The Eternal Duration of Hell's Torments # 1
"It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God!" (Hebrews 10:31).
How can it be consistent with the justice and righteousness of God to punish temporal sinning, with everlasting suffering, to inflict eternal vengeance, for momentary offences, to throw a sinner into unending misery, for committing a few sins here which quickly have an end?
This has made some conclude against the eternal duration of hell's torments - as if God were so merciful that He would not let them lie under His wrath forever. But I answer this with the Apostle, "Is God unjust in bringing His wrath on us? Certainly not!" (Romans 3:5-6). God is holy, just, and righteous - even when He punishes momentary offenses with everlasting torments. And this will appear, by considering the following:
1. It is necessary for the governing of the world, that the penalty should be so stated. It is necessary for the preserving the authority of God's law in its full force and vigor, and to render it more solemn and dreadful. The design of God is to have the punishment so great as to check all the temptations to sin which a man can have. There is in man since the fall, such a propensity to sensual things, that, without this fear of hell, nothing is able to keep it down. Fleshly lusts are so pleasing to corrupt nature, that they need to be checked with the severest threatenings. Therefore, God has told us beforehand, "Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient!" (Eph. 5:6).
God wisely balances the sinner's delights with the fear of punishment, that by setting eternal pains against momentary pleasures, we may the better escape temptation. The pleasures of sin, which are but for a season - entail on us torments which are eternal!
God has wisely left to our own choice whether we will have the passing pleasures of sin here on earth - or those eternal pleasures which come hereafter, as a reward of grace. Things at hand will far more prevail than things to come, if those things to come are not considerably greater. In the wisdom of God, those who work out their salvation with fear and trembling here, should have pleasures at the right hand of God for evermore - and those who will have their sinful pleasures here, should have everlasting misery in the eternal world.
2. Common reason allows that there ought to be a proportion between the nature of the offense, and the quality of the punishment. Now sin against God is such an immense thing that nothing less than an everlasting punishment can be equivalent to it. This will be plain, if you consider the following:
A. The greatness of the majesty against which sin is committed. Every sin is a base derogating of God, and this is enough to make the guilt of it infinite - because it is done against an infinite God, and therefore it deserves an infinite punishment. Now a finite creature cannot bear an infinite punishment - therefore God makes the punishment infinite in regard of continuance. The creature cannot pay the whole debt at once - therefore he must be paying it forever!
B. There is an eternity in sin, not only as being committed against an eternal God, and as deserving eternal punishment. There is a further eternity in sin - with respect to the disposition and will of the sinner, which is so tied in sin, that if the sinner should live forever - then he would sin forever. He is never weary of sin. He desires to live here always, that he may always enjoy his lusts. Though he lives ever so long - yet he never thinks it is time to be judged by God.
To what a great age the men of the old world lived - eight or nine hundred years, and yet they made no other use of it than to indulge their lusts! Every sinner would certainly go on in sin to the world's end, if death did not hinder him. His desire and will is to sin everlastingly - and he would do so if he could!
As in the case of duty, so in the case of sin - God looks more at the will than the deed. What hinders a sinner from being a sinner still, who does not leave sin, until sin leaves him? He who would sin forever if he could - he continues to sin in willing to sin.
Is it not just, that those who if they had lived forever, would never have left sinning - should never cease suffering? And is it not just that their eternal obstinacy should be punished with an everlasting punishment?
~Matthew Mead~
(continued with # 2)
Saturday, August 31, 2019
Evangelical Obedience # 2
Evangelical Obedience # 2
For God to issue commands is for Him to impose His authority on the one He has made; and for him to comply is but to acknowledge his creaturehood and render that submission which becomes such. It is as the Lawgiver, that God maintains His sovereignty; and it is by our obedience, that we acknowledge the same. Accordingly, we find that upon the day of his creation, Adam was placed under Law, and his continued prosperity was made dependent upon his conformity thereto. In like manner, when the Lord took the nation of Israel into covenant relationship with Himself, He personally made known His laws unto them and the sanctions attached thereto.
There are no exceptions to what has just been pointed out. The inhabitants of Heaven, equally with those of earth, are required to be in subjection to their Maker. Of the angels, it is said they "do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word" (Psalm 103:20). When His own Son became incarnate and assumed creature form, He too entered the place of obedience and became subservient to God's will. Thus it is with His redeemed. So far from the subjects of the Covenant of Grace being released from submission to the divine Law - they are under additional obligations to render a joyful and unqualified obedience to it: "You have commanded us to keep your precepts diligently" (Psalm 119:4). Upon which Thomas Manton said, "Unless you mean to renounce the sovereign majesty of God, and put Him off His throne, and break out into open rebellion against Him - you must do what He has commanded. "Charge those who are rich in this world" (1 Tim. 6:17) - not only advise - but charge them!" Christ is Lord, as well as Saviour; and we value Him not as the latter, unless we honor Him as the former. (John 13:13).
Not only does God require obedience - but an obedience which issues from, is animated by, and is an expression of, love. At the very heart of the divine Decalogue are the words: "And showing mercy unto thousands of those who love me, and keep My commandments" (Ex. 20:6). While there must be respect for His authority, unless there is also a sense of God's goodness, and an outgoing of the affections unto Him because of His excellency - there can be no hearty and acceptable obedience. The severest self-denials and the most lavish gifts, are of no value in God's esteem - unless they are prompted by love. The inseparability of love and obedience was made plain by Christ when He said, "If you love me - keep my commandments" (John 14:15). "He who has My commandments, and keeps them - he it is that loves Me" (John 14:21). "If a man loves Me - he will keep my words" (John 14:23). Likewise taught His apostles: "For this is the love of God - that we keep His commandments" (1 John 5:3). "Love is the fulfilling (not a substitute for, still less the abnegation) of the law" (Romans 13:10), for it inspires its performance.
To proceed one step further: God has graciously promised to work obedience in His people: "And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them" (Ezekiel 36:27) - He would not only point out the way - but move them to go therein; not force by external violence - but induce by an inward principle. "They all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them" (Ezekiel 37:24). Christ makes them "willing in the day of His power" (Psalm 110:3) that He should rule over them, and then directs them by the scepter of His righteousness.
Under the new covenant, God has engaged Himself to create in His people, by regenerating grace, a disposition which will find the spirituality and holiness of His requirements congenial unto it: "I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts" (Heb. 8:10) - I will bestow upon them a new nature which will incite unto obedience and cause them to delight in My Law after the inward man. Herein lies a part of their essential conformity unto Christ: "I delight to do Your will, O my God! Yes, your law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:8).
In accordance with those promises, we find that in the ministry of Christ, two things were outstandingly prominent: His enforcement of the claims of God's righteousness, and His proclamation of divine grace unto those who felt their deep need. Matthew 5:17-20, 19:16-21, and 22:36-40, exemplify the former. Matthew 11:4-6, 28-30, 15:30-31; Luke 23:42-43, and John 4:10, illustrate the latter. The Son of God came not to this earth in order to open a door unto self-pleasing and loose living - but rather to maintain God's holiness and make it possible for fallen creatures to live a holy life.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 3)
For God to issue commands is for Him to impose His authority on the one He has made; and for him to comply is but to acknowledge his creaturehood and render that submission which becomes such. It is as the Lawgiver, that God maintains His sovereignty; and it is by our obedience, that we acknowledge the same. Accordingly, we find that upon the day of his creation, Adam was placed under Law, and his continued prosperity was made dependent upon his conformity thereto. In like manner, when the Lord took the nation of Israel into covenant relationship with Himself, He personally made known His laws unto them and the sanctions attached thereto.
There are no exceptions to what has just been pointed out. The inhabitants of Heaven, equally with those of earth, are required to be in subjection to their Maker. Of the angels, it is said they "do his commandments, hearkening unto the voice of his word" (Psalm 103:20). When His own Son became incarnate and assumed creature form, He too entered the place of obedience and became subservient to God's will. Thus it is with His redeemed. So far from the subjects of the Covenant of Grace being released from submission to the divine Law - they are under additional obligations to render a joyful and unqualified obedience to it: "You have commanded us to keep your precepts diligently" (Psalm 119:4). Upon which Thomas Manton said, "Unless you mean to renounce the sovereign majesty of God, and put Him off His throne, and break out into open rebellion against Him - you must do what He has commanded. "Charge those who are rich in this world" (1 Tim. 6:17) - not only advise - but charge them!" Christ is Lord, as well as Saviour; and we value Him not as the latter, unless we honor Him as the former. (John 13:13).
