The reform of worship is never a mere matter of removing false practices but is only made complete with the joyful, earnest institution of worship that conforms to the Bible. Josiah did what reformers today must do. Instead of gazing around at the practices of the world for popular modes of praise, he turned his gaze to God's Word. He read it and derived conclusions from it about what ought to be done. Then, as now, the issue was not about style or preference, but about a desire to see God obeye...

So vital is the Bible to any true reform that a return to the Bible—to its reverence and study, to its acceptance as the authoritative and sufficient guide for all of our faith and practice, to its use as the yardstick by which all other claims to truth and wisdom are assessed—is precisely what reformation is all about. —Richard Phillips, 'Turning Back the Darkness: The Biblical Pattern of Reformation', 143. ...

A question for the future: Will the Bible remain the final court of appeal or will Presbyterians be tossed about by innovative theological winds that blow? Building upon a foundational commitment to the authority of Scripture, Calvin and the other Reformers tended to emphasize the core elements of catholic faith. Creeds and confessions were of vital importance to Calvin, especially the Apostles' Creed but he also saw the place for larger Confessions, writing the 'French Confession' ("Gallican C...

What a stop hath been set to Superstition? How good a progress hath been made in Reformation? And may we not yet hope that God will do better unto us then at our beginnings? God’s promise is the ground of hope: and my Text sheweth that God hath promised as much. Go on, Right Honourable, and put forth your utmost endeavours, for bringing on those better things that yet remain. Where there is Hope, their endeavours use to be most earnest: For Hope stirreth up men’s spirits to set upon great thing...

The ground of his joy is said to be the divine word; and this implies, that however much he might seem to be forsaken and abandoned by God, he satisfied himself by reflecting on the truthfulness of his promises. He would glory in God notwithstanding, and although there should be no outward appearance of help, or it should even be sensibly withdrawn, he would rest contented with the simple security of his word. The declaration is one that deserves our notice. How prone are we to fret and to murmu...

A Christian is just as much under obligation to obey God’s will in the most secular of his daily businesses as he is in his closet or at the communion table. He has no right to separate his life into two realms, and acknowledge different moral codes in each respectively—to say the Bible is a good rule for Sunday, but this is a week-day question, or the Scriptures are the right rule in matters of religion, but this is a question of business or politics. God reigns over all everywhere. His will is...

The true proof of faith consists in this, that when we feel the solicitations of natural fear, we can resist them, and prevent them from obtaining an undue ascendancy. Fear and hope may seem opposite and incompatible affections, yet it is proved by observation, that the latter never comes into full sway unless there exists some measure of the former. In a tranquil state of the mind, there is no scope for the exercise of hope. At such times it lies dormant, and its power is only displayed to adva...

In the amplification of this reason, the apostle calls the commandment of honoring parents the “first commandment with promise,” [Eph. 6:2] to show that it is the first which has a particular promise added to it, so it is the first that God gave of any duty to be performed to man. The very order of the Decalogue shows the truth of this. The reason is clear; honor due to parents is the ground of all the duties required in the second table, for if duty is not performed to those who we are bound to...

WORKS OF NECESSITY & MERCY WCF 21.8. This Sabbath is then kept holy unto the Lord, when men, after a due preparing of their hearts, and ordering of their common affairs beforehand, do not only observe an holy rest, all the day, from their own works, words, and thoughts about their worldly employments and recreations, but also are taken up, the whole time, in the public and private exercises of his worship, and in the duties of necessity and mercy. WLC Q. 117. How is the sabbath or the Lord...

"Another issue, quite irrelevant to the whole question and which obscured the real basic differences of doctrine, was the subject of Christian liberty, particularly concerning the drinking of fermented beverages, and the discussion of the so-called separated life, which sets up certain man-made standards apart from the Bible and judges a Christian's spirituality by his conformity to these norms. Professor Allan A. MacRae, Ph.D., assistant professor in charge of the department of Old Testament a...

Second Helvetic Confession (1566) Ch. 30, "Of Magistracy" The magistracy, of whatever sort it is, is ordained of God Himself for the peace and quietness of mankind; and so he ought to have the chiefest place in the world. If he is an adversary to the church, he may hinder and disturb it very much, but if he is a friend and so a member of the church, he is a most useful and excellent member thereof, which may profit it very much, and finally may help and further it very excellently. His chief du...

The man who holds the office of teacher must apply himself to the reception of truth before he attempt to communicate it, and in this manner become the means of conveying to the hands of others that which God has committed to his own. Wisdom is not the growth of human genius. It must be sought from above, and it is impossible that any should speak with the propriety and knowledge necessary for the edification of the Church, who has not, in the first place, been taught at the feet of the Lord. —...

Prayer & Care for Mothers I've had this draft sitting since Monday (May 13), the day after "Mother's Day." I'm glad I waited to publish, since more people have violently reacted to our confessional view of the Lord's Day. Emotional reactions. Not actual refutations. Accusing us of not honoring our mothers. As if all your obedience to the 5th Commandment depends on celebrating Mother's Day. Celebrate Mother’s Day or nothing. That seems to be the sentiment. I guess no Christian ever honored...

The leading ideas of some of the books of the Bible: ❇️ Genesis speaks to all ages until the end of time, of the creation of man in the image of God; of the entrance of sin into the world; and of the initial revelation of God's redeeming grace. ❇️ Exodus acquaints the successive generations of men with the doctrine of deliverance through the shedding of blood, ❇️ while Leviticus teaches them how sinful man can approach God and stand in his holy presence. ❇️ Numbers pictures the pilgrimage of...

The Word of God is an organic production, and consequently the separate books that constitute it are organically related to one another. The Holy Spirit so directed the human authors in writing the books of the Bible that their productions are mutually complementary. They are one in recording the work which God, in the execution of his divine plan, wrought in Christ for the redemption of a people that would glorify him eternally. The Old Testament reveals this work, first of all, ❇️ historical...

And lastly, with all his amiability, the minister should be firm for his principles, and bold to avow and defend them in all companies. When a fair opportunity occurs, or he has managed to create one, let him not be slow to make use of it. Strong in his principles, earnest in his tone, and affectionate in heart, let him speak out like a man and thank God for the privilege. There need be no reticence—there should be none. The maddest romances of Spiritualists, the wildest dreams of Utopian reform...

A MAN SHOULD FIND A WIFE Before I go further, let me take a few moments to address single men. I said that I was not going to rebuke you for being unmarried, and I meant that. Moreover, I realize that it is not always so easy to find a godly wife, and that many earnestly seeking brothers have been greatly frustrated in this pursuit. Still, the Bible's teaching requires me to encourage you to realize how vitally important it is (in the vast majority of cases) that you become married. If you hav...

At one level, of course, these sentiments respecting the correctness of the Reformation's reading of the gospel cannot be rejected out of hand. The confessions themselves acknowledge that they are subordinate to the teaching of the Scripture and liable to correction if necessary. Even the most ardent subscriber to the Reformed confessions must be open to the possibility that they may contain error. This is really only another way of saying that Scripture is the supreme test of faith, and the con...

"You may preach the most solemn warnings, and the most dreadful threatenings, in such an indifferent or careless way that no one will be in the least affected by them; and you may repeat the most affectionate exhortations in such a half-hearted manner that no one will be moved either to love or fear. I believe, brethren, that for soul-winning there is more in this matter of earnestness than in almost anything else. I have seen and heard some who were very poor preachers, who yet brought many sou...

ALL SAINTS’ DAY AND ALL SOULS’ DAY Roman Catholic holy-days. Man made. Not instituted in Scripture. The theology behind these commemorations are the validity of the Church of Rome, the distinction between mortal and venial sin, the existence of Purgatory, the canon of saints of the Roman Catholic Church, and the validity of Roman Catholic worship. In fact, All Saints’ Day is a Catholic “Holy Day of Obligation,” meaning all Catholics are required to attend the Mass. Those who aren’t communing R...

Measured Enthusiasm about "Reformation" in the Philippines The Philippines now has its own "conference circuit." More and more events are being put on that promote "Reformed" theology. Money is being donated, special speakers are invited, people are traveling to attend, and book tables are being set up with all the latest offerings of Reformed and Presbyterian publishers. It's all very exciting, truly. And there's no question that this is an enormous improvement in this country. But is this...

There is always another verse that can be covered and another word that can be said, but ministers are best advised to select passages that allow them to quit before the congregation does. The well-prepared pastor always has more to say than time to say it. Part of the discipline of sermon preparation is setting aside for anther occasion what there is not time to say in this message. We simply will say more that is heard if we preach less than all we know. In the pulpit, less can often mean more...

Without the authority of the Word, preaching becomes an endless search for topics, therapies, and techniques that will win approval, promote acceptance, advance a cause, or soothe worry. Human reason, social agendas, popular consensus, and personal moral convictions become the resources of preaching that lacks “the historic conviction that what Scripture says, God says.” The opinions and emotions that formulate the content of preaching that lacks biblical authority are the same forces that can d...

"Blessed [Happy] are the people whose God is the Lord." Psalm 144:15 An atheist was once addressing a crowd of people in the open air. He was trying to persuade them that there was no God and no devil, no heaven, and no hell, no resurrection, no judgment, and no life to come. He advised them to throw away their Bibles, and not to pay attention to what preachers said. He recommended them to think as he did, and to be like him. He talked boldly. The crowd listened eagerly. It was "the blind lead...

But let us take courage: there are better days yet to come. Our great Redeemer and Liberator has gone before us to prepare a place for His people, and when He comes again our redemption will be complete. The great jubilee year is yet to come: — A few more Christmas and New Year's Days — A few more meetings and partings — A few more births and deaths — A few more weddings and funerals — A few more tears and struggles — A few more sicknesses and pains -- A few more Sundays, Baptisms, an...

