Valley Forge Baptist Church

Recircumcised?

2012-01-31T08:00:00.000-05:00

2 At that time the Lord said to Joshua, “Make flint knives for yourself, and circumcise the sons of Israel again the second time.” 3 So Joshua made flint knives for himself, and circumcised the sons of Israel at the hill of the foreskins.(Joshua 5:2-3)

God commanded Joshua to see that this was done to all males under 40. These were sons of the generation who died in the wilderness, survivors (cf. vv. 6, 7) from the new generation God spared in Num. 13, 14. This surgical sign of a faith commitment to the Abrahamic Covenant (see Gen. 17:9–14) had been ignored during the wilderness trek. Now God wanted it reinstated, so the Israelites would start out right in the Land they were possessing.

This was not a re-circumcision of individuals (which would be impossible), but the second occasion of doing this as a nation. This implies that as a nation it had been done before leaving Egypt (Josh. 5:4), but those born in the wilderness were uncircumcised ( Josh. 5:5). This also implies that there were many ways that the law was not kept during the wilderness wanderings.

This circumcision was necessary because the generation that came out of Egypt had fallen under God’s judgment. In His grace God was raising up a new generation for Himself (v. 7). Physical circumcision had its spiritual counterpart in circumcised hearts (Deut. 10:16; 30:6)

When God reaffirmed his covenant with Abraham, promising him the land of Canaan, he warned him that anyone who was not circumcised would be violating the covenant (Gen 17:7–14). Consequently, Israel could not claim the covenant land until the sign of the covenant had been restored. Here is another parallel between Moses and Joshua: When called to lead the covenant people out of Egypt, Moses had to restore the the covenant of circumcision in his own family (Exod 4:24–26). In the instructions God gave Moses for the Passover meal, no uncircumcised males were allowed to participate (cf. Exod 12:48–49). Circumcision may have been a puberty rite in some nations, but for Israel it marked one’s entrance into the covenant community. In Hebrew this verse is redundant; it says, “Circumcise the Israelites again, a second time.” There is no record that Joshua conducted any mass circumcision prior to this, nor was anyone to be circumcised over again. Joshua was reinstituting circumcision after it had been neglected during the forty years in the desert.

It is interesting that not even Joshua had circumcised his children while in the desert:
7 Then Joshua circumcised their sons whom He raised up in their place; for they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. (Joshua 5:7)

This was a reproach to him in God's eyes:
9 Then the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” Therefore the name of the place is called Gilgal to this day. (Joshua 5:9)

That reproach was removed by the act of circumcision that renewed the Abrahamic Covenant and affirmed God's commitment and faithfulness to His people and Joshua's place in His plan.

This is borne out by the reaffirmation made at the end of the chapter by the appearance of the Angel of the Lord:

13 And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, a Man stood opposite him with His sword drawn in His hand. And Joshua went to Him and said to Him, “ Are You for us or for our adversaries?” (Joshua 5:13)

This man proved to be one of the Persons of the Trinity who was personally leading Israel from Egypt. From all outward appearances Joshua thought He was a man. He stood like a man, looked like a man, held a sword like a man, spoke with an audible voice like a man, and Joshua approached Him like a man.

Five proofs that He was God, not a man:

He claimed to be Captain of the host of the Lord. Joshua knew God was the Captain of Israel. He had promised to go before them and lead them into Canaan, and had done so for forty years ( Ex. 3:8 , 12 , 17-22 ; 6:1-8 ; 10:2-6 ; 23:20-33 ; 33:1-3 ; Josh. 1:2-9 ; 3:7-8 ; Acts 7:31-37 ).
Joshua worshipped Him, and such reverence belongs only to God. If He had been only a messenger of God, He would not have permitted worship (cp. Rev. 19:9-10 ; 22:8-10 ).
Joshua called Him "Lord" (Hebrew: 'Adon (H136 h136 ) sovereign; lord; master; owner).
Joshua recognized himself as His servant.
The same thing was said to Joshua that was said to Moses. Only God could make such a demand (cp. Josh. 5:15 with Ex. 3:1-8 ).

Eliphaz & Presuppositions

2012-01-30T08:00:00.000-05:00

17 “Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects;
Therefore do not despise the chastening of the Almighty.
18 For He bruises, but He binds up;
He wounds, but His hands make whole.
19 He shall deliver you in six troubles,
Yes, in seven no evil shall touch you. (Job 5:17-19)

It is not so much the content of Eliphaz's advice that is the problem for us. But rather, it is the perspective, the "worldview" from which it is offered that is defective. From his point of view, man is on a give and take relationship with God. He must earn his keep. All that man does God watches and either He rewards or chastens, given the merit of those actions. I'm sure that Eliphaz saw some room in Gods scheme for mercy and grace, but his basic perception of God's interaction with man was one of give and take, one on a "works" basis.

This is an all together natural perception for men. Since the fall, and the effects that the fall wrought in man, our twisted thinking has caused us to have a faulty perception of how we are to interact with God. In our pride , our arrogance, we believe that we can seize authority from Him and do things ourselves. That even extends past salvation into the Christian life. We see ourselves on a "do" or "not do" basis with God. If we "do", then we get blessed. If we "fail to do", then at best we simply fail to be blessed; & at worst we receive God's chastening & judgment.

This is not just a minor thinking issue. This is a fundamental perception issue that affects and forms all of Eliphaz's thinking and understanding. It causes him to be wrong and how he see's Job's interaction with the affairs that are going on in his life. It causes him to charge Job with evil that he didn't not commit. It causes him to draw conclusions that are untrue and forced those conclusions upon poor innocent Job. It causes him not only to fail to minister to Job, but to do the opposite in his responsibility to minister, to drive Job down and have a negative impact on him and his great time of need.

All of this because of presuppositions that he was unwilling to shake. You and I must take great care to examine our own presuppositions. We must examine them in light of what the Scripture has to say. Fortunately for us we hold the Bible in our hands. That is a privilege neither Job nor Eliphaz had.

It is a blessing and privilege that you and I must take advantage of because it is a privilege that God did not give us for no reason. We do not have the Scripture simply to hold, or to read, or for our information. It is here to mold and to shape our lives and to change our thinking and the our perception of what is real what is true. We do not approach the structure knowing what is true ahead of time. We approach the scripture seeking truth allowing it to teach us what is true.

Eliphaz, of course, was a great disadvantage as he did not hold the Word of God in his hand as you and I do. Let's see to it that you and I don't make the same mistakes that he did.

Ten Blessings in Romans 5

2012-01-29T08:00:00.000-05:00

Justification ( Rom. 5:1 , 9 )
Peace with God ( Rom. 5:1 )
Access by faith into grace ( Rom. 5:2 )
Standing in grace ( Rom. 5:2 )
Joy in God ( Rom. 5:2-3 , 11 )
Grace in tribulations ( Rom. 5:3-5 )
Love of God in the heart ( Rom. 5:5 )
The Holy Spirit ( Rom. 5:5 )
Salvation from wrath ( Rom. 5:9-10 )
Reconciliation by blood ( Rom. 5:10-11 )

Enoch & Heaven

2012-01-28T08:00:00.000-05:00

The Hebrew word means "initiated" or "dedicated." Enoch was the only one mentioned as being godly in Seth's line except Noah (cp. Gen. 6:9 ; 7:1 ).

He was a prophet ( Jude 1 ), and was translated by faith ( Rom. 10:17 ; Heb. 11:5 ).
His experience parallels that of Elijah ( 2Ki. 2 ).

Both were taken to heaven bodily without dying; both were prophets of judgment; both fought idolatry and apostasy; both knew the time and purpose of their "translation" (transporting) ( 2 ; Heb. 11:5 ).

Couldn't they fulfill Zech. 4:11-14 ; Mal. 4:4-6 ; and Rev. 11:3-11 ?
Heaven is a material place with food and Mal. 4:4-6 ; and Rev. 11:3-11 ?

Heaven is a material place with food and inhabited cities ( Ex. 24:11 ; Ps. 78:25 ; Lk. 22:16 , 18 , 30 ; Heb. 11:10 , 13-16 ; 13:14 ; Jn. 6:31 ; 14:1-3 ; Rev. 2:7 , 17 ; 4:4-6 ; 5:3-13 ; 7:17 ; 12:12 ; 13:6 ; 18:20 ; 19:1-10 ; 22:2 ).

Couldn't two prophets live in heaven all these millennia?
Paul and John went to heaven ( 2Cor. 12:1-7 ; Rev. 4:1 ).
All resurrected saints will eventually live there until they return with Christ to set up His kingdom ( 1Th. 4:14-17 ; 1Cor. 15:51-58 ; Rev. 7:9-17 ; 19 ).

What Did Matthew Mean By "Blessed" in Matthew 5?

2012-01-27T08:00:00.000-05:00

     “Makarios”, Translated "blessed" here in Matthew 5:1–10, in Greek means “fortunate” or “happy” and is derived from the root "mak", which means “lengthy.” Perhaps the Greeks saw blessedness as related to the idea of “length of life”—a long life was a blessed one.
Makarios was frequently used in Greek literature, the Septuagint (a Greek translation of the Old Testament), and the New Testament to describe the kind of happiness that comes from receiving divine favor. Consequently, the word can also be rendered “favored.” In the New Testament it is usually a divine passive; this means that people are blessed by God. The Lord God is the One who is blessing or favoring the person.
     The most well-known “blessings” are described in the Beatitudes, wherein we see the various kinds of blessings God gives to those who are worthy of these graces. The Beatitudes are written in two different forms: one in Matthew 5:3–12 and the other in Luke 6:20–23. The pronouncement of the blessings in Luke is done immediately after the selection of the twelve disciples (Luke 6:12–16). Yet, the sermon is addressed to the crowd generally and speaks of the advent of God’s kingdom. Luke balances four blessings with four woes—changing from the present tense to the future tense—to heighten the contrast of the impending reversal of social conditions.
     In Matthew’s account, the kingdom has already begun, indicated by the use of the present tense. These Beatitudes are addressed to the disciples particularly and are not a general proclamation. They are more concerned with the interior life of the disciple—to activate here and now the kind of life Jesus communicates in those who follow Him. The eight Beatitudes reflect on the traits of those who belong to that kingdom and who therefore reflect Christ’s own life. Read, for example, this passage in Matthew 5:1-10...
     The people and situations described may seem bad by our human standards. Yet, because of God’s presence in our lives, we are actually blessed by God through these trying situations.

From the Holman Treasury of Key Bible Words

Firm Opinions

2012-01-26T12:11:00.001-05:00

3 Surely you have instructed many, And you have strengthened weak hands. 4 Your words have upheld him who was stumbling, And you have strengthened the feeble knees; 5 But now it comes upon you, and you are weary; It touches you, and you are troubled.(Job 4:3-5)

A common modern concept is that in order for one to be reasonable one must not hold any opinion firmly. All three of Job's counselors take this opinion and have this perspective in one form or another. The idea that is fundamental, that forms the bedrock of their opinion of Job, is that one who has done well will be rewarded by God. Similarly, if there is "punishment" in your life, that is, if evil exists in your life, it is there because God is punishing you for some reason or another. They see Job's assertion that he is innocent, and that he has done nothing to deserve the evil that is present in his life, as a failure to confess that evil. The problem that they pursued with Job is not so much that he had done evil and deserved chastening, (they, as all men, recognized that everyone commits sin; at times very grievous sin) but that he refused to confess that sin before God. What they were talking him to task for was what they saw as a continual hardness and refusal to repent and admit his sin in light of what they believed was a continual and obvious call for repentance from God.

But throughout the book, Job holds firmly to his conviction that no wickedness on his part prompted the suffering that he underwent. Of course, being privy to the conversations in heaven between Satan and God, we know this to be so. In fact, we know that the exact opposite is the case! The suffering that Job bore, he bore, not because he was wicked or because of any ungodliness; but rather precise because he was a godly man and God wish to hold him up as an example for all to see and consider! Job's failing was that he held this conviction too tenaciously. He held it to the point of charging God with evil, exalting himself over his Maker. And so we see, at the end of the book, God call him to account for that failing but none other.

This refusal to take sure stand is a common failing in many men; but particularly, it seems, in modern man. The Scripture says that we are, at root level, pleasers of other men. We desire to be at peace with them, rather than in conflict with them. Surely there are those around that and enjoy the "Art of war", liking conflict and basking in the glory of overcoming others. But by and large, men simply want to get along with other men and they will get what's needful to accomplish that end.

In the modern church, modern theologians seem to think that it is an evil thing to hold firm opinions. Sadly, this position seems to apply to doctrine as well. It has come to be that we are not allowed to believe anything for certain anymore either. The flip side of this is that anyone is allowed to believe anything and everything has become acceptable within the context of the church these days. Anyone can believe anything these days and still be a Christian. It is astonishing simply to flip the TV channels around these days and hear what the different preachers are saying about who Jesus is, where (and when!) He came from, and what he paid (or did not pay) for on the cross.

Whatever our position, we're not allowed to hold it firmly, we must allow for other positions. The only position were allowed to hold firmly and grasp with all our might is that no one is allowed to have any position for sure.

The root problem here is a disrespect for the Word of God coupled with too high a respect for the reasoning capability of the mind of man and his ability to interpret that which goes on around him.

As has been man's problem all along, our pride has seized control of how we think of ourselves and now, sadly, of how we think of our ability to interact with our God. At the fall man lost his ability to understand and communicate with his Maker. Man has labored under that disability from that point onward. The problem has been that he has had an increasing denial on that inability ever since.

Matthew 4:3-4 - Christ's Temptation

2012-01-22T08:00:00.000-05:00

3 Now when the tempter came to Him, he said, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.”. 4 But He answered and said, “ It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God. ’” (Matthew 4:3-4)

It is always been interesting to me that Satan sought to to tempt the very Son of God. It could not have been because he did not know Who Christ was, or because he did not understand our Lords nature. It could not have been because he did not understand that divinity was, by definition, sinless, obviously was well aware, having been cast from Heaven because of his own sin. No, I think were forced to conclude that Satan came and tempted Christ for two reasons:

First, he came because it is his nature can come and to seek to deceive, tempt, and to destroy. He is "the adversary", and as such, he can do nothing but but seek to oppose that which God is working to accomplish. That is what we see him doing here.

Secondly, we see his attack on the Lord Jesus as an example for those who would follow in faith. As is many times the case in the Scripture, God allows undesirable, even futile things to occur in order to use them as an example for those who would follow. As our Lord was Divine, as fully God as the heavenly Father was, there was no chance that He would submit to Satan's temptation. It is completely unreasonable to think that Satan was unaware of that as he approached there on the mountain. Evening ego as arrogant as Satan is not quite that foolish. We might think that he was desiring to insult our Lord, yes we could go for that! But the fact that he had any hope of tearing our Lord down into sin?, No we find that difficult to believe.