Not only does God require obedience - but an obedience which issues from, is animated by, and is an expression of, love. At the very heart of the divine Decalogue are the words: "And showing mercy unto thousands of those who love me, and keep My commandments" (Ex. 20:6). While there must be respect for His authority, unless there is also a sense of God's goodness, and an outgoing of the affections unto Him because of His excellency - there can be no hearty and acceptable obedience. The severest self-denials and the most lavish gifts, are of no value in God's esteem - unless they are prompted by love. The inseparability of love and obedience was made plain by Christ when He said, "If you love me - keep my commandments" (John 14:15). "He who has My commandments, and keeps them - he it is that loves Me" (John 14:21). "If a man loves Me - he will keep my words" (John 14:23). Likewise taught His apostles: "For this is the love of God - that we keep His commandments" (1 John 5:3). "Love is the fulfilling (not a substitute for, still less the abnegation) of the law" (Romans 13:10), for it inspires its performance.
To proceed one step further: God has graciously promised to work obedience in His people: "And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you shall keep my judgments, and do them" (Ezekiel 36:27) - He would not only point out the way - but move them to go therein; not force by external violence - but induce by an inward principle. "They all shall have one shepherd: they shall also walk in My judgments, and observe My statutes, and do them" (Ezekiel 37:24). Christ makes them "willing in the day of His power" (Psalm 110:3) that He should rule over them, and then directs them by the scepter of His righteousness.
Under the new covenant, God has engaged Himself to create in His people, by regenerating grace, a disposition which will find the spirituality and holiness of His requirements congenial unto it: "I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts" (Heb. 8:10) - I will bestow upon them a new nature which will incite unto obedience and cause them to delight in My Law after the inward man. Herein lies a part of their essential conformity unto Christ: "I delight to do Your will, O my God! Yes, your law is within my heart" (Psalm 40:8).
In accordance with those promises, we find that in the ministry of Christ, two things were outstandingly prominent: His enforcement of the claims of God's righteousness, and His proclamation of divine grace unto those who felt their deep need. Matthew 5:17-20, 19:16-21, and 22:36-40, exemplify the former. Matthew 11:4-6, 28-30, 15:30-31; Luke 23:42-43, and John 4:10, illustrate the latter. The Son of God came not to this earth in order to open a door unto self-pleasing and loose living - but rather to maintain God's holiness and make it possible for fallen creatures to live a holy life.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 3)
Saturday, August 24, 2019
Evangelical Obedience # 1
Evangelical Obedience # 1
This article is designed chiefly for the enlightenment and comfort of those of God's people who are deeply exercised over their own obedience, and are often cast down by the defectiveness of the same. There is a real need for a Scriptural opening up of this subject, for there are very few pulpits today - even in the most orthodox circles - where anything clear and definite is given out thereon; in fact, we doubt if half of our readers have ever heard or read the term, "evangelical obedience." It is also a subject which needs the most careful handling; and if a comparative "novice" attempts to deal with it, he is likely to do more harm than good. The difficulty involved in it, is to maintain on the one hand the high and holy standard of obedience, which God has set before us in His Word; and to show on the other hand - the gracious provision which He has made for the relief of those who honestly endeavor - yet sadly fail, to measure up to that standard. The path between the two is a narrow one.
No matter how cautiously one may deal with this theme, if he is to be of any service to the real people of God, his efforts are sure to be put to a wrong and evil use by hypocrites, for they will "wrest it, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:16). Such is the perversity of human nature. When a discriminating sermon is preached - the particular design of which is to draw a clear line of demarcation between genuine and nominal Christians, and to "take forth the precious from the vile" (Jere. 15:19) - the graceless professor will refuse to make application of the same and examine his own heart and life in the light thereof; whereas the possessor of divine life is only too apt to draw a wrong deduction and deem himself to be numbered among the spiritually dead. Contrariwise, if the message is one of comfort to God's little ones, while too many of them are afraid to receive it, others who are not entitled will misappropriate it unto themselves. But let not a realization of these things prevent the minister of the Gospel from discharging his duty; and while being careful not to cast the children's bread unto the dogs - yet the presence of such is not to deter him from setting before the children their legitimate portion.
Before developing our theme, we will define our terms: "Evangelical obedience" is obviously the opposite of "legal obedience" - and that is of two sorts: First, the flawless and constant conformity unto His revealed will - which God required from Adam,and which He still demands from all who are under the Covenant of Works - for though man has lost his power to perform, God has not relinquished His right to insist upon what is His just due.
Second, the obedience of unregenerate formalists, which is unacceptable unto God - not only because it is full of defects - but because it issues from a natural principle - is not done in faith, and is rendered in a mercenary spirit, and therefore consists of "dead works" (Hebrews 6:1; 9:14).
Evangelical obedience is also to be distinguished from imputed obedience. It is blessedly true that when they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, God reckons to the account of all the subjects of the Covenant of Grace the perfect obedience of their Surety, so that He pronounces them justified, or possessed of that righteousness which the Law requires. Yet that is not the only obedience which characterizes the redeemed. They now personally regulate their lives by God's commands and walk in the way of His precepts; and though their performances have many blemishes in them (as they are well aware) - yet God is pleased for Christ's sake to accept the same.
It should need no long and laborious argument to demonstrate that God must require obedience - full and hearty obedience - from every rational agent, for only thus does He enforce His moral government over the same. The one who is indebted to God for his being and sustenance, is obviously under binding obligations to love Him with all his heart, serve Him with all his might, and seek to glorify Him in all that he does.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
This article is designed chiefly for the enlightenment and comfort of those of God's people who are deeply exercised over their own obedience, and are often cast down by the defectiveness of the same. There is a real need for a Scriptural opening up of this subject, for there are very few pulpits today - even in the most orthodox circles - where anything clear and definite is given out thereon; in fact, we doubt if half of our readers have ever heard or read the term, "evangelical obedience." It is also a subject which needs the most careful handling; and if a comparative "novice" attempts to deal with it, he is likely to do more harm than good. The difficulty involved in it, is to maintain on the one hand the high and holy standard of obedience, which God has set before us in His Word; and to show on the other hand - the gracious provision which He has made for the relief of those who honestly endeavor - yet sadly fail, to measure up to that standard. The path between the two is a narrow one.
No matter how cautiously one may deal with this theme, if he is to be of any service to the real people of God, his efforts are sure to be put to a wrong and evil use by hypocrites, for they will "wrest it, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction" (2 Peter 3:16). Such is the perversity of human nature. When a discriminating sermon is preached - the particular design of which is to draw a clear line of demarcation between genuine and nominal Christians, and to "take forth the precious from the vile" (Jere. 15:19) - the graceless professor will refuse to make application of the same and examine his own heart and life in the light thereof; whereas the possessor of divine life is only too apt to draw a wrong deduction and deem himself to be numbered among the spiritually dead. Contrariwise, if the message is one of comfort to God's little ones, while too many of them are afraid to receive it, others who are not entitled will misappropriate it unto themselves. But let not a realization of these things prevent the minister of the Gospel from discharging his duty; and while being careful not to cast the children's bread unto the dogs - yet the presence of such is not to deter him from setting before the children their legitimate portion.
Before developing our theme, we will define our terms: "Evangelical obedience" is obviously the opposite of "legal obedience" - and that is of two sorts: First, the flawless and constant conformity unto His revealed will - which God required from Adam,and which He still demands from all who are under the Covenant of Works - for though man has lost his power to perform, God has not relinquished His right to insist upon what is His just due.
Second, the obedience of unregenerate formalists, which is unacceptable unto God - not only because it is full of defects - but because it issues from a natural principle - is not done in faith, and is rendered in a mercenary spirit, and therefore consists of "dead works" (Hebrews 6:1; 9:14).
Evangelical obedience is also to be distinguished from imputed obedience. It is blessedly true that when they believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, God reckons to the account of all the subjects of the Covenant of Grace the perfect obedience of their Surety, so that He pronounces them justified, or possessed of that righteousness which the Law requires. Yet that is not the only obedience which characterizes the redeemed. They now personally regulate their lives by God's commands and walk in the way of His precepts; and though their performances have many blemishes in them (as they are well aware) - yet God is pleased for Christ's sake to accept the same.