Are you free? Then stand firm in your liberty, and don't be entangled again in the yoke of bondage. —Don't listen to those who by good words and fine speeches would draw you back to the Roman Catholic Church. —Beware of those who would try to persuade you that there is any mediator but the one Mediator, Christ Jesus. —Beware of any one who would try to persuade you that there is any sacrifice but the one Sacrifice offered on Calvary. —Beware of any one who would try to persuade you that t...

There is no more perfect doctrine than this to perfectly satisfy the ignorant and the unlearned! Visit the poorest and humblest person who knows nothing of theology, tell him the story of the cross, and the good news about Jesus Christ, and His love to sinners; show him that there is freedom provided for him, as well as for the most educated in the land--freedom from guilt, freedom from the devil, freedom from condemnation, freedom from hell. And then tell him plainly, boldly, fully, unreserve...

We are not born with the freedom in Christ. The inhabitants of many a city enjoy privileges by virtue of their birthplace. Paul, who drew his first lifebreath at Tarsus in Cilicia, could say to the Roman Commander, “I was born free.” But this is not the case with Adam's children, in regards to spiritual things. We are born slaves and servants of sin: we are by nature “children of wrath,” and destitute of any claim to heaven. We do not acquire freedom in Christ by baptism. Every year many a...

Too many are content with a vague idea that Christ will somehow save sinners: but how or why they don’t have a clue. I protest against this ignorance. Let us set fully before our eyes the doctrine of Christ dying in our place—His substituted death, and rest our souls on it. Let us hold on firmly to the mighty truth, that Christ on the cross: Christ on the cross: Stood in the place of His people Christ on the cross: Died for His people Christ on the cross: Suffered for His people Christ on...

The love of the Bible does not consist in never disapproving anybody's religious opinions. Here is another most serious and growing delusion. There are many who pride themselves on never pronouncing others mistaken, whatever views they may hold. Your neighbor, for example, may be a Roman Catholic, or a Mormon. But the "love" of many says that you have no right to think him wrong! If he is sincere, it is "unloving" to think unfavorably of his spiritual condition! From such love may I ever be deli...

The love of the Bible does not consist in never disapproving anybody's conduct. Here is another very common delusion! Thousands pride themselves on never condemning others, or saying they are wrong, whatever they may do. They convert the precept of our Lord, "Do not judge," into an excuse for having no unfavorable opinion at all of anybody. They pervert His prohibition of rash and censorious judgments into a prohibition of all judgment whatsoever. Your neighbor may be a drunkard, a liar, a viole...

Never make an intimate friend of anyone who is not a friend of God. Understand me, I do not speak of acquaintances. I do not mean that you ought to have nothing to do with anyone but true Christians. To take such a line is neither possible nor desirable in this world. Christianity requires no man to be discourteous. But I do advise you to be very careful in your choice of friends. Do not open all your heart to a man merely because he is clever, agreeable, good-natured, and kind. These things...

Another danger to young men is the FEAR OF MAN'S OPINION. "The fear of man" will indeed "prove to be a snare" (Proverbs 29:25). It is terrible to observe the power which it has over most minds, and especially over the minds of the young. Few seem to have any opinions of their own, or to think for themselves. Like dead fish, they go with the stream and tide: what others think is right, they think is right; and what others call wrong, they call wrong too. There are not many original thinkers in ...

Matthew Henry tells a story of a great statesman in Queen Elizabeth's time, who retired from public life in his latter days, and gave himself up to serious thought. His former gay companions came to visit him, and told him he was becoming melancholy: "No," he replied, "I am serious; for all are serious round about me. God is serious in observing us,—Christ is serious in interceding for us, the Spirit is serious in striving with us,—the truths of God are serious,—our spiritual enemies are serious...

Some, I dare say, will object that I am asking what is unreasonable; that youth is not the time of life when people ought to be grave and thoughtful. I answer, there is little danger of their being too much so in the present day. Foolish talking, and jesting, and joking, and excessive merriment, are only too common. Doubtless there is a time for all things; but to be always light and trifling is anything but wise. What says the wisest of men? " It is better to go to the house of mourning than to...

So certain people or congregations were instrumental in your conversion or sanctification. You have since "grown out" and moved on doctrinally. Great. It is right to recognize that God sovereignly used them. It is right to be grateful. Give credit to whom it is due, and glory to God. But does being used by God earn anyone a "life-time exemption from biblical discernment" card? Too many Christians fall all over themselves to excuse or dismiss error, sometimes serious error, because of a past c...

Westminster Larger Catechism 105 Q. What are the sins forbidden in the first commandment? A. The sins forbidden in the first commandment are . . . making men the lords of our faith and conscience. . . J.G. Vos: What is meant by “making men the lords of our faith and conscience”? This means making; mere human beings our authority in religion, so that we believe and do what they tell us to believe and do, not because of the teachings of God’s Word, but merely because of the influence or ins...

Conservative Fragmentation Put simply, the controversy that fractured the OPC during its first year concerned a choice between American fundamentalism: and the Reformed faith. If one defines fundamentalism strictly by its opposition to modernist theology, then the OPC is and always has been a fundamentalist denomination. But by such a definition conservative Lutherans, Episcopalians, Anabaptists, and even Roman Catholics would also qualify as fundamentalist, for conservative communions in those...

Choosing Righteousness before Convenience From this order we may further gather that justice and good conscience ought to move us to do our duty more than our own profit and the benefit that returns to us. If there should come such an opposition between these that they could not both stand together, but that for doing that which is right, and which God has commanded, our prosperity must be hindered and life shortened, we should stick with what is right and commanded of God, even though prosper...

It is not in the nature of things to be expected that the spiritual character of the church should ever be superior to that of the ministry: and it is perfectly consistent with what we know of human nature to expect that it will always hold itself excused for being inferior. It will not tread a path which its spiritual guides are slow to pursue; and will deem it an affectation of sanctity, and a presumptuous ambition, to attempt to advance beyond them. How else than by admitting a deficiency of ...

Prioritizing Husband or Wife before Parents The first point shows, that a wife, or a husband must be the priority before parents. The examples of Leah and Rachel (Gen. 31:14), even of Michal (1 Sam. 19:11), are commendable in this respect. The bond of marriage is more ancient, more firm, more near. There was husband and wife before there was parent and child, and there is a time when parents and children may depart from one another, and that while both live. But there is no time when man and...

Is Hell separation from the Presence of God? No. Because God is fully present everywhere (immensity and omnipresence). Hell included. The confessional phrasing: "everlasting separation from the comfortable presence of God" (WLC 29) "cast out from the favorable presence of God, and the glorious fellowship with Christ" (WLC 89) "A breath of relief is usually heard when someone declares, “Hell is a symbol for separation from God.” To be separated from God for eternity is no great threat to the i...

Christocentricity is indeed vital in the preaching of the Word of God; but Christocentricity must not be permitted to degenerate into Christomonism. The Christocentric does not and must not exclude the exemplary; the indicatives of history do not and must not exclude the imperatives of ethics. —John Carrick, 'The Imperative of Preaching: A Theology of Sacred Rhetoric', 130 ...

WHO IS REFORMED? Published on 12/18/2018 Reformed, or not Reformed, that is the question. —William Shakespeare It’s come around again. The infamous question that never completely goes away, despite being answered over and over again: “what does Reformed mean?” Some of you may be thinking, “why should we care?” And some of the group are doing the non-conformist-teenager-thing, “I’m not into labels.” Does it really matter what this term means? Does it really matter how we use it? Yes, it does ...

Truth and doctrine, are to be preached always, openly, and firmly, and are never to be dissembled or concealed; for there is no offence in them; they are the staff of uprightness.—And who gave you the power, or committed to you, the right, of confining the Christian doctrine to persons, places, times, and causes, when Christ wills it to be proclaimed, and to reign freely, throughout the world? For Paul saith, "the Word of God is not bound," (2 Tim. ii. 9,) but Erasmus bounds the word. Nor did Go...

THE DANGER OF AN INFERIORITY COMPLEX Posted on 05/01/2017 by Nate The Westminster Shorter Catechism Q/A’s on the 2nd Commandment: Q. 49. Which is the second commandment? A. The second commandment is, Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the Lord thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of ...

The Christian profession is sinking in its personal piety; the line of separation between the church and the world becomes less and less perceptible: and this is taking place, less through the elevation of the world, than through the depression of the church. The character of genuine Christianity, as expounded from pulpits, and delineated in books, has too rare a counterpart in the lives and spirit of its professors. How is this to be remedied, and by what means is the spirit of piety to be rev...

I go on now to mention another qualification for the sacred office, and which the earnest minister will anxiously cultivate with a view to the great object of his life and labours, and to which I advance with a praying mind, an anxious heart, and a trembling hand, ardently desirous to set it forth in such manner as shall secure for it the attention which its importance demands; I mean personal religion. We are weak in the pulpit, because we are weak in the closet. An earnest man will not only tr...

WHO IS THE WEAKER BROTHER? I think that this is one of the most difficult subjects, practically. It’s not just about alcohol. This subject of “weaker brothers” and Christian liberty touches on so many things. Attending movies and what kinds of movies, certain types of music, practicing martial arts or even contact sports, dancing, smoking, recreational gambling, using medication, tattoos. This is one of those biblical teachings where the application is the meaning. If we aren’t applying it ri...

4 REASONS FOR NOT OBSERVING ECCLESIASTICAL HOLIDAYS Posted on 12/24/2019 by Nate Presbyterians everywhere know about James Bannerman’s monumental work, The Church of Christ: A Treatise On The Nature, Powers, Ordinances, Discipline, And Government Of The Christian Church, which according to Joel Beeke is the “most extensive, standard, solid, Reformed treatment of the doctrine of the church that has ever been written” and “indisputably the classic in its field.” Appropriately, and wisely, James ...