One further question though, does the fact that our Lord had a Divine nature and thus, was "unable to sin", mean that the temptation was not real temptation? Adam was perfect in the garden before the fall and yet his temptation was real and he fell. But we must remember that Adam, though he was perfect in every way before the fall, was not Divine. God was holy, separate from him, and he was not.

In like fashion, when Christ came to earth, He took on the form of man. He was like man in every fashion. And even though He "laid aside His Deity, He did not fully give it up in that He ceased to be God. He merely ceased any visible demonstration or expression of that Godhood. Thus, when Satan came to tempt Him, that Deity was still in full force insofar as his person went. Yes, it was wrapped in a mortal, flimsy shell of humanity; but it was Deity nevertheless.

It speaks reams about the arrogance and malignity of the enemy of our souls that he went and stood before his Lord and Maker, seeking to tempt Him to sin, not once, but three times. The scene grows greatly in drama when we think of it in these terms. Moreover, it speaks of the great mercy and forbearance of our Lord, as He tolerated that awful presence not once but three times as Satan spoke his lies spewed his awful venom. Rather than cast him aside or bar him, He allowed him to come, not because there was any benefit to Himself but that the event might be recorded for your benefit and for mine! How marvelous and mercy of God and how wondrous His Grace. If only we have eyes to see!

Isaiah 2:10-21 - Twelve Predictions Unfulfilled!

2012-01-21T08:04:00.000-05:00

10 Enter into the rock, and hide in the dust, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty. 11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, The haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, And the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day. 12 For the day of the Lord of hosts Shall come upon everything proud and lofty, Upon everything lifted up — And it shall be brought low—13 Upon all the cedars of Lebanon that are high and lifted up, And upon all the oaks of Bashan; 14 Upon all the high mountains, And upon all the hills that are lifted up; 15 Upon every high tower, And upon every fortified wall; 16 Upon all the ships of Tarshish, And upon all the beautiful sloops. 17 The loftiness of man shall be bowed down, And the haughtiness of men shall be brought low; The Lord alone will be exalted in that day, 18 But the idols He shall utterly abolish. 19 They shall go into the holes of the rocks, And into the caves of the earth, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily. 20 In that day a man will cast away his idols of silver And his idols of gold, Which they made, each for himself to worship, To the moles and bats, 21 To go into the clefts of the rocks, And into the crags of the rugged rocks, From the terror of the Lord And the glory of His majesty, When He arises to shake the earth mightily. (Isaiah 2:10-21)

Isaiah is known for what he has to say concerning the coming of the Lord's Messiah. The issue is that some of those prophecies regard the first coming of the Lord and some of them regard the second coming; and in addition, some are very general and take both in view. What we must be careful to sort out as we read these prophecies is the difference between the three. If it is general, then we must leave it as such and not seek to assign it specifically and exclusively to either one or the other. With regard to the other two, we must take care to be sure to which the particular passage is speaking.

Here in Isaiah 2 we see the first opportunity to make a distinction between the two. In verse 10 we see the beginning of a set of verses that speak, not to the first coming but to the second coming. We know that because it offers a number of prophecies that were not (and are not) fulfilled at the time of the first coming.

People will enter into caves and dens of the earth for fear of God when Christ comes with power and glory to set up His kingdom ( Isa. 2:10 , 19 , 21 ; Mt. 24:29-31 ). This is not the same as the sixth seal of Rev. 6:12-17 , which will be fulfilled several years earlier than the second coming of Christ.
The pride of man will be humbled ( Isa. 2:11 , 17 ).
Jehovah alone will be exalted.
The day of the Lord will be upon all who are proud and haughty; and they will be brought low ( Isa. 2:12 ).
Judgment will fall upon the cedars of Lebanon and the oaks of Bashan ( Isa. 2:13 ).
Judgment will fall upon the mountains and hills ( Isa. 2:14 ).
High towers and fenced walls will be judged ( Isa. 2:15 ).
Ships of the sea will be destroyed ( Isa. 2:16 ).
Pleasant (desirable) pictures will be destroyed.
Idols will be utterly destroyed ( Isa. 2:18 ).
The Lord will personally come and shake the whole earth ( Isa. 2:19-21 Rev. 16:17-21 18:1-24 ).
Men will be so fearful that they will cast away their idols and objects of worship to the moles and bats ( Isa. 2:20-21 ).

None of these prophecies were fulfilled at the time of the first coming of Christ - leaving us with the inescapable conclusion that they apply to the second coming of the Lord.

Eastward in Eden

2012-01-20T08:00:00.000-05:00

8 The Lord God planted a garden eastward in Eden, and there He put the man whom He had formed. (Genesis 2:8)

I've always wondered what I looked at Genesis 2:8... "Eastward of what?". The garden seems to have been located in the east of Eden, which was evidently a large district. But we are not even really sure where "Eden" was. There is no sure definition for us in the Scripture where exactly "Eden" was located. We have some hints and some things that we could use for guidelines, but there is nothing definitive. That leads us to believe that it is utterly unimportant for us to know!
Two of the rivers had well-known names--Euphrates and Tigris (called Hiddekel in Gen. 2:14 ). The other two aren't so easily identified. Gihon went through Ethiopia and may refer to the Nile. Pison compassed Arabia. There is no known spot where physical features exactly match the description here. The garden was destroyed and the surface of the earth has changed. It seems clear from Gen. 10:25 and 1Chr. 1:19 that there was one solid land mass until the time of Peleg, when the earth was divided into continents and islands. Hence, it is impossible to locate all these rivers or the garden of Eden.

We are told that even greater changes will take place at the second coming of Christ (Isa. 11:15-16 ; 34:1-- Isa. 35:10 ; Zech. 14:4-10 ; Rev. 16:10-21), and when the earth is made new again (Rev. 21:1-2 , 9-10).

Scholars have speculated about Eden's location, suggesting places as various as the third heaven to the lowest part of earth, from the north to the south poles. They've named China, India, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), Armenia, Africa, Mesopotamia, Syria, Persia, Arabia, Babylon, Assyria, Palestine, and Egypt, as well as Missouri and Utah in America. As always...it would be wise for all to read and be content with Dt. 29:29:

“The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

There are actually four Gardens named in the the Scripture:

Lucifer's garden of Eden before Adam, where sin originated among the angels ( Ezek. 28:11-17 ; Jer. 4:23-26).
Adam's garden of Eden where sin originated with Adam ( Gen. 2:8--Gen. 3:24 ).
The garden of Gethsemane where Satan was defeated and the cross assured ( Mt. 26:36 ; Jn. 18:1 ).
The garden of resurrection where Christ triumphed over sin, death, hell and the grave ( Jn. 19:38-42 ; Rev. 1:18 ).

The Flight Into Egypt

2012-01-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise, take the young Child and His mother, flee to Egypt, and stay there until I bring you word; for Herod will seek the young Child to destroy Him.”
14 When he arose, he took the young Child and His mother by night and departed for Egypt, 15 and was there until the death of Herod, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the Lord through the prophet, saying, “Out of Egypt I called My Son.” (Matthew 2:13-15)

The flight into Egypt serves two purposes as we read it in Matthew chapter 2. First, of course, it serves to protect the baby Jesus and his mother Mary from the aggression of King Herod. But second, and more significantly, we read at the end of the passage that it served as a fulfillment of prophecy. Hosea 11:1 records the profit saying that he had delivered his people, the nation of Israel, "out of Egypt".

This is, of course, a reference to the national deliverance of Israel from out of slavery to Egypt in the time of Moses. It is very clear that that was the intention of Hosea in Hosea 11. Yet it is just as clear in Matthew two that it is the intention of God's Spirit to apply that passage, which doesn't be referred to physical bondage on the part of gods people in Egypt, and use it to speak of the return of his Messiah from Egypt in heritage day.

Egypt, throughout the Scripture, was a symbol of bondage; slavery and the hardness that terrible institution represents. Got used His people Israel frequently to illustrate the horror of slavery and to paint a picture of what a glorious deliverance was coming for them. This was the chief reason why He tolerated the presence of slavery in the Old Testament. It wasn't because He approved of the institution, not by a long shot!

Just as he called the nation of Israel out of Egypt, and thereby painted a wonderful picture of the freedom that was coming when Their Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ finally came to deliver them; so also, once Christ was finally on the scene, God symbolically took him into Egypt and then returned him from out of Egypt to fulfill that picture. The matter of "safety from Herod" was really almost incidental. What safety did Egypt provide that the hand of the almighty God could not provide?

The Sanctification of Job’s Children

2012-01-18T08:00:00.000-05:00

5 So it was, when the days of feasting had run their course, that Job would send and sanctify them, and he would rise early in the morning and offer burnt offerings according to the number of them all. For Job said, “It may be that my sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts.” Thus Job did regularly. (Job 1:5)

As far as biblical history is concerned this is the second reference to sanctification, inasmuch as Job is no doubt the oldest book of the Bible and it’s records took place before the law of Moses was given.

The first reference to sanctification concerns setting apart a day for God to rest (Gen. 2:1-4). Here in Job it means that a father simply went through religious ceremonies before God in the hope that He would have mercy on his children. He set them apart in his own mind and religious acts; but this did not save them or protect them even from physical death. There is no hint of their being cleansed from sin; the idea is that of dedicating them to God, which is all any parent can do. The actual salvation of children happens when they meet God's requirements for salvation.

We have a completely insufficient amount of information to conclude what the requirement for salvation was – other than that God is merciful and gracious and that He desires men to be saved and none to be lost. We must be sure NOT to cast NT ideas back toward Job, and even not to cast Mosaic ideas back. What we CAN do is to trust to those truths that we KNOW are universal because the Bible says they are universal.

Note the mention of burnt offerings That mention here shows that sacrifices had continued from Abel's time (Gen. 4) until now. It seems that they were practiced through all the ages up to the time of Christ.

The Gospel Is God’s Power

2012-01-17T08:00:00.000-05:00

16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. (Romans 1:16)

”power” - Greek: dunamis, inherent power; the ability to produce a desired effect…

The Scripture that God’s mighty power is able to do all that He has promised to do:

1. To produce the new birth ( 1Pet. 1:23 ).
2. To give salvation ( Rom. 1:16 ; Eph. 1:13 ).
3. To impart grace ( Acts 20:24 ).
4. To establish people in the faith ( Rom. 16:25 ).
5. To generate faith ( Rom. 10:17 ).
6. To set free ( Jn. 8:31-36 ).
7. To nourish spiritual life ( 1Pet. 2:2 ).
8. To cleanse the church ( Eph. 5:26 ).
9. To search the life ( Heb. 4:12 ).
10. To make partakers of Christ ( Eph. 3:6 ).
11. To impart immortality ( 2Tim. 1:10 ).
12. To bring peace ( Rom. 10:15 ).
13. To give protection ( Eph. 6:17 ).
14. To give fullness of blessings ( Rom. 15:29 ).

The Four-Fold Character of Job

2012-01-16T11:21:00.001-05:00

He Was Perfect.
The Hebrew word is “tam” and can be translated “perfect” ( Job 1:1, 8; 2:3; 8:20; 9:20-22; Ps. 37:37; 64:4); plain (Gen. 25:27); upright (Prov. 29:10); and undefiled (Song 5:2 ; 6:9).

Tam is derived from “tamam”, to complete; make full; be entire; to finish. It denotes that in which there is no part lacking to complete the whole, as, in our modern day, the complete parts of a watch or piece of machinery in which no part is missing. Job was not only upright as a chief among his people, but pious toward God. He was not only kind to his family, but he was just to his neighbors and benevolent to the poor.

The word “perfect” used to describe him refers to his utter simplicity and sincerity, to he being free from guile and evil intention toward anyone; having no part and lacking in outward life, conduct, and religion. It does not mean sinless perfection or being without any tendencies to evil, for Job was a human with the usual traits and shortcomings that show up under pressure, as can be seen from the Two Great Mistakes of Job.

He Was Upright
Job is also referred to as “upright”. This is the Hebrew word “yashar” meaning “to be straight”. It is, in fact, translated “upright” in numerous places (Job 1:1, 8; 2:3; 8:6; 17:8; 1Sam. 29:6 ; Ex. 15:26 ; Dt. 6:18; 12:8). But is also translated “righteous” ( Job 4:7 ; 23:7 ); “meet” ( 2Ki. 10:3 ; Jer. 26:14 ); “just” ( Pr. 29:10 ); “straight” ( Jer. 31:9 ; Ezek. 1:7 , 23 ); “convenient” (Jer. 40:4-5); and “equity” ( Mic. 3:9 ).

Job Feared God
The Hebrew word here is “yare” meaning “to revere; be afraid of; or to have deep respect for” ( Job 1:1 ; Ex. 9:20 ; 1Ki. 18:3 ; 2Ki. 17:32-34 , 41). True religion in Scripture is often represented as the fear of God (Prov. 1:7 , 29 ; 2:5 ; 8:13 ; 14:26-27 ; Isa. 11:2 ; Acts 9:31).

Fourthly, we’re told that Job “eschewed” or avoided evil The original here is “cuwr” meaning to turn off; to decline; depart from; lay away; leave undone; be past; pluck away; put down; rebel against; remove; be sour against; withdraw ( Job 1:1 , 8 ; 2:3 ; cp. 1Pet. 3:11 ).

Apart from the Lord Jesus, if ever there was a man to emulated – Job was he!

153 or the Lord?

2012-01-08T08:00:00.000-05:00

9 Then, as soon as they had come to land, they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid on it, and bread. (John 21:9)

The disciples had going fishing, they were of course fisherman before they had become disciples of the Lord. While waiting for the Lord they had gone back to their earlier profession.

The text indicates that they were in a small boat, and that made quite a haul, 153 fish. For such a small boat that is quite a large net full of fish, and indeed, they couldn't pull it into the boat as the text indicates that they had to pull along behind them.

What is interesting is that what they got back to the shore, they found Jesus already having prepared a meal of fish for them, ready to serve them once they arrived. They did not need to go back to they're prior profession for Christ demonstrated to them that He was fully capable of providing for their every need.

How marvelous thing to know, as we face an uncertain life!

Men Are Hardwired…

2012-01-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Are you so foolish? Having begun in the Spirit, are you now being made perfect by the flesh? (Galatians 3:3)

... Between the Jews of Paul's day and the Galatians we have the two mistakes that modern men make. First, the Jews sought to find a way to justify themselves before God, seeking a righteousness that would commend them to the God of all men. A foolish pursuit to say the least. Then, concerning the Galatians, they sought that same "legal" means of justification to commend them to God after their salvation. It was likewise no less of a foolish pursuit as Paul unhesitatingly says to them here in Galatians chapter 3.

