salvation

Drink of Salvation’s Cup

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

But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. – Hebrews 11:6

It is some good thing certainly to be a seeker, but it is also an ill thing if I follow my seeking and refuse God’s way of salvation. Hear what the apostle John saith: “He that believeth not God hath made Him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of His Son.” This is no small sin to be guilty of, and it entails no small punishment, for “he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” Suppose that I have been told of a remedy for my disease. Well, it is so far good that I desire to be cured of my deadly malady, it is so far hopeful that I have sent for a physician. But after being informed that there is the one specific for my disease, and that it alone will certainly heal me-if I were still to continue seeking a remedy, or to say I am seeking this one true remedy, I shall remain sick, and ultimately die. I shall never be healed unless I take that which is prescribed: to seek it is not enough, I must actually take it…O seeker for Jesus, think of this, for while I would not discourage thee, yet would I encourage thee to end thy seeking by becoming a believer. Look not at salvation’s cup, but drink of it. Stand not by the fountain’s brim but wash in it and be clean. O may the Holy Spirit lead thee to cease thy search for goodly pearls, for the pearl of great price is before thee. Jesus is not to be discovered as a secret; He stands before thee openly. Behold His hands and His feet, mark well His riven side, and as thou lookest, trust, and henceforth He is all thine own. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0947.cfm

The Special Command of the Gospel

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

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved… – Acts 16:31

What is the command of the gospel? “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.” Properly speaking, Christ is not an object for seeking, He is not far from any of us; like the brazen serpent uplifted by Moses, He is not so much to be looked for as looked at. We have neither to clamber to heaven to find Him in the loftiness of His Deity and bring Him down; nor dive into the chambers of Hades, to bring Him up again from the dead. Thus saith the Lord, “The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; that if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.” Jesus is Immanuel, God with us. A prayer will reach Him, a wish will find Him, a groan will pierce His heart-do but confide in Him, and He is yours. The first command of the gospel to guilty sinners is not to pray, to search the Scriptures, to attend upon sermons-all these are natural duties, and woe unto the man who neglects any of them; but the command, the special command of the gospel is, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ!” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0947.cfm

Conquering Edom

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

Who will bring me into the strong city? who will lead me into Edom? …Through God we shall do valiantly: for He it is that shall tread down our enemies. Psalm 108:10,13

Have any of you enterprise enough to go up against the strong cities that are still in rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ? Can any of you go, and look after those who walk the streets, and seek to bring them to Christ? That would be conquering Edom itself. Have you confidence enough to believe that the Lord Jesus Christ can give you that Petra-like city, that dark spot where thieves congregate, where blasphemy is the current language, and where profanity seems even to pollute the very air? …Then, having asked the question, “Who will lead me into Edom?” do not forget to pray, “Wilt not Thou, O God? Thou hast spoken; wilt Thou not also act, through Thy people, so that all flesh may see the salvation of God?” Let each child of God say, “O my Father, I believe that, weak and feeble as I am, my weakness and feebleness need be no hindrance to me if I go to Thy service in Thy strength! ‘Thou hast spoken in Thy holiness; I will rejoice;’ and, in Thy name, I will conquer the foe, and gather the spoil for Thee.” “Through God,” says David, “we shall do valiantly: for He it is that shall tread down our enemies.” Therefore, if ye believe in God, haste to the spoil of His enemies; quit you like men; be strong! If you really are linked with omnipotence, prove it. Do not talk about it, but let your deeds show that the Lord of hosts is with you, and that the God of Jacob is your refuge. If, indeed, the Lord’s arm be with you, smite as the Lord would smite. If, indeed, He speaks through you, speak as He would speak. Be strong, and very courageous, and press forward; in the name of God, set up your banners; and who knoweth whether even this feeble message of mine, in rousing you to action upon the basis of confidence in the Word of God, may not cast down some stronghold of the enemy, and make the walls of some mighty Jericho to fall flat to the ground? The Lord grant it for His name’s sake! Amen. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2864.cfm

Rejoice! He Will Fulfill His Promise

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

And this is the promise that He hath promised us, even eternal life. – 1 John 2:25

Praise the Lord for all the good things He has laid up in store for you; take upon your lips the words of that sweet singer who wrote,-

“And a ‘new song’ is in my mouth,
To long-loved music set;-
Glory to Thee for all the grace
I have not tasted yet.”

When you are ill, bless God for the health you will enjoy when you get well. When you are down-hearted, bless God for the joy that you will have when He shall again lift up the light of His countenance upon you. When you go to the grave of a Christian friend, bless God because you will meet that friend again. Though you cannot yet see the joys that await you inside the gates of pearl, begin to bless the Lord for all that He has prepared for them that love Him. Borrow from the eternal future; you may, for there is plenty of it. There is an infinity of joy; therefore, antedate it a little while. Send your messengers across the Jordan to bring you some of the Eshcol clusters. You may do so, for they are yours, and you may have some of them, even now, as foretastes of the bliss that is yet to be revealed. “God hath spoken” to His servants of the great things that He will do for them for many years to come, and throughout eternity. He hath said, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” He hath said, “Where I am, there shall also My servant be.” Therefore, as God hath spoken, though as yet my soul abideth in the land of darkness, and drought, and barrenness, yet, because He will fulfill His promise, my heart shall rejoice. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2864.cfm

How Can It Be Done?

