salvation

Justice and Mercy

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

The soul that sins shall die. – Ezekiel 18:4,20

We owe to God a debt of punishment for sin. Was that debt due or not? If the law was right, the penalty ought to be exacted. The law, then, being a righteous law, and the penalty just, shall God do an unjust thing? Would you have Him to be unjust? He had declared that the soul that sinned should die; would you have God to be a liar? Shall He eat His words to save His creatures? The law’s sentence must be carried out. It was inevitable that if God maintained the prerogative of His holiness, He must punish the sins that men have committed. How, then, should He save us? Behold the plan! His dear Son, the Lord of glory, takes upon Himself human nature, comes into the place of as many as the Father gave Him, stands in their standing, and when the sentence of justice has been proclaimed, and the sword of vengeance has leaped out of its scabbard, behold the glorious Substitute bares His arm, and He says, “Strike, O sword, but strike Me, and let My people go.” Into the very soul of Jesus the sword of the law pierced, and His blood was shed, the blood, not of one who was man only, but of One who, by His being an eternal Spirit, was able to offer up Himself without spot unto God, in a way which gave infinite efficacy to His sufferings. He, through the eternal Spirit, we are told, offered Himself without spot to God. Being in His own nature infinitely beyond the nature of man, comprehending all the natures of man, as it were, within Himself, by reason of the majesty of His person, He was able to offer an atonement to God of infinite, boundless, inconceivable sufficiency. What our Lord suffered none of us can tell. I am sure of this: I would not disparage or under-estimate His physical sufferings-the tortures He endured in His body-but I am equally sure that we can none of us exaggerate or over-value the sufferings of such a soul as His; they are beyond all conception…”Yet it pleased the Father to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief. “Now, therefore, God is able to forgive sin. He has punished the sin on Christ; it becomes justice, as well as mercy, that God should blot out those debts which have been paid. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3418.cfm

No Blood Shed, No Pardon

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

Indeed, under the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins. – Hebrews 9:22

Though there be pardon of sin, it is never without blood. That is a sweeping sentence, for there are some in this world that are trusting for the pardon of sin to their repentance. It, beyond question, is your duty to repent of your sin. If you have disobeyed God, you should be sorry for it. To cease from sin is but the duty of the creature, else sin is not the violation of God’s holy law. But be it known unto you, that all the repentance in the world cannot blot out the smallest sin. If you had only one sinful thought cross your mind, and you should grieve over that all the days of your life, yet the stain of that sin could not be removed even by the anguish it cost you. Repentance is the work of the Spirit of God, it is a very precious gift, and is a sign of grace; but there is no atoning power in repentance. In a sea full of penitential tears, there is not the power or the virtue to wash out one spot of this hideous uncleanness. Without the blood-shedding, there is no remission. But others suppose that, at any rate, active reformation growing out of repentance may achieve the task. What if drunkenness be given up, and temperance become the rule? What if licentiousness be abandoned, and chastity adorn the character? What if dishonest dealing be relinquished, and integrity be scrupulously maintained in every action? I say, ’tis well; I would to God such reformations took place everywhere-yet for all that, debts already incurred are not paid by our not getting into debt further, and past delinquencies are not condoned by future good behaviour. So sin is not remitted by reformation. …The cry in the olden days was, “Wherewithal shall we come before God?” Here stands the sentence; here for ever must it stand, “Without shedding of blood there is no remission.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3418.cfm

I Believe, therefore, I Am Not Condemned

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

He that believeth on Him is not condemned… – John 3:18

Who is a God like unto Thee, that pardoneth iniquity… – Micah 7:18

“Whosoever believeth in Jesus Christ is not condemned.” If I believe in Jesus Christ, then I am not condemned. What right have I to think I am? If God says I am not, it would be presumption on my part to think I am condemned. It cannot be presumption to take God’s Word just as He gives it to me. “Oh!” saith one, “how happy should I be if this might be my case.” Thou hast well spoken, for blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, and whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord doth not impute iniquity. “But,” saith another, “I should hardly think such a great thing could be possible to such an one as I am.” Thou reasonest after the manner of the sons of men. Know then that as high as the heavens are above the earth, so high are God’s ways above your ways, and His thoughts above your thoughts. It is yours to err; it is God’s to forgive. You err like a man, but God does not pardon like a man; He pardons like a God, so that we burst forth with wonder, and sing, “Who is a God like unto Thee, that passeth by transgression, iniquity, and sin?” When you make anything, it is some little work suitable to your abilities, but our God made the heavens. When you forgive, it is some forgiveness suitable to your nature and circumstances; but when He forgives, He displays the riches of His grace on a grander scale than your finite mind can comprehend. Ten thousand sins of blackest dye, sins of a hellish hue He doth in a moment put away, for He delighteth in mercy; and judgment is His strange work. “As I live, saith the Lord, I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, but had rather that he turn unto Me and live.” This is a joyful note with which my text furnishes me. There is no remission, except with blood; but there is remission, for the blood has been shed. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3418.cfm

Forgiven Altogether

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

Therefore, I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. – Matthew 12:31