It seems that men have, hardwired into our beings, the desire, nay, the compulsion, to be righteous in and of ourselves. It is this compulsion that believers must strictly guard against, for it is this compulsion that is, perhaps, one of the most dangerous things in our lives.

It is this drive that stands ready to cause us to cause Our precious Father and our dear Lord great grief.

Dt. 25:17-19–Destroy the Amalekites!

2012-01-06T08:00:00.000-05:00

17 “Remember what Amalek did to you on the way as you were coming out of Egypt, 18 how he met you on the way and attacked your rear ranks, all the stragglers at your rear, when you were tired and weary; and he did not fear God. 19 Therefore it shall be, when the Lord your God has given you rest from your enemies all around, in the land which the Lord your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance, that you will blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven. You shall not forget...

...This is, not to say of course, that individual Amalekites could not come to faith . There is always the problem of Old Testament versus New Testament back in that era; but the idea of salvation by grace alone through faith alone is one that is consistent throughout the entire Bible. It is not an idea that popped up in the New Testament and was foreign to the Old Testament.

What God is speaking up here is the Amalekites as a nation. He is speaking of that nation as a group contrasted with the Israelites as a group. They were cursed and were to be treated in such a fashion compared with Israel who were blessed.

Such a decision, admittedly is a "huge and momentous decision". But we must remember that that is not our decision! It is God's decision and it was made on what he considered to be a firm in adequate basis. You and I don't get to second guess that basis, no one does. He is God, the Ruler of all men, He gets to choose and to dispose of His creation as He sees fit and that is all there is to it. It doesn't have to be okay with anyone else.

Punishment for Gleaners?

2012-01-05T08:00:00.000-05:00

You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain... (Dt. 25:4)

It is interesting that this passage follows immediately after an extended passage about beating on brother with 40 stripes and no more. The fact of the matter is that it comes after Chapter 39, which speaks of someone gleaning from the field, grapes and wheat and such.

Remember, that there were no chapter divisions originally. Thus, we see the command to allow such gleaning; as well as the constraint against someone going into another's fields and stealing from them.

It makes perfect sense, then, for chapter 40 to begin with a just punishment for someone who wanted, indeed, steal from a landowner.

It is, however, interesting to see that the Scripture is not entirely on the land owners side! (This is contrary to what most modern liberals would thank) because the thought that we are left with is that the landowner must allow the poor opportunity to go and feed themselves. Though the rich do indeed have recourse and can indeed punish those who steal from them, it is the poor who have the last thought of God's mind.

Who were the Hittites?

2012-01-04T08:00:00.000-05:00

² “Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore, arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them—the children of Israel. ³ Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon I have given you, as I said to Moses. ⁴ From the wilderness and this Lebanon as far as the great river, the River Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the Great Sea toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. (Joshua 1:2–4)

The Hittites were a great warlike people that occupied the mountain countries of south Canaan. The name may be used here of all the nations of Canaan, like the Amorites in other places. To be promised all their land must have encouraged the Israelites.

The Hittites in the Bible.
When Sarah died, Abraham purchased the field of Machpelah with a burial cave from Ephron the Hittite (Gen. 23:10–20). This incident between a patriarch and a Hittite was followed later by Esau’s act of taking two Hittite women as wives (Gen. 26:34).

Hittites were included among the peoples dwelling from the river of Egypt to the River Euphrates—the region promised to Abraham. Hittites also occupied the land of Canaan while the Israelites were in Egypt. They were among the people who had to be driven out when Israel conquered Canaan under Joshua (Ex. 3:8, 17; Deut. 7:1; Judg. 3:5).

After the dissolution of the Hittite empire, remnants of the Hittites were particularly visible in Palestine during the reign of David. Ahimelech the Hittite was among the close associates and trusted companions of David during his flight from Saul (1 Sam. 26:6). The most famous of these later Hittites was Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, whom David sent to his death to conceal his adultery with Uriah’s wife (2 Sam. 11:15). The northern border of Israel during David’s time was extended to the River Euphrates (2 Sam. 8:3) to include Syrian city-states. It is highly possible that “Hittites” of the Syrian region served in David’s administration (2 Sam. 8:17; 1 Kin. 4:3).

Solomon had a Hittite wife (1 Kin. 11:1), apparently from a royal marriage to seal an alliance with a foreign power. After Solomon’s time, the “kings of the Hittites” were powerful rulers in Syria during the time when Judah and Israel existed as separate kingdoms (2 Kin. 7:6; 2 Chr. 1:17).

The Hittite Religion.
The Hittites themselves described their array of pagan gods as “the thousand gods.” Among this diversity of deities, there were many names that were Hattic, Hurrian, Sumerian, and Canaanite in origin. The names of many gods occur in treaties of the Hittite people as guardian deities over the parties bound by treaty commitments. Each god was worshiped in its own native language. A storm god was the chief male god, and a solar goddess was his mistress.

The Hittites may have been one of the pagan influences that pulled the nation of Israel away from worship of the one true God during its long history. Students of the Old Testament point out that the Hittites formed treaties with other countries long before the Hebrew people developed the consciousness of being a nation governed directly by God. Some scholars believe these treaties were used as a model for the covenant that God established with the Hebrews at Mt. Sinai

What is That to You?

2012-01-03T15:26:00.001-05:00

20 Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays You?” 21 Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?” 22 Jesus said to him, “ If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.” (John 21:20-22)

It is interesting that the disciples did not know that it had been Judas who betrayed Jesus. They knew that he had come in and that had been accompanied by the soldiers in the garden and had kissed Christ to identify Him, but they apparently did not realize that it had been he who had turned Him over, and had given him up.

What seems obvious to us apparently was not obvious to them. Of course we have the benefit of having things written out for us in plain form, and we cannot understate the benefit of that! Also, they were not privy to his conversations with the Scribes and Pharisees, nor did they know that he had gone out and hung himself as a result of his private despair. It is interesting what man can "not see" given the proper circumstances.

Jesus' reply to Peter and verse 22 is very interesting: He tells him that the way He deals with the betrayer is not Peter's business! The only thing that is Peter's concern is that Peter follow after him!

I think that that's a bit of advice that we can all do to follow. Not that we should never be concerned with looking around us and seeing if there are those who are dangerous to the cause of Christ. But I think we could all do with a little bit more of seeing to it that we are walking with the word and a little bit less of putting our nose in other peoples business.

Ben Franklin: The Best Way to Do Good to the Poor

2011-09-21T08:00:00.000-04:00

I came across this a day or two ago and it gives some thought-provoking insight that makes you think from a mind that is far better than mind. It is wisdom and counsel that shines the brightest when set against the dark backdrop of Obama’s Jobs Bill Plan, and our own country’s addiction to welfare.

"I am for doing good to the poor, but I differ in opinion of the means. I think the best way of doing good to the poor, is not making them easy in poverty, but leading or driving them out of it. In my youth I travelled much, and I observed in different countries, that the more public provisions were made for the poor, the less they provided for themselves, and of course became poorer. And, on the contrary, the less was done for them, the more they did for themselves, and became richer . . . In short, you offered a premium for the encouragement of idleness, and you should not now wonder that it has had its effect in the increase of poverty."

~ Benjamin Franklin

4. A Godly Man is LIKE God (Part 3)

2011-09-20T08:00:00.000-04:00

By Thomas Watson

Use 2: Let us strive to be like God in holiness.

1. This is God's great design which he drives on in the world. It is the object of the Word preached. The silver drops of the sanctuary are to water the seed of grace, and make a crop of holiness spring up. What use is there in the promises, if not to bribe us to holiness? What are all God's providential dispensations for - but to promote holiness? As the Lord makes use of all the seasons of the year, frost and heat, to produce the harvest, so all prosperous and adverse providences are for the promoting of the work of holiness in the soul. What is the object of the mission of the Spirit - but to make the heart holy? When the air is unwholesome by reason of fog and mist, the wind is a fan to winnow and purify the air. So the blowing of God's Spirit upon the heart is to purify it, and make it holy.

2. Holiness is that alone, which God is delighted with. When Tamerlane was presented with a pot of gold, he asked whether the gold had his father's stamp upon it. But when he saw it had the Roman stamp, he rejected it. Holiness is God's stamp and impress; if he does not see this stamp upon us, he will not own us.

3. Holiness fits us for communion with God. Communion with God is a paradox to the men of the world. Not everyone who hangs about the court speaks with the king. We may approach God in duties, and as it were hang about the court of heaven - yet not have communion with God. That which keeps up fellowship with God, is holiness. The holy heart enjoys much of God's presence; he feels heartwarming and heart-comforting virtue in an ordinance. Where God sees his likeness, there he gives his love.

4. A Godly Man is LIKE God (Continued)

2011-09-19T08:00:00.000-04:00

By Thomas Watson

Continued From Yesterday…

Use 1: How can those who are unlike God be reputed to be godly?

They have nothing of God in them, not one shred of holiness. They call themselves Christians - but blot out the word holiness; you may as well call it day at midnight.

So impudent are some, that they boast they are none of the holy ones. Is it not the Spirit of holiness which marks off the sheep of Christ, from the goats?

“You were sealed (or marked) with the Holy Spirit” (Eph. 1:13).

And is it a matter for men to boast of, that they have none of the Spirit's earmark upon them? Does not the apostle say that

“…without holiness no man shall see the Lord” (Heb. 12:14)?

Such as bless themselves in their unholiness had best go and ring the bells for joy, that they shall never see God.

There are others who hate holiness. Sin and holiness never meet but they fight. Holiness discharges its fire of zeal against sin, and sin spits its venom of malice at holiness. Many pretend to love Christ as a Savior - but hate him as he is the Holy One (Acts 3:14).

The Godly Man's Picture (Continued)

2011-09-18T08:00:00.000-04:00

By Thomas Watson

4. A Godly Man is LIKE God.

He has the same judgment as God; he thinks of things as God does; he has a Godlike disposition; he “partakes of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). A godly man bears both God's name and image; godliness is Godlikeness. It is one thing to profess God, another thing to resemble him.

A godly man is like God in holiness. Holiness is the most brilliant pearl in the King of Heaven's crown: “glorious in holiness” (Exod. 15:11). God's power makes him mighty; his mercy makes him lovely; but his holiness makes him glorious. The holiness of God is the intrinsic purity of his nature and his abhorrence of sin. A godly man bears some kind of analogy with God in this. He has the holy oil of consecration upon him:

· “Aaron the saint of the Lord” (Psalm 106:16).

· Holiness is the badge and mark of Christ's people: “The people of your holiness” (Isaiah 63:18).

· The godly are a holy as well as a royal priesthood (1 Pet. 2:9).

Nor have they only a frontispiece of holiness, like the Egyptian temples which were fair outside - but they are like Solomon's temple, which had gold inside. They have written upon their heart, “Holiness to the Lord”. The holiness of the saints consists in their conformity to God's will, which is the rule and pattern of all holiness.

Holiness is a man's glory. Aaron put on garments “for glory and for beauty” (Exod. 28:2). So when a person is invested with the embroidered garment of holiness, it is for glory and beauty.

The goodness of a Christian lies in his holiness, as the goodness of the air lies in its clarity, the worth of gold in its purity.

Question: In what do the godly reveal their holiness?
Answer:

1. In Hating “The Garment Spotted By The Flesh” (Jude 23).

The godly set themselves against evil, both in purpose and in practice. They are fearful of that which looks like sin (1 Thess. 5:22). The appearance of evil may harm a weak Christian. If it does not defile a man's own conscience, it may offend his brother's conscience; and to sin against him is to sin against Christ (1 Cor. 8:12). A godly man will not go as far as he may, lest he go further than he should; he will not swallow all that others may plead for. It is easy to put a golden color on rotten material.

2. In Being Advocates For Holiness.

“I will speak of your testimonies also before kings, and will not be ashamed” (Psalm 119:46).

When piety is calumniated in the world, the saints will stand up in its defense; they will wipe off the dust of a reproach, from the face of religion. Holiness defends the godly, and they will defend holiness; it defends them from danger, and they will defend it from disgrace.

Continued…

Living by Vows

2011-09-17T10:04:00.001-04:00

Robertson McQuilkin

This is quite the contrast to the recent statement by Pat Robertson of the CBN that Alzheimer's is “a form of death” and that the spouse is entitled to abandon and place the spouse in a facility and go and seek another for companionship to meet their needs. As his wife suffered with Alzheimer's, Robertson McQuilkin said,

“If I took care of her for 40 years, I would never be out of her debt.”

After his wife was diagnosed with disease, college and seminary president Robertson McQuilkin found himself torn between two commitments, two divine callings. At the request of the CT editors, he shares the story of his struggle:

It has been a decade since that day in Florida when Muriel, my wife, repeated to the couple vacationing with us the story she had told just five minutes earlier. Funny, I thought, that's never happened before. But it began to happen occasionally.

Three years later, when Muriel was hospitalized for tests on her heart, a young doctor called me aside. “You may need to think about the possibility of Alzheimer's,” he said. I was incredulous. These young doctors are so presumptuous—and insensitive. Muriel was doing the same things she had always done, for the most part. True, we had stopped entertaining in our home—no small loss for the president of a thriving seminary and Bible college. She was a great cook and hostess, but she was having increasing difficulty planning menus. Family meals she could handle, but with guests we could not risk missing a salad and dessert, for example.

And, yes, she was having uncommon difficulty painting a portrait of me, which the college and seminary board—impressed by her earlier splendid portrait of my predecessor—had requested. But Alzheimer's? While I had barely heard of the disease, a dread began to lurk around the fringes of my consciousness.

When her memory deteriorated further, we went to Joe Tabor, a neurologist friend, who gave her the full battery of tests and, by elimination, confirmed that she had Alzheimer's. But because she had none of the typical physical deterioration, there was some question. We went to the Duke University Medical Center, believing we should get the best available second opinion. My heart sank as the doctor asked her to name the Gospels and she looked pleadingly at me for help. But she quickly bounced back and laughed at herself. She was a little nervous, perhaps, but nothing was going to get her down.

This time we accepted the verdict. And we determined from the outset not to chase around the country every new “miracle” treatment we might hear about. Little did I know the day was coming when we would be urged-on average, once a week-to pursue every variety of treatment: vitamins, exorcism, T chemicals, this guru, that healer. How could I even wife 1 look into them all, let alone pursue them? I was grateful to friends who made suggestions, because each was an expression of love. But for us, we would trust the Lord to work a miracle in Muriel if he so desired, or work a miracle in me if he did not.

One day the WMHK station manager, the program manager, and the producer of my wife's morning radio program, “Looking Up,” asked for an appointment. I knew an occasional program she had produced was not used, but the response to her monologue of upbeat encouragement continued to be strong. Though the program was designed for women, businessmen often told me how they arranged their morning affairs so they could catch the program.