It should need no long and laborious argument to demonstrate that God must require obedience - full and hearty obedience - from every rational agent, for only thus does He enforce His moral government over the same. The one who is indebted to God for his being and sustenance, is obviously under binding obligations to love Him with all his heart, serve Him with all his might, and seek to glorify Him in all that he does.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
God's Jewels # 3
God's Jewels # 3
5. Because of their variety. Precious stones vary considerably both in color and in size, kind and value, brilliance and worth. If order is Heaven's first law, variety is certainly its second, for there is no uniformity in the ways and works of God, though there is a blessed underlying unity. So it is among gems, all are valuable, but all are not the same. All are God's children, all bear the marks of the Divine workmanship, all are equally precious to Christ, but all are not alike. Beautifully was this typified of old in the breastplate of Israel's high priest: twelve different precious stones adorned it, representing the tribes of Israel. No two of these gems were alike, but all were equally near to Aaron's heart!
This brings before us an important aspect of the truth which we do well to ponder. What difference we perceive between Thomas and John, between Peter and Paul; yet all were apostles of Christ. So it is now among the saints: there is almost endless variety in their capacities, their talents, their growth, the varying graces which they manifest. No one gem reflects all the colors of the spectrum, and no one believer exhibits all the excellencies of Christ. God's people are not all alike, and never will be; and all attempts at uniformity must fail. But it matters little whether we shine with the sapphire's blue, or the emerald's green, or the ruby's red - so long as we are the Lord's on the Day when He makes up His jewels.
6. Because of their durability. Precious stones are one of the very few things in this world which, notwithstanding the flight of time, neither decay nor die; and thus do they strikingly intimate in the natural realm, that eternal life which pertains to the spiritual world. The Christian, who has within him a principle which is incorruptible, undefiled, and destined to endure forever. The world has often tried to destroy God's people, but all their efforts to do so have been futile. The empty professor, the sham gem, is like a "paste" diamond: it quickly succumbs to trial, but the genuine child of God endures to the end, and shall reign with Christ forever and ever.
7. Because of their glorious destiny. "You will be a glorious crown in the Lord's hand, and a royal diadem in the palm of your God" (Isaiah 62:3). What marvelous words are these - for faith and hope to lay hold of, for our feeble intellects cannot grasp them! Wondrous is it to think of rough stones, which first look like small pebbles, being found in the mud and mire of earth; then cut and polished until they scintillate with a brilliancy surpassing any earthly object, and being given an honored place in the diadem of a monarch. But infinitely more wonderful is it that poor lost sinners, saved by sovereign grace, should be among the crown-jewels of the Son of God.
But He will yet "present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24). Then shall He say to the Father, "The glory which You gave Me, I have given them" (John 17:22).
What is meant by "When I make up My jewels"? Is it not when the complete number of His redeemed are regenerated and polished? Is it not when He shall descend from Heaven with a shout, resurrect the sleeping saints and transform the living ones and rapture them together, so that we shall "ever be with the Lord"!
One once wrote: "Earthly jewels sometimes get separated from their owner, Christ's jewels never: "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life...nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38, 39). Earthly jewels are sometimes lost - Christ's jewels never: "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand" (John 10:28). Earthly jewels are sometimes stolen - Christ's jewels never: "in heaven, where neither moth nor rust does corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal" (Matthew 6:20)."
Are you sure that you are one of Christ's jewels? Then seek to shine for Him now.
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
5. Because of their variety. Precious stones vary considerably both in color and in size, kind and value, brilliance and worth. If order is Heaven's first law, variety is certainly its second, for there is no uniformity in the ways and works of God, though there is a blessed underlying unity. So it is among gems, all are valuable, but all are not the same. All are God's children, all bear the marks of the Divine workmanship, all are equally precious to Christ, but all are not alike. Beautifully was this typified of old in the breastplate of Israel's high priest: twelve different precious stones adorned it, representing the tribes of Israel. No two of these gems were alike, but all were equally near to Aaron's heart!
This brings before us an important aspect of the truth which we do well to ponder. What difference we perceive between Thomas and John, between Peter and Paul; yet all were apostles of Christ. So it is now among the saints: there is almost endless variety in their capacities, their talents, their growth, the varying graces which they manifest. No one gem reflects all the colors of the spectrum, and no one believer exhibits all the excellencies of Christ. God's people are not all alike, and never will be; and all attempts at uniformity must fail. But it matters little whether we shine with the sapphire's blue, or the emerald's green, or the ruby's red - so long as we are the Lord's on the Day when He makes up His jewels.
6. Because of their durability. Precious stones are one of the very few things in this world which, notwithstanding the flight of time, neither decay nor die; and thus do they strikingly intimate in the natural realm, that eternal life which pertains to the spiritual world. The Christian, who has within him a principle which is incorruptible, undefiled, and destined to endure forever. The world has often tried to destroy God's people, but all their efforts to do so have been futile. The empty professor, the sham gem, is like a "paste" diamond: it quickly succumbs to trial, but the genuine child of God endures to the end, and shall reign with Christ forever and ever.
7. Because of their glorious destiny. "You will be a glorious crown in the Lord's hand, and a royal diadem in the palm of your God" (Isaiah 62:3). What marvelous words are these - for faith and hope to lay hold of, for our feeble intellects cannot grasp them! Wondrous is it to think of rough stones, which first look like small pebbles, being found in the mud and mire of earth; then cut and polished until they scintillate with a brilliancy surpassing any earthly object, and being given an honored place in the diadem of a monarch. But infinitely more wonderful is it that poor lost sinners, saved by sovereign grace, should be among the crown-jewels of the Son of God.
But He will yet "present us faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy" (Jude 24). Then shall He say to the Father, "The glory which You gave Me, I have given them" (John 17:22).
What is meant by "When I make up My jewels"? Is it not when the complete number of His redeemed are regenerated and polished? Is it not when He shall descend from Heaven with a shout, resurrect the sleeping saints and transform the living ones and rapture them together, so that we shall "ever be with the Lord"!
One once wrote: "Earthly jewels sometimes get separated from their owner, Christ's jewels never: "For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life...nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 8:38, 39). Earthly jewels are sometimes lost - Christ's jewels never: "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand" (John 10:28). Earthly jewels are sometimes stolen - Christ's jewels never: "in heaven, where neither moth nor rust does corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal" (Matthew 6:20)."
Are you sure that you are one of Christ's jewels? Then seek to shine for Him now.
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
Saturday, August 17, 2019
God's Jewels # 2
God's Jewels # 2
1. Because of their inestimable VALUE in His sight. This is an exceedingly hard thing for the Christian to really grasp, for he feels such a wretched and worthless creature in himself. That the Lord of Glory should deem him of any consequence is difficult to conceive, that He regards him as great worth "passes knowledge." Yet so it is. The Scriptures are very plain on this point. They declare, "For the Lord's portion is His people" (Deu. 32:9). They speak of "The riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints" (Eph. 1:18). The Lord Jesus likens His Church unto "one pearl of great price," so that He "went and sold all that He had and bought it" (Matt. 13:46).
From the remotest antiquity men have thought much of precious stones, and fabulous prices have been paid for them. With great ardor and toil, do men hunt after gold, but with even greater eagerness and labor will they seek the diamond. Hundreds of men will labor for a whole year in one of the diamond mines of Africa, and the entire result of their efforts may beheld in the palm of your hand. Princes have been known to barter their estates in order to obtain some gem of peculiar brilliance and rare excellence. More desirable still are His saints in the esteem of the Lord Jesus. The value of a thing in the eyes of its possessor may be gauged by the price he was willing to pay for it. So valuable was God's people that He gave Himself for it, and shed His precious blood to purchase it for Himself. Thus, the saints are likened unto "jewels" because of the great value which the Lord places upon them.
2. Because of their DIVINE CREATION. A jewel is the production of God. Diamonds have been burned, and other jewels have been resolved into their elements, but, after the most laborious attempts, no chemist has yet been able to make a diamond. Lives have been wasted in attempts to produce precious stones, but the discovery is still unmade; they are the secret productions of God's own skill, and chemists fail to tell how they are produced, then though they know their elements.
So the world thinks it knows what a Christian is, but it cannot make one. All the wit in the world put together could not find out the secret of the heaven-born life; and all the sacraments, vestments, priests, prayers, and paraphenalia of Popery cannot create a Christian. The Lord alone can create a child of grace, and a Christian is as much a miracle, as was Lazarus when he rose from the tomb. It is great a work of Deity to create a believer as it is to create a world!" (Spurgeon).