An earnest man is the last to be satisfied with mere formality, routine, and prescription. He will often survey his object, his means, and his instruments: will look back upon the past to review his course, to examine his failure and success, with the causes of each; to learn what to do, and what to avoid for the future. His enquiry will often be, What next? What more? What better? And as the result of all this, new experiments will be tried, new plans will be laid, and new courses will be pursu...

He could possibly be eloquent, profound, or learned; and when such qualities can aid him in securing his one great end, he does not scruple to use them. His aim is at the heart and conscience, and if any thing poetic, literary, logical, or scientific, will at any time polish and plume his shafts or sharpen the points of his arrows, he will not reject them, but will avail himself of their legitimate use, that he may the more certainly hit and pierce the mark. This is his motto, "If by any means I...

This brings us to the subject of the present discourse, and that is the necessity of an earnest ministry. Nothing less than earnestness can succeed in any cases of great difficulty, and the earnestness must of course be in proportion to the difficulty to be surmounted. Great obstacles cannot be overcome without intense application of the mind. How then can the work of the ministry be accomplished? Every view we can take of it replies, "Only by earnestness." Every syllable of the apostle's langua...

I had a thought (of course in the bath when I can't write it down). "Passing the buck" is an American expression that I'm not sure carries over, but you'll know what mentality I'm referring to. It's a way of shirking responsibility (very common). It's where a person refuses to take responsibility and passes the matter to someone else to deal with it. Example: when the Southern Visayas Presbytery (SVP) skipped all due process and kicked Joshua and myself out of the church (without even a single...

Directory for the Publick Worship of God AN APPENDIX, Touching Days and Places for Publick Worship. THERE is no day commanded in scripture to be kept holy under the gospel but the Lord’s day, which is the Christian Sabbath. Festival days, vulgarly called Holy-days, having no warrant in the word of God, are not to be continued. Westminster Confession of Faith I. Of the Holy Scripture VI. The whole counsel of God, concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man’s salvation, faith, and lif...

Separation without a proper cause from churches that are established on true scriptural grounds (though perhaps failing in practice in matters of small concern) is no small sin; but separation from sinful practices and disorderly ways, and false unwarranted methods of worship, is a fulfilling of the command not to take part in other men's sins. To delight in the company, fellowship, society and conversation of dubious and headstrong people manifests a spirit that is not committed to Christ. —Jo...

What are the "dear things" now? Gold, silver, precious stones, bank notes, mines, ships, lands, houses, horses, cars, furniture, food, drink, clothes, and the like. These are the things that are thought valuable; these are the things that command a ready market; these are the things which you can never get below a certain price. He that has a lot of these things is counted a wealthy man. Such is the world! And what are the "cheap things" now? The knowledge of God, the free salvation of the Gos...

Wedding Sermon from the Prison Cell Eph. 1:12 “—so that we … might live for the praise of his glory.” A couple is entitled to welcome and celebrate their wedding day with a feeling of incomparable triumph. When all the difficulties, impediments, obstacles, doubts, and hesitations have not been brushed aside, but honestly faced and worked through—and it is certainly good if not everything goes all too smoothly—then both have indeed won the decisive triumph of their life. By saying yes to each o...

Believers must strive and fight with determination, in every legitimate way, by their actions and sufferings, for the purity of the ordinances, for the honour, liberty and privileges of the congregation, and in order to help others in the face of all opponents and adversaries. —John Owen, 'Duties of Christian Fellowship' pg. 40 ...

"That is the only way to understand rightly this picture of the false prophets. The false prophet is a man who has no strait gate’ ornarrow way’ in his gospel. He has nothing which is offensive to the natural man; he pleases all. He is in ‘sheep’s clothing’, so attractive, so pleasant, so nice to look at. He has such a nice and comfortable and comforting message. He pleases everybody and everybody speaks well of him. He is never persecuted for his preaching, he is never criticized severely." —M...

A new Judaism, as a substitute for that which God had distinctly abrogated, has again been reared up by means of numerous puerile extravagancies, collected from different quarters; and with these have been mixed up certain impious rites, partly borrowed from the heathen, and more adapted to some theatrical show than to the dignity of our religion. The first evil here is, that an immense number of ceremonies, which God had by his authority abrogated, once for all have been again revived. The next...

Mark 4:18–19, And others are the ones on whom seed was sown among the thorns; these are the ones who have heard the word, but the worries of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches, and the desires for other things enter in and choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. John Calvin: Each of us ought to endeavor to tear the thorns out of his   heart, if we do not choose that the word of God should be choked; for   there is not one of us whose heart is not filled with a vast quantity,   and, a...

Alas! It is an infinite righteousness that must satisfy for us, for it is an infinite God that is offended by us. If ever your sin is pardoned, it is infinite mercy that must pardon it. If ever you are reconciled to God, it is infinite merit must do it. If ever your heart is changed and your state renewed, it is infinite power must effect it; and if ever you soul escapes hell and is saved at last, it is infinite grace must save it. (164) ...

A perfect conformity of heart and life to God is the sum and substance of all the commands both of the Old and the New Testament. (147) ...

Now, this way of sanctification is a very narrow way, for it lies over the neck of every lust and in the exercise of every grace: subduing the on and improving the other: dying daily and yet living daily; dying to sin and living to God. This is the way of sanctification! Oh, how few are there that walk in this way! —Matthew Mead, 'The Almost Christian Discovered' pg. 122 ...

A proud man has an eye to see his beauty but not his deformity; his parts but not his spots; his seeming righteousness but not his real wretchedness. It must be a work of grace that must show a man the lack of grace. The haughty eye looks upward, but the humble eye looks downward; and, therefore, this is the believer's motto: "The least of saints, the greatest of sinners"; but the carnal man's motto is, "I thank God I am not as other men." —Matthew Mead, 'The Almost Christian Discovered' pg. 11...

Spiritual conviction is an essential part of sound conversion. Conversion begins here. True conversion begins in convictions and true convictions end in conversion. Til the sinner is convinced of sin, he can never be converted from sin. Christ's coming was as a Savior to die for sinners, and the Spirit's coming is to convince us as sinners that we may close with Christ as a Saviour. Till sin is thoroughly revealed to us, interest in the blood of Christ cannot rightly be claimed by us. Nay, as lo...

Whatever man may stand, whatever he may do, to whatever he may apply his hand - in agriculture, in commerce, and in industry, or his mind, in the world of art, and science - he is, in whatsoever it may be, constantly standing before the face of God. He is employed in the service of his God. He has strictly to obey his God. And above all, he has to aim at the glory of his God. —Abraham Kuyper ...

When principles that run against your deepest convictions begin to win the day, then battle is your calling, and peace has become sin; you must, at the price of dearest peace, lay your convictions bare before friend and enemy, with all the fire of your faith. —Abraham Kuyper ...

If we are to pray for all sorts of men living, how may we pray about the Roman Antichrist [Pope]? A. Out of the love we should bear to our fellow-creatures, who are under the yoke and dominion of the Roman Antichrist, we ought to pray no otherwise about him, than that the Lord would soon "consume him with the Spirit of his mouth, and destroy him with the brightness of his coming," 2 Thess. 2:8. —James Fisher, 'The Westminster Assembly's Shorter Catechism Explained by Way of Questions and Answe...

The fundamental maxim of the Voluntary theory, that 'the state, as the state, has nothing to do with religion,' is a principle which, from the very necessity of the case, can never be realized. The state must have to do with religion, and that in the way, if not of friendly co-operation and consent, then of hostility and opposition. If it were possible for the state in any country to disown all connection of a friendly kind with religion, natural and revealed, the inevitable tendency would be, e...

A minister may be a good sermonizer, he may preside at weddings with grace, and officiate at funerals with dignity, but he is not a good pastor if he maintains an unruffled mind when a solitary member of his flock wanders away. The work of watching demands vigilance, the work of guarding demands prudence, the work of guiding calls for courage, the work of healing involves skill, but the work of rescuing is a work of love. Many a minister would be a better shepherd if he had a more loving heart. ...

A minister must always go in advance of his people. He must lead them in thought. It is tragic when a minister is not the intellectual leader of his people. If his conceptions are the conceptions of the average man, if his ideas are the safe and commonplace ideas of the general community, if in his attitude to great reforms he is not in advance of the crowd, if in pulling down strongholds of evil, many are more aggressive than he, he is not a shepherd. —Jefferson, Charles (2012-10-16). The Mini...

True Christians ought to be more full of thanksgivings than they are. I fear that few sufficiently remember what they were by nature, and what debtors they are to grace. A heathen remarked that singing hymns of praise was one special mark of the early Christians. It would be good for Christians in the present day, if they knew more of this frame of mind. It is no evidence of a healthy state of soul when there is much complaining and little praise. It is an amazing mercy that there is any door of...

Narrow as this door is, it is "a door always ready to open." No sinners of any kind are forbidden to draw near: whosoever will may enter in and be saved. There is but one condition of admission: that condition is that you really feel your sins and desire to be saved by Christ in His own way. Are you really aware of your guilt and vileness? Have you a truly broken and contrite heart? Look at the door of salvation, and come in. He that made it declares, "Whoever comes to me I will never drive away...

Not one will be saved by his own works. The best works that any man can do are little better than impressive sins. —J.C. Ryle, "Self-Exertion," 'Practical Religion' ...

This door is called "the narrow door," and it is not called so without cause. It is always narrow, constricted, and difficult to pass through to some persons, and it will be so as long as the world stands. It is narrow to all who love sin, and are determine not to part with it. It is narrow to all who set their affection on this world, and seek first its pleasures and rewards. It is narrow to all who dislike trouble, and are unwilling to take pains and make sacrifices for their souls. It is narr...

