In the Infinite Mercy of God

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

…as of one born out of due time. – 1 Corinthians 15:8

There have been some dear friends, who may be said to have been “born out of due time,” for they have been converted to God after it seemed impossible that they ever should be. I recollect well reading of one who imbibed sceptical notions, and became exceedingly furious against the preaching of the Word. One day, in Edinburgh, he heard it said that, a certain eminent minister of the gospel intended, if he met him, to speak with him about his soul; whereupon the man uttered some very strong expressions, and, amongst other wicked things, he said, “I shall never be converted unless I lose my senses:” All who were acquainted with him, and who knew how desperately he was set against the gospel, thought that his was indeed a hopeless case; but, in the infinite mercy of God, it turned out to be quite the opposite. He began to suffer from great incoherence of thought, his mind gradually wandered, when he was trying to speak, he often spoke utter nonsense. He became unfit for business, and had to be put into the custody of someone who watched him as his keeper. Reason was not actually gone, but it was reeling upon its throne; and while he was in that sad state, the case of Nebuchadnezzar came to his mind, and he wondered whether God had given him up, altogether, on account of what he had said, that he would never be converted while he was in his senses. He turned his mind, all shipwrecked and battered as it, was, towards God and out of the depths of his half-bewildered spirit, he cried unto the Lord as Nebuchadnezzar did, and his mind returned to him, and he became a humble, gentle, holy believer in the Lord Jesus Christ…I do not pray that such a thing may happen to anybody here, but I do pray that God may bring you to Christ somehow, and anyhow; and if, in order to attain that end, you have to be driven to the very gates of hell- so long as you do not actually pass through them- I will rejoice if, afterwards, you are led to flee to Christ for refuge. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2663.cfm

A Triumph of Divine Grace

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

And last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. – 1 Corinthians 15:8

I recollect reading a very striking saying of Mr. Bunyan’s. He said he had good reason to believe that, in the generation after him, there would be many more saints than in the one of which he formed a part, and his belief was based upon the fact that, wherever he went, he found that there were so many great sinners that he hoped they would be converted, and become eminent servants of the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, there was a blessed truth at the back of that hope of his; for, very often, where sin has abounded, grace does much more abound; and when the Word of God seems to grow scarce, and the candle of the gospel burns but dimly, we may pray and expect that even then, some may be “born out of due time” to the praise of the glory of that grace which saves as it wills, and often selects the very chief of sinners to be the subjects of His almighty power.

Our Lord still knows how to stop men as He stopped Saul of Tarsus on the road to Damascus. He, is the man who says that he was “born out of due time;” and he is a wonderful instance of this method of divine interposition. He has in his possession, the letters from the high priest which will enable him to bind the saints, then carry them off to Jerusalem; he is riding towards Damascus, he is within sight of the, city when, in the very midst of his high-handed course of persecution, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself intervenes, and smites him down to the ground. Presently, he rises to pray, and, in his three days’ blindness and fasting, to seek the Lord, and then to find Him, to the salvation of his soul and the joy of his spirit, and thus to become an apostle of that very Savior whom, in his ignorance, he had been persecuting. After such a triumph of divine grace, let us never despair of any sinner however far he may have gone into, sin. ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/2663.cfm

I Have Given My Life, My Blood

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For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? ~ Mark 8:36

Once when Rowland Hill was preaching, Lady Ann Erskine happened to be driving by: she was in the outer ring of the circle, and she asked the coachman, what all the people were there for. He replied, “They are going to hear Rowland Hill.” Well, she had heard a great deal about this strange man, accounted to be the very wildest of preachers, and so she drew near. No sooner did Rowland Hill see her, than he said, “Come, I am going to have an auction, I am going to sell Lady Ann Erskine.” (She of course stopped, and she wondered how she was going to be disposed of.) “Who will buy her? ” Up comes the world. “What will you give for her?” “I will give her all the pomps and vanities of this present life; she shall be a happy woman here she shall be very rich, she shall have many admirers, she shall go through this world with many joys.” “You shall not have her; her soul is an everlasting thing; it is a poor price you are offering; you are only giving a little and what shall it profit her if she gain the whole world and lose her own soul? Here comes another purchaser- here is the devil. “What will you give for her.” “Well,” says he, “I will let her enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, she shall indulge in everything her heart shall set itself unto; she shall have everything to delight the eye and the ear; she shall indulge in every sin and vice that can possibly give a transient pleasure.” Ah! Satan, what will you do for her for ever? You shall not have her, for I know what you are; you would give a paltry price for her, and then destroy her soul to all eternity. But here comes another-I know Him-it is the Lord Jesus. “What will you give for her?” Says He, “It is not what I will give, it is what I have given; I have given My life, My blood for her; I have bought her with a price, and I will give her heaven for ever and ever; I will give her grace in her heart now and glory throughout eternity.”