This is the reason why the saints are precious unto the heart of the Lord Jesus: He regards and receives them as the Father's workmanship, the Father's gift unto Him. This comes out, again and again, in the wondrous 17th chapter of John. From all eternity Christ viewed them in the glass of God's decrees, and before the foundations of the earth were laid His "delights were with the sons of men" (Prov. 8:31). Because the Father had, by His predestinating purpose, fashioned His elect as vessels "unto honor" the Son prizes them as of infinite value.
3. Because of their RARITY. It is this, chiefly, which constitutes the value of precious stones. Were they numerous and common, found in the soil of every man's garden, they would not be so costly, nor so highly esteemed. The number of perfect large diamonds, called paragons, is very small; and so we read, "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called" (1 Cor. 1:26). Possibly the disparity between diamonds and the pebbles of the brook is no greater than that which exists, numerically, between the regenerate and the unregenerate. The Lord Jesus plainly declared that God's flock is only a "little" one (Luke 12:32), and that few find that narrow way that leads unto Life (Matt. 7:14). God had never likened His people unto "jewels" had they been nearly so numerous as is now popularly supposed.
4. Because of their BEAUTY. The jewel is prized for its luster. It is the brilliance of the gem which, in a great measure, is the evidence and test of its value. It is said that the colors of jewels are the brightest known, and are the nearest approaches to the rays of the solar spectrum that have yet been discovered. See how the diamond flashes and sparkles! And yet its beauty and brilliance are not so much inherent. Examine it in a dark room and it emits no radiance. It is simply a reflector: its glory is borrowed from the light!
So it is with the saint: his loveliness is a loveliness which has been placed upon him, imputed to him. "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels" (Isaiah 61:10). It is very blessed to develop this aspect of our subject. To His disciples the Lord Jesus said, "You are the light of the world," and why are they so? The light of a Christian is a reflected one. That supplies the key to that little understood exhortation, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). "So shine" that Christ gets all the glory; "so shine" that we make it clear and plain to all that whatever goodness or righteousness there is in us, and whatever fruits are produced by us, all is from Christ as the Root.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 3)
1. Because of their inestimable VALUE in His sight. This is an exceedingly hard thing for the Christian to really grasp, for he feels such a wretched and worthless creature in himself. That the Lord of Glory should deem him of any consequence is difficult to conceive, that He regards him as great worth "passes knowledge." Yet so it is. The Scriptures are very plain on this point. They declare, "For the Lord's portion is His people" (Deu. 32:9). They speak of "The riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints" (Eph. 1:18). The Lord Jesus likens His Church unto "one pearl of great price," so that He "went and sold all that He had and bought it" (Matt. 13:46).
From the remotest antiquity men have thought much of precious stones, and fabulous prices have been paid for them. With great ardor and toil, do men hunt after gold, but with even greater eagerness and labor will they seek the diamond. Hundreds of men will labor for a whole year in one of the diamond mines of Africa, and the entire result of their efforts may beheld in the palm of your hand. Princes have been known to barter their estates in order to obtain some gem of peculiar brilliance and rare excellence. More desirable still are His saints in the esteem of the Lord Jesus. The value of a thing in the eyes of its possessor may be gauged by the price he was willing to pay for it. So valuable was God's people that He gave Himself for it, and shed His precious blood to purchase it for Himself. Thus, the saints are likened unto "jewels" because of the great value which the Lord places upon them.
2. Because of their DIVINE CREATION. A jewel is the production of God. Diamonds have been burned, and other jewels have been resolved into their elements, but, after the most laborious attempts, no chemist has yet been able to make a diamond. Lives have been wasted in attempts to produce precious stones, but the discovery is still unmade; they are the secret productions of God's own skill, and chemists fail to tell how they are produced, then though they know their elements.
So the world thinks it knows what a Christian is, but it cannot make one. All the wit in the world put together could not find out the secret of the heaven-born life; and all the sacraments, vestments, priests, prayers, and paraphenalia of Popery cannot create a Christian. The Lord alone can create a child of grace, and a Christian is as much a miracle, as was Lazarus when he rose from the tomb. It is great a work of Deity to create a believer as it is to create a world!" (Spurgeon).
This is the reason why the saints are precious unto the heart of the Lord Jesus: He regards and receives them as the Father's workmanship, the Father's gift unto Him. This comes out, again and again, in the wondrous 17th chapter of John. From all eternity Christ viewed them in the glass of God's decrees, and before the foundations of the earth were laid His "delights were with the sons of men" (Prov. 8:31). Because the Father had, by His predestinating purpose, fashioned His elect as vessels "unto honor" the Son prizes them as of infinite value.
3. Because of their RARITY. It is this, chiefly, which constitutes the value of precious stones. Were they numerous and common, found in the soil of every man's garden, they would not be so costly, nor so highly esteemed. The number of perfect large diamonds, called paragons, is very small; and so we read, "Not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called" (1 Cor. 1:26). Possibly the disparity between diamonds and the pebbles of the brook is no greater than that which exists, numerically, between the regenerate and the unregenerate. The Lord Jesus plainly declared that God's flock is only a "little" one (Luke 12:32), and that few find that narrow way that leads unto Life (Matt. 7:14). God had never likened His people unto "jewels" had they been nearly so numerous as is now popularly supposed.
4. Because of their BEAUTY. The jewel is prized for its luster. It is the brilliance of the gem which, in a great measure, is the evidence and test of its value. It is said that the colors of jewels are the brightest known, and are the nearest approaches to the rays of the solar spectrum that have yet been discovered. See how the diamond flashes and sparkles! And yet its beauty and brilliance are not so much inherent. Examine it in a dark room and it emits no radiance. It is simply a reflector: its glory is borrowed from the light!
So it is with the saint: his loveliness is a loveliness which has been placed upon him, imputed to him. "I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for He has clothed me with the garments of salvation. He has covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decks himself with ornaments, and as a bride adorns herself with her jewels" (Isaiah 61:10). It is very blessed to develop this aspect of our subject. To His disciples the Lord Jesus said, "You are the light of the world," and why are they so? The light of a Christian is a reflected one. That supplies the key to that little understood exhortation, "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 5:16). "So shine" that Christ gets all the glory; "so shine" that we make it clear and plain to all that whatever goodness or righteousness there is in us, and whatever fruits are produced by us, all is from Christ as the Root.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 3)
Godly Companions # 2
Godly Companions # 2
Observe too the next verse which is inseparably connected with the one to which we have directed attention.
"Awake to righteousness and sin not: for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame" (1 Cor. 15:34). The word "awake" signifies to arouse as from a torpor or state of lethargy. It is a call to shake off the delusion that a Christian may company with Christless companions without being contaminated by them. "And sin not" in this respect. To cultivate friendship with religious worldlings is SIN, for such "have not the knowledge of God." That is, they have no experimental acquaintance with Him, His fear is not on them, His authority has no weight with them. "I speak this to your shame." The child of God ought to be abashed and filled with confusion that he needs such a word as this.
"I am a companion to all who fear You - to all who follow Your precepts." Such are the only "companions" worth having, the only ones who will give you any encouragement to continue pressing forward along the "Narrow Way." It is not those who merely pretend to "believe" God's precepts, or profess to "stand for" them - but those who actually "keep" them. But where are such to be found these days? Ah, where indeed! They are but "few" in number (Matt. 7:14) one here and one there. Yes, so very "few" are they that we are constrained to cry, "Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth!" (Psalm 12:1).
It is indeed solemn to read the words that immediately follow the last quoted scripture and find how aptly they apply to and how accurately they describe the multitude of godless professing "Christians" all around us: "they speak vanity everyone with his neighbor, with flattering lips, with a double heart do they speak". Note three things about them:
First, they "speak vanity" or "emptiness." Their words are like bubbles, there is nothing edifying about them. It cannot be otherwise for "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34). Their poor hearts are empty (Matt. 12:44). So their speech is empty too.
Second, they have "flattering lips," which is the reason why they are so popular with the ungodly. They will seek to puff you up with a sense of your own importance, and pretend to admire the "much light" you have.
Third, they have a "double heart." They are vainly seeking to serve two masters. (2 Kings 17:32, 33).