All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men. For lust, for robbery, for adultery-yea, for murder, there is forgiveness with God, that He may be feared. He is the Lord God, merciful and gracious, passing by transgression, iniquity, and sin. And this forgiveness which is possible is, according to the Scriptures, complete; that is to say, when God forgives a man his sin, He does it outright. He blots out the debt without any back reckoning. He does not put away a part of the man’s sin, and have him accountable for the rest; but in the moment in which a sin is forgiven, his iniquity is as though it had never been committed; he is received in the Father’s house and embraced with the Father’s love as if he had never erred; he is made to stand before God as accepted, and in the same condition as though he had never transgressed. Blessed be God, believer, there is no sin in God’s Book against thee. If thou hast believed, thou art forgiven- forgiven not partially, but altogether. The handwriting that was against thee is blotted out, nailed to the cross of Christ, and can never be pleaded against thee any more for ever. The pardon is complete…Once forgiven, you shall be forgiven for ever, and none of the consequences of sin shall be visited upon you. You shall be absolved unreservedly and eternally, so that when the heavens are on a blaze, and the great white throne is set up, and the last great assize is held, you may stand boldly before the judgment-seat and fear no accusation, for the forgiveness which God Himself vouchsafes He will never revoke.  ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3418.cfm

Remission of Sin

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

And almost all things are by the law purged with blood; and without shedding of blood is no remission. – Hebrews 9:22

Under the old figurative dispensation, blood was sure to greet your eyes. It was the one most prominent thing under the Jewish economy, scarcely a ceremony was observed without it. You could not enter into any part of the tabernacle, but you saw traces of the blood-sprinkling. Sometimes there were bowls of blood cast at the foot of the altar. The slaughter of animals was the manner of worship; the effusion of blood was the appointed rite, and the diffusion of that blood on the floor, on the curtains, and on the vestments of the priests, was the constant memorial…In every place, at every time, in every instance where sin had to be removed, blood must flow, life must be given.

We have all of us to take the offering which has already been presented, and to accept the sacrifice which Christ has, of Himself, made in our stead; there is now no cause or ground for exemption to any man or woman born, nor ever shall there be, either in this world or in that which is to come, -“Without shedding of blood, there is no remission.” Blood has been shed, and there is, therefore, hope concerning such a thing. Remission, notwithstanding the stern requirements of the law, is not to be abandoned in sheer despair. The word remission means the putting away of debts. Just as sin may be regarded as a debt incurred to God, so that debt may be blotted out, cancelled, and obliterated. The sinner, God’s debtor, may cease to be in debt by compensation, by full acquittance, and may be set free by virtue of such remission. Such a thing is possible. Glory be to God! the remission of all sin is possible to be obtained. God hath so declared it, and He will not be unfaithful to His word. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/3418.cfm

Come, Needy One, to Jesus Christ

Sherry Attributes of God, Character of Jesus, promises, repentance, salvation, Sovereignty of God, The Holy Spirit Leave a comment

Then drew near unto Him all the publicans and sinners for to hear Him. – Luke 15:1

There is this to be said to you who are unconverted-if Jesus Christ be so approachable, oh! how I wish, how I wish that you would approach Him. There are no bolts upon His doors, no barred iron gates to pass, no big dogs to keep you back. If Christ be so approachable by all the needy ones, then needy one, come, and welcome. Come just now! What is it that keeps you back? You think that you do not feel your need enough, or that you are not fit to come-both of which suspicions are self-righteousness in different shapes. O that you did know but your need of Jesus, in order to be able even to do so much as feel your need. You are a poor, miserable bankrupt soul before God, and Christ alone can enrich you. Do not talk of fitness; there is no such thing: –

“All the fitness He requireth,
Is to feel your need of Him:
This He gives you;
‘Tis the Spirit’s rising beam.”

Come, then. There is such mercy to be had; there is such a hell to be escaped from; there is such a heaven to be opened for you; delay not but believe at once. Come, come, come! I stand at mercy’s door and say to every passerby, in the name of the Master, “My oxen and fatlings are killed; come, come, come to the supper!” If it be easy to come to Him, what excuse can there be for you if you refuse to accept Him? I have tried to tell you what the way of salvation is. O you needy ones, let your need impel you to come at once, that you may find eternal life in Him. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0809.cfm

He Has Open Arms for You, Sinner

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

All that the Father giveth Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out. – John 6:37

There are tens of thousands now in the skies who came to Jesus just as they were, in all the filth and deshabille of the lost estate, and He received every one of them into His heart of love and arms of power. There are many thousands on earth who can testify that they have found Jesus to be a very tender and generous friend. Now, if He has received us, why should He not receive you? Be encouraged to believe that inasmuch as He has received others, He has open arms for you also.

Let me joyfully remind you that Jesus never has rejected a seeking sinner. There is not to be found in all the kingdoms of the universe a single instance of a sincere seeker after Christ being cast away, and there never shall be, for He hath not said to the seed of Jacob, “Seek ye My face in vain,” but He has said, “Him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out.” Beloved, if there had been a single soul cast away we should have known of it by now. It is eighteen hundred and sixty-eight years now, and if a solitary penitent had been rejected, we should have heard of it before now, for I will tell you of one who would have spread it abroad, and that is the devil. If he could get a single instance of a soul who had repented and trusted Christ but found that Christ would have nothing to do with him, it would be a standing scandal against the cross which Satan would delight to publish. I know, poor sinners, what the devil will tell you when you are coming to Christ-he will describe Jesus as a hard master, but you tell him he is a liar from the beginning, and a murderer, and that he is trying to murder your soul by making you swallow his poisonous lies. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0809.cfm