As the appointment began, the three executives seemed uneasy. After a few false starts, I caught on. They were reluctantly letting me know that an era was ending. Only months before they had talked of national syndication. I tried to help them out. “Are you meeting with me to tell us that Muriel cannot continue?” They seemed relieved that their painful message was out and none of them had to say it. So, I thought, her public ministry is over. No more conferences, TV, radio. I should have guessed the time had come.

She did not think so, however. She may have lost the radio program, but she insisted on accepting invitations to speak, even though invariably she would come home crushed and bewildered that her train of thought was lost and things did not go well. Gradually, reluctantly, she gave up public ministry.

Still, she could counsel the many young people who sought her out, she could drive and shop, or write her children. The letters did not always make sense, but then, the children would say, “Mom always was ,a bit spacy.” She also volunteered to read textbooks for a blind graduate student. The plan was to put them on tape so that others could use them. I was puzzled that those responsible never used them, until it dawned on me that reading and writing were going the way of art and public speaking. She was disappointed with each failure and frustration, but only momentarily. She would bounce back with laughter and have another go at it.

Muriel never knew what was happening to her, though occasionally when there was a reference to Alzheimer's on TV she would muse aloud, “I wonder if I'll ever have that?” It did not seem painful for her, but it was a slow dying for me to watch the vibrant, creative, articulate person I knew and loved gradually dimming out.

I approached the college board of trustees with the need to begin the search for my successor. I told them that when the day came that Muriel needed me full-time, she would have me. I hoped that would not be necessary till I reached retirement, but at 57 it seemed unlikely I could hold on till 65. They should begin to make plans. But they intended for me to stay on forever, I guess, and made no move. That's not realistic, and probably not very responsible, I thought, though I appreciated the affirmation.

So began years of struggle with the question of what should be sacrificed: ministry or caring for Muriel. Should I put the kingdom of God first, “hate” my wife and, for the sake of Christ and the kingdom, arrange for institutionalization? Trusted, lifelong friends—wise and godly—urged me to do this.

“Muriel would become accustomed to the new environment quickly.” Would she? Would anyone love her at all, let alone love her as I do? I had often seen the empty, listless faces of those lined up in wheelchairs along the corridors of such places, waiting, waiting for the fleeting visit of some loved one. In such an environment, Muriel would be tamed only with drugs or bodily restraints, of that I was confident.

People who do not know me well have said, “Well, you always said, 'God first, family second, ministry third.' “ But I never said that. To put God first means that all other responsibilities he gives are first, too. Sorting out responsibilities that seem to conflict, however, is tricky business.

In 1988 we planned our first family reunion since the six children had left home, a week in a mountain retreat. Muriel delighted in her children and grandchildren, and they in her. Banqueting with all those gourmet cooks, making a quilt that pictured our life, scene by scene, playing games, singing, picking wild mountain blueberries was marvelous. We planned it as the celebration of our “fortieth” anniversary, although actually it was the thirty-ninth. We feared that by the fortieth she would no longer know us.

But she still knows us—three years later. She cannot comprehend much, nor express many thoughts, and those not for sure. But she knows whom she loves, and lives in happy oblivion to almost everything else.

She is such a delight to me. I don't have to care for her, I get to. One blessing is the way she is teaching me so much—about love, for example, God's love. She picks flowers outside—anyone's—and fills the house with them.

Lately she has begun to pick them inside, too. Someone had given us a beautiful Easter lily, two stems with four or five lilies on each, and more to come. One day I came into the kitchen and there on the window sill over the sink was a vase with a stem of lilies in it. I've learned to “go with the flow” and not correct irrational behavior. She means no harm and does not understand what should be done, nor would she remember a rebuke. Nevertheless, I did the irrational—I told her how disappointed I was, how the lilies would soon die, the buds would never bloom, and please do not break off the other stem.

The next day our youngest son, soon to leave for India came from Houston for his next-to-last visit. I told Kent of my rebuke of his mother and how bad I felt about it. As we sat on the porch swing, savoring each moment together, his mother came to the door with a gift of love for me: she carefully laid the other stem of lilies on the table with a gentle smile and turned back into the house. I said simply, “Thank you.” Kent said, “You're doing better, Dad!”

Muriel cannot speak in sentences now, only in phrases and words, and often words that make little sense: “no” when she means “yes,” for example. But she can say one sentence, and she says it often: “I love you.”

She not only says it, she acts it. The board arranged for a companion to stay in our home so I could go daily to the office. During those two years it became increasingly difficult to keep Muriel home. As soon as I left, she would take out after. me. With me, she was content; without me, she was distressed, sometimes terror stricken. The walk to school is a mile round trip. She would make that trip as many as ten times a day. Sometimes at night, when I helped her undress, I found bloody feet. When I told our family doctor, he choked up. “Such love,” he said simply. Then, after a moment, “I have a theory that the characteristics developed across the years come out at times like these.” I wish I loved God like that-desperate to be near him at all times. Thus she teaches me, day by day.

Friends and family often ask, “How are you doing?” meaning, I would take it, “How do you feel?” I am at a loss to respond. There is that subterranean grief that will not go away. I feel just as alone as if I had never known her as she was, I suppose, but the loneliness of the night hours comes because I did know her. Do I grieve for her loss or mine? Further, there is the sorrow that comes from my increasing difficulty in meeting her needs.

But I guess my friends are asking not about her needs, but about mine. Or perhaps they wonder, in the contemporary jargon, how I am “coping,” as they reflect on how the reputed indispensable characteristics of a good marriage have slipped away, one by one.

I came across the common contemporary wisdom in this morning's newspaper in a letter to a national columnist: “I ended the relationship because it wasn't meeting my needs,” the writer explained. The counselor's response was predictable: “What were your needs that didn't get met by him in the relationship? Do you still have these same needs? What would he have to do to fill these needs? Could he do it?” Needs for communication, understanding, affirmation, common interests, sexual fulfillment—the list goes on. If the needs are not met, split. He offered no alternatives.

I once reflected on the eerie irrelevance of every one of those criteria for me. But I am not wired for introspection; I am more oriented outward and toward action and the future. I even feel an occasional surge of exhilaration as I find my present assignment more challenging than running an institution's complex ministry. Certainly greater creativity and flexibility are needed.

I have long lists of “coping strategies,” which have to be changed weekly, sometimes daily. Grocery shopping together may have been recreation, but it is not so much fun when Muriel begins to load other people's carts and take off with them, disappearing into the labyrinth of supermarket aisles. Or how do you get a person to eat or take a bath when she steadfastly refuses? It is not like meeting a $10 million budget or designing a program to grasp some emerging global opportunity, to be sure. And it is not as public or exhilarating. But it demands greater resources than I could have imagined, and thus highlights more clearly than ever my own inadequacies, as well as provides constant opportunity to draw on our Lord's vast reservoir of resources.

As she needed more and more of me, I wrestled daily with the question of who gets me full-time-Muriel or Columbia Bible College and Seminary? Dr. Tabor advised me not to make any decision based on my desire to see Muriel stay contented. “Make your plans apart from that question. Whether or not you can be successful in your dreams for the college and seminary or not, I cannot judge, but I can tell you now, you will not be successful with Muriel.”

When the time came, the decision was firm. It took no great calculation. It was a matter of integrity. Had I not promised, 42 years before, “in sickness and in health . . . till death do us part”?

This was no grim duty to which I stoically resigned, however. It was only fair. She had, after all, cared for me for almost four decades with marvelous devotion; now it was my turn. And such a partner she was! If I took care of her for 40 years, I would never be out of her debt.

But how could I walk away from the responsibility of a ministry God had blessed so signally during our 22 years at Columbia Bible College and Seminary?

Not easily. True, many dreams had been fulfilled. But so many dreams were yet on the drawing board. And the peerless team God had brought together-a team not just of professionals, but of dear friends-how could I bear to leave them? Resignation was painful; but the right path was not difficult to discern. Whatever Columbia needed, it did not need a part-time, distracted leader. It is better to move out and let God designate a leader to step in while the momentum is continuing.

No, it was not a choice between two loves. Sometimes that kind of choice becomes necessary, but this time responsibilities did not conflict. I suppose responsibilities in the will of God never conflict (though my evaluation of those responsibilities is fallible). Am I making the right choice at the right time in the right way? I hope so. This time it seemed clearly in the best interest of the ministry for me to step down, even if board and administrators thought otherwise. Both loves-for Muriel and for Columbia Bible College and Seminarydictated the same choice. There was no conflict of loves, then, or of obligations.

I have been startled by the response to the announcement of my resignation. Husbands and wives renew marriage vows, pastors tell the story to their congregations. It was a mystery to me, until a distinguished oncologist, who lives constantly with dying people, told me, “Almost all women stand by their men; very few men stand by their women.” Perhaps people sensed this contemporary tragedy and somehow were helped by a simple choice I considered the only option.

It is all more than keeping promises and being fair, however. As I watch her brave descent into oblivion, Muriel is the joy of my life. Daily I discern new manifestations of the kind of person she is, the wife I always loved. I also see fresh manifestations of God's love-the God I long to love more fully.

Robertson McQuilkin recently resigned as president of Columbia Bible College and Seminary, Columbia, South Carolina, after which he was named chancellor, a position that draws on his expertise while still allowing him to care for his wife.

A Godly Man Is Fired With LOVE to God.

2011-09-16T08:00:00.000-04:00

Part of “The Godly Man’s Picture”

“I love the Lord, for he heard my voice; he heard my cry for mercy.” Psalm 116:1

Faith and love are the two hinges on which all religion turns. A true saint is carried in that chariot, “the midst whereof is paved with love” (Song 3:10). As faith enlivens, so love sweetens every duty. The sun mellows the fruit, so love mellows the services of religion, and gives them a better relish. A godly man is sick with love: “Lord, you know that I love you” (John 21:16).

“Though, dear Savior, I denied you - yet it was for lack of strength, not for lack of love.”

God is the fountain and quintessence of goodness. His beauty and sweetness lay constraints of love upon a gracious heart. God is the saint's portion (Psalm 119:57). And what more loved than a portion? “I would hate my own soul,” says Augustine, “if I found it not loving God.” A godly man loves God and therefore delights to be in his presence; he loves God and therefore takes comfort in nothing without him. 'Have you seen him whom my soul loves?” (Song 3:3).

The pious soul loves God and therefore thirsts for him. The more he has of God, the more still he desires. A sip of the wine of the Spirit whets the appetite for more. The soul loves God and therefore rejoices to think “of his appearing” (2 Tim. 4:8). He loves him and therefore longs to be with him. Christ was in Paul's heart, and Paul would be in Christ's bosom (Phil. 1:23). When the soul is once like God, it would gladly be with God. A gracious heart cries out, “O that I had wings, that I might fly away, and be with my love, Christ!” The bird desires to be out of the cage, though it is hung with pearl.

Such is the love a gracious soul has to God, that many waters cannot quench it. He loves a frowning God.

A godly man loves God, though he is reduced to straits. A mother and her nine-year-old child were about to die of hunger. The child looked at its mother and said, “Mother, do you think God will starve us?” “No, child,” said the mother, “he will not.” The child replied, “But if he does, we must love him, and serve him.”

Use: Let us test our godliness by this touchstone: Do we love God? Is he our treasure and center? Can we, with David, call God our “joy”, yes, our “exceeding joy” (Psalm 43:4)? Do we delight in drawing near to him, and “come before his presence with singing”? (Psalm 100:2) Do we love him for his beauty more than his jewels? Do we love him, when he seems not to love us?

If this be the sign of a godly man, how few will be found in the number! Where is the man whose heart is dilated in love to God? Many court him - but few love him. People are for the most part eaten up with self-love; they love their ease, their worldly profit, their lusts - but they do not have a drop of love to God. If they loved God, would they be so willing to be rid of him? “They say unto God, Depart from us” (Job 21:14). If they loved God, would they tear his name by their oaths? Does he who shoots his father in the heart, love him? Though they worship God, they do not love him; they are like the soldiers who bowed the knee to Christ, and mocked him (Matt. 27:29). He whose heart is a grave in which the love of God is buried, deserves to have that curse written upon his tombstone,

“Let him be Anathema Maranatha” (1 Cor. 16:22).

A soul devoid of divine love is a temper which best suits damned spirits. But I shall waive this, and pass to the next.

A Godly Man Is A Man Moved By FAITH.

2011-09-15T08:00:00.000-04:00

Part of “The Godly Man’s Picture”

As gold is the most precious among the metals, so is faith among the graces. Faith cuts us off from the wild olive tree of nature, and grafts us into Christ. Faith is the vital artery of the soul:

“The just shall live by his faith” (Hab. 2:4).

Such as are destitute of faith may breathe - but they lack spiritual life.

Faith enlivens all the graces; not a grace stirs until faith sets it working. Faith is to the soul what the animal spirits are to the body, exciting lively activity in it. Faith excites repentance. When I believe God's love to me, this makes me weep that I should sin against so good a God. Faith is the mother of hope; first we believe the promise, then we hope for it.

Faith is the oil which feeds the lamp of hope. Faith and hope are two turtledove graces; take away one, and the other languishes. If the sinews are cut, the body is lame; if this sinew of faith is cut, hope is lame. Faith is the ground of patience; he who believes that God is his God, and that all providences work for his good, patiently yields himself to the will of God. Thus faith is a living principle.

The life of a saint is nothing but a life of faith.

· His prayer is the breathing of faith (Jas. 5:15).

· His obedience is the result of faith (Romans 16:26).

· A godly man lives by faith in Christ, as the beam lives in the sun: “I live; yet not I - but Christ lives in me” (Gal. 2:20).

· A Christian, by the power of faith, sees above human reason, trades above the moon (2 Cor. 4:18).

· By faith his heart is calmed and quieted; he trusts himself and all his affairs to God (Psalm 112:7).

· As in a time of war, men get into a garrison and trust themselves and their treasures there, so “the name of the Lord is a strong tower” (Proverbs 18:10), and

· A believer trusts all that he is worth in this garrison.

“I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day” (2 Tim. 1:12).

God trusted Paul with his gospel, and Paul trusted God with his soul.

Faith is a panacea - a remedy against all troubles. It is a godly man's anchor which he casts out into the sea of God's mercy, and is kept from sinking in despair. “If only faith is firm, no ruin harms.”

Use: Let us test ourselves by this characteristic. Alas, how far from being godly are those who are destitute of faith! Such are altogether drowned in sense. Most men are spiritually blind; they can only see just before them (2 Pet. 1:9). I have read of a people in India who are born with one eye. Such are they who are born with the eye of reason - but lack the eye of faith, who because they do not see God with bodily eyes, do not believe in a God. They may as well not believe they have souls, because they cannot be seen.