"I am a companion to all who fear You - to all who follow Your precepts." There is a very real sense in which this is true even where there is no outward contact with such. Faithfulness to God, obedience to His Word, keeping His precepts, companying only with those who do so, turning away from everybody else - has always involved a lonely path. It was thus with Enoch (Jude 14). It was thus with Abraham. (Isaiah 51:2). It was thus with Paul (2 Tim. 1:5).
It is the same today. Every city in the land is filled with "churches," - but where are those who give plain evidence that they are living in this world as "strangers and pilgrims" and as such abstaining "from fleshly lusts which war against the soul?" (1 Peter 2:11). But thank God, though the path of faithfulness to Him is a lonely one, it brings me into spiritual fellowship with those who have gone before. We are to walk with Christ "outside the camp" (Hebrews 13:13) necessarily brings into communion with "all" His redeemed, be they on earth or be they in heaven. Thus the apostle John in his lonely exile on Patmos referred to himself as "your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ" (Rev. 1:9). Yes, Christian reader, for a little while it means companionship "in tribulation," but, praise God it will not mean enduring the throes of the swiftly-approaching portion of Christless professors left behind when Christ comes for His own! For a little while it means companionship in "the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,"soon it will be in the kingdom and glory of Christ. May Divine mercy so enable us to live now that in that Day we shall receive His "Well done! Good and faithful servant!"
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
Observe too the next verse which is inseparably connected with the one to which we have directed attention.
"Awake to righteousness and sin not: for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame" (1 Cor. 15:34). The word "awake" signifies to arouse as from a torpor or state of lethargy. It is a call to shake off the delusion that a Christian may company with Christless companions without being contaminated by them. "And sin not" in this respect. To cultivate friendship with religious worldlings is SIN, for such "have not the knowledge of God." That is, they have no experimental acquaintance with Him, His fear is not on them, His authority has no weight with them. "I speak this to your shame." The child of God ought to be abashed and filled with confusion that he needs such a word as this.
"I am a companion to all who fear You - to all who follow Your precepts." Such are the only "companions" worth having, the only ones who will give you any encouragement to continue pressing forward along the "Narrow Way." It is not those who merely pretend to "believe" God's precepts, or profess to "stand for" them - but those who actually "keep" them. But where are such to be found these days? Ah, where indeed! They are but "few" in number (Matt. 7:14) one here and one there. Yes, so very "few" are they that we are constrained to cry, "Help, O Lord, for the godly are fast disappearing! The faithful have vanished from the earth!" (Psalm 12:1).
It is indeed solemn to read the words that immediately follow the last quoted scripture and find how aptly they apply to and how accurately they describe the multitude of godless professing "Christians" all around us: "they speak vanity everyone with his neighbor, with flattering lips, with a double heart do they speak". Note three things about them:
First, they "speak vanity" or "emptiness." Their words are like bubbles, there is nothing edifying about them. It cannot be otherwise for "out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks" (Matt. 12:34). Their poor hearts are empty (Matt. 12:44). So their speech is empty too.
Second, they have "flattering lips," which is the reason why they are so popular with the ungodly. They will seek to puff you up with a sense of your own importance, and pretend to admire the "much light" you have.
Third, they have a "double heart." They are vainly seeking to serve two masters. (2 Kings 17:32, 33).
"I am a companion to all who fear You - to all who follow Your precepts." There is a very real sense in which this is true even where there is no outward contact with such. Faithfulness to God, obedience to His Word, keeping His precepts, companying only with those who do so, turning away from everybody else - has always involved a lonely path. It was thus with Enoch (Jude 14). It was thus with Abraham. (Isaiah 51:2). It was thus with Paul (2 Tim. 1:5).
It is the same today. Every city in the land is filled with "churches," - but where are those who give plain evidence that they are living in this world as "strangers and pilgrims" and as such abstaining "from fleshly lusts which war against the soul?" (1 Peter 2:11). But thank God, though the path of faithfulness to Him is a lonely one, it brings me into spiritual fellowship with those who have gone before. We are to walk with Christ "outside the camp" (Hebrews 13:13) necessarily brings into communion with "all" His redeemed, be they on earth or be they in heaven. Thus the apostle John in his lonely exile on Patmos referred to himself as "your brother and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ" (Rev. 1:9). Yes, Christian reader, for a little while it means companionship "in tribulation," but, praise God it will not mean enduring the throes of the swiftly-approaching portion of Christless professors left behind when Christ comes for His own! For a little while it means companionship in "the kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ,"soon it will be in the kingdom and glory of Christ. May Divine mercy so enable us to live now that in that Day we shall receive His "Well done! Good and faithful servant!"
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
Saturday, August 10, 2019
God's Jewels # 1
God's Jewels # 1
"And they shall be Mine, says the Lord Almighty, in that day, when I make up My jewels" (Mal. 3:17). To whom is God here referring? Who are the favored ones whom He terms His "jewels?" The previous verse tells us, "Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored His name." A two fold description is there given by which the people of God may be identified: they have a reverential awe and profound respect of God's majesty and authority; they have a deep love and adoration for Him - evidenced by their thinking upon His name.
It almost surprises one to learn that the great and self-sufficient God has "jewels," but our surprise increases to astonishment when we learn that these "jewels" are living creatures, and astonishment gives place to overwhelming amazement when we discover that these living creatures are fallen and depraved sinners redeemed from among the children of men. Truly, nothing but Divine grace would ever liken such wretched worms of the dust, unto precious stones. Yet that is the very thing which we find God doing in our text. it is not the unfallen angels, nor the holy seraphim and exalted cherubim who are spoken of as Jehovah's valued treasure, but lost and ruined sinners saved by amazing grace!
Saints are likened unto wheat, fish, trees, stars, but here to "jewels"; the figure is a deeply interesting and instructive one. In Isaiah 55:8-9 we read: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are you ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." This is seen in the difference between human and Divine estimates of relative values. The world's standard of worth is very different from that of God's Who are tho immortals of human history? Caesar, Charlemagne, Napoleon: soldiers and warriors. Among statesmen and politicians we may mention Gladstone and Lincoln: among dramatists, Goethe and Shakespeare. Those were great in the eyes of the earth; but who were great in the eyes of Heaven? For the most part they were unknown down here. They were humble and lowly, insignificant in the affairs of the world. Their names were never chronicled among men; but they were written in the Lamb's Book of Life!
It is noteworthy that our text is found in the book of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, which corresponds in many respects with the character of our days, as we seem to be nearing the end of the New Testament era. As the late C. H. Spurgeon pointed out, "These words were spoken in a very graceless age, when religion was peculiarly distasteful to men; when they scoffed at God's altar, and said of His service, "What a weariness it is!" and scornfully asked, "What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance?" Yet even those dark nights were not uncheered by bright stars. Though the house of national worship was often deserted, there were secret conventicles of those who "feared the Lord," and who spoke often one to another," and our God, who regards quality more than quantity, had respect to these elect twos and threes. He hearkened and heard, and so approved of that which He heard that He takes notes of it, and declared that he will publish it. "A book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name!" Yes, and He valued so much these hidden ones that He called them His "jewels", and declared in the great day when He should gather together His retinue, His regalia, the peculiar treasure of kings, He would look upon these hidden ones as being more priceless than emeralds, rubies, or pearls."
So it is now when all godly testimony has broken down, when Christendom is in spiritual ruins. Many of God's dear children no longer have the privilege of church fellowship, for they dare not attend the modern "synagogues of satan!" But some of them still have the joy of meeting with little groups of fellow pilgrims, seeking to strength one another's hands as they journey through this wilderness scene. But there are others of God's "scattered" (John 11:52) saints who are cut off from practically all real Christian fellowship, isolated ones, who have to mourn with David, "I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the housetop" Yet, though they can no longer speak often one to another, they still have the holy and blessed privilege of thinking upon that Name which is above every name. These, too, shall be numbered among His precious treasure in the day when He shall "make up His jewels."
Let us now endeavor to ponder this beautiful figure, and reverently inquire why the Lord has likened His people to "jewels."
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
"And they shall be Mine, says the Lord Almighty, in that day, when I make up My jewels" (Mal. 3:17). To whom is God here referring? Who are the favored ones whom He terms His "jewels?" The previous verse tells us, "Then those who feared the Lord talked with each other, and the Lord listened and heard. A scroll of remembrance was written in His presence concerning those who feared the Lord and honored His name." A two fold description is there given by which the people of God may be identified: they have a reverential awe and profound respect of God's majesty and authority; they have a deep love and adoration for Him - evidenced by their thinking upon His name.