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

God hath spoken in His holiness; I will rejoice… – Psalm 108:7

It sometimes happens that our greatest difficulty in believing a promise of God lies in His holiness. There is, for instance, a promise of pardon to the soul that believeth in Jesus. We think of stern justice, with her majestic yet severe look. In our heart of hearts, we reverence her, and we ask, “How can God be just, and yet the Justifier of the ungodly…Can this holy God really mean to receive such sinners as we are whose very clothes, as Job says, do abhor us? Can He purpose to bring us to His own right hand in glory that we may be among the courtiers in His heavenly kingdom?” Yes, He does mean to do even that; yet the thought of His purity makes us wonder how it can be done.

(God) knew all that David was, and all that David would be; yet He saw it to be consistent with His infinite perfections to make, even with such a man, “an everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure;” and, beloved brethren, when the Lord entered into covenant with Christ concerning those whom He gave to Him to be His portion forever, and when, in that covenant, He wrote down blessings exceedingly great and precious, and made promises so vast that we cannot at present form any estimate of their full value, He knew quite well what He was doing, and He did it, knowing all about your doubts and fears concerning your sinfulness and His own holiness. And now, without in the least marring His perfect purity, and inflexible justice, “God hath spoken in His holiness” to poor lost sinners and said that He will save all of them who trust in Jesus Christ, His Son; and He has also “spoken in His holiness” to His poor imperfect children, and said that He will bless them, and that He will not turn away from them to do them good. This is the covenant that He hath made with His people: “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and ye shall keep My judgments, and do them. And ye shall be My people, and I will be your God.” All this, which “God hath spoken in His holiness,” He will do without obscuring that wondrous attribute, or marring the glory of His adorable perfections. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2864.cfm

This is Our Joy, that God Hath Spoken

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

God hath spoken in His holiness… – Psalm 108:7

“God hath spoken in His holiness;” and we ought to be thankful that we have not to serve a God who is dumb. He spake in the garden of Eden when our first parents sinned against Him. To the serpent He said, “I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her Seed; He shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel.” It was a message of hope to the world when God spake that great promise concerning His Son. Since then, “at sundry times and in divers manners,” God hath spoken unto men by His servants, and “by His Son,” of which we have the record in this blessed Book; and, since it is a message of mercy and love to us, we ought at once to rejoice that “God hath spoken.” Sinner, you are pleading with God for mercy; and He might well refuse to answer you even a word; but “God hath spoken” already, and the answer to your petition is already recorded in His Word. If, when Adam sinned, He had turned away from our rebellious race, and said, “Henceforward, I will hold no communication with you until that day when, with fire and sword, I punish you for your many transgressions;” we should have had no cause for complaining against Him; certainly, we could not have impeached His justice, or found fault with His severity. But “God hath spoken;” He hath broken the silence which would have been death to us; and, blessed be His name, He hath divinely spoken to us by Him who is THE WORD OF GOD -by God’s great logos -the only voice by which He could fully speak out His whole soul so that men might be able to comprehend Him; and it is upon what God hath spoken unto us, by His Son, that we have to place our faith; so that, had He not spoken, we should not have had any foundation for our faith; but this is our joy, that “God hath spoken.” ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2864.cfm

Rest After Rest

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

And I will give you rest…Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. – Matthew 11:28, 29

“I will give you rest” comes before “Ye shall find rest.” It is the rest of a man who is already at rest, the repose of a man who has received a given rest, and now discovers the found rest. It is the rest of a learner-“Learn of Me, and ye shall find rest.” It is not so much the rest of one who was aforetime laboring and heavy laden, as of one who is to-day learning at the Saviour’s feet. It is the rest of a seeker evidently, for finding usually implies a search. Having been pardoned and saved, the saved man in the course of his experience discovers more and more reason for peace; he is learning, and seeking, and he finds. The rest is evidently lighted upon, however, as a thing unknown, which becomes the subject of discovery. The man had a rest from his burden; now he finds a rest, in Christ, which exceeds what he asked or even thought.

I have looked at this rest after rest as being a treasure concealed in a precious box. The Lord Jesus gives to His people a priceless casket, called the gift of rest; it is set with brilliants and inlaid with gems, and the substance thereof is of wrought gold; whosoever possesses it feels and knows that his warfare is accomplished and his sin is pardoned. After awhile the happy owner begins to examine his treasure. It is all his own, but he has not yet seen it all, for one day he detects a secret drawer, he touches a hidden spring, and lo! Before him lies a priceless Koh-I-Noor surpassing all the rest. It had been given him it is certain, but he had not seen it at first, and therefore he finds it. Jesus Christ gives us in the gift of Himself all the rest we can ever enjoy, even heaven’s rest lies in Him; but after we have received Him, we have to learn His value, and find out by the teaching of His Spirit the fulness of the rest which He bestows. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0969.cfm