salvation

Away with Them!

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, promises, repentance, salvation, The Father 1 Comment

And he said, Nay; but I will die here…And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him… – 1 Kings 2:30,31

Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. – Acts 4:12

You may be a member of a church fifty years, but you will be damned at last unless you are a member of Christ. It matters not though you are a church-officer, a deacon, an elder, a pastor, a bishop, or even Archbishop of Canterbury, or an apostle, you will perish as surely as Judas, who betrayed his Master with a kiss, unless your heart is right with God. I pray you, put no confidence in your profession. Unless you have Christ in your heart, a profession is but a painted pageantry for a soul to go to hell in. As a corpse is drawn to the grave by horses adorned with nodding plumes, so may you find in an outward profession a pompous way of being lost. God save us from that!.. “My confidence is in my sound doctrine.” That is not mine, friend, and I hope that it will not be yours long, for many lost souls have firmly believed orthodox doctrine…Put no confidence in the mere fact that you hold to an orthodox faith, for a dead orthodoxy soon corrupts. You must have faith in Christ, or else this altar-horn of a correct creed, on which you lay your hand, will bring you no salvation.

Whatever you depend upon apart from the blood and righteousness of Christ, away with it! Away with it! If you are even depending upon your own repentance, and your faith, away with them! If you are looking to your own prayers or alms, I can only cry again, -Away with them! Nothing but the blood of Jesus; nothing but the atoning sacrifice; but, if you come and lay your hand upon that, blessed shall you be. Before the living God, who is greater and wiser than Solomon, it will be of no avail to any man to lay hold upon the horns of the altar. But, there is an altar-a spiritual altar-whereof if a man do but lay hold upon the horns, and say, “Nay; but I will die here,” he shall never die; but he shall be safe against the sword of justice for ever; for the Lord has appointed an altar in the person of His own dear Son, Jesus Christ, where there shall be shelter for the very vilest of sinners if they do but come and lay hold thereon. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1826.cfm

Go You to Christ Only

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

For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus… – 1 Timothy 2:5

There is one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, and he who sets up another is an enemy of souls. There is but One who can be trusted with our soul affairs, even the Lord Jesus Christ; and woe to us if we put our confidence in men! Ordained or unordained, shaven or unshorn, they cannot help us. Yet I know that people do trust in ministers most foolishly. I remember years ago being at three o’clock in the morning in a house now pulled down, which stood not far from the London Bridge railway-station. A gentleman of considerable means had spent the Sunday at Brighton, had come home, and had been taken with cholera on a sudden, and nothing would do him, when he was in the pangs of death, but he must send for me. I went, not knowing what was required of me. But when I got there what could I do? There was a little consciousness left to the man, and I spoke to him of Jesus. I asked if he had a Bible. The people of the house searched high and low, but there was no such thing to be found. The mind was soon too beclouded for further comprehension, and as I came away, I asked, “Has he ever gone to a place of worship?” No, never-never cared for such a thing; but as soon as he was ill, then, “Oh, send for Mr. Spurgeon!” He must come, and nobody else: and there I stood, and what could I do?

What can we do for you, dear hearts, if you will not have our Saviour? We can stand and weep over you, and break our hearts to think that you reject Him; but what can we do? Oh, if we could let you into heaven, if we could renew your hearts, how joyfully would we perform the miracle; but we claim no such power, no such influence! Go you to Christ, and lay hold upon the true altar-horn; but do not be so foolish as to put confidence in us or in any other ministers. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1826.cfm

Dead Things

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, Christian Life, promises, salvation 2 Comments

Ye must be born again. – John 3:7

There are, doubtless, some who think that they are all right because they frequent sermons. They delight to be found hearing the gospel. Now, in this you do well, for, “Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God”; but, if you suppose that the mere hearing of a sermon with the outward ear can save you, you suppose what is untrue, and you build the house of your hope on sand…”Oh, but,” says another, “I attend prayer meetings.” Your being found in the place where prayer is wont to be made may be no true sign of grace. “Ay, but I do more than that, for I have prayers in my own house.” Yes, and very proper, too. I would that all did the same; I am grieved that any should neglect the ordinance of family prayer. But yet, if you think that the reading of a form of prayer in your household, or even the use of extempore prayer, is a thing to be relied upon for salvation, you do greatly err…”But I regularly read a chapter,” says one. I am extremely glad you do, and God bless that chapter to you! I would that all were in the habit of reading the Bible regularly, and endeavouring to understand it; but, if you trust in your Bible-readings as a ground of salvation, you are resting upon a mere soap-bubble which will burst under your weight. Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, producing in the soul a change of heart, a new birth unto God, this is what is wanted; and, apart from that, all the Bible reading you ever practice can do you no good whatsoever. 

“Ye must be born again. Ye must be born again”; and if there be not this inward change, then vain is all outward observance. You may wash a corpse, you may clothe that corpse in the purest white shroud that was ever woven, but when all is done it does not live; and what are all the outward devotions of a carnal man but dead things which bring no life with them to men dead in sin? ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1826.cfm

The Useless Horns of the Sacraments

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

And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And Benaiah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father. – 1 Kings 2:30,31