It almost surprises one to learn that the great and self-sufficient God has "jewels," but our surprise increases to astonishment when we learn that these "jewels" are living creatures, and astonishment gives place to overwhelming amazement when we discover that these living creatures are fallen and depraved sinners redeemed from among the children of men. Truly, nothing but Divine grace would ever liken such wretched worms of the dust, unto precious stones. Yet that is the very thing which we find God doing in our text. it is not the unfallen angels, nor the holy seraphim and exalted cherubim who are spoken of as Jehovah's valued treasure, but lost and ruined sinners saved by amazing grace!
Saints are likened unto wheat, fish, trees, stars, but here to "jewels"; the figure is a deeply interesting and instructive one. In Isaiah 55:8-9 we read: "For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are you ways My ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." This is seen in the difference between human and Divine estimates of relative values. The world's standard of worth is very different from that of God's Who are tho immortals of human history? Caesar, Charlemagne, Napoleon: soldiers and warriors. Among statesmen and politicians we may mention Gladstone and Lincoln: among dramatists, Goethe and Shakespeare. Those were great in the eyes of the earth; but who were great in the eyes of Heaven? For the most part they were unknown down here. They were humble and lowly, insignificant in the affairs of the world. Their names were never chronicled among men; but they were written in the Lamb's Book of Life!
It is noteworthy that our text is found in the book of Malachi, the last book of the Old Testament, which corresponds in many respects with the character of our days, as we seem to be nearing the end of the New Testament era. As the late C. H. Spurgeon pointed out, "These words were spoken in a very graceless age, when religion was peculiarly distasteful to men; when they scoffed at God's altar, and said of His service, "What a weariness it is!" and scornfully asked, "What profit is it that we have kept His ordinance?" Yet even those dark nights were not uncheered by bright stars. Though the house of national worship was often deserted, there were secret conventicles of those who "feared the Lord," and who spoke often one to another," and our God, who regards quality more than quantity, had respect to these elect twos and threes. He hearkened and heard, and so approved of that which He heard that He takes notes of it, and declared that he will publish it. "A book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the Lord, and that thought upon His name!" Yes, and He valued so much these hidden ones that He called them His "jewels", and declared in the great day when He should gather together His retinue, His regalia, the peculiar treasure of kings, He would look upon these hidden ones as being more priceless than emeralds, rubies, or pearls."
So it is now when all godly testimony has broken down, when Christendom is in spiritual ruins. Many of God's dear children no longer have the privilege of church fellowship, for they dare not attend the modern "synagogues of satan!" But some of them still have the joy of meeting with little groups of fellow pilgrims, seeking to strength one another's hands as they journey through this wilderness scene. But there are others of God's "scattered" (John 11:52) saints who are cut off from practically all real Christian fellowship, isolated ones, who have to mourn with David, "I watch, and am as a sparrow alone upon the housetop" Yet, though they can no longer speak often one to another, they still have the holy and blessed privilege of thinking upon that Name which is above every name. These, too, shall be numbered among His precious treasure in the day when He shall "make up His jewels."
Let us now endeavor to ponder this beautiful figure, and reverently inquire why the Lord has likened His people to "jewels."
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
Godly Companions # 1
Godly Companions # 1
"I am a companion to all who fear You - to all who follow Your precepts" (Psalm 119:63).
In the above verse we have a description of God's people according to the course of their lives and conduct. They are a people marked by two things: fear and submission, the latter being the fruit of the former. Regenerated souls obey God conscientiously out of reverence to His majesty and goodness, and from a due regard to His will as made known in His Word. The same description is given to them in Acts 10:35, "In every nation he who fears God and works righteousness is accepted with Him." It is a filial fear which is awed by God's greatness, and is careful not to offend Him, which is constrained by His love and is anxious to please Him. Such are the only ones fit to be a Christian's "companions."
A "companion" is, properly speaking, one whom I choose to walk and converse with in a way of friendship. Inasmuch as the companions we select is an optional matter, it is largely true that a person may be known by the company he or she keeps; hence the old adage, "Birds of a feather flock together." Scripture asks the searching question, "Can two walk together except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3). A Christian, before his conversion, was controlled by the prince of darkness and walked according to the course of this world (Eph. 2:2, 3), and therefore did he seek and enjoy the company of worldlings. But when he was born again the new nature within him prompted new tastes and desires - and so he seeks a new company, delighting only in the saints of God. Alas, that we do not always continue as we began.
The Christian is to have good will toward all with whom he comes in contact, desiring and seeking their best interests (Gal. 6:10). But he is not to be yoked to (2 Cor. 6:14), nor have any fellowship with (Eph. 5:11) those who are unbelievers, nor is he to delight in or have delight toward those who despise his Master. "Should you help the ungodly, and love those who hate the Lord?" (2 Chron. 19:2).
Would you knowingly take a viper into your bosom? "The wicked is an abomination unto the righteous" (Proverbs 29:26).
So said David, "Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies" (Psalm 139:21, 22). That holy man could not be confederate with such. Evil company is to be sedulously avoided by the Christian, lest he become defiled by them. "He who walks with wise men shall be wise; but a companion of fools shall be destroyed" (Proverbs 13:20). Now is it only the openly lawless and criminal who are to be shunned - but even, yes especially, those professing to be Christians yet who do not life the life of Christians. It is this latter class particularly against which the real child of God needs to be most on his guard: namely, those who say one thing and do another; those whose talk is pious - but whose walk differs little or nothing from the ungodly. The Word of God is plain and positive on this point: "Having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them!" (2 Tim. 3:5). This is not merely good advice - but a Divine command which we disregard at our peril.
In selecting your "companions" let not a pleasing personality deceive you. The devil himself often poses as "an angel of light," and sometimes his wolfish agents disguise themselves in "sheep's clothing" (Matt. 7:15). Be most careful in seeing to it that what draws you toward and makes you desire the companionship of Christian friends - is their love and likeness to Christ - and not their love and likeness to you. Shun as you would a deadly plague - those who are not awed by the fear of God, that is, a trembling lest they offend Him. Let not the devil persuade you that you are too well established in the faith to be injured by intimacy with worldly "Christians!" Rather "follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Tim. 2:22).
"Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good character" (1 Cor. 15:33). Evil companionships "corrupt." All evil is contagious, and association with evildoers, whether they are "church members" or "open infidels," has a defiling and debasing effect upon the true child of God. Mark well how the Holy Spirit has prefaced His warning: "Do not be deceived." Evidently there is a real danger of God's people imagining that they can play with fire without getting burned. Not so! God has not promised to protect us when we fly in the face of His danger signals.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
"I am a companion to all who fear You - to all who follow Your precepts" (Psalm 119:63).
In the above verse we have a description of God's people according to the course of their lives and conduct. They are a people marked by two things: fear and submission, the latter being the fruit of the former. Regenerated souls obey God conscientiously out of reverence to His majesty and goodness, and from a due regard to His will as made known in His Word. The same description is given to them in Acts 10:35, "In every nation he who fears God and works righteousness is accepted with Him." It is a filial fear which is awed by God's greatness, and is careful not to offend Him, which is constrained by His love and is anxious to please Him. Such are the only ones fit to be a Christian's "companions."
A "companion" is, properly speaking, one whom I choose to walk and converse with in a way of friendship. Inasmuch as the companions we select is an optional matter, it is largely true that a person may be known by the company he or she keeps; hence the old adage, "Birds of a feather flock together." Scripture asks the searching question, "Can two walk together except they be agreed?" (Amos 3:3). A Christian, before his conversion, was controlled by the prince of darkness and walked according to the course of this world (Eph. 2:2, 3), and therefore did he seek and enjoy the company of worldlings. But when he was born again the new nature within him prompted new tastes and desires - and so he seeks a new company, delighting only in the saints of God. Alas, that we do not always continue as we began.
The Christian is to have good will toward all with whom he comes in contact, desiring and seeking their best interests (Gal. 6:10). But he is not to be yoked to (2 Cor. 6:14), nor have any fellowship with (Eph. 5:11) those who are unbelievers, nor is he to delight in or have delight toward those who despise his Master. "Should you help the ungodly, and love those who hate the Lord?" (2 Chron. 19:2).