Oh, where is he who lives in the heights, who has gone into the upper region and sees “things not seen” (Heb. 11:27)?

“If men lived by faith, would they use sinful means for a livelihood?” (Chrysostom).

If there were faith, would there be so much fraud? If theirs were living faith, would men, like dead fish, swim downstream? In this age there is scarcely so much faith to be found among men, as there is among the devils,

“…for they believe and tremble” (Jas. 2:19).

How Does the Godly Man Use His Knowledge? (Part 3)

2011-09-12T08:00:00.000-04:00

The Godly Man's Picture
The Characteristics Of A Godly Man - Part 6c
by Thomas Watson

We have spoken of the truth that a godly man has a great knowledge from God that has a number of different aspects. Let us test ourselves by this characteristic:

Use 3: You who have this saving, sanctifying knowledge flourishing in you, bless God for it!

This is the heavenly anointing. The most excellent objects cannot be seen in the dark - but when the light appears, then every flower shines in its native beauty. So while men are in the midnight of a natural state, the beauty of holiness is hidden from them; but when the light of the Spirit comes in a saving manner, then those truths which they slighted before, appear in that glorious luster, and transport them with wonder and love.

Bless God, you saints, that He has removed your spiritual cataract, and has enabled you to discern those things which by nature's spectacles you could never see. How thankful Christ was to his Father for this!

“I thank you, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and prudent, and have revealed them unto babes” (Matt. 11:25).

How you should admire free grace, that God has not only brought the light to you - but given you eyes to see it; that he has enabled you to know the truth “as it is in Jesus” (Eph. 4:21); that he has opened, not only the eye of your understanding - but the eye of your conscience! It is a mercy you can never be thankful enough for - that God has so enlightened you that you should not “Sleep the sleep of death”.

Can God Bless America?

2011-09-11T13:00:00.000-04:00

by John MacArthur

In this era of terrorism, poverty, oppression and a few less-distinct enemies, waves of patriotism occasionally revive the slogan “God Bless America.” Sadly, though, the sentiment long ago became a cliché to which people rarely give serious thought. The phrase is even seen, ironically, on bumper stickers adjacent to other bumper stickers expressing humanistic and atheistic sentiments. One assumes that even those who don’t believe in God want His blessing on our nation.

Anti-God philosophies and worldviews now clearly dominate most of Western society. God has been removed from public discourse; prayer has been virtually banned from the public arena; agnosticism and humanism dominate public policy. So it is remarkable that the slogan “God Bless America” is still in vogue. We have to wonder what most people have in mind when they repeat it.

Originally, “God bless America” was a prayer for divine blessing. In its current form, it sometimes seems nothing more than a patriotic battle cry — usually intoned without much serious reflection. Perhaps it is sometimes recited with the superstitious belief that merely invoking God’s name can garner His blessing. One thing is clear: while Americans universally want God’s favor, as a whole, they do not want God.

Some apparently believe that America enjoys God’s blessing by divine right. After all, God has blessed America throughout history to a remarkable degree. But His blessings are not measured — as most people believe — by material affluence, power, and world dominance. The greatest blessings God has graciously given America have been spiritual blessings —

· Freedom for the gospel to be propagated,

· Sweeping revivals like those of the Great Awakenings, and

· Growth and spiritual prosperity for the church in our nation.

The sad truth is that all those blessings were in serious jeopardy long before the terrorist strikes reminded us that our freedom and material prosperity hang by a fragile thread.

Does our nation really desire God’s blessing? Do Americans truly long for the spiritual awakening that would be the necessary condition for true blessing, or would the policy-makers and media moguls in our society be as hostile to such a revival as they are to the threat of terrorism?

And what are the means by which the people of God should seek to have God’s blessing on our nation? Can we help position modern society to receive God’s blessing merely by influencing public policy through politics and protest, or is something more needed to fulfill the conditions under which God will bless our nation? Can external moral reform alone make America fit for God’s blessing, or is something even deeper needed in the lives of most Americans?

To Ask Such Questions Is To Answer Them.

Scripture is clear that a wholesale spiritual renewal, brought about through the preaching of the gospel, is the true pathway to divine blessing. What is needed is not merely moral reform but spiritual regeneration. And unless this occurs on a widespread scale that deeply impacts all of society, we will continue to forfeit the true blessings of God for our nation. Merely reciting the slogan “God bless America” will do nothing for us until it becomes a heartfelt prayer for spiritual renewal and regeneration.

The remedy to our nation’s moral and spiritual woes must begin at the house of God. The process starts with personal repentance. If Christians truly want to see God’s blessing on our society, we ought to be models of genuine contrition and humility rather than merely pointing fingers of blame at the evils of secular society.

The church today is in a serious state of spiritual decline. Many churches are apparently more willing to imitate the world’s fashions and opinions than to confront them with biblical truth. Meanwhile, Christians concerned about the moral evils of society often opt for all the wrong remedies — as if the only thing needed to cure the spiritual malaise of our nation were some kind of federal legislation against abortion, sexual promiscuity, pornography, or other forms of corruption.

I am by no means opposed to legislative efforts to outlaw abortion, drug abuse, and similar abominations. But political remedies to our nation’s moral ills are no cure for the underlying spiritual problems. Of all people, Christians ought to know that, and the preponderance of our efforts ought to be focused on proclaiming the truth that can genuinely set people free. In other words, the majority of our energies ought to be invested in preaching the gospel and living the kind of life that gives testimony to the redeeming power of Christ.

Lives, not just laws, need to be transformed before America will be in a position to ask for and expect God’s blessing. The blessings of God cannot be acquired by any legislative process. Law cannot make people righteous. Scripture is clear on this. No one is justified by works of law, but by faith in Jesus Christ (Gal. 2:16). And saving faith is an individual matter; it cannot be imposed by legislative force.

In other words, society as a whole cannot be delivered from moral bankruptcy unless individual lives are transformed by the power of Christ. If that conviction does not frame the priorities of the people of God and drive the activities of the church on earth, we can forget about God’s blessing on our nation.

How Does the Godly Man Use His Knowledge? (Part 2)

2011-09-11T08:00:00.001-04:00

The Godly Man's Picture

The Characteristics Of A Godly Man - Part 6b
by Thomas Watson

We have spoken of the truth that a godly man has a great knowledge from God that has a number of different aspects. Let us test ourselves by this characteristic:

Use 2: As we would prove ourselves to be godly, let us labor for this good knowledge of the Lord.

What pains men will take for the achievement of natural knowledge! Many spend years, searching out the knowledge of an earthly trifle. What pains, then, should we take in finding out the knowledge of God in Christ! There must be digging and searching for it, as one would search for a vein of silver:

“If you look for it as for silver and search for it as for hidden treasure, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God” (Proverbs 2:4-5).

This is the best knowledge. It as far surpasses all other knowledge, as the diamond surpasses a stone. No jewel we wear so adorns us as this:

“she is more precious than rubies” (Proverbs 3:15).

“But where can wisdom be found? Where does understanding dwell? Man does not comprehend its worth. It cannot be bought with the finest gold, nor can its price be weighed in silver. It cannot be bought with the gold of Ophir, with precious onyx or sapphires. Neither gold nor crystal can compare with it, nor can it be had for jewels of gold. The price of wisdom is beyond rubies.” (Job 28:12-18).

The dark chaos was a fit emblem of an ignorant soul (Gen. 1:2) - but when God lights up the lamp of knowledge in the mind, what a new creation is there! Here the soul sparkles like the sun in its glory.

This knowledge is encouraging. We may say of worldly knowledge, as did Solomon,

“He who increases knowledge increases sorrow” (Eccles. 1:18).

To know arts and science is to gather straw - but to know God in Christ is to gather pearl. This knowledge ushers in salvation (1 Tim. 2:4).

Question: But how shall we get this saving knowledge?

Answer: Not by the power of nature. Some speak of how far reason will go if put to good use; but, alas! the plumb line of reason is too short to fathom the deep things of God! A man can no more reach the saving knowledge of God by the power of reason, than a pigmy can reach the top of the pyramids. The light of nature will no more help us to see Christ, than the light of a candle will help us to understand.

“The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: neither can he know them” (1 Cor. 2:14).

What shall we do, then, to know God in a soul-saving manner? I answer, let us implore the help of God's Spirit. Paul never saw himself blind - until a light shone from heaven (Acts 9:3). God must anoint our eyes before we can see! What need did Christ have to bid Laodicea to come to him for eye salve, if she could see before (Rev. 3:18)? Oh, let us beg the Spirit, who is “the Spirit of revelation” (Eph. 1:17). Saving knowledge is not by speculation - but by inspiration,

“…the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding” (Job 32:8).

We may have excellent notions in divinity - but the Holy Spirit must enable us to know them in a spiritual manner. A man may see the figures on a sun-dial - but he cannot tell how the time, unless the sun shines. We may read many truths in the Bible - but we cannot know them savingly until God's Spirit shines upon us:

“…the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God” (1 Cor. 2:10).

The Scripture reveals Christ to us - but the Spirit reveals Christ in us (Gal. 1:16). The Spirit makes known that which all the world cannot do, namely, the sense of God's love.

Continued Tomorrow

How Does the Godly Man Use His Knowledge? (Part 1)

2011-09-10T08:00:00.002-04:00

The Godly Man's Picture

The Characteristics Of A Godly Man - Part 6
by Thomas Watson

We have spoken of the truth that a godly man has a great knowledge from God that has a number of different aspects. Let us test ourselves by this characteristic:

Use 1: Are they godly, who are still in the region of darkness?

“It is not good to have zeal without knowledge, nor to be hasty and miss the way.” (Proverbs 19:2).

Ignorant people cannot give God “a reasonable service” (Romans 12:1). It is sad that after the Sun of righteousness has shone so long in our hemisphere, people should still be under the power of ignorance. Perhaps in the things of the world they know enough, none shall outreach them - but in the things of God - they have no knowledge. Nahash wanted to make a covenant with Israel, that he might “put out their right eyes” (1 Sam. 11:2).

Though men have knowledge in secular matters; the devil has put out their right eye - they do not understand the mystery of godliness. It may be said of them as of the Jews, “to this day the veil is upon their heart” (2 Cor. 3:15). Many Christians are no better than baptized heathen! What a shame it is to be without knowledge! “Some have not the knowledge of God; I speak this to your shame” (1 Cor. 15:34). Men think it a shame to be ignorant of their trade - but no shame to be ignorant of God. There is no going to heaven blindfold.

“For this is a people without understanding; so their Maker has no compassion on them, and their Creator shows them no favor.” (Isaiah 27:11).

Surely ignorance in these days is great. It is one thing not to know, another thing not to be willing to know: “men loved darkness rather than light” (John 3:19). It is the owl which loves the dark. Sinners are like the Athlantes, a people in Ethiopia, who curse the sun. Wicked men shut their eyes willfully (Matt. 13:15), and God shuts them judicially (Isaiah 6:10).

Are they godly, who, though they have knowledge - yet do not know “as they ought to know”? They do not know God experimentally. How many knowledgeable people are ignorant? They have illumination - but not sanctification. Their knowledge has no powerful influence upon them to make them better. If you set up a hundred torches in a garden they will not make the flowers grow - but the sun is influential. Many are so far from being better for their knowledge, that they are worse: “your knowledge has perverted you” (Isaiah 47:10). The knowledge of most people makes them more cunning in sin; these have little cause to glory in their knowledge. Absalom might boast of the hair of his head - but that hanged him; so these may boast of the knowledge of their head - but it will destroy them!

Are they godly, who, though they have some glimmering of knowledge - yet have no trustful application of Christ? Many in the old world knew there was an ark - but were drowned, because they did not get into it! Knowledge which is not personally applied, will only light a man to hell! It would be better to live a savage - than to die an infidel under the gospel. Christ not believed in is dreadful. Moses' rod, when it was in his hand, did a great deal of good. It wrought miracles; but when it was out of his hand, it became a serpent. So Christ, when laid hold on by the hand of faith, is full of comfort - but not laid hold on, will prove a serpent to bite!

Continued Tomorrow

The Characteristics Of A Godly Man, Part 5b

2011-09-09T08:00:00.001-04:00

From the Godly Man’s Picture (Part 5a)
By Thomas Watson

D. It is an APPLIED knowledge

“I know that my redeemer lives” (Job 19:25). A medicine is best when it is applied. This applicative knowledge is joyful. Christ is called a “surety” (Heb. 7:22). Oh what joy, when I am drowned in debt, to know that Christ is my surety! Christ is called an “advocate” (1 John 2:1). The Greek word for advocate, (parakletos) signifies a comforter. Oh, what comfort it is when I have a bad cause, to know Christ is my advocate, who never lost any cause he pleaded!

Question: But how shall I know that I am making a right application of Christ? A hypocrite may think he applies when he does not. Balaam, though a sorcerer, still said, “my God” (Numb. 22:18).

Answer 1: He who rightly applies Christ puts these two together, Jesus and Lord. “Christ Jesus my Lord” (Phil. 3:8). Many take Christ as Jesus - to save them; but refuse him as Lord - to rule them. Do you join “Prince and Savior” (Acts 5:31)? Would you as well be ruled by Christ's laws as saved by his blood? Christ is

“…a priest upon his throne” (Zech. 6:13).

He will never be a priest to intercede - unless your heart is the throne where he sways his scepter. A true applying of Christ is when we so take him as a husband, that we give up ourselves to him as Lord.

Answer 2: He who rightly applies Christ derives virtue from him. The woman in the Gospel, having touched Christ, felt virtue coming from him and her fountain of blood was dried up (Mark 5:29). This is to apply Christ - when we feel a sin-mortifying virtue flow from him. That knowledge which is applicatory, has an antipathy against sin, and will not allow the heart to be dominated by sin.

E. It is a TRANSFORMING knowledge

“We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image” (2 Cor. 3:18).

As a painter looking at a face draws a face like it in the picture; so looking at Christ in the mirror of the gospel, we are changed into his likeness. We may look at other objects that are beautiful - yet not be made beautiful by them. A deformed face may look at beauty, and yet not be made beautiful. A wounded man may look at a surgeon, and yet not be healed. But this is the excellence of divine knowledge, that it gives us such a sight of Christ as makes us partake of his nature! Like Moses when he had seen God's back parts, his face shone; some of the rays and beams of God's glory fell on him.

F. It is a SELF-EMPTYING knowledge

Carnal knowledge makes the head giddy with pride (1 Cor. 8:1,2). True knowledge brings a man out of love with himself. The more he knows - the more he blushes at his own ignorance. David, a bright star in God's church, still thought himself rather a cloud than a star (Psalm 73:22).

