:26

If any one should ask us what we would choose for our motto, as preachers of the gospel, we think we should reply, “God only is our salvation.” The late lamented Mr. Denham has put at the foot of his portrait, a most admirable text, “Salvation is of the Lord.” Now, that is just an epitome of Calvinism; it is the sum and the substance of it. If any one should ask you what you mean by a Calvinist, you may reply, “He is one who says, “salvation is of the Lord.”…By the term “salvation” here, I understand not simply regeneration and conversion, but something more. I do not reckon that to be salvation which regenerates me, and then puts me in such a position that I may fall out of the covenant and be lost; I cannot call that a bridge which only goes half-way over the stream; I cannot call that salvation, which does not carry me all the way to heaven, wash me perfectly clean, and put me among the glorified who sing constant hosannahs around the throne. By salvation, then if I may divide it into parts, I understand deliverance, preservation continually through life, sustentation, and the gathering up of the whole in the perfecting of the saints in the person of Jesus Christ at last.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0080.cfm

 

Keep Close to Christ

Sherry Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation 3 Comments

The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen for his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.  – John 10:3

It is the children’s wise rule: “Whatsoever He saith unto you, do it.” Oh, blessed shall they be above many of whom it shall be said, “These are they that have not defiled their garments.” “These are they which follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth.” Some of His followers are not very scrupulous. They love Him. It is not for us to judge them. Rather we place ourselves among them and share in the censure. But happiest of all the happy are they who see the footprint—the print of that foot that once was pierced with the nail—and put their foot down where He placed it, and then again, in the selfsame mark, follow where He trod, till they climb at last to the throne. Keep close to Christ; take care of His little precepts unto the end. Remember, “Whosoever shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, He shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven.” Do not peril being least in the heavenly kingdom though it is better to be that than to be greatest in the kingdom of darkness. O seek to be very near Him, to be a choice sheep in His chosen flock, and to have the mark distinctly upon your foot!

I will not stay to apply these truths, but leave each one of you to make such self-searching enquiries as the text suggests. Have I the ear mark? Have I the foot mark? “My sheep hear My voice,” “and they follow Me.” I hope that I am among the number. ! C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/sermons17.xxviii.html

Twice Marked

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

And when He puts forth His own sheep, He goes before them, and the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice. -John 10:4

Our Savior marks us. It has been very properly observed, that there are two marks on Christ’s sheep. One is on their ear, the other is on their foot. The mark on the ear: “My sheep hear My voice.”The mark on the foot: “I know them, and they follow Me.”

Now, the spiritual ear listens to God. The opening of it is the work of the Holy Spirit, and this is a mark of Christ’s chosen blood-bought people, that they hear not only the hollow sound, but the hidden sense; not the bare letter, but the spiritual lesson; and that, too, not merely with the outward organ, but with the inward heart. The chief point is that they hear His voice.

Christ has marked His sheep on their feet as well as their ears. They follow Him: they are gently led, not harshly driven. They follow Him as the Captain of their salvation; they trust in the power of His arm to clear the way for them. All their trust on Him is stayed; all their hope on Him they lean. They follow Him as their teacher; they call no man “Rabbi” under heaven, but Christ alone…And the sheep of Christ follow Him as their example; they desire to be in this world as He was. It is one of their marks, that to a greater or less degree they have a Christ-like spirit; and if they could they would be altogether like their Lord. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/sermons17.xxviii.html

His Own Alone

Sherry Attributes of God, Christian Life, promises, salvation 3 Comments

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not lack. – Psalm 23:1

“My Shepherd,” let us one and all reply. All the sheep of Christ who have been redeemed by His power, become His by their own willing and cheerful surrender of themselves to Him. We would not belong to another if we might; nor would we wish to belong to ourselves if we could; nor, I trust, do we want any part of ourselves to be our own property. Judge ye whether this be true of you or not. In that day when I surrendered my soul to my Savior, I gave Him my body, my soul, my spirit; I gave Him all I had, and all I shall have for time and for eternity. I gave Him all my talents, my powers, my faculties, my eyes, my ears, my limbs, my emotions, my judgment, my whole manhood, and all that could come of it, whatever fresh capacity or new capability I may be endowed with. Were I at this good hour to change the note of gladness for one of sadness, it should be to wail out my penitent confession of the times and circumstances in which I have failed to observe the strict and unwavering allegiance I owe to my Lord. So far from regretting, I would fain renew my vows and make them over again. In this I think every Christian would join.

“‘Tis done!

the great transaction’s done:

I am my Lord’s, and He is mine:

He drew me, and I follow’d on,

Charm’d to confess the voice divine.

Now rest, my long-divided heart;

Fix’d on this blissful center, rest:

With ashes who would grudge to part,

When call’d on angels’ bread to feast?

High heaven, that heard the solemn vow,

That vow renew’d shall daily hear:

Till in life’s latest hour I bow,

And bless in death a bond so dear.”

~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/sermons17.xxviii.html

A True Conversion’s Witness

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

And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul, of Tarsus: for, behold, he prays – Acts 9:11

These words are the hallmark of genuine conversion. “Behold, he prayeth” is a surer witness of a man’s conversion than, “Behold, he singeth, or, readeth the Scripture, or, preacheth.” These things may be admirably done by men who are not regenerate; but if a man really prays, we may know that he has passed from death unto life. Prayer is the autograph of the Holy Ghost upon the renewed heart. Hence the Lord gave to Ananias his sure indication that Saul of Tarsus was a converted man, by saying to him, “Behold, he prayeth.” In Saul’s case, this indication was very specially remarkable: “Behold, he prayeth” had a peculiar meaning in relation to this converted Pharisee. It was thought a great wonder that King Saul, of the Old Testament, prophesied. So unexpected and singular was the event that it became a proverb: “Is Saul also among the prophets?” But it was an equal marvel when this more modern Saul was seen to pray. Is Saul of Tarsus among those who pray to Jesus for mercy? The Lord from heaven Himself mentions it as a prodigy, he points to it as a thing to be beheld and wondered at, for He says to His servant Ananias, “Behold, he prayeth.”… This is very striking, for Saul was a Pharisee, and therefore a man who habitually repeated prayers; but He who searcheth the hearts, and knew what prayer is, here declares that now at length he begins to pray. What his friends would have put down as a great mass of prayer, the Lord makes nothing of…Words are but the body of devotion: the confession of sin, the longing for mercy, these are the spirit of prayer. A man may have repeated the choicest words, and yet not have prayed at all. A man may utter no word whatever, and he may be praying most effectually, as Moses and Hannah. Anyhow, that prayer which is not spiritual is not prayer; for “God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” If the spirit does not commune with God, there may have been music and oratory, but there has been no prayer. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

http://biblehub.com/sermons/auth/spurgeon/behold_he_prayeth.htm

 

Lay Hold on the Better Hope

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

That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: -Hebrews 6:18

If any of you, dear friends, have said, “We will be okay, because we are regular church people;” or if you have said, “We are okay, for we are Baptists, we are Independents; our father and mother, and our grandfather and grandmother were good Christian people.” Ah, yes! and so may your great grandfather and great grandmother have been, but your pedigree will avail you nothing unless you personally repent of your sins, and lay hold of Christ as your Savior. Nor is there anything else upon which you can depend for salvation. Your baptism, your church-going, your taking of the Lord’s Supper, your reciting of church prayers, your family prayers, your giving of your money, everything of your own put together will all be less than nothing, and vanity, if you trust in it. You must flee from all such false hopes as that, and get a better hope, “That by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us” [Hebrews 6:18].

I pray, brothers and sisters, whoever you are, you who think you are so good, be anxious to get rid of all that fancied goodness of yours. I beg you, if you have any self-righteousness about you, to ask God to strip it off of you at once, I would like you to feel as that man did, who had a forged bank note and some counterfeit coins in his possession. When the policeman came to his house, he was anxious not to have any of it near him; likewise, shake off your self-righteousness. You will be as surely damned by your righteousness, if you trust in it, as you will be by your unrighteousness. Christ alone, the gift of free grace from God, this is the gate of heaven; but all self-satisfaction, all boasting, all exaltation of yourself above your fellow-men, is wicked and disastrous, and will surely be deadly to your spirit for ever. ~C.H. Spurgeon

http://www.biblebb.com/files/spurgeon/2704.htm