Every time I read the Athanasian Creed, I am amazed and excited all over again. It's just perfect. I sincerely believe it cannot be improved upon. It's the most precise statement of biblical Trinitarianism there is. It boxes you in to what the Scriptures teach, both explicitly and implicitly, about the Triunity of God. Can't do better than that. All Christians should work on incorporating the language of the Athanasian Creed into their vocabulary when speaking of the Divine Persons. We would all...

Strong and Courageous: Following Jesus Amid the Rise of America’s New Religion by Jared Longshore & Tom Ascol (Founders Press. 2020) Over the last two years, much of the professing church around the world was exposed as weak. For fear of safety, churches forsook the assembling together for public worship. Governments either forbade churches from meeting at all, or heavily restricted their worship by forbidding certain people from gathering or limiting capacity. Tragically, congregations and...

Get together, fellow Christians, and talk of the affairs of your Country and Kingdom, and comfort one another with such words. If worldlings get together, they will be talking of the world, when wanton people get together they will be talking of their lusts, and wicked men can be delighted in talking wickedness. Shouldn’t Christians, then, delight themselves in talking about Christ? Shouldn’t the heirs of heaven delight in talking of their inheritance? This may make our hearts revive within us. ...

Question: How shall we know if we truly prize Christ? Answer 1: If we are prizers of Christ, then we prefer him in our judgments before other things. We value Christ above honor and riches; the Pearl of Great Price lies nearest our heart. He who prizes Christ esteems the gleanings of Christ, better than the world's vintage. He counts the worst things of Christ, better than the best things of the world. Moses "regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Eg...

We must always make clear in our discussions and debates the distinction between the truth and the consequences, or the "what" and the "how." Pastoras are unbiblical, we maintain. These unfaithful ministers would "rebut" by asking, "So what will happen to all the pastoras we have?" Take note: this is not a rebuttal. It is actually a subtle change of subject. The subject was "pastoras are unbiblical." The subject changed to "what are the consequences?" Pause. And state clearly that before we ...

It is humbling, no doubt, to ministers and teachers of others. The highest abilities, the most powerful preaching, the most diligent working cannot command success. God alone can give spiritual life. But it is a truth at the same time which supplies an admirable antidote to over-anxiety and despondency. Our principal work is to sow the seed. That done, we may wait with faith and patience for the result. We may go to bed at night and [get] up by day and leave our work with the Lord. He alone can,...

I do want to make the point here that Christians are not divided between those who have creeds and confessions and those who do not; rather, they are divided between those who have public creeds and confessions that are written down and exist as public documents, subject to public scrutiny, evaluation, and critique, and those who have private creeds and confessions that are often improvised, unwritten, and thus not open to public scrutiny, not susceptible to evaluation and, crucially and ironica...

But is it not said by the Lord Christ himself, "He who confesses me before men, him will I confess before my Father in heaven?" Now, for Christ to say, he will confess us before the Father, is equivalent to a promise of eternal life: for if Jesus Christ confesses us, God the Father will never disown us. True, those who confess Christ, shall be confessed by him; and it is as true, that this confession is equivalent to a promise of salvation. But you must know, that professing Christ, is not conf...

A friend of mine once ironically defined a legalist as someone who loved God more than He did. We might alter the definition somewhat to make John Knox's indefatigable zeal a little less convicting to us. A zealot, a fanatic is anyone who loves God and His Word in a way that embarrasses us. It is not really possible to love God too much. It is not possible to take His Word to extremes, because His Word prohibits that use of it. If a man is careful to keep his conduct, motives, attitudes, and ma...

Again, our book recognizes the right of a woman to divorce her husband, as well as that of a man to divorce his wife. Some of our most distinguished men, however, hold that the Scriptures give the right of divorce solely to the husband. Our book also teaches that wilful desertion is a legitimate ground of divorce, a vinculo matrimonii, but many of our brethren in the ministry do not believe this. Other Presbyterians again, knowing that our Lord says, “ Whosoever putteth away his wife, and marrie...

THE SYSTEM OF DOCTRINE OF THE REFORMED CHURCH CHARLES HODGE We do not expect that our ministers should adopt every proposition contained in our standards. This they are not required to do. But they are required to adopt the system; and that system consists of certain doctrines, no one of which can he omitted without destroying its identity. Those doctrines are, the plenary inspiration of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, and the consequent infallibility of all their teachings; —the ...

He who would consistently banish creeds must silence all preaching and reduce the teaching of the church to the recital of the exact words of Holy Scripture without note or comment. —R.L. Dabney, “The Doctrinal Contents of the Confession” ...

How foolish are they who rely for happiness on popular favor. Nothing is more fickle. David may long reign and do good, but when the rebellion comes, the masses turn against him, v. 1. It was always so. One while Israel says there is none like Moses. Very soon trouble comes; then they murmur against him. The very people, who one moment pronounce Paul a murderer pursued by divine vengeance, the next moment say he is a God. The very crowd who cry, Hosanna to the son of David, in three days clamor ...

I finished going through my printed copy of the PCP Standards of Government, Discipline, and Worship—with a highlighter. Very edifying. The problem in the Presbyterian Church of the Philippines is definitely NOT the standards. The problem is ordained ministers violating their vows to "sincerely receive and adopt the Confession of Faith and Catechisms," "approve of the government and discipline of the Presbyterian Church of the Philippines," and "to be zealous and faithful in maintaining the ...

Fear not for the Church of Christ, when ministers die, and saints are taken away. Christ can ever maintain His own cause. He will raise up better servants and brighter stars. The stars are all in His right hand. Leave off all anxious thought about the future. Cease to be cast down by the measures of statesmen, or the plots of wolves in sheep’s clothing. Christ will ever provide for His own Church. Christ will take care that “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” All is going on well, ...

Artificial conceptions of the work of apologetics often lead to the conclusion that it is something other than theology, or Christian philosophy, or evangelism. . . The key will be to recognize differences of degree between these activities and not escalate the into categorical differences of kind. . . Although they work with difference kinds of questions, audiences, or settings, they are nevertheless expressions of the Christian’s underlying approach to intellectual method in general (or epist...

Men don't own the church: It's Christ's body (Rom. 12:5) Christ is her Savior (Eph. 5:23) Christ is the king (Ps. 2:6) Christ is the head (Col. 1:18) Christ is the corner stone (Eph. 2:20) Christ appoints the officers (1 Cor. 12:28) Christ walks among the churches (Rev. 2:1) ...

The heart of man is the greatest imposter and cheat in the world. God Himself states it, "The heart is deceitful above all things." Some of the deceits thereof you will find discovered in this treatise, which shows you that every grace has its counterfeit, and that the highest profession may be where true conversion is not. —Matthew Mead, 'The Almost Christian Discovered' ...

Unlike woke ideology, Christians know that we can never find lasting peace in natural terms and through natural means. This is because disunity, injustice, and hostility flow from our alienation to God, and secondly from our resulting alienation with one another. But if the vertical problem is resolved, then the horizontal is as well. Accordingly, Jesus is the only true hope of those who desire unity of any kind in the world. Human harmony is a good desire, one common to humanity beyond the Chur...

Linguistic meaning, they [deconstructionists] argue, rests on oppositions and exclusions. "Man" is defined as the opposite of "woman." "Freedom" excludes "slavery." Yet, because a word is defined in terms of what it excludes, each word carries with it a "trace" of its opposite. Every time we use the word man, we are excluding women. "Freedom" depends for its meaning on the concept of slavery—a totally free society would presumably have no word for the concept. Freedom would be taken for granted....

In like manner the Christian's hope is not indifferent to the material universe around us, the cosmos of God's creation. It was subjected to vanity not willingly; it was cursed for man's sin; it was marred by human apostasy. But it is going to be delivered from the bondage of corruption, and its deliverance will be coincident with the consummation of God's people's redemption. The two are not only coincident as events but they are correlative in hope. Glorification has cosmic proportions. 'We ac...

But whenever the focus of interest and emphasis becomes the immortality of the soul, then there is a grave deflection from the biblical doctrine of immortal life and bliss. The biblical doctrine of 'immortality,' if we may use that term, is the doctrine of glorification. And glorification is resurrection. Without resurrection of the body from the grave and the restoration of human nature to its completeness after the pattern of Christ's resurrection on the third day and according to the likeness...

So indispensable is the coming of the Lord to the hope of glory that glorification for the believer has no meaning without the manifestation of Christ's glory. Glorification is glorification with Christ. Remove the latter and we have robbed the glorification of believers of the one thing that enables them to look forward to this event with confidence, with joy unspeakable and full of glory. 'But rejoice,' Peter wrote, 'inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ's sufferings; that, when his glory sha...

Yet man is born to trouble as surely as sparks fly upward. (Job 5:7) NO SURPRISE. Sparks fly upward from a fire naturally, so human suffering is inevitable. God told us so in Genesis 3:17–19, so we should not be shocked at suffering. Modern Western people are more traumatized by it than others. We have too much faith in our technology and our democratic institutions, and we are conditioned by our secular, materialistic culture to seek most of our happiness in fragile things like good looks, wea...

And once oppression becomes primarily psychological, it also becomes somewhat arbitrary and subjective . . . When oppression comes to be thought of as primarily psychological, then victimhood becomes a potentially much broader and much more subjective category. This affects everything, from reasoning in Supreme Court cases, to ethics, to campus politics, and beyond. —Carl Trueman, 'The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self' ch. 7 ...

This unprecedented decline in literature and art is only one manifestation of a more far-reaching phenomenon; it is only one instance of that narrowing of the range of personality which has been going on in the modern world. The whole development of modern society has tended mightily toward the limitation of the realm of freedom for the individual man. The tendency is most clearly seen in socialism; a socialistic state would mean the reduction to a minimum of the sphere of individual choice. Lab...

Scientific investigation, as has already been observed, has certainly accomplished much; it has in many respects produced a new world. But there is another aspect of the picture which should not be ignored. The modern world represents in some respects an enormous improvement over the world in which our ancestors lived; but in other respects it exhibits a lamentable decline. The improvement appears in the physical conditions of life, but in the spiritual realm there is a corresponding loss. The l...