Whosoever is willing to have Christ, Christ is willing to have him. What sayest thou? wilt thou go with this Man? ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0199.cfm

What the Lord’s Supper Sees and Says

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You who are King of kings and Lord of lords, we worship You. Before Jehovah’s awful throne we bow with sacred joy.

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Are You Prepared for Eternity?

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

And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment… – Hebrews 9:27

I have heard of a certain king who had a fool in his court, who made a great many merry jests, and the king gave him a stick, and said, “Keep that till you find a bigger fool than yourself.” At last, the king came to die, and when he lay a-dying, the jester came to him and said, “Master, what is the matter?” “I am going to die, said the king.” “Going to die-where’s that?” “I am going to die, man, don’t laugh at me now.” “How long are you going to be there?” “Well, where I am going, I shall live for ever.” “Have you got a house there?” “No.” “Have you made any preparation for the journey?” “No.” “Have you got any provision whatever, as you are going to live there such a long time?” “No.” “There, take the stick; fool as I am, I have made preparation. I am not such a fool as to have to live in a place where I have not got a house.” Christ has prepared for His people a mansion in heaven. There was much wisdom in the jester’s language…Will you pause a moment and recollect that you have to sail for ever, and you must sail o’er the burning waves of hell, or else o’er sparkling streams of glory. Which shall it be with you? You will have to consider this soon. Before many days, and months, and years are gone, God will say to you “Prepare to meet thy God,” then you are in the death struggle when the stream of Jordan is chilling your blood, and your heart is sunken within you by reason of fear. And what will you do then? What wilt thou do in the swellings of sin in the day when thou art spoiled? What shalt thou do when God shall bring thee into judgment? ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0199.cfm

Simply Look to Christ

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

Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. – Isaiah 45:22

You are to come to Christ to get everything. You are not to say, “Well, I will believe first, and then come.” No; go to Christ for faith. You must look to the cross even to get a sense of sin. We do not feel our sins so much before we see the cross, but we feel them most afterwards. We look to Christ first; then repentance flows from both our streaming eyes. Remember, if you go anywhere else to find a Saviour, you are on the wrong track. If you try to bring anything to Christ, to use a homely proverb, it is like bringing coals to Newcastle. He has plenty-He does not want any of yours, and what is more, as soon as He sees anything in your hands He will turn you straight away. He will have nothing to do with you until you can say-

“Nothing in my hands I bring, simply to Thy cross I cling.”

I have a hundred different phases of this singular fatuity of man-the desire to bring something to Christ. “Oh,” says one “I would come to Christ, but I have been too great a sinner.” Self again, sir; your being a great sinner has nothing to do with that. Christ is a great Saviour; and however great your sin, His mercy is greater than that. He invites you simply as a sinner. Be you big or little, He bids you come to Him and take His salvation “without money and without price.” Another says, “Ah! but I do not feel it enough.” Self again. He does not ask you about your feelings He simply says, “Look unto Me and be ye saved all the ends of the earth.” “But, sir, I cannot pray.” Self again. You are not to be saved by your prayers; you are to be saved by Christ, and your business is simply to look to Christ. He will help you to pray afterwards. You must begin at the right end by clinging only to His cross and trusting there. But, I said to myself, “I will try once more” and I went to the Master, with nothing of my own, casting myself simply on His mercy; and I believed that He died for me…Oh, do try Him.~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0199.cfm

 

A Secure Salvation

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

If a man believeth in Christ with all his heart, his salvation is secure beyond hazard; and I always look upon this as the very jewel of the crown of salvation, that it be irreversible.

“His honor is engaged to save
The meanest of His sheep.
All that His heavenly Father gave
His hands securely keep.

God does not make you His child to-day, and turn you out to-morrow; He does not forgive you to-day, and then punish you the next day. As true as God is God, if thou gettest thy pardon, the earth may melt away just as a moment’s foam dissolves into the wave that bears it and is lost for ever; the great universe may pass away and be like the hoar-frost before the morning sun; but thou never canst be condemned. As long as God is God, he who has got his pardon signed and sealed, is beyond the reach of harm. I would not preach any other-I dare not. It would not be worth your receiving, it would not be worth my taking the trouble to preach; but this is worth any man’s having indeed, for it is a sure investment. He who puts himself into the hands of Christ has a sure keeper, come what may-and there may come strong temptations and strong affections, and there may come strong pains and hard duties, but He that hath helped us bears us through, and makes us more than conquerors too. Oh! to be pardoned once, with the certain assurance that we shall be pardoned for ever, beyond the hazard of being cast away! ~ C.H. Spurgeon

https://www.blueletterbible.org/Comm/spurgeon_charles/sermons/0199.cfm