G. It is a GROWING knowledge

“Increasing in the knowledge of God” (Col. 1:10).

True knowledge is like the light of the morning, which increases on the horizon until it comes to the full meridian. So sweet is spiritual knowledge that the more a saint knows - the more thirsty he is for knowledge. It is called “the riches of knowledge” (1 Cor. 1:5). The more riches a man has, the more still he desires. Though Paul knew Christ - yet he wanted to know him more:

“That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection” (Phil. 3:10).

H. It is a PRACTICAL knowledge

“His sheep follow him because they know his voice.” (John 10:4).

God requires a knowledge accompanied by obedience. True knowledge not only improves a Christian's sight - but improves his pace. It is a reproach to a Christian to live in a contradiction to his knowledge, to know he should be strict and holy - yet to live loosely. Not to obey - is the same as not to know:

“…the sons of Eli knew not the Lord” (1 Sam. 2:12).

They could not but know, for they taught others the knowledge of the Lord; yet they are said not to know - because they did not obey. When knowledge and practice appear together, then they herald much happiness.

The Characteristics Of A Godly Man, Part 5a

2011-09-08T08:00:00.001-04:00

From the Godly Man’s Picture (Part 5)
By Thomas Watson

It will be enquired in the next place, “Who is the godly man?” For the full answer to this I shall lay down several specific signs and characteristics of a godly man.

1. A Godly Man Is A Man Of KNOWLEDGE.

“The prudent are crowned with knowledge” (Proverbs 14:18).

The saints are called “wise virgins” (Matt. 25:4). A natural man may have some head knowledge of God - but he “knows nothing yet as he ought to know” (1 Cor. 8:2). He does not know God savingly. He may have the eye of natural reason open - but he does not discern the things of God in a spiritual manner. Waters cannot go beyond their spring-head. Vapors cannot rise higher than the sun draws them. A natural man cannot act above his sphere; he is no more able to judge sacred things aright than a blind man is to judge colors.

He does not see the evil of his heart. If a face is ever so black and deformed - yet it is not seen under a veil; the heart of a sinner is so black that nothing but hell can pattern it - yet the veil of ignorance hides it.

He does not see the beauties of a Savior. Christ is a pearl of great price - but a hidden pearl.

But a godly man is taught by God: “this anointing teaches you of all things” (1 John 2:27), that is, all things essential to salvation. A godly man has “the good knowledge of the Lord” (2 Chron. 30:22). He has “Sound wisdom” (Proverbs 3:21).

He knows God in Christ. To know God out of Christ is to know him as an enemy - but to know him in Christ is sweet and delicious. A gracious soul has

“…the Savor of his knowledge” (2 Cor. 2:14).

There is a great difference between one who has read of a country, or viewed it on the map - and another who has lived in the country, and tasted its fruits and spices. The knowledge with which a godly man is adorned has these eight rare ingredients in it:

A. It is a GROUNDED knowledge

“If you continue in the faith grounded” (Col. 1:23).

It is not simply believing “as my church believes.” Saving knowledge rests upon a double basis: the Word and Spirit. The one is a guide, the other a witness. Saving knowledge is not changeable or doubtful - but has a certainty in it.

“We believe and are sure that you are that Christ” (John 6:69);

“being always confident” (2 Cor. 5:6).

A godly man holds no more than he will die for. The martyrs were so confirmed in the knowledge of the truth, that they would seal it with their blood.

B. It is an APPRECIATIVE knowledge

The jeweler who has the skill to value a jewel is said to know it. He who esteems God above the comforts of the earth knows him (Psalm 73:25). To compare other things with God is to debase deity; as if you should compare a glow-worm with the sun.

C. It is an ENLIVENING knowledge

“I will never forget your precepts, for with them you have quickened me” (Psalm 119:93).

Bible knowledge in a natural man's head is like a torch in a dead man's hand. True knowledge animates.

A godly man is like John the Baptist, “a burning and a shining lamp”. He not only shines by illumination - but he burns by affection.

The spouse's knowledge made her “love-sick” (Song 2:5). “I am wounded with love.” I am like a deer that is struck with an arrow; my soul lies bleeding, and nothing can cure me - but a sight of him whom my soul loves!

Continued Tomorrow…

Presumptuous Sins

2011-09-07T12:59:00.000-04:00

From Gospel Chapel

“Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression. Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.” Psalm 19:12-14.

Let us consider David’s special concern over presumptuous sins because of their heinous nature.

“Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.”

He perceived how the inclinations in his heart were well and alive. His heart was reconciled to the Lord, but he knew there was the danger of presumptuous sins leading to the great transgression and losing the Lord’s nearness.

Presumptuous sins are sins against knowledge and against the light of conscience. When our consciences convict and warn us but we overrule them, it is a presumptuous sin. This is “the great transgression.” We can plead our inability and ignorance when we ask the Lord for forgiveness; the Apostle Paul says he was forgiven because he did not know what he was doing, but presumptuous sins are sins against light and knowledge, which are most provoking to the Lord.

Presumptuous sins are also sins of omission: knowing what is good but not doing it. We read in James 4:17:

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”

We are to bring up our children in the fear and admonition of the Lord. If we neglect our children, it is a presumptuous sin of omission and grievous in the eyes of the Lord.

There is a difference between the sins of infirmity and the sins of passion, as we see in Moses and Uzziah. Moses, in his infirmity was the meekest of all men, yet in a fit of temper, he cried, “Must I fetch you water out of this rock?” He did not sanctify the Lord, which was not a premeditated sin of presumption, but of passion, so the Lord forbade him from entering the Promised Land. Uzziah stretched forth his hand to keep the ark of the Lord from falling off a cart and the Lord struck him dead on the spot. If we are aware of the Lord’s displeasure upon those sins, then we tremble to think of falling into presumptuous sins: overruling our conscience, by design, knowing they are sins.

Presumptuous sinners do not sin unwittingly, because such sins are committed not only with knowledge, but also with forethought, as with Joseph’s brothers. We read in Genesis 37:18:

“And when they saw him afar off, even before he came near unto them, they conspired against him to slay him.”

They considered and conspired to sin, with knowledge and against their consciences. David said,

“Let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression,”

Presumptuous sins greatly displeasing to the Lord.

Presumptuous sin is a desperate sin, because it is accompanied by pride. The sinner, who knows the mind of God yet says with Pharaoh, “Who is the Lord that I should obey Him,” defies the Lord, because his conscience tells him he is doing wrong. Joseph’s brothers knew they were doing wrong, because they were not in full agreement: one of the brothers wanted to deliver Joseph from under their hands. They knew they were sinning out of jealousy, envy, and hatred. Presumptuous sins are an affront to the authority of God.

Presumptuous sin is a sin against love and mercy, and the sinner who knows God’s will makes mercy kneel to his sin. Jeremiah 3:12-14 says,

“Go and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, thou backsliding Israel, saith the LORD; and I will not cause mine anger to fall upon you: for I am merciful, saith the LORD, and I will not keep anger for ever. [He pleads with rebellious people!] Only acknowledge thine iniquity, that thou hast transgressed against the LORD thy God, and hast scattered thy ways to the strangers under every green tree, and ye have not obeyed my voice, saith the LORD. Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: and I will take you one of a city, and two of a family, and I will bring you to Zion.”

The merciful God of heaven is beseeching the sinner! Presumptuous sinners sin against mercy, the longsuffering of God, and the love of God, deliberately and willfully rebelling against His voice.

Presumptuous sinners are neither melted by love nor stirred by judgments. The Lord will show mercy and not cause His anger to fall upon them, but a presumptuous sinner’s heart is hardened and his conscience is seared as with a hot iron. David sinned presumptuously in the matter of Uriah and his wife, because he premeditated his sin. He saw the woman, he sent a messenger, he took her, and he sent a letter telling Joab to put Uriah in the front lines to be slain. He sinned with knowledge and his conscience was seared. Amen.

Jesus, Lord of life and glory,
Bend from heaven Thy gracious ear;
While our waiting souls adore Thee,
Friend of helpless sinners, hear;
By Thy mercy, O deliver us, good Lord.
From the depth of nature’s blindness,
From the hardning power of sin,
From all malice and unkindness,
From the pride that lurks within
By Thy mercy, O deliver us, good Lord.

James J. Cummins, 1839

A Gospel Without Propitiation at Its Heart

2011-09-07T08:00:00.000-04:00

J.I. Packer, from “The Heart of the Gospel”
in Knowing God (also in In My Place Condemned He Stood, p. 32):

· Has the word propitiation any place in your Christianity?

· In the faith of the New Testament it is central.

· The love of God [1 John 4:8-10],

· The taking of human form by the Son [Heb. 2:17],

· The meaning of the cross [Rom. 3:21-26],

· Christ’s heavenly intercession [1 John 2:1-2],

· The way of salvation

…all these are to be explained in terms of it, as the passages quoted show, and any explanation from which the thought of propitiation is missing will be incomplete, and indeed actually misleading, by New Testament standards.

In saying this, we swim against the stream of much modern teaching and condemn at a stroke the views of a great number of distinguished church leaders today, but we cannot help that. Paul wrote,

“Even if we or an angel from heaven…”

…let alone a minister, a bishop, college lecturer, university professor, or noted author…

“should preach a gospel other than the one we preached to you, let him be eternally condemned!” (“accursed” KJV and RSV; “outcast” NEB; “damned” Phillips - Gal. 1:8).

And a gospel without propitiation at is heart is another gospel than that which Paul preached. The implications of this must not be evaded.

Packer approvingly quotes John Murray’s explanation of propitiation:

The doctrine of propitiation is precisely this: that God loved the objects of His wrath (the unredeemed) so much that He gave His own Son to the end that He by His blood should make provision for the removal of His wrath. It was Christ’s so to deal with the wrath that the loved would no longer be the objects of wrath, and love would achieve its aim of making the children of wrath the children of God’s good pleasure. [ John Murray, The Atonement (Philadelphia: P&R, 1962)]

God at work!

2011-09-06T13:00:00.000-04:00

(James Smith, 1864)

“There is nothing too hard for You!” (Jeremiah 32:17)

There is nothing too hard for God to EFFECT:

· “Is anything too hard for Me, says the Lord?”

· “I know that You can do everything.”

· “He does according to His will among the armies of Heaven, and the inhabitants of the earth.”

· “He works all things after the counsel of His own will.”

Nothing is too hard for God - no change in providence - however it may appear improbable, or impossible to us.

· He could bring water out of the flinty rock.

· He could supply quail to satisfy the needs, and gratify the lusts of His people in the desert.

· He could feed Elijah for twelve months by ravens, and for two years and a half more, by a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in the widow's cruse.

· He could inundate Samaria with plenty - in the midst of famine and fearful desolation.

If He wills it

· The fire shall not burn the three Hebrew youths,

· Nor the lions injure Daniel,

· Nor death hold Lazarus in the tomb.

What He has done - He can do; for He is the same. And if necessary for the glory of His name - He will do it, for He will not allow His name to be polluted.

“Providence” is simply God at work - at work for:

· The accomplishment of His decrees

· The fulfillment of His promises

· The manifestation of His character, and

· The present and eternal welfare of His people.

He can:

· …give whatever we need

· …do whatever we need, and

· …glorify Himself in giving to us, and working for us!

All Things to All Men

2011-09-06T08:00:00.000-04:00

From the GTY Web Site

The notion that the church must become like the world to win the world has taken evangelicalism by storm. Virtually every modern worldly attraction has a “Christian” counterpart.

Christian motorcycle gangs,
Christian bodybuilding teams,
Christian dance clubs,
Christian amusement parks, and
I even read about a Christian nudist colony.

Where did Christians ever get the idea we could win the world by imitating it? Is there a shred of biblical justification for that kind of thinking? Many church marketing specialists affirm that there is, and they have convinced a myriad of pastors. Ironically, they usually cite the apostle Paul as someone who advocated adapting the gospel to the tastes of the audience. One has written,

“Paul provided what I feel is perhaps the single most insightful perspective on marketing communications, the principle we call contextualization (1 Corinthians 9:19–23). Paul … was willing to shape his communications according to their needs in order to receive the response he sought.” “The first marketeer was Paul,” another echoes.

After all, the apostle did write, “I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. And I do all things for the sake of the gospel, that I may become a fellow partaker of it” (1 Cor. 9:22, 23). Is that a mandate for pragmatism in ministry? Was the apostle Paul suggesting that the gospel message can be made to appeal to people by accommodating their relish for certain amusements or by pampering their pet vices? How far do you suppose he would have been willing to go with the principle of “contextualization”?

The Great Non-Negotiable

This much is very clear: the apostle Paul was no people-pleaser. He wrote,

“Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? Or am I striving to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bond-servant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10).

Paul did not amend or abridge his message to make people happy. He was utterly unwilling to try to remove the offense from the gospel (Gal. 5:11). He did not use methodology that catered to the lusts of his listeners. He certainly did not follow the pragmatic philosophy of modern market-driven ministers.

What made Paul effective was not marketing savvy, but a stubborn devotion to the truth. He was Christ’s ambassador, not His press secretary. Truth was something to be declared, not negotiated.

Paul was not ashamed of the gospel (Rom. 1:16).
He willingly suffered for the truth’s sake (2 Cor. 11:23–28).
He did not back down in the face of opposition or rejection.
He did not compromise with unbelievers or make friends with the enemies of God.

Paul’s message was always non-negotiable. In the same chapter where he spoke of becoming all things to all men, Paul wrote,

“I am under compulsion; for woe is me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16).

His ministry was in response to a divine mandate. God had called him and commissioned him. Paul preached the gospel exactly as he had received it directly from the Lord, and he always delivered that message “as of first importance” (1 Cor. 15:3). He was not a salesman or marketer, but a divine emissary. He certainly was not “willing to shape his communications” to accommodate his listeners or produce a desirable response. The fact that he was stoned and left for dead (Acts 14:19), beaten, imprisoned, and finally killed for the truth’s sake ought to demonstrate that he didn’t adapt the message to make it pleasing to his hearers! And the personal suffering he bore because of his ministry did not indicate that something was wrong with his approach, but that everything had been right!

So what did Paul mean when he wrote,

“I have become all things to all men, that I may by all means save some. And I do all things for the sake of the gospel”?

As always, the context makes his meaning clear. We’ll be taking a look at what Paul really meant over the course of the next several days. (At the GTY Blog) Tune in there to hear what they have to say!.

A Reproof To Such As Are Only PRETENDERS To Godliness

2011-09-05T13:00:00.001-04:00

The Godly Man's Picture - Part 3
By Thomas Watson
Continued

“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men's bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.” Matthew 23:27-28

Here is a sharp rebuke to such as are “glittering dross” Christians, who only make a show of godliness, like Michal, [David’s wife] who put “an image in the bed”, and so deceived Saul's messengers (1 Sam. 19:16). These our Savior calls “whited sepulchers” (Matt. 23:27) - their beauty is all paint!