Question to Dr. Bahnsen: Could you briefly address the biblical legality of the American Revolution? ”I am not aware that there was an American Revolution, was there? What are we referring to here? All right, I’ll take the tongue out of the cheek and answer you straightly. ”You’ll notice that the question uses a nomenclature that has been imposed upon us. We refer to that as the American Revolution. But it was not a revolution, it was a war of independence. Am I just playing with words? Absolu...

On Sunday, January 9, I preached the 11th and final sermon of our Ecclesiology series. Listen to the recording: https://odysee.com/@1PointP.../11.-Presbyterian-Government:9 Nice Guys and Jerks | Doug Wilson "In this episode of Blog & Mablog, Pastor Doug Wilson continues his series of letters to a fictional nephew about the relationship between the sexes, this time discussing nice guys and jerks https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uVUpgBWwQ4 Confessions of a Former People-Pleaser "Whoever you ...

Nothing is more common now-a-days than to hear people say that they “decline to believe things above their reason, that they cannot believe what they cannot entirely understand in religion, that they must see everything clearly before they can believe.” Such talk as this sounds very fine, and is very taking with young persons and superficially educated people, because it supplies a convenient reason for neglecting vital religion altogether. But it is a style of talking which shows a mind either ...

In what way did our Lord show "things concerning himself," in every part of the Old Testament field? The answer to these questions is short and simple. Christ was the substance of every Old Testament sacrifice, ordained in the law of Moses. Christ was the true Deliverer and King, of whom all the judges and deliverers in Jewish history were types. Christ was the coming Prophet greater than Moses, whose glorious advent filled the pages of prophets. Christ was the true seed of the woman who was to ...

Conference on spiritual subjects is a most important means of grace. As iron sharpens iron, so does exchange of thoughts with brethren sharpen a believer's soul. It brings down a special blessing on all who make a practice of it. The striking words of Malachi were meant for the Church in every age --"Then those who feared the Lord spoke often one to another--and the Lord hearkened, and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before him for those who feared the Lord, and that thought upon...

The unbelief of Thomas, expressed in this famous sentence, was a sad fault in a good man, which cannot be explained away. He refused to believe the testimony of ten competent witnesses who had seen Christ in the body with their own eyes. He refused to believe the testimony of ten true friends and brethren who could have no object in deceiving him. He passionately declares that he will not believe unless he himself sees and touches our Lord’s body. He presumes to prescribe certain conditions that...

Let us not fail to see in the manner of our Lord's resurrection, a type and pledge of the resurrection of His believing people. The grave could not hold Him beyond the appointed time, and it shall not be able to hold them. A glorious angel was a witness of His rising, and glorious angels shall be the messengers who shall gather believers when they rise again. He rose with a renewed body, and yet a body, real, true, and material, and so also shall His people have a glorious body, and be like thei...

We shall all do well to remember the charge of the Apostle Paul--"Forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is." (Heb. 10:25.) Never to be absent from God's house on Sundays, without good reason--never to miss the Lord's Supper when administered in our own congregation--never to let our place be empty when means of grace are going on, this is one way to be a growing and prosperous Christian. The very sermon that we needlessly miss, may contain a precious word in se...

verses,the remarkable commission which our Lord conferred upon His eleven Apostles. We are told that He said, "Just as the Father has sent me, I also send you. And after he said this, he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven; if you retain anyone’s sins, they are retained." It is vain to deny that the true sense of these solemn words has been for centuries a subject of controversy and dispute. It is useless perhaps to expect that the ...

And what had our Lord done, that the Jews should hate Him so? He was no robber, or murderer. He was no blasphemer of their God, or reviler of their prophets. He was one whose life was love. He was one who "went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil." (Acts 10:38.) He was innocent of any transgression against the law of God or man. And yet the Jews hated Him, and never rested until He was slain! They hated Him, because He told them the truth. They hated Him, because H...

Let us learn from Herod's case to PITY great men. With all their greatness and apparent splendor, they are often thoroughly miserable within. Silks and satins and official robes, often cover hearts which are utter strangers to peace. That man knows not what he is wishing, who wishes to be a rich man. Let us PRAY for rich men, as well as pity them. They carry weight in the race for eternal life. If they are saved, it can only be by the greatest miracles of God's grace. Our Lord's words are very s...

False witness and slander are two favorite weapons of the devil. He was a liar from the beginning, and is still the father of lies. (John 8:44.) When he finds that he cannot stop God's work, his next device is to blacken the character of God's servants, and to destroy the value of their testimony. With this weapon he assaulted David--"False witnesses," he says, "did rise against me--they laid to my charge things that I knew not." With this weapon he assaulted the prophets. Elijah was a "troubler...

We are told that [Judas] cast down the thirty pieces of silver for which he had sold his Master, in the temple, and went away in bitterness of soul [Matthew 27:3–5]. That money was dearly earned. It brought him no pleasure, even when he had it. The "treasures of wickedness profit nothing." (Prov. 10:2.) Sin is, in truth, the hardest of all masters. In its service there is plenty of fair promises, but an utter dearth of performance. Its pleasures are but for a season. Its wages are sorrow, remor...

Concerning the importance of Jesus Christ’s resurrection from the dead, it would be hard to speak too strongly. It is a cardinal article of the Christian faith, second to none in value. It is the grand proof that He was the promised Messiah whom the Prophets had foretold. It is the one great sign which He named to the Jews when asked to give convincing evidence of His Divine mission—the sign of the Prophet Jonah, the rebuilding of the temple after destruction. (Matt. 12:39, John 2:19-21.) If He ...

The case of Nicodemus teaches that lesson very plainly. The only man who dared to help Joseph in his holy work of burying our Lord, was one who at first "came to Jesus by night," and was nothing better than an ignorant inquirer after truth. At a later period in our Lord's ministry we find this same Nicodemus coming forward with somewhat more boldness, and raising in the Council of the Pharisees the question, "Does our law judge any man, before it hear him, and know what he does?" (John 7:51.) Fi...

The various steps in Peter's fall are clearly marked out by the Gospel-writers [Luke 22:54–62]. They ought always to be observed in reading this part of the apostle's history. The first step was proud self-confidence. Though all men denied Christ, yet he never would! He was ready to go with Him both to prison and to death! The second step was indolent neglect of prayer. When his Master told him to pray, lest he should enter into temptation, he gave way to drowsiness, and was found asleep. The th...

We should observe, lastly, in these verses, how tenderly our Lord took thought for Mary, His mother. We are told that even in the dreadful agonies of body and mind which our Lord endured, He did not forget her of whom He was born. He mercifully remembered her desolate condition, and the crushing effect of the sorrowful sight before her. He knew that, holy as she was, she was only a woman, and that, as a woman, she must deeply feel the death of such a Son. He therefore commended her to the protec...

Let us observe, thirdly, in this passage, our Lord's gracious commendation of His disciples. He said to them, "You have remained true to me in my time of trial." [Luke 22:28] There is something very striking in these words of praise. We know the weakness and infirmity of our Lord's disciples during the whole period of His earthly ministry. We find Him frequently reproving their ignorance and lack of faith. He knew full well that within a few hours they were all going to forsake Him. But here we ...

Let us observe, secondly, in this passage [Luke 22:24–27], the striking account which our Lord gives of true Christian greatness. He tells His disciples that the worldly standard of greatness was the exercise of 'lordship and authority'. "But you," He says, "shall not be so. He that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief, as he that serves." And then He enforces this principle by the mighty fact of His own example--"I am among you as he that serves." Usefulness i...

Ambition, self-esteem, and self-conceit lie deep at the bottom of all men's hearts, and often in the hearts where they are least suspected. Thousands imagine that they are humble, who cannot bear to see an equal more honored and favored than themselves. Few indeed can be found who rejoice heartily in a neighbor's promotion over their own heads. The quantity of envy and jealousy in the world is a glaring proof of the prevalence of pride. Men would not envy a brother's advancement if they had not ...

Judas Iscariot ought to be a standing beacon to the church of Christ. This man, be it remembered, was one of our Lord's chosen apostles. He followed our Lord during the whole course of His ministry. He forsook all for Christ's sake. He heard Christ preach and saw Christ's miracles. He preached himself. He spoke like the other apostles. There was nothing about him to distinguish him from Peter, James, and John. He was never suspected of being unsound at heart. And yet this man turns out at length...

We see, firstly, in these verses, that high offices in the church do not preserve the holders of them from great blindness and sin. We read that "the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill Jesus." [Luke 22:2] The first step in putting Christ to death, was taken by the religious teachers of the Jewish nation. The very men who ought to have welcomed the Messiah, were the men who conspired to kill Him. The very pastors who ought to have rejoiced at the appearing of the Lamb of God, h...

The state of things after the judgment is changeless and without end. The misery of the lost, and the blessedness of the saved, are both alike forever. Let no man deceive us on this point. It is clearly revealed in Scripture. The eternity of God, and heaven, and hell, all stand on the same foundation. As surely as God is eternal, so surely is heaven an endless day without night, and hell an endless night without day. Who shall describe THE BLESSEDNESS OF ETERNAL LIFE? It passes the power of ma...

All professing Christians must one day have a reckoning with God. The parable tells us that "after a long time the master of those servants came, and reckoned with them." [Matt. 25:19] There is a judgment before us all. Words have no meaning in the Bible, if there is none. It is mere trifling with Scripture to deny it. There is a judgment before us according to our works--certain, strict, and unavoidable. High or low, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, we shall all have to stand at the bar of ...

This authority in science and art, however, bears a very different character from that of parents, teachers, and government; it is not juridical in nature but ethical. It cannot and may not use coercion; it does not have the power to punish. However prominent and important these people who act with authority are, their witness counts only to the extent that they can advance grounds for it. Hence their authority finally rests, not in the persons (so that the statement: “he himself said it” would ...

"When the truth was suffocated by such pervasive, thick darkness; when religion was polluted by so many godless superstitions; when the worship of God was corrupted by horrid sacrilege and His glory was lying prostrate; when the benefit of redemption was buried under many twisted opinions, people drunk on the destructive confidence of works sought salvation elsewhere than in Christ, the administration of the sacraments was partly mangled and destroyed, partly corrupted by many human inventions m...

At the time when divine truth lay buried under this vast and dense cloud of darkness—when religion was sullied by so many impious superstitions—when by horrid blasphemies the worship of God was corrupted, and His glory laid prostrate—when by a multitude of perverse opinions, the benefit of redemption was frustrated, and men, intoxicated with a fatal confidence in works, sought salvation any where rather than in Christ—when the administration of the Sacraments was partly maimed and torn asunder, ...

It is important to understand in this discussion that Special Revelation in Scripture is the defining revelation of God. First of all, the fundamental purpose of Special Revelation right from the beginning has been to define and interpret both General Revelation and the things that are not seen, namely, the spiritual realities of God and creation as the foundation for the material realities found in General Revelation. God's spoken word functions specifically as an interpretation of reality for ...

It is our special felicity, that; is Reformed Christians, and heirs of the richest and fullest formulation of Reformed thought, we possess in that precious heritage, the Westminster Confession, the most complete, the most admirable, the most perfect statement of the essential Christian doctrine of Holy Scripture which has ever been formed by man. —B.B. Warfield, 'The Inspiration and Authority of the Bible' (loc. 600) ...

The question of knowledge is an ethical question. It is indeed possible to have theoretically correct knowledge about God without loving God. The devil illustrates this point. Yet what is meant by knowing God in Scripture is knowing and loving God: this is true knowledge of God; all other knowledge of God is false. —Cornelius Van Til, 'Christian Apologetics' ...

The pitiable and miserable character of Pilate, the Roman Governor, begins to come into clear light from this point. We see him a man utterly destitute of moral courage—knowing what was right and just in the case before him, yet afraid to act on his knowledge; knowing that our Lord was innocent, yet not daring to displease the Jews by acquitting Him; knowing that he was doing wrong, and yet afraid to do right. “The fear of man brings a snare” (Prov. 29:25). Wretched and contemptible are those ru...

We are told that when our Lord spoke of the truth, the Roman Governor replied, "What is truth?" We are not told with what motive this question was asked, nor does it appear on the face of the narrative that he who asked it waited for an answer. It seems far more likely that the saying was the sarcastic, sneering exclamation of one who did not believe that there was any such thing as "truth." It sounds like the language of one who had heard, from his earliest youth, so many barren speculations ab...

Our Lord's main object in saying "My kingdom is not of this world," [John 18:36] was to inform Pilate's mind concerning the true nature of His kingdom, and to correct any false impression he might have received from the Jews. He tells him that He did not come to set up a kingdom which would interfere with the Roman Government. He did not aim at establishing a temporal power, to be supported by armies and maintained by taxes. The only dominion He exercised was over men's hearts, and the only weap...

Let us learn from the whole passage [Matthew 23:13–33] how abominable is hypocrisy in the sight of God. These Scribes and Pharisees are not charged with being thieves or murderers, but with being hypocrites to the very core. Whatever we are in our religion, let us resolve never to wear a cloak. Let us by all means be honest and real. Let us learn from the whole passage how awfully dangerous is the position of an unfaithful minister. It is bad enough to be blind ourselves. It is a thousand time...

The difference seems to be conveyed best by saying that the Reformed Christian thinks theologically, the Lutheran anthropologically. The Reformed person is not content with an exclusively historical stance but raises his sights to the idea, the eternal decree of God. By contrast the Lutheran takes his position in the midst of the history of redemption and feels no need to enter more deeply into the counsel of God. For the Reformed, therefore, election is the heart of the church; for Lutherans, j...

This is a lesson which is taught us in a striking manner, by our Lord's commendation of a certain poor widow [Mark 12:41–44]. We are told that He "beheld how the people cast in" their voluntary contributions for God's service into the public, collecting box or "treasury." He saw "many that were rich casting in much." At last he saw this poor widow cast in all that she had for her daily maintenance. And then we hear Him pronounce the solemn words, "This poor woman has cast more in than they all" ...

We should mark, for another thing, the amazing condescension of our Lord Jesus Christ. We see the Son of God taken prisoner and led away bound like a malefactor--arraigned before wicked and unjust judges--insulted and treated with contempt. And yet this unresisting prisoner had only to will His deliverance, and He would at once have been free. He had only to command the confusion of His enemies, and they would at once have been confounded. Above all He was One who knew full well that Annas and C...

...how ready the enemies of truth are to question the authority of all who do more good than themselves.The chief priests have not a word to say about our Lord's teaching. They make no charge against the lives or conduct of Himself or His followers. The point on which they fasten is his commission--"By what authority do you these things? and who gave you this authority?" The same charge has often been made against the servants of God, when they have striven to check the progress of ecclesiasti...

God is sometimes pleased to give men special opportunities and invitations. We are told by our Lord, that Jerusalem "knew not the day of her visitation." Jerusalem had a special season of mercy and privilege. The Son of God Himself visited her. The mightiest miracles that man had ever seen were wrought around her. The most wonderful preaching that ever was heard was preached within her walls. The days of our Lord's ministry were days of the clearest calls to repentance and faith that ever any ci...

We know but little of true Christianity, if we do not feel a deep concern about the souls of unconverted people. A lazy indifference about the spiritual state of others, may doubtless save us much trouble. To care nothing whether our neighbors are going to heaven or hell, is no doubt the way of the world. But a man of this spirit is very unlike David, who said, "rivers of waters run down my eyes, because men keep not your law." He is very unlike Paul, who said, "I have great heaviness and contin...

Now when Jesus was in Bethany, at the home of Simon the leper, a woman came to Him with an alabaster jar of very costly perfume, and she poured it on His head as He reclined at the table. But when the disciples saw this, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste? For this perfume might have been sold for a high price and the money given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why do you bother the woman? For she has done a good work to Me. For you always have the poor with you;...

It is one thing to say that the wrathful God is made loving. That would be entirely false. It is another thing to say the wrathful God is loving. That is profoundly true. But it is also true that the wrath by which he is wrathful is propitiated through the cross. This propitiation is the fruit of the divine love that provided it. —John Murray, 'Redemption—Accomplished and Applied' pg. 26 ...

true Christians must be ready, if need be, to give up everything for Christ's sake. This is a lesson which is taught in very remarkable language. Our Lord says, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." [Luke 14:26] This expression must doubtless be interpreted with some qualification. We must never explain any text of Scripture in such a manner as to make it contradict anot...

In the first place, our Lord declares, "If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be done unto you." This is a distinct promise of power and success in prayer. And what does it turn upon? We must "abide in Christ," and Christ's "words must abide in us." [John 15:] To abide in Christ means to keep up a habit of constant close communion with Him--to be always leaning on Him, resting on Him, pouring out our hearts to Him, and using Him as our Fountain...

We must even not be ashamed to use a gentle violence. We must be instant in season, out of season. (2 Tim. 4:2.) We must deal with many an unconverted man, as one who is half-asleep, half out of his mind, and not fully conscious of the state he is in. We must press the Gospel on his notice again and again. We must cry aloud and spare not. We must deal with him as we would with a man about to commit suicide. We must try to snatch him as a brand from the burning. We must say, "I cannot--I will not...

We read that when the servant announced that all things were ready, those who were invited "all with one consent began to make excuse." [Luke 14:18] One had one trivial excuse, and another had another. In one point only all were agreed--they would not come. We have in this part of the parable a vivid picture of the reception which the Gospel is continually meeting with wherever it is proclaimed. Thousands are continually doing what the parable describes. They are invited to come to Christ, and ...

We read that he who made the supper "sent his servant at the time of the banquet to say to those who were invited, Come for all things are now ready." [Luke 14:17] There is nothing lacking on God's part for the salvation of man. If man is not saved, the fault is not on God's side. The Father is ready to receive all who come to Him by Christ. The Son is ready to cleanse all from their sins who apply to Him by faith. The Spirit is ready to come to all who ask for Him. There is an infinite willing...

There is a resurrection after death. Let this never be forgotten. The life that we live here in the flesh is not all. The visible world around us is not the only world with which we have to do. All is not over when the last breath is drawn, and men and women are carried to their long home in the grave. The trumpet shall one day sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. All that are in the graves shall hear Christ's voice and come forth--those who have done good to the resurrection of li...

Humility may well be called the queen of the Christian graces. To know our own sinfulness and weakness, and to feel our need of Christ, is the very beginning of saving religion. It is a grace which has always been the distinguishing feature in the character of the holiest saints in every age. Abraham, and Moses, and Job, and David, and Daniel, and Paul, were all eminently humble men. Above all, it is a grace within the reach of every true Christian. All have not money to give away. All have not ...

Whatever others do, let us resolve to "keep the Sabbath holy." God has a controversy with the churches about Sabbath desecration. It is a sin of which the cry goes up to heaven, and will be reckoned for one day. Let us wash our hands of this sin, and have nothing to do with it. If others are determined to rob God, and take possession of the Lord's day for their own selfish ends, let us not be partakers in their sins. —J.C. Ryle, 'Expository Thoughts on Luke’ ...

If we want to know how our Lord carried Himself at a Pharisee's table, we have only to read attentively the first twenty-four verses of this chapter [Luke 14]. We shall find Him the same there that He was elsewhere, always about His Father's business. We shall see Him first defending the true observance of the Sabbath-day--then expounding the nature of true humility--then urging on His host the character of true hospitality--and finally delivering that most relevant and striking parable--the par...

Our Lord tells us that in the day of His second coming, ''Many will seek to enter in at the strait gate, and shall not be able." [Luke 13:24] They will "knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us," [v. 25] but will find no admission. They will even plead earnestly, that "they have eaten and drunk in Christ's presence, and that he has taught in their streets." [v. 26] But their plea will be unavailing. They will receive the solemn answer, "I don't know you. Go away, all you who do evil." [...

We are told that when our Lord Jesus Christ was asked whether few would be saved, He said, "Strive to enter in at the strait gate." [Luke 13:24] He addressed these words to the whole company of His hearers. He thought it not good to gratify the curiosity of his questioner by a direct reply. He chose rather to press home on him, and all around him, their own immediate duty. In minding their own souls, they would soon find the question answered. In striving to enter in at the strait gate they woul...

We see in these verses a striking example of diligence in the use of means of grace. We are told of a "woman which had a spirit of infirmity eighteen years, and was bowed together, and could not straiten up." [Luke 13:11] We know not who this woman was. Our Lord's saying that she was "a daughter of Abraham," [v.16] would lead us to infer that she was a true believer. But her name and history are hidden from us. This only we know, that when Jesus was "teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabb...

Our Lord says, "Whatever you shall ask in my name, that will I do . . . If you shall ask anything in my name, I will do it." [John 14:13–14] These words are a direct encouragement to the simple, yet great duty of praying. Everyone who kneels daily before God, and from his heart "says his prayers," has a right to take comfort in these words. Weak and imperfect as his supplications may be, so long as they are put in Christ's hands, and offered in Christ's name, they shall not be in vain. We have ...

It is written that our Lord said to the seventy disciples, "In this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice because your names are written in heaven." [Luke 10:20] It was doubtless an honor and a privilege to be allowed to cast out devils. The disciples were right to be thankful. But it was a far higher privilege to be converted and pardoned men, and to have their names written in the register of saved souls. The distinction here drawn between grace and gifts is ...

It is written, that the seventy returned from their first mission with joy, "saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through your name." There was much false fire in that joy. There was evidently self-satisfaction in that report of achievements. The whole tenor of the passage leads us to this conclusion. The remarkable expression which our Lord uses about Satan's fall from heaven, was most probably meant to be a caution. He read the hearts of the young and inexperienced soldiers before...

We see this brought out in the words with which He concludes His charge to the seventy disciples. He says to them, "He that hears you hears me, and he that despises you despises me, and he that despises me despises Him that sent me." The language here used by our Lord is very remarkable, and the more so when we remember that it was addressed to the seventy disciples, and not to the twelve apostles. The lesson it is intended to convey is clear and unmistakable. It teaches us that ministers are ...

The third point in our Lord's charge to the seventy disciples is, the thorough devotion to their work which He enjoined upon them. They were to abstain even from the appearance of covetousness, or love of money, or luxury--"Carry neither purse, nor bag, nor shoes." They were to behave like men who had no time to waste on the empty compliments and conventional courtesies of the world--"Salute no man by the way." [Luke 10:4] These remarkable words must, doubtless be interpreted with some qualific...

The second point in our Lord's charge to the seventy disciples, is the perilous nature of the work in which they were about to be engaged.He does not keep back from them the dangers and trials which are before them. He does not enlist them under false pretenses, or prophesy smooth things, or promise them unvarying success. He tells them plainly what they must expect. "Behold," He says, "I send you forth as lambs among wolves." [Luke 10:3] These words, no doubt, had a special reference to the li...

Prayer is one of the best and most powerful means of helping forward the cause of Christ in the world. It is a means within the reach of all who have the Spirit of adoption. Not all believers have money to give to missions. Very few have great intellectual gifts, or extensive influence among men. But all believers can pray for the success of the Gospel--and they ought to pray for it daily. Many and marvelous are the answers to prayer which are recorded for our learning in the Bible. "The effectu...

Let us beware, if we love life, of supposing that mere earnestness will take a man to heaven, though he knows nothing of Christ. The idea is a deadly and ruinous error. Sincerity will never wipe away our sins. It is not true that every man will be saved by his own religion, no matter what he believes, so long as he is diligent and sincere. We must not pretend to be wiser than God. Christ has said, and Christ will stand to it, "No man comes unto the Father but by Me." [John 14:6] —J.C. Ryle, 'Ex...

It avails nothing that a man is clever, learned, highly gifted, amiable, charitable, kind-hearted, and zealous about some sort of religion. All this will not save his soul if he does not draw near to God by Christ's atonement, and make use of God's own Son as his Mediator and Savior. God is so holy that all men are guilty and debtors in His sight. Sin is so sinful that no mortal man can make satisfaction for it. There must be a mediator, a ransom-payer, a redeemer, between ourselves and God, or ...

. . . the relationship of marriage ought to be highly reverenced and honored among Christians. It is a relationship which was instituted in Paradise, in the time of man's innocency, and is a chosen figure of the mystical union between Christ and His Church. It is a relationship which nothing but death ought to terminate. It is a relationship which is sure to have the greatest influence on those whom it brings together, for happiness, or for misery, for good, or for evil. Such a relationship ough...

. . . two questions are here resolved. The first is, whether images be necessary in the congregations of the people of God? Answer. There are Christian images and pictures, and they are very necessary. And these images are sermons of Christ and the right administration of the sacraments. For in them Christ is described and painted out unto us. As for the painted and carved images of the papists, we utterly detest them as idols. They allege that they are laymen's books, but Habakkuk says, "they a...

“O foolish Galatians, who bewitched you, before whose eyes Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified?” (Galatians 3:1 LSB) Here first, we are to observe the properties of the ministry of the word. The first, that it must be plain, perspicuous, and evident, as if the doctrine were pictured and painted out before the eyes of men. Therefore the Church of Rome deals wickedly in keeping the Scriptures in an unknown tongue. For this is to cover that from the people, which is to be painted befo...

We see Simon Peter declaring that he was ready to lay down his life for his Master. We see his Master telling him that in that very night he would "deny Him three times." [John 13:38] And we all know how the matter ended. The Master was right, and Peter was wrong. Let it be a settled principle in our religion, that there is an amount of weakness in all our hearts, of which we have no adequate conception, and that we never know how far we might fall if we were tempted. We fancy sometimes, like ...

Two strong expressions are used by our Lord on this point. He speaks of being "cast into everlasting fire." [Matt. 18:8] He speaks of being "cast into hell fire." [v. 9] The meaning of these words is clear and unmistakable. There is a place of unspeakable misery in the world to come, to which all who die impenitent and unbelieving, must ultimately be consigned. There is revealed in Scripture a "fiery indignation," which sooner or later will devour all God's adversaries. (Heb. 10:27.) The same s...

The world may despise and ridicule the Apostles because they care more for works of love and humility than the pursuits of the world. But the Master bids them remember their commission, and not be ashamed. They are God's ambassadors, and have no cause to be cast down. "Verily, verily," He declares, "He that receives whomsoever I send receives Me; and he that receives Me receives Him that sent Me." [John 13:20] The doctrine here laid down is full of encouragement. It ought to cheer and hearten a...

John 13: 15, "For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you." “I have, in my own person, given you a pattern of what your own conduct should be. The duty I want you to learn is of such vast importance that I have not left it to a general precept but have given you an example of my meaning.” Of course, the question at once rises, What did our Lord really mean? Did he mean that we all ought literally to do the very same thing that He did?  Or did he only mean that we are to i...

The last thing that demands our attention in these verses is the tendency of man’s inventions in religion to supplant God’s Word. Three times we find this charge brought forward by our Lord against the Pharisees. “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.” “Setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.” “Invalidating the word of God by your tradition.” [Mark 7:8, 9, 13] The first step of the Pharisees was to add their traditions to the Scripture...

We read that “among the chief rulers many believed on Christ; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue. For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.” [John 12:42–43] These unhappy men were evidently convinced that Jesus was the true Messiah. Reason, and intellect, and mind, and conscience, obliged them secretly to admit that no one could do the miracles which He did, unless God was with Him, and that the preacher of Naz...

The Lord Jesus says to us all, “Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you. While ye have light believe in the light.” [John 12:35–36] Let us not think that these things were only spoken for the sake of the Jews. They were written for us also, upon whom the ends of the world are come. The lesson of the words is generally applicable to the whole professing Church of Christ. Its time for doing good in the world is short and limited. The thr...

Those who try to do good must fear God more than man. Man can hurt the body, but there his enmity must stop. He can go no further. God is able to destroy both soul and body in hell [Matt. 10:28]. We may be threatened with the loss of character, property, and all that makes life enjoyable if we go on in the path of Christian duty. We must not heed such threats when our course is plain. Like Daniel and the three Hebrew young men, we must submit to anything rather than displease God and wound our c...

Those who try to do good to souls must not expect to fare better than their great Master. A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a slave above his master [Matt. 10:24]. The Lord Jesus was slandered and rejected by those whom He came to benefit. There was no error in His teaching. There was no defect in His method of imparting instruction. Yet many hated Him and called Him Beelzebul. Few believed Him and cared for what He said. Surely we have no right to be surprised if we, whose best efforts a...

. . . those who would do good have need to pray for wisdom, good sense, and a sound mind. Our Lord tells His disciples to be shrewd as serpents and innocent as doves [Matt. 10:16]. He tells those who, when they are persecuted in one place, may lawfully flee to the next. There are few of our Lord’s instructions which it is so difficult to use rightly as this. There is a line marked out for us between two extremes, but one that it requires great judgment to define. To avoid persecution by holdin...

Sooner shall   water mix with fire than any man shall succeed in reconciling the   inventions of the Pope with the Gospel. Whoever desires to become   honestly a disciple of Christ, must be careful to keep his mind pure   from those leavens; and if he has already imbibed them, he must labor   to purify himself till none of their polluting effects remain. —John Calvin ...

The beginning of all wickedness is within. If parents were half as diligent in praying for their children’s conversion as they are in keeping them from bad company, their children would turn out far better than they do. —J.C. Ryle, ‘Expository Thoughts on Mark’ ...

The very same person who is quick and clever in worldly things will often utterly fail to comprehend the simplest truths of Christianity. He will often be unable to grasp the plainest reasonings of the gospel. He will see no meaning in the clearest statements of evangelical doctrine. They will sound to him either foolish or mysterious. He will listen to them like one listening to a foreign language, catching a word here and there but not seeing the drift of the whole. The world through its wisdo...

The second thing that demands our attention is the uselessness of mere lip service in the worship of God. Our Lord enforces this lesson by a quotation from the Old Testament – “You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you: ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me’” (Matthew 15:7-8). The heart is the part of man which God chiefly notices in religion. The bowed head and the bended knee, the grave face and the rigid posture, the ritual response and the for...

Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended? [Matthew 15:12] As the scribes were presumptuous and rebellious, Christ did not take great pains to pacify them, but satisfied himself with repelling their hypocrisy and pride. The offense which they had formerly taken up was doubled, when they perceived that--not through oversight, but seemingly on purpose--Christ despised their washings as trifles. Now when Christ did not hesitate to inflame still more, by keen provocation, wicked and malicious pe...

Matthew 15:1–9; Mark 7:1–13 As the fault that is here corrected is not only common but highly dangerous, the passage is particularly worthy of our attention. We see the extraordinary insolence that is displayed by men as to the form and manner of worshipping God; for they are perpetually contriving new modes of worship, and when any one wishes to be thought wiser than others, he displays his ingenuity on this subject. I speak not of foreigners, but of the very domestics of the Church, on whom G...

what need many believers have of clear views of Christ’s person, office, and power. This is a point which is forcibly brought out in the well-known sentence which our Lord addressed to Martha. In reply to her vague and faltering expression of belief in the resurrection at the last day, He proclaims the glorious truth, “I am the resurrection and the life” – “I, even I, thy Master, am He that has the keys of life and death in His hands.” And then He presses on her once more that old lesson, which ...

. . . how much of natural temperament clings to a believer even after conversion. We read that when Thomas saw that Lazarus was dead, and that Jesus was determined in spite of all danger to return into Judea, he said, “Let us also go, that we may die with Him.” [John 11:16] There can only be one meaning in that expression – it was the language of a despairing and desponding mind, which could see nothing but dark clouds in the picture. The very man who afterwards could not believe that his Master...

Let me know that he is dear to me by his Word; I am one with him by the Word on his part, and by faith on mine; If I oppose the Word I oppose my Lord when he is most near; If I receive the Word I receive my Lord wherein he is nigh. O thou who hast the hearts of all men in thin hand, form my heart according to the Word, according to the image of thy Son, So shall Christ the Word, and his Word, be my strength and comfort. —"Christ the Word," 'The Valley of Vision' ...

“I will follow You, Lord; but first permit me to say good-bye to those at home.” [Luke 9:61] The answer he received shows plainly that the man’s heart was not yet thoroughly engaged in Christ’s service and that he was therefore unfit to be a disciple. But Jesus said to him, “No one, after putting his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” [v. 62] We learn from this saying that it is impossible to serve Christ with a divided heart. If we are looking back at anything i...

Alone or in company, in sickness or in health, by sea or by land, in perils in the city, and in perils in the wilderness – the same eye which saw the disciples tossed on the lake is ever looking at us. We are never beyond the reach of His care. Our way is never hidden from Him. He knows the path that we take and is still able to help. He may not come to our aid at the time we like best, but He will never allow us utterly to fail. He who walked upon the water never changes. He will always come at...

Nothing so helps us to bear patiently the trials of life as an abiding conviction of the perfect wisdom by which everything around us is managed. Let us try to believe not only that all that happens to us is well done, but that it is done in the best manner, by the right instrument, and at the right time. We are all naturally impatient in the day of trial. We are apt to say, like Moses, when beloved ones are sick, “Heal her now, Lord, we beseech thee” (Numbers 12:13). We forget that Christ is to...

Herein is wonder of wonders: he came below to raise me above, was born like me that I might become like him. Herein is love; when I cannot rise to him he draws near on wings of grace, to raise me to himself. Herein is power; when Deity and humanity were infinitely apart he united them in indissoluble unity, the uncreated and the created. —"The Gift of Gifts," 'The Valley of Vision' pg. 28 ...

The second of our Lord’s sayings is addressed to one whom Jesus invited to follow Him. The answer He received was a very remarkable one. “Lord,” said the man, “permit me first to go and bury my father.” [Luke 9:59] The thing he requested was in itself harmless. But the time at which the request was made was unseasonable. Affairs of far greater importance than even a father’s funeral demanded the man’s immediate attention. There would always be plenty of people ready and fit to take care of a fun...

The first of these sayings was addressed to one who offered to be a disciple unconditionally and of his own accord. “Lord,” said this man, “I will follow You wherever You go.” [Luke 9:57] That offer sounded good. It was a step in advance of many. Thousands of people heard our Lord’s sermons who never thought of saying what this man said. Yet he who made this offer was evidently speaking without thought. He had never considered what discipleship meant. He had never counted the cost. And hence he ...

May I cherish simplicity and godly sincerity of character. Help me to be in reality before thee as in appearance I am before men, to be religious before I profess religion, to leave the world before I enter the church, to set my affections on things above, to shun forbidden follies and vanities, to be a dispenser as well as a partaker of grace, to be prepared to bear evil as well as to do good. O God, make me worthy of this calling, that the name of Jesus may be glorified in me and I in him. ...

Christ declares that His people “shall never perish.” [John 10:28] Weak as they are they shall all be saved. Not one of them shall be lost and cast away – not one of them shall miss heaven. If they err, they shall be brought back; if they fall, they shall be raised. The enemies of their souls may be strong and mighty, but their Savior is mightier; and none shall pluck them out of their Savior’s hands. A promise like this deserves the closest attention. If words mean anything, it contains that ...

We must not allow ourselves to think the worse of religion because of the strifes and dissensions to which it gives rise. Whatever men may please to say, it is human nature and not religion, which is to blame. We do not blame the glorious sun because its rays draw forth noxious vapors from the marsh. We must not find fault with the glorious Gospel, if it stirs up men’s corruptions and causes the “thoughts of many hearts to be revealed” (Luke 2:35). —J.C. Ryle, ‘Expository Thoughts on John’ ...

We read that “there was a division among the Jews for His sayings” – and that “many of them said He hath a devil, and is mad,” while others took an opposite view [John 10:19–21]. It may seem strange, at first sight, that He who came to preach peace between God and man should be the cause of contention. But herein were His own words literally fulfilled – “I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). The fault was not in Christ or His doctrine, but in the carnal mind of His Jewish heare...

If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.” 24 And He was saying to them, “Beware what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you, and more will be given to you. —Mark 4:23–24 Hearing the truth is one principal avenue through which grace is conveyed to the soul of man. Faith comes from hearing (Romans 10:17). One of the first steps towards conversion is to receive from the Spirit a hearing ear. Seldom are men brought to repentance and faith in Christ without hearing. T...

Prayer is the main secret of success in spiritual business. It moves Him who can move heaven and earth. It brings down the promised aid of the Holy Spirit without whom the finest sermons, the clearest teaching, and the most diligent labors are all alike in vain. It is not always those who have the most eminent gifts who are most successful laborers for God. It is generally those who keep up closest communion with Christ and are most constant in prayer. It is those who cry with the prophet Ezekie...

Though   the honor of burial is of no importance to the dead, yet it is the will   of the Lord that we should observe this ceremony as a token of the last   resurrection; and therefore God was pleased with the carefulness which   was manifested by the disciples, when they came to commit to the tomb   the body of their master. —John Calvin, Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists ...

The ancient custom of observing a birthday every year as an occasion of joy cannot in itself be disapproved; for that day, as often as it returns, reminds   each of us to give thanks to God, who brought us into this world, and has permitted us, in his kindness, to spend many years in it; next, to bring to our recollection how improperly and uselessly the time which God granted to us has been permitted to pass away; and, lastly, that we ought to commit ourselves to the protection of the same God ...

Accordingly, Paul tells us, that every kind of food which God bestows upon us is sanctified by the word of God and prayer, (1 Timothy 4:5;) by which he means, that brutal men, who do not regard by faith the blessing of God, and do not offer to him thanksgiving, corrupt and pollute by the filth of their unbelief all that is by nature pure; and, on the other hand, that they are corrupted and defiled by the food which they swallow, because to unbelievers nothing is clean. —John Calvin ...

We read that the “Jews agreed that if any man did confess that Jesus was Christ, he should be put out of the synagogue.” They were determined not to believe. They were resolved that no evidence should change their minds and no proofs influence their will. They were like men who shut their eyes and tie a bandage over them, and refuse to have it untied. Just as in after times they stopped their ears when Stephen preached and refused to listen when Paul made his defense, so they behaved at this per...

. . . it is a most dangerous thing to be unfruitful under great religious privileges. The manner in which our Lord conveys this lesson to us is deeply impressive. He shows us the owner of the barren fig tree complaining that it bore no fruit. “For three years I have come looking for fruit on this fig tree without finding any.” [Luke 13:7] He describes him as even ordering the destruction of the tree as a useless hindrance to the ground. “Cut it down! Why does it even use up the ground?” He bri...

Whatever men may please to say, the way in which we use the Sabbath is a sure test of the state of our religion. By the Sabbath may be found out whether we love communion with God. By the Sabbath may be found out whether we are in tune for heaven. By the Sabbath, in short, the secrets