There are many-oh, how many still! -that are hoping to be saved, because they lay hold, as they think, upon the horns of the sacraments. Men of unhallowed life, nevertheless, come to the sacramental table, looking for a blessing. Do they not know that they pollute it? Do they not know that they are committing a high sin, and a great misdemeanour against God, by coming amongst His people, where they have no right to be? And yet they think that by committing this atrocity they are securing to themselves safety. How common it is to find in this city, when an irreligious man is dying, that someone will say, “Oh, he is all right; for a clergyman has given him the sacrament.” I often marvel how men calling themselves the servants of God can dare thus to profane the ordinance of the Lord. Did he ever intend the blessed memorial of the Lord’s supper to be a kind of superstitious vialicum, a something upon which ungodly men may depend in their last hour, as if it could put away sin…Do they conceive that grace comes to men by bits of bread and drops of wine? These things are meant to put us in memory of the Lord Jesus Christ, and, as far as they do that, and quicken our thoughts of Him, they are useful to us; but there is no wizardry or witchcraft linked with these two emblems…I charge you, as before the Lord, cleanse yourselves of this superstition. There is no salvation apart from faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; and you might as well trust in your sins as in sacraments…Without faith in Christ, even the ordinances of God become things to condemn you. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/1826.cfm

 

The Glory of His Final Triumph

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

…and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father… – John 1:14

We have beheld His glory in His final triumph. Yes, brethren, by faith we have seen in the very moment when the sun was darkened, and when the earth was shaken, and the rocks rent asunder; we have seen Christ darkening the world’s glories; we have seen Him rending rocky hearts, and bidding the dead arise. We have seen Him in the very instant when He gave up the ghost leaping from the cross, pursuing with thunderbolts the prince of hell, and driving him to darker shades below; we have seen Him grasping at last the tyrant in His hands, and chaining him to His chariot wheel. Our faith has beheld Him riding up the everlasting hills, leading captivity captive; we have seen the gates wide open flung while angels said, “Lift up your heads, O ye gates and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.” We have joined by faith the triumph and have swelled the train, we have heard the acclamation of the spirits of the just made perfect; we have heard above all the voice of God, “Well done, Thou hast finished Thy Father’s will.” We have seen Him ascend in august majesty the throne which is His resting place, and we have seen Him sit down on the right hand of the Father, while from heaven and earth, and even hell, there went up one prolonged note of praise, “Hallelujah, hallelujah, hallelujah! the Lord God omnipotent reigneth.” Nay, our faith has gone beyond the mere matters of the past. We have beheld His glory; we have seen Him as one by one His sheep are brought, and His prayer is heard, “Father, I will that they also whom Thou hast given Me be with Me where I am.” We have seen Him going forth day after day in the chariot of Salvation scattering with both His hands His mercies among the poverty-stricken sons of men, and we have cried unto Him, “Gird Thy sword upon Thy thigh, O Thou most mighty.” …We have beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0414.cfm

The Glory of His Love and Sacrifice

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

…and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father… – John 1:14

We have beheld His glory, not merely in His person, but in the motive for which He undertook His great work. That motive was love, love which could have His self interest to be an alloy, love to worthless creatures, love to those who could never repay His love to rebels, love to men who crucified the Lord of glory, and we have said as we have seen this love sparkling like a jewel in a black setting, lying in the heart of the pool, injured, poverty-stricken, houseless, comfortless Man of Nazareth. “There is a glory here in this love that is never to be found elsewhere.” We have looked upon Him giving up everything for us, renouncing His crown and sceptre, laying aside His royal robes and splendor, leaving His Father’s house, and palaces, and honor, becoming man, nay, a poor man, a despised afflicted man; nay, becoming obedient to death, even the death of the cross. We have read history through, but we never saw a self-sacrifice that could equal His. In Him selfishness never lived, and therefore, never needed to be kept in check. He was not His own; His whole history could be written in this: “He saved others, Himself He cannot save.” Glorious Christ, in this whilst Thou wast rejected of men, we have beheld Thy glory.

The world’s glory lies at His feet; He chooses rather our salvation than the glories of earth. He counted the reproach that He should bear for us greater riches than all the treasures of Egypt. We see Him mocked, yet never reviling, spit upon, yet never spitting back again even so much as a word of venom. We see Him despised, yet never attempting to clear Himself; accused, yet silent before the judgment-seat; so giving up Himself that He can bear all things, whatsoever they may be. Many waters could not quench His love, neither could the floods drown it… Great God, there is none like Thee in the omnipotence of Thine endurance. We have seen Thy glory, even when Thou didst tabernacle among men. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0414.cfm

We Beheld His Glory

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

…and we beheld His glory… – John 1:14

What is the word “Beheld?” It says not we heard of His glory, we read of it in prophecy, or we listened to it from the lips of others, but we beheld His glory. What a privilege was this, which was accorded to the first disciples! Have you not often envied them? To see the Man, the very Man, in whom God dwelt-to walk with Him as one’s companion along His journeys of mercy-to listen to the words as they stream all living from those eloquent lips-to look into His eyes, and mark the depth of love that glistened there-to see His face, even though it was more marred than that of any man… “Show us the Father, and it sufficeth”-to have had one’s faith encouraged by touching His very flesh, as He did of whom it is written, that he put his finger into the print of the nails and thrust his hand into His side. But what are we talking about? All this is carnal, all this is of sight, and the Christian is a nobler being than to live and walk by sight. He lives by faith; and to this day, brethren, there is a sight of Christ which can be had by faith; and therefore, we need not murmur because we are denied the privilege of sight. The sight of Christ it seems, did but little good to those who had it, not even to His disciples, for they were sorry dolts, even though He was the Master. It was only when the Spirit came down at Pentecost, that they began to know Christ, and to understand what He had said to them, though He himself had said it. And truly ’tis better to see Christ by faith than it is to see Him by sight, for a sight of Him by faith saves the soul; but we might see Him with the eye, and yet crucify Him, and be found amongst the greatest rebels against His government and power.

Now we say to you, have you beheld His glory by faith? Oh! ye have all of you heard of it. Ye may hear of His glory and perish in your sins. Oh! to behold His glory! This is soul work, saving work, blessed work, everlasting work: have ye any interest in it? ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0414.cfm