In ancient times a third part of the inhabitants of England were called Picts, which signifies “painted”. It is to be feared that they still retain their old name. How many [believers] are painted over with a religious profession, whose seeming luster dazzles the eyes of beholders - but within there is nothing but putrefaction! Hypocrites are like the swan, which has white feathers - but a black skin; or like that flower, which has a lovely appearance - but a bad scent.

“You have a name that you live, and are dead” (Rev. 3:1).

These the apostle Jude compares to “clouds without water” (Jude 12). They claim to be full of the Spirit - but they are empty clouds; their goodness is but a religious cheat.

Question: But why do people content themselves with a show of godliness?

Answer: This helps to keep up their fame. Men are ambitious of credit, and wish to gain repute in the world, therefore they will dress themselves in the garb and mode of religion, so that others may write them down for saints. But alas, what is one the better for having others commend him - and his conscience condemn him? What good will it do a man when he is in hell - that others think he has gone to heaven? Oh, beware of this! Counterfeit piety is double iniquity.

1. To have only a show of godliness is a God-enraging sin

The man who is a pretender to saintship - but whose heart tells him he has nothing but the name, carries Christ in his Bible but not in his heart. Some political design spurs him on in the ways of God; he makes religion a lackey to his carnal interest. What is this but to abuse God to his face, and to serve the devil in Christ's livery? Hypocrisy makes the fury rise up in God's face; therefore he calls such people “the generation of his wrath” (Isaiah 10:6). God will send them to hell, to do penance for their hypocrisy! [Not to be confused with the temporal RC idea of Hell!]

2. To make only a show of godliness is self-delusion

It is a horrible mistake to take a show of grace, for grace indeed. This is to cheat yourself: “deceiving your own souls” (Jas. 1:22). He who has counterfeit gold instead of true gold, wrongs himself most. The hypocrite deceives others while he lives - but deceives himself when he dies.

3. To have only a name, and make a show of godliness, is odious to God and man

The hypocrite is abhorred by all.

Wicked men hate him because he makes a show, and
- God hates him because he only makes a show.
The wicked hate him because he has so much as a mask of godliness, and
- God hates him because he has no more. “You have almost persuaded me to be a Christian” (Acts 26:28).
The wicked hate the hypocrite because he is almost a Christian, and
- God hates him because he is only almost one.

4. To make a show of piety is a vain thing

Hypocrites lose all they have done. Their sham tears drop beside God's bottle; their prayers and fasts prove abortive.

“When you fasted and mourned, did you at all fast unto me, even to me?” (Zech. 7:5).

As God will not recompense a slothful servant, neither will he recompense a treacherous one. The hypocrites' full reward is in this life: “They have their reward” (Matt. 6:5). [And, given thought, what a full horror that is!] A poor reward - the empty breath of men. The hypocrite may make his receipt and write, “Received in full payment”. Hypocrites may have the praise of men - but though these triumphs are granted them, they shall never have the privilege of sitting in heaven. What acceptance can he look for from God, whose heart tells him he is no better than a charlatan in divinity?

5. To have only a pretense of godliness will yield no comfort at death

Will painted gold enrich a man? Will painted wine refresh him who is thirsty? Will the paint of godliness stand you in any stead? How were the foolish virgins better for their “blazing lamps”, when they had no oil? What is the lamp of profession without the oil of grace? He who has only a painted holiness shall have only a painted happiness.

6. You who have nothing but a specious pretext and mask of piety expose yourself to Satan's scorn

You shall be brought forth at the last day, as was Samson, to make the devil sport (Judges 16:25). He will say,

“What has become of your vows, tears, confessions? Has all your religion come to this? Did you so often defy the devil, and have you now come to dwell with me? Could you meet with no weapon to kill you - but what was made of gospel metal? Could you not suck poison anywhere but out of ordinances? Could you find no way to hell - but by counterfeit godliness?”

What a vexation this will be, to have the devil thus reproach a man! What will it be to have the devil triumph over a man at the last day! [As he sought to do over poor Job…]

Let us therefore take heed of this pious pageantry or devout stage-play. That which may make us fear our hearts the more is when we see tall cedars in the church worm-eaten with hypocrisy. Balaam a prophet, Jehu a king, Judas an apostle - all of them stand to this day on record as hypocrites.

It is true that there are the seeds of this sin in the best Christian; but as it was with leprosy under the law, all who had swellings or spots in the skin of the flesh were not reputed unclean and put out of the camp (Lev. 13:6); so all who have the swellings of hypocrisy in them are not to be judged hypocrites, for these may be the spots of God's children (Deut. 32:5). But that which distinguishes a hypocrite is when hypocrisy is predominant and is like a spreading cancer in the body.

Question: When is a man under the dominion and power of hypocrisy?

Answer: There are two signs of its predominance:

1. When one serves God for sinister ends.

2. When there is some sin dear to a man, which he cannot part with.

These two are as clear signs of a hypocrite as any I know.

Oh, let us take David's candle and lantern, and search for this leaven, and burn it before the Lord!

Christian, if you mourn for hypocrisy - yet find this sin so potent that you cannot get the mastery of it, go to Christ. Beg of him that he would exercise his kingly office in your soul, that he would subdue this sin, and put it under the yoke. Beg of Christ to exercise his spiritual surgery upon you. Desire him to lance your heart and cut out the rotten flesh, and that he would apply the medicine of his blood to heal you of your hypocrisy. Say that prayer of David often:

“Let my heart be sound in your statutes” (Psalm 119:80).

“Lord, let me be anything rather than a hypocrite.” A double-heart will exclude from one heaven.

O suffering saint!

2011-09-05T13:00:00.000-04:00

By John MacDuff, "The Promised Land" 1859
From Sermon Audio

"And the days of your mourning shall be ended!" Isaiah 60:20

The present world is a valley of tears - a wilderness of woe. While passing through it, we are exposed to sorrows and sufferings of various kinds. Pain and disease beset us on every side; and many, in the extremity of their anguish, wish for death rather than life.

Here we are subject to innumerable troubles; our fondest hopes may be blasted, and we may be called to survey the wreck of all that we once possessed.

Here the dearest friends are snatched from each other's embrace! The ruthless spoiler respects neither rank nor age - he tears asunder the very heart-strings of our nature, and seems to delight in trampling upon the tenderest sympathies of the soul.

· The parent is called to weep over the remains of a much-loved child

· The spouse has to mourn the loss of the partner of his life;

· The lover and friend are cut off by a stroke - and

· The desire of our eyes is taken away.

From a thousand sources, do our present distresses spring; and the streams of sorrow, in all their sad variety, follow us, more or less, through the whole course of our earthly pilgrimage.

But in Heaven, all our troubles will be over! No sorrow will be there. All temporal and all spiritual evils will be entirely banished. No disappointment, no anxiety, will be there. No wearisome nights, no dismal moanings, no tossings to and fro until the dawning of the day--will be there. There will be no sickness to blast--and no death to devour there.

There will be no Rachel weeping for her children, no broken-hearted father exclaiming, "O Absalom, my son, my son," there. There will be no separation from those we love there. There will be no faithless friends to wound our hearts and betray our confidence there. There will be no being vexed from day to day with the filthy lives of the wicked there. There will be . . .

· No temptations there;

· No fightings without--or fears within;

· No hardness of heart--or stings of conscience;

· No obscuring clouds, or contrary winds, or tossing waves, there.

No, nothing to grieve, nothing to cause a single sigh to rise from the bosom, or a single tear to fall from the eye--will be there.

But joy and peace will be there; and cheerful hearts and beaming countenances will be there; and the conqueror's song, and waving palms, and harps of gold, and robes of spotless white, will be there.

O suffering saint! Think much of what is there--it will help you to bear up and to press on under your load of sorrow here. It is only for a little while, that you will have to traverse this howling desert; and then, having passed the narrow stream of death--you shall know Heaven by happy experience!

"No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined--what God has prepared for those who love Him!"

A Most Soul-Ruining Sin!

2011-09-04T13:00:00.001-04:00

(J. C. Ryle)

"I hate pride and arrogance!" Proverbs 8:13

It is a dreadful fact, whether we like to allow it or not - that PRIDE is one of the common sins which beset human nature. We are all born Pharisees. We all naturally think far better of ourselves than we ought. We all naturally imagine that we deserve something better than we have.

Pride is an old sin. It began in the garden of Eden, when Adam and Eve thought they had not got everything that their merits deserved.

Pride is a subtle sin. It rules and reigns in many a heart without being detected, and can even wear the garb of humility.

Pride is a most soul-ruining sin. It prevents repentance, keeps men back from Christ, checks brotherly love, and nips spiritual desires in the bud.

Let us watch against pride, and be on our guard.

Of all garments, none is so graceful, none wears so well, and none is so rare - as true humility.

"All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, God opposes the proud - but gives grace to the humble." 1 Peter 5:5

George Müller of Bristol

2011-09-04T13:00:00.000-04:00

In November of 1844, George Müller began praying for the conversion of five specific men.

· Eighteen months later, the first was saved.

· Five more years, and the second became a Christian; then,

· Six years beyond that, the third.

· Thirty six years later, Müller was still praying daily for the remaining two.

· One of these surrendered to the Lord before Müller’s death in 1898;

· The other, a few years after Müller died.[1]

Thus was the power and resolve of this giant of prayer.

A native of Prussia, Müller was converted at 20 (after some earlier scrapes with the law), and at his father’s urging, he studied for the ministry. He became an itinerant preacher[2] and traveled to England as a missionary. His most remarkable ministry began when, in 1832, he moved to Bristol, where he partnered with Henry Craik in beginning two churches. Müller, who was the less popular of the two, began feeding and biblically instructing the poorer children in the area.[3] A vision for orphan ministry began to develop, and Müller prayed extensively for wisdom in this connection.[4] As was his determined life policy by this time, Müller told God, and no one else, about his needs.[5] Then, as he prayed, the money, supplies, and workers came in. On April 11, 1836 orphans began to be admitted, by May 18 there were 26 children, and seven months later a second house for girls was opened.[6]

Early each morning, Müller would rise to pray for the daily needs of his orphanage[7] - and the results were astounding. Müller catalogued meticulously the fruit of God’s providence, day by day for years, as in this typical journal entry:

“August 23. Today I was again without one single penny, when 3£ was sent from Clapham, with a box of new clothes for the Orphans.”[8]

Müller estimated that, in the course of his ministry, over 50,000 of his prayers were answered, most within the day. And though there were periods with no money in the bank, the children never went without proper instruction and clothes, nor were their meals ever more than 30 minutes late.[9] Prayers were even said over empty plates, with food arriving at the last moment.

And the ministry grew. More children came, larger spaces were procured, and a wonderful team of teachers was assembled.[10] When Müller retired, there were more than 2,000 orphans, from infancy through age 12, being educated and cared for in several orphanages - all on complete trust in God. After his death, the ministry more than doubled in scope, thanks to the efforts of his surviving team members.[11]

On September 18, 1838, in his orphanage’s second year, Müller wrote the following:

A lady from the neighborhood of London who brought a parcel with money from her daughter, arrived four or five days since in Bristol, and took lodgings next door to the Boys’ Orphan-House. This afternoon she herself kindly brought me the money, amounting to 3£ 2s. 6d. We had been reduced so low as to be on the point of selling those things which could be spared; but this morning I had asked the Lord, if it might be, to prevent the necessity of our doing so. That the money had been so near the Orphan-Houses for several days without being given, is a plain proof that it was from the beginning in the heart of God to help us; but, because He delights in the prayers of His children, He had allowed us to pray so long; also to try our faith, and to make the answer so much the sweeter. It is indeed a precious deliverance. I burst out into loud praises and thanks…This money…will comfortably provide for all that will be needed tomorrow.[12]

Many of God’s people are anxious if their retirement annuities are not shaping up nicely. But Müller shouted for joy when no more than tomorrow was taken care of. Intoxicated with love for his orphans and with trust in the Lord, he simply prayed, and God provided. As God’s promises were then so they are today for those who dare to trust.

[1] Roger Steer, George Muller: Delighted in God (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1975), 247.

[2] Bonnie Harvey, George Müller: Man of Faith (Uhrichsville: OH: Barbour, 1998), 9-10, 17-20.

[3] Arthur T. Pierson, George Müller of Bristol (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1984), 69, 71.

[4] Harvey, 21.

[5] Steer, 39-40.

[6] Pierson, 93.

[7] Ibid., 101-102, 105.

[8] George Müller, A Narrative of Some of the Lord’s Dealings with George Müller, Vol. I (Muskegon, MI: Dust and Ashes, 2003), 165.

[9] Harvey, 70, 76-78.

[10] Pierson, 96, 91.

[11] Harvey, 120, 166-168, 157, 136. Today, it continues through three charities funded by the George Müller Foundation. See The George Müller Foundation Website, http://www.mullers.org/cm/ (accessed February 7, 2008).

[12] Müller, 170-171.

If There Must Be Trouble, Let it Be in My Day

2011-09-03T13:00:00.000-04:00

Thomas Paine–the pro-revolutionary patriot and pamphleteer–was certainly no Christian and no fan of Christianity. But I find this sentence to be sound Christian thinking:

“Not a man lives on the continent but fully believes that a separation must some time or other finally take place, and a generous parent should have said: “If there must be trouble, let it be in my day, that my child may have peace” This single reflection, well applied, is sufficient to awaken every man to duty.”

Of course, Paine was rallying the country to independence from Britain, but his words can apply equally well to other ventures.

· Is there some institutional change you know must happen but have been putting off for fear of your own hardship?

· Is there a family confrontation that must take place but you are waiting for someone else to handle it and let you off the hook?

· Is there a difficult decision to be made in your church but you are happy to let the bomb explode in some other lap?

· Is there a need in the world, a crisis in your city, or a cause in your country that you are waiting for others to take up without you?

· Are you quietly saying to yourself, “If there must be trouble, let it be in someone else’s day”?

Christian virtue is far different. If you, your family, your church, your movement, or your nation is in trouble now, should not your heart cry out, “Better that I face this instead it of my children”? If suffering is to come, if hardship is to ensue, should not you want to be summoned to the task rather than someone else? Aren’t you eager to be a “generous parent”?

May God awaken a sense of duty for all who ought to face trouble now that others can be at peace later.

The Godly Man's Picture

2011-09-03T08:00:00.000-04:00

By Thomas Watson
Continued

We spoke, by way of Introduction, last time about this incomprehensible blessing God has given to us, and the Truth that it lays a foundation for all other mercies. We want to continue by talking about…

The Nature of Godliness

It will first be enquired, “What is godliness?” I answer in general,

“Godliness is the sacred impression and workmanship of God in a man, whereby from being carnal he is made spiritual.”

When godliness is wrought in a person, he does not receive a new soul - but he has “another spirit” (Num. 14:24).

“But My servant Caleb, because he has a different spirit in him and has followed Me fully, I will bring into the land where he went, and his descendants shall inherit it.”

The faculties are not new - but the qualities are; the strings are the same - but the tune is corrected. Concerning godliness, I shall lay down these seven maxims or propositions:

1. Godliness is a REAL thing

It is not a fantasy, but a fact. Godliness is not the feverish fantasy of a sick brain; a Christian is no enthusiast, one whose religion is all made up of theory. Godliness has truth for its foundation; it is called

“…the way of truth” (Psalm 119:30).

Godliness is a ray and beam that shines from God. If God is true, then godliness is true.

2. Godliness is an INTRINSIC thing

It lies chiefly in the heart:

“…circumcision is that of the heart”
(Romans 2:29).

The dew lies on the leaf, the sap is hidden in the root. The moralist's religion is all in the leaf; it consists only in externals - but godliness is a holy sap which is rooted in the soul:

“Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place” (Psalm 51:6).

3. Godliness is a SUPERNATURAL thing

By nature we inherit nothing but evil.

“When we were in the flesh, the motions of sins did work in our members” (Romans 7:5).

We sucked in sin as naturally as our mother's milk; but godliness is the “wisdom from above” (Jas. 3:17). It is breathed in from heaven. God must light up the lamp of grace in the heart. Weeds grow by themselves; flowers are planted. Godliness is a celestial plant which comes from the New Jerusalem. Therefore it is called a “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22). A man has no more power to make himself godly, than to create himself.

4. Godliness is an EXTENSIVE thing

It is a sacred leaven which spreads itself into the whole soul:

“May the God of peace sanctify you wholly” (1 Thess. 5:23).

There is

· A Light in the understanding,

· An Order in the affections,

· A Pliableness in the will, and

· An Exemplariness in the life.

We do not call a black man white, because he has white teeth. He who is good only in some part is not godly. What Grace creates is called “the new man” (Col. 3:10), not a new eye, or tongue - but a new man. He who is godly is good all over; though he is regenerate only in part - yet it is in every part.

5. Godliness is an INTENSE thing

It does not lie in a dead formality and indifference - but is vigorous and flaming: “fervent in spirit” (Romans 12:11). We call water hot when it is so in the third or fourth degree. He whose devotion is inflamed is godly, and his heart boils over in holy affections.

6. Godliness is a GLORIOUS thing

As the jewel to the ring, so is piety to the soul, bespangling it in God's eyes. [And that is a significant distinction - in God’s eyes and not merely in ours! It is His judgment that determines what is Godly and what is not, not our own subjective decision, for our own determination might alter from time to time…and for various and very shady reasons! That makes it necessary for there to be a sure and dependable standard for Godliness; and so there is - His Word as put forth in the pages of the Scripture] - Reason makes us men; godliness makes us earthly angels; by it we “partake of the divine nature” (2 Pet. 1:4). Godliness is near akin to glory: “glory and virtue” (2 Pet. 1:3). Godliness is glory in the seed, and glory is godliness in the flower.

7. Godliness is a PERMANENT thing

Aristotle says,

“Names are given from the habit”.

We do not call the one who blushes ruddy - but the one who is of a ruddy complexion (1 Sam. 17:42).

“And when the Philistine looked about and saw David, he disdained him; for he was only a youth, ruddy and good-looking.”

A blush of godliness is not enough to distinguish a Christian - but godliness must be the temper and complexion of the soul.

Godliness is a fixed thing. There is a great deal of difference between a stake in the hedge - and a tree in the garden. A stake rots and molders - but a tree, having life in it, abides and flourishes. When godliness has taken root in the soul, it abides to eternity:

“…his seed remains in him” (1 John 3:9).

Godliness being engraved in the heart by the Holy Spirit, as with the point of a diamond, can never be erased.

A Spiritual Housecleaning

2011-09-02T13:01:00.000-04:00

From the Gospel Chopel

“Incline my heart unto thy testimonies, and not to covetousness,” (Psalm 119:36)

One of the most powerful evidences that we have God’s grace is that we have new desires and inclinations that replace ones of rebellion.

There is first a putting away of the old rebellion and inclinations, and then there is given a spirit of submission and inclination toward those things that please God. The Lord does not share His throne will a rebellious spirit. Rebellion must first be broken and removed before we hear that voice behind us saying that this is the way, walk in it. The Lord will not give the inclinations of His Spirit in the midst of rebellion.

The Scriptures clearly bring this forth. Turn with me to Ezekiel 36:25-27 to see the chronology of this:

“Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. 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 an 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.”

That new spirit is a new attitude. It is all of grace. We cannot change our attitudes. We cannot do this in our own strength. We cannot walk in His statutes, we will not have the inclinations of the Spirit to incline us where to go and where not to go as long as we live in our filthiness.

The first order of grace is that He remove that filthiness. If our hearts are still unbridled, and we live in hatred, lust and covetousness, then we cannot claim grace.

The Lord cleanses us and gives us new hearts, and He puts His Spirit within us. That is the work of grace. Then He will cause us to walk in His statutes. If we see these marks of grace, then we can claim that we have the work of grace in us because the work of grace is an inclination to walk in the ways of the Lord.

First the weeds and thorns must be uprooted, then the good seed can be planted. You cannot plant a crop in a field loaded with weeds and thorns. First you must prepare the soil. You do not plant the seed until you have prepared the seed bed. You must dig out the weeds and thorns by their roots. Then the good seed can be planted.

The old man must be cast off before we can put on the new. I want you to see where salvation begins. Turn with me to Ephesians 4:22-24 to see the chronology, to see how this work of grace begins:

“That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness.”

We must take off that old conversation. We must clean up our filthy attitudes. We must deal with those old habits. We have to deal with the covetousness that fills our hearts by nature. When God begins working grace in our hearts, we will see that the beginning starts with putting off the old man. We see that this vain conversation is wretched in the sight of God. We see that we can no longer live in our old ways, and we must be renewed in the attitudes of our minds.

Even after the most blessed change of heart, there is still that ever-ongoing spiritual warfare that we read of in Galatians 5:17:

“For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.”

I have heard people say this means you must live in sin because you cannot do the good you should do. The word cannot in Galatians 5:17 in the original means “God forbid.” This means that the Lord with His restraining grace keeps us from the evil we would do. As saints, we plead for the Lord to incline our hearts to His testimonies and not to covetousness. In other words, give me your restraining grace and spare me from doing these wicked things. God, with His restraining grace, keeps us from doing those wretched, wicked things we would do. Amen.

Spirit of God, that moved of old
Upon the waters’ darkened face,
Come, when our faithless hearts are cold,
And stir them with an inward grace.

Come, give us still Thy pow’rful aid,
And urge us on, and make us Thine;
Nor leave the hearts that once were made
Fit temples for Thy grace divine.

Nor let us quench Thy sev’nfold light;
But still with softest breathings stir
Our wayward souls, and lead us aright,
O Holy ghost, the Comforter.

Cecil Frances Alexander, 1828-1895

The Godly Man's Picture

2011-09-02T08:00:00.001-04:00

by Thomas Watson
Continued

Introduction

“For this cause shall everyone who is godly pray unto you.” (Psalm 32:6)

Holy David at the beginning of this psalm, shows us wherein true happiness consists; not in beauty, honor, riches (the world's trinity) - but in the forgiveness of sin.

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven”
(v. 1).

The Hebrew word “to forgive” signifies “to carry out of sight”, which agrees well with the words of Jeremiah:

“In those days, says the Lord, the sins of Judah shall be sought for, and they shall not be found” (Jer. 50:20).

This is an incomprehensible blessing, and such as lays a foundation for all other mercies. I shall just glance at it, and lay down these five assertions about it:

1. Forgiveness Of Sin Is An Act Of God's Free Grace.

The Greek word for “forgive” (charizomai) makes clear the source of pardon. Pardon does not arise from anything inherent in us - but is the pure result of free grace (charis).

“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake” (Isaiah 43:25).

When a creditor forgives a debtor, he does it freely. Pardon of sin is a royal thread, spun out of the heart of free grace. Paul cries out, “I obtained mercy” (1 Tim. 1:13) - “I was be-mercied”. He who is pardoned, is all bestrewn with mercy. When the Lord pardons a sinner, he does not only pay a debt - but gives an inheritance!

2. God, In Forgiving Sin, Remits The Guilt And Penalty.

Guilt cries for justice. No sooner had Adam eaten the apple, than he saw the “flaming sword” and heard the curse. But in forgiveness of sin, God indulges the sinner. He seems to say to him,

“Though you have fallen into the hands of my justice and deserve to die - yet I will absolve you, and whatever is charged against you shall be discharged.”

3. Forgiveness of sin is through the blood of Christ.

Free grace is the impulsive cause; Christ's blood is the meritorious cause.

“Without shedding of blood is no remission of sin” (Heb. 9:22).

Justice would be revenged either on the sinner, or on the surety. Every pardon is the price of Christ's blood.

4. Before sin is forgiven, it must be repented of.

Therefore repentance and remission are linked together:

“…that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name” (Luke 24:47).

Not that repentance in a popish [Roman Catholic] sense merits forgiveness. Christ's blood must wash our tears away - but repentance is a qualification, though not a cause of forgiveness. He who is humbled for sin, will value pardoning mercy the more. When there is nothing in the soul but clouds of sorrow, and now God brings a pardon - which is a setting up of a rainbow in the cloud, to tell the sinner that the flood of wrath shall not overflow him - oh, what joy there is at the sight of this rainbow! The soul that before was steeped in tears, now melts in love to God (Luke 7:38, 47).

and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.

Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.”

5. God having forgiven sin, he will no longer call it to remembrance. (Jer. 31:34)

The Lord will not upbraid us with former unkindness.

“He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Mic. 7:19).

Sin shall not be cast in like cork which rises up again - but like lead which sinks to the bottom. How we should all labor for this covenant blessing!

(i) How sad it is to lack pardon! It must of necessity go badly with the malefactor, who lacks his pardon. All the curses of God stand in full force against the unpardoned sinner; his very blessings are cursed (Mal. 2:2). Caesar wondered at one of his soldiers, who was so merry when he was in debt. Can that sinner be merry who is heir to all God's curses - and does not know how soon he may take up his lodgings among the damned!

(ii) How sweet it is to have pardon!

(a) The pardoned soul is out of the gunshot of hell (Romans 8:33). Satan may accuse - but Christ will show a discharge!

Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.

(b) The pardoned soul may go to God with boldness in prayer. Guilt clips the wings of prayer, so that it cannot fly to the throne of grace - but forgiveness breeds confidence. He who has his pardon, may look his prince in the face with comfort.

This great mercy of pardon David had obtained, as appears in verse 5: “You forgave me”. And because he had found God “a God of pardons” (Neh. 9:17), he therefore encouraged others to seek God in the words of the text:

“For this cause shall everyone who is godly pray unto you.”

Valley Forge Baptist Church

Recircumcised?

Eliphaz & Presuppositions

Ten Blessings in Romans 5

Enoch & Heaven

What Did Matthew Mean By "Blessed" in Matthew 5?

Firm Opinions

Matthew 4:3-4 - Christ's Temptation

Isaiah 2:10-21 - Twelve Predictions Unfulfilled!

Eastward in Eden

The Flight Into Egypt

The Sanctification of Job’s Children

The Gospel Is God’s Power

The Four-Fold Character of Job

153 or the Lord?

Men Are Hardwired…

Dt. 25:17-19–Destroy the Amalekites!

Punishment for Gleaners?

Who were the Hittites?

What is That to You?

Ben Franklin: The Best Way to Do Good to the Poor

4. A Godly Man is LIKE God (Part 3)

Use 2: Let us strive to be like God in holiness.

4. A Godly Man is LIKE God (Continued)

Use 1: How can those who are unlike God be reputed to be godly?

The Godly Man's Picture (Continued)

Question: In what do the godly reveal their holiness?Answer:

1. In Hating “The Garment Spotted By The Flesh” (Jude 23).

2. In Being Advocates For Holiness.

Living by Vows

A Godly Man Is Fired With LOVE to God.

A Godly Man Is A Man Moved By FAITH.

How Does the Godly Man Use His Knowledge? (Part 3)

Use 3: You who have this saving, sanctifying knowledge flourishing in you, bless God for it!

Can God Bless America?

To Ask Such Questions Is To Answer Them.

How Does the Godly Man Use His Knowledge? (Part 2)

Use 2: As we would prove ourselves to be godly, let us labor for this good knowledge of the Lord.

How Does the Godly Man Use His Knowledge? (Part 1)

Use 1: Are they godly, who are still in the region of darkness?

The Characteristics Of A Godly Man, Part 5b

D. It is an APPLIED knowledge

E. It is a TRANSFORMING knowledge

F. It is a SELF-EMPTYING knowledge

G. It is a GROWING knowledge

H. It is a PRACTICAL knowledge

The Characteristics Of A Godly Man, Part 5a

1. A Godly Man Is A Man Of KNOWLEDGE.

A. It is a GROUNDED knowledge

B. It is an APPRECIATIVE knowledge

C. It is an ENLIVENING knowledge

Presumptuous Sins

A Gospel Without Propitiation at Its Heart

God at work!

All Things to All Men

The Great Non-Negotiable

A Reproof To Such As Are Only PRETENDERS To Godliness

1. To have only a show of godliness is a God-enraging sin

2. To make only a show of godliness is self-delusion

3. To have only a name, and make a show of godliness, is odious to God and man

4. To make a show of piety is a vain thing

5. To have only a pretense of godliness will yield no comfort at death

6. You who have nothing but a specious pretext and mask of piety expose yourself to Satan's scorn

O suffering saint!

A Most Soul-Ruining Sin!

George Müller of Bristol

If There Must Be Trouble, Let it Be in My Day

The Godly Man's Picture

1. Godliness is a REAL thing

2. Godliness is an INTRINSIC thing

3. Godliness is a SUPERNATURAL thing

4. Godliness is an EXTENSIVE thing

5. Godliness is an INTENSE thing

6. Godliness is a GLORIOUS thing

7. Godliness is a PERMANENT thing

A Spiritual Housecleaning

The Godly Man's Picture

Introduction

3. Forgiveness of sin is through the blood of Christ.

5. God having forgiven sin, he will no longer call it to remembrance. (Jer. 31:34)

Question: In what do the godly reveal their holiness?
Answer: