salvation

Christians At the Jordan River

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

For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain. -Philippians 1:21

(L)et me tell you what Dr. Owen said-that celebrated prince of Calvinists…A friend called to tell Dr. Owen that he had put to press his “Meditations on the Glory of Christ.” There was a momentary gleam in his languid eye as he answered, “I am glad to hear it. Oh!” said he, “the long-wished for time has come at last, in which I shall see that glory in another manner than I have ever done, or was capable of doing in this world.”

George Herbert, after some severe struggles, and having requested his wife and nieces, who were weeping in extreme anguish, to leave the room, he committed his will to Mr. Woodnott’s care, crying out, “I am ready to die-Lord, forsake me not now, my strength faileth; but grant me mercy for the merits of my Lord Jesus. And now, Lord receive my soul.” Then he laid himself back and breathed out his life to God. Thus the poet dies. That glorious fancy of his, that might have pictured gloomy things if it had pleased, was only filled with rapturous sight of angels. As he used to say himself, “Methinks I hear the church bells of heaven ringing.” And methinks he did hear them when he came near the river Jordan.

(Missionary Brainard) said, “I am almost in eternity. I long to be there. My work is done. I have done with all my friends. All the world is now nothing to me. Oh, to be in heaven, to praise and glorify God with His holy angels.”…(said he) who counted all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and went among wild untutored Indians to preach the gospel.

…I never wish to have the choice given to me; but to die is the happiest thing man can have, because it is to lose anxiety, it is to slay care, it is to have the peculiar sleep of the beloved. To the Christian, then, death must be acceptable.  ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0043.cfm

We Shall Not All Sleep

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

Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. -1 Thessalonians 4:17

“It is appointed unto all men once to die,” yet a time shall come when some Christian men shall not die at all. We know that had Adam never sinned he would not have died, for death is the punishment of sin, and we know that Enoch and Elijah were translated to heaven without dying. Therefore it does seem to follow, that death is not absolutely necessary for a Christian. And, moreover, we are told in Scripture, that there are some who shall be “alive and remain,” when Jesus Christ shall come; and the apostle says, “I tell you a mystery-we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump.” There shall be some who shall be found living, of whom the apostle says, “Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” We know that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom; but it is possible that they may be refined by some spiritual process, which shall preclude the necessity of dissolution. Oh! I have thought of that idea very much, and I have wondered whether it should not be possible that some of us might be in that happy number who shall not see death. Even if we are not, there is something very cheering in the thought: Christ did so conquer death that He not only delivers the lawful captive out of the prison, but He saves a band from the jaws of the monster, and leads them by his den unharmed! He not only resuscitates the dead, and puts new life into those that are slain by the fell scythe, but some He actually takes to heaven by a bye-road. He says to death-“Avaunt, thou monster! On these thou shalt never put thy hand! These are chosen men and women, and thy cold fingers shall never freeze the current of their soul. I am taking them straight to heaven without death. I will transport them in their bodies up to heaven without passing through thy gloomy portals, or having been captives in thy dreary land of shades.” How glorious is the thought, that Christ has vanquished death; that some men shall not die. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0043.cfm

Manifested Mystery of God

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

The LORD is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked: the LORD hath His way in the whirlwind and in the storm, and the clouds are the dust of His feet. -Nahum 1:3

The ways of God are hidden ones. Cowper did not say amiss when he sang,-

“He plants His footsteps in the sea,
And rides upon the storm.”

His footsteps cannot be seen, for, planted on the sea, the next wave washes them out; and placed in the storm, rioting as the air then is, every impression of His chariot wheels is soon erased. Look at God, and at whatever He has deigned to do, and you will always see Him to have been a hidden God. He has concealed Himself, and all His ways have been veiled in the strictest mystery. Consider His works of salvation. How did He hide Himself when He determined to save mankind? He did not manifestly reveal Himself to our forefathers. He gave them simply one dim lamp of prophecy which shone in words like these “The seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent’s head;” and for four thousand years God concealed His Son in mystery, and no one understood what the Son of God was to be. The smoking incense beclouded their eyes, and while it showed something of Jesus, it did hide far more. The burning victim sent its smoke up towards the sky, and it was only through the dim mists of the sacrifice that the pious Jew could see the Saviour. Angels themselves, we are told, desired to look into the mysteries of redemption, yet though they stood with their eyes intently fixed upon it, until the hour when redemption developed itself on Cavalry, not a single angel could understand it. The profoundest sage might have sought to find out how God could be just and yet the justifier of the ungodly; but he would have failed in his investigations. The most intensely pious man might meditate, with the help of that portion of God’s Spirit which was then given to the prophets, on this mighty subject, and he could not have discovered what the mystery of godliness was- “God manifest in the flesh.” God marched in clouds, “He walked in the whirlwinds;” He did not deign to tell the world what He was about to do; for it is His plan to gird Himself in darkness, and “the clouds are the dust of His feet.” Ah! and so it always has been in Providence as well as grace. God never condescends to make things very plain to His creatures. He always does rightly; and therefore, He wants His people always to believe that He does rightly. But if He showed them that He did so, there would be no room for their faith.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0036.cfm

May Ye, Sinner, Never Know It!

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

And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. -Matthew 13:50

Should ye die Godless and Christless, a strong hand will seize you on your death-bed, and irresistibly you will be borne along through the vast expanse of ether, unknowing whither you are tending, but with the dread thought that you are in the hand of a demon, who with an iron hand is bearing you most swiftly on. Down he plungeth thee! Ah! what a fall were that my friends! to find yourselves there in that desperate land of torments! May you never know it! Words cannot tell you of it now. I can but just call up a few dread horrible emotions; I can but picture it in a few short rough words: may you never know it! Would ye wish to escape: there is but one door. Would ye be saved: there is but one way. Would ye find entrance into heaven and escape from hell: there is but one road. The road is this-“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.” “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall be damned.” To believe is to trust in Jesus. As an old divine used to say, “Faith is recumbency on Christ.” But it is too hard a word. He meant, faith is lying down on Christ. As a child lieth on its mother’s arms, so is faith; as the seaman trusteth to his bark, so is faith; as the old man leaneth on his staff, so is faith; as I may trust, there is faith. Faith is to trust. Trust in Jesus, He will ne’er deceive you:

“Venture on Him, venture wholly,
Let no other trust intrude;
None but Jesus
Can do helpless sinners good.”

Thus may you escape that furnace of fire into which the wicked must be cast. God bless you all, for His name’s sake. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0035.cfm

Comfort for the Tried Ones

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

Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God. -Daniel 3:25

Comfort thyself, thou tried one, with this thought: God saith, “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” The fire is hot, but He has chosen me; the furnace burns, but He has chosen me; these coals are hot, the place I love not, but He has chosen me… Whatever (the fiery trial) is, I know that He has chosen me.

The next comfort is that you have the Son of Man with you in the furnace. In that silent bedchamber of yours, there sitteth by your side one whom thou hast not seen, but whom thou lovest; and ofttimes when thou knowest it not, He makes all thy bed in thy affliction, and smoothes thy pillow for thee. Thou art in poverty; but in that lonely house of thine that hath nought to cover its bare walls, where thou sleepest on a miserable pallet, dost thou know that the Lord of life and glory is a frequent visitor; He often treads those bare floors, and putting His hands upon those walls He consecrates them!…He loves to come into these desolate places that He may visit thee. The Son of Man is with thee, Christian. Thou canst not see Him, but thou mayest feel the pressure of His hands. Dost thou not hear His voice? It is the valley of the shadow of death: thou seest nothing; but He says, “Fear not, I am with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God.” …Fear not, Christian! thou carriest Jesus in the same boat with thee, and all His fortune! He is with thee in the same fire. The same fire that scorches thee, scorches Him. …Wilt thou not take hold of Jesus, then, and say-

“Through floods and flames, if Jesus lead,
I’ll follow where He goes.”

Feeling that you are safe in His hands, will you not laugh even death to scorn, and triumph over the sting of the grave, because Jesus Christ is with you? ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0035.cfm

Our Gain but Our Enemy’s Loss

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

…the flame of the fire slew those men that took up Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. -Daniel 3:22

The devil is never more devoid of wisdom than when he meddles with God’s people…Did any Christian ever suffer yet by persecution-really suffer by it? Does he ever really lose by it? No; it is quite the reverse. We gain by it. You remember the case of the burning fiery furnace of Shadrach, Meshech, and Abednego, and Nebuchadnezzar’s dealings. You remember he commanded that the furnace should be heated seven times hotter than usual; and he told his brave men, his strongest ones, to take these three men bound and cast them into the furnace. There they go! they have thrown three men bound into the fire; but before they have time to turn back it is said, the heat of the flames slew those men that cast them into the furnace. Nebuchadnezzar said himself, “Did we not cast three bound into the furnace? Behold I see four men loose walking in the midst of the fire, and the fourth is like the Son of God.” Now, just mark these points. Nebuchadnezzar made a great blunder, and heated the fire too hot. That is just what our enemies often do. if they would just speak the truth about us and only tell our imperfections, they would then have enough to do. But, in their endeavours to cast down God’s servants, they heat the fire rather too hot; they make what they say smell, as Rowland Hill said, too much like a lie, therefore, nobody believes them; and instead of doing any hurt, it just kills the men who would have cast us into the fire.

Persecution damages our enemies; it cannot hurt us. Let them still go on; let them still fight; all their arrows fall back upon themselves. And as for aught of evil that is done against us. it is but small and light compared with the damage that is done to their own cause. This, then, is another blessing concerning the furnace-it hurts our enemies though it does not hurt us.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0035.cfm

God Does Not Cast Off His Children

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

I have chosen you in the furnace of affliction. -Isaiah 48:10

“I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” I chose and created thee a vessel of mercy appointed unto eternal life: and when thou in common with the whole race, hadst fallen, though I might have crushed thee with them, and sent thee down to hell, I chose thee in thy fallen condition, and I provided for thy redemption: in the fulness of time I sent My Son, who fulfilled My law and made it honourable. I chose thee at thy birth, when a helpless infant thou didst sleep upon thy mother’s breast. I chose thee when thou didst grow up in childhood with all thy follies and thy sins. Determined to save thee, I watched o’er thy path when, Satan’s blind slave, thou didst sport with death. I chose thee when, in manhood, thou didst sin against Me with a high hand; when thy unbridled lusts dashed thee on madly towards hell. I chose thee, then, when thou wast a blasphemer and a swearer, and very far from Me. I chose thee, then, even when thou wast dead in trespasses and sins: I loved thee, and still thy name was kept in My book. The hour appointed came; I redeemed thee from thy sin; I made thee love; I spake to thee, and made thee leave thy sins and become My child; and I chose thee then over again. Since that hour how often hast thou forgotten Me! but I have never forgotten thee. Thou hast wandered from Me; thou hast rebelled against Me; yea, thy words have been exceeding hot against Me, and thou hast robbed Me of Mine honour; but I chose thee even then; and now that I put thee in the furnace thinkest thou that My love is changed? Am I a summer friend fleeing from thee in the winter? Am I one who loves thee in prosperity and doth cast thee off in adversity? Nay; hearken to these my words. thou furnace-tried one, “I have chosen thee in the furnace of affliction.” Think not, then, when you are in trouble that God has cast you off. Think He has cast you off if you never have any trials and troubles, but when in the furnace, say, “Did He not tell me this beforehand?” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0035.cfm