Would you knowingly take a viper into your bosom? "The wicked is an abomination unto the righteous" (Proverbs 29:26).
So said David, "Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord, and abhor those who rise up against you? I have nothing but hatred for them; I count them my enemies" (Psalm 139:21, 22). That holy man could not be confederate with such. Evil company is to be sedulously avoided by the Christian, lest he become defiled by them. "He who walks with wise men shall be wise; but a companion of fools shall be destroyed" (Proverbs 13:20). Now is it only the openly lawless and criminal who are to be shunned - but even, yes especially, those professing to be Christians yet who do not life the life of Christians. It is this latter class particularly against which the real child of God needs to be most on his guard: namely, those who say one thing and do another; those whose talk is pious - but whose walk differs little or nothing from the ungodly. The Word of God is plain and positive on this point: "Having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them!" (2 Tim. 3:5). This is not merely good advice - but a Divine command which we disregard at our peril.
In selecting your "companions" let not a pleasing personality deceive you. The devil himself often poses as "an angel of light," and sometimes his wolfish agents disguise themselves in "sheep's clothing" (Matt. 7:15). Be most careful in seeing to it that what draws you toward and makes you desire the companionship of Christian friends - is their love and likeness to Christ - and not their love and likeness to you. Shun as you would a deadly plague - those who are not awed by the fear of God, that is, a trembling lest they offend Him. Let not the devil persuade you that you are too well established in the faith to be injured by intimacy with worldly "Christians!" Rather "follow righteousness, faith, love, peace, with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart" (2 Tim. 2:22).
"Do not be deceived: Bad company corrupts good character" (1 Cor. 15:33). Evil companionships "corrupt." All evil is contagious, and association with evildoers, whether they are "church members" or "open infidels," has a defiling and debasing effect upon the true child of God. Mark well how the Holy Spirit has prefaced His warning: "Do not be deceived." Evidently there is a real danger of God's people imagining that they can play with fire without getting burned. Not so! God has not promised to protect us when we fly in the face of His danger signals.
~A. W. Pink~
(continued with # 2)
Saturday, August 3, 2019
The Misery of the Lost # 4
The Misery of the Lost # 4
The state of the lost soul before the judgment, may be compared to that of a criminal confined in prison waiting for his trial. Let me then imagine myself to have died unreconciled and impenitent. At an unexpected time the sound of the last trumpet will be heard; and as it is the last trumpet, so it will be the loudest. The departed spirits confined in prison shall hear it, and their bodies, long crumbled to dust, shall hear it; and I shall certainly hear that awful, deeply penetrating sound, and I shall come forth - coerced by an irresistible power! I shall again be clothed with a body; but O, what sort of body!
Among millions of millions I am forced to appear. O what solemn majesty in the Judge, now coming with all His holy angels - now seated on His great white throne. Solemn moment! The books are opened. There all my crimes of thought, word, and deed, are recorded - sins of omission as well as commission. O for a hiding place under the rocks or caves! But no! I must appear - I must hear my sentence of condemnation and banishment. The misery of an age seems condensed into this moment. The tremendous sentence comes forth, "Depart, you cursed one, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Imagination fails - I can write no more! Experience must teach the rest.
The misery of those who are eternally lost, cannot be adequately conceived, must less expressed. It cannot be exaggerated by any description; and this will be manifest if we consider what they know they have lost.
All the good things which they enjoyed in this life they must leave behind. All their riches, honors, and sensual pleasures are left at death; and for these there will be no substitute in eternity. The wicked cravings of the immortal soul will continue, but there will no longer be any objects to gratify them; for lack of which, like some venomous creatures when wounded, they will turn and prey upon themselves.
A soul with its active powers and passions, must be miserable if depraved of all objects suited to its gratification. We know scarcely any misery on earth more intolerable than a human being perishing for lack of bread or water. Hunger and thirst, if not seasonably gratified, are the sources of most excruciating pain. And the soul can never lose its desire of happiness. How miserable then, must it be when this insatiable desire meets with nothing to gratify it.
Evil passions are in their very nature attended with misery; for as benevolent affections are pleasant - so malevolent feelings are accompanied with misery. Let any person who is totally depraved be abandoned to himself - and he must be miserable! His own passions will become his everlasting tormentors. He will carry a hell in his own bosom!
But of all the feelings of misery, none is so intolerable as REMORSE. The conscience. The consciousness of having done wrong, of having sinned against God, and of being the cause of his own destruction - is a kind of hell as dreadful as any of which we can conceive. The lost soul will forever have the conviction clearly impressed - that it is its own destroyer - and that heaven with all its joys has been lost by its own sinful folly and neglect!
And the bitterest ingredient of all in the cup of misery is despair -black endless despair! Men may here "dream" of a deliverance from hell after a long time of suffering, but the delusion will vanish as soon as they enter eternity. They will then find that the word of God, which denounced eternal destruction on impenitent sinners, was not a vain threat; that God will not spare the guilty, but will punish them with everlasting destruction - just as He said He would.
O my soul, consider now how you will be able to endure such misery as must be experienced by all the lost, but especially by those who enjoyed the light of the gospel. Can you fortify yourself against all this misery? Will you be able to endure it with patience? Only imagine your condition millions of ages hence. Still writhing in anguish - still belching out horrid blasphemies - still covered with the blackness of darkness - still without a ray of hope! Not a moment's ease during this long period. O my soul, will you not make one vigorous effort to escape so great misery? Will you not strive to flee from the wrath to come? Life, eternal life, is still within your reach! Lay hold on the prize! Press on to the kingdom. Take refuge in the Cross, and you will be safe!
"Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God" (Romans 5:9).
"For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Thessalonians 5;9).
~Archibald Alexander~
(The End)
The state of the lost soul before the judgment, may be compared to that of a criminal confined in prison waiting for his trial. Let me then imagine myself to have died unreconciled and impenitent. At an unexpected time the sound of the last trumpet will be heard; and as it is the last trumpet, so it will be the loudest. The departed spirits confined in prison shall hear it, and their bodies, long crumbled to dust, shall hear it; and I shall certainly hear that awful, deeply penetrating sound, and I shall come forth - coerced by an irresistible power! I shall again be clothed with a body; but O, what sort of body!
Among millions of millions I am forced to appear. O what solemn majesty in the Judge, now coming with all His holy angels - now seated on His great white throne. Solemn moment! The books are opened. There all my crimes of thought, word, and deed, are recorded - sins of omission as well as commission. O for a hiding place under the rocks or caves! But no! I must appear - I must hear my sentence of condemnation and banishment. The misery of an age seems condensed into this moment. The tremendous sentence comes forth, "Depart, you cursed one, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Imagination fails - I can write no more! Experience must teach the rest.
The misery of those who are eternally lost, cannot be adequately conceived, must less expressed. It cannot be exaggerated by any description; and this will be manifest if we consider what they know they have lost.
All the good things which they enjoyed in this life they must leave behind. All their riches, honors, and sensual pleasures are left at death; and for these there will be no substitute in eternity. The wicked cravings of the immortal soul will continue, but there will no longer be any objects to gratify them; for lack of which, like some venomous creatures when wounded, they will turn and prey upon themselves.
A soul with its active powers and passions, must be miserable if depraved of all objects suited to its gratification. We know scarcely any misery on earth more intolerable than a human being perishing for lack of bread or water. Hunger and thirst, if not seasonably gratified, are the sources of most excruciating pain. And the soul can never lose its desire of happiness. How miserable then, must it be when this insatiable desire meets with nothing to gratify it.
Evil passions are in their very nature attended with misery; for as benevolent affections are pleasant - so malevolent feelings are accompanied with misery. Let any person who is totally depraved be abandoned to himself - and he must be miserable! His own passions will become his everlasting tormentors. He will carry a hell in his own bosom!
But of all the feelings of misery, none is so intolerable as REMORSE. The conscience. The consciousness of having done wrong, of having sinned against God, and of being the cause of his own destruction - is a kind of hell as dreadful as any of which we can conceive. The lost soul will forever have the conviction clearly impressed - that it is its own destroyer - and that heaven with all its joys has been lost by its own sinful folly and neglect!
And the bitterest ingredient of all in the cup of misery is despair -black endless despair! Men may here "dream" of a deliverance from hell after a long time of suffering, but the delusion will vanish as soon as they enter eternity. They will then find that the word of God, which denounced eternal destruction on impenitent sinners, was not a vain threat; that God will not spare the guilty, but will punish them with everlasting destruction - just as He said He would.
O my soul, consider now how you will be able to endure such misery as must be experienced by all the lost, but especially by those who enjoyed the light of the gospel. Can you fortify yourself against all this misery? Will you be able to endure it with patience? Only imagine your condition millions of ages hence. Still writhing in anguish - still belching out horrid blasphemies - still covered with the blackness of darkness - still without a ray of hope! Not a moment's ease during this long period. O my soul, will you not make one vigorous effort to escape so great misery? Will you not strive to flee from the wrath to come? Life, eternal life, is still within your reach! Lay hold on the prize! Press on to the kingdom. Take refuge in the Cross, and you will be safe!
"Since, therefore, we have now been justified by His blood, much more shall we be saved by Him from the wrath of God" (Romans 5:9).
"For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ!" (1 Thessalonians 5;9).
~Archibald Alexander~
(The End)
The Misery of the Lost # 3
The Misery of the Lost # 3
"If I had not enjoyed the offers of the gospel, if pardon and reconciliation had not been within my reach, and often urged upon me, my anguish would not be so excruciating. But this it is which wrings my heart with unspeakable anguish - that I might have escaped all this misery! Had it not been for my own sin and folly, I might before now have been in heaven. Others who heard the same sermons, and belonged to the same family, are now in eternal glory - while I am tormented in this flame! Oh that I could cease to be; but to fly from existence is impossible.
"Here I am surrounded by wretches as miserable as myself, but their company rather aggravates than mitigates my soul's anguish. I am reproached and cursed by all who were ever led by my counsel or example into the ways of iniquity. They dreadfully scowl upon me.
"And the fiends of the pit, who were my seducers, now combine to taunt me with my folly. They never had the offers of mercy. The merits of a dying Saviour were never offered to them. They seem to entertain a malignant pleasure - if pleasure it can be called - in witnessing my extreme misery. O wretched man, where can I flee? Is there no possible escape from this prison of despair? Can no one ever pass the gulf which separates this dismal abode from the regions of the blessed? None! None!
"Oh, if there could be a suicide of the soul, how happy would I be to escape from existence, and to plunge into the gulf of annihilation, which once seemed horrible to my apprehension, but now desirable. This would be an oblivion of all my misery. But in vain do I seek to die. Death flies from me. And here I see those deluded souls who, by doing violence to their own lives, vainly dreamed that they were escaping from misery; but alas, from a burden which with faith and patience might have been borne - they have leaped into a fiery furnace! They are now convinced of the dreadful sin and folly of suicide, but they cannot repeat the act here!
"May I hope that time will lesson the horrors and anguish of my wretched soul? Will my heart, so susceptible of the emotions of bitter anguish, by degrees become less sensible to these piercing pains, and be more able to bear up under this overwhelming weight of misery? This question can only be solved by experience: let me ask someone who has been suffering for thousands of years.
"Here comes Cain the first murderer, who is known still by having upon him the stain of a brother's blood. Suppose I speak to him - "Tell me, fellow prisoner, who have long endured the pains of this infernal prison, whether by long continuance these miseries become more tolerable?" But why do I ask? the wretched fratricide is evidently writhing in keenest anguish. He is too miserable to speak, and too full of malignity to gratify anyone. His guilt stain - the blood spot - has not been burnt out by the fiercest fires of hell. No! See, he defies the Almighty. He blasphemes the God of heaven. He asks for no mitigation of his punishment now. His malignant, fiery spirit feeds on despair, and challenges his Avenger to do His worst.
"Oh, then, I see there is a progression in wickedness even in hell. This is the most appalling prospect of all - an endless progression in sin, and consequently an increase, instead of a diminution of misery, through the endless ages of eternity!"
Another dreadful point in the existence of the damned, will be THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. Great as is the misery of the lost soul when separated from the body, this is probably small when compared with the exceeding weight of misery which shall overtake it at the day of judgment. I must then endeavor to imagine what will be my feelings if I should be found on the left hand on that dreadful day.
And here in this present world, a large portion of our pleasures and pains are experienced through the body, I know no reason why it should not be so in the future world. Certainly the disembodied spirit is capable of none of these pains or pleasures. It seems reasonable to conclude, therefore, that the bodies of the damned will be so constructed as to be inlets to excruciating pains; just as the bodies of the saints will be instruments of refined, celestial pleasures. The whole person is not complete without the body, and therefore the final sentence of condemnation will not be denounced until the body - the same body - is raised from the dead, and reunited to the soul; that having been partners in wickedness, they may be associated in enduring the deserved punishment of the deeds done in the body!
~Archibald Alexander~
(continued with # 4)
"If I had not enjoyed the offers of the gospel, if pardon and reconciliation had not been within my reach, and often urged upon me, my anguish would not be so excruciating. But this it is which wrings my heart with unspeakable anguish - that I might have escaped all this misery! Had it not been for my own sin and folly, I might before now have been in heaven. Others who heard the same sermons, and belonged to the same family, are now in eternal glory - while I am tormented in this flame! Oh that I could cease to be; but to fly from existence is impossible.
"Here I am surrounded by wretches as miserable as myself, but their company rather aggravates than mitigates my soul's anguish. I am reproached and cursed by all who were ever led by my counsel or example into the ways of iniquity. They dreadfully scowl upon me.
"And the fiends of the pit, who were my seducers, now combine to taunt me with my folly. They never had the offers of mercy. The merits of a dying Saviour were never offered to them. They seem to entertain a malignant pleasure - if pleasure it can be called - in witnessing my extreme misery. O wretched man, where can I flee? Is there no possible escape from this prison of despair? Can no one ever pass the gulf which separates this dismal abode from the regions of the blessed? None! None!
"Oh, if there could be a suicide of the soul, how happy would I be to escape from existence, and to plunge into the gulf of annihilation, which once seemed horrible to my apprehension, but now desirable. This would be an oblivion of all my misery. But in vain do I seek to die. Death flies from me. And here I see those deluded souls who, by doing violence to their own lives, vainly dreamed that they were escaping from misery; but alas, from a burden which with faith and patience might have been borne - they have leaped into a fiery furnace! They are now convinced of the dreadful sin and folly of suicide, but they cannot repeat the act here!
"May I hope that time will lesson the horrors and anguish of my wretched soul? Will my heart, so susceptible of the emotions of bitter anguish, by degrees become less sensible to these piercing pains, and be more able to bear up under this overwhelming weight of misery? This question can only be solved by experience: let me ask someone who has been suffering for thousands of years.
"Here comes Cain the first murderer, who is known still by having upon him the stain of a brother's blood. Suppose I speak to him - "Tell me, fellow prisoner, who have long endured the pains of this infernal prison, whether by long continuance these miseries become more tolerable?" But why do I ask? the wretched fratricide is evidently writhing in keenest anguish. He is too miserable to speak, and too full of malignity to gratify anyone. His guilt stain - the blood spot - has not been burnt out by the fiercest fires of hell. No! See, he defies the Almighty. He blasphemes the God of heaven. He asks for no mitigation of his punishment now. His malignant, fiery spirit feeds on despair, and challenges his Avenger to do His worst.
"Oh, then, I see there is a progression in wickedness even in hell. This is the most appalling prospect of all - an endless progression in sin, and consequently an increase, instead of a diminution of misery, through the endless ages of eternity!"
Another dreadful point in the existence of the damned, will be THE DAY OF JUDGMENT. Great as is the misery of the lost soul when separated from the body, this is probably small when compared with the exceeding weight of misery which shall overtake it at the day of judgment. I must then endeavor to imagine what will be my feelings if I should be found on the left hand on that dreadful day.
And here in this present world, a large portion of our pleasures and pains are experienced through the body, I know no reason why it should not be so in the future world. Certainly the disembodied spirit is capable of none of these pains or pleasures. It seems reasonable to conclude, therefore, that the bodies of the damned will be so constructed as to be inlets to excruciating pains; just as the bodies of the saints will be instruments of refined, celestial pleasures. The whole person is not complete without the body, and therefore the final sentence of condemnation will not be denounced until the body - the same body - is raised from the dead, and reunited to the soul; that having been partners in wickedness, they may be associated in enduring the deserved punishment of the deeds done in the body!
~Archibald Alexander~
(continued with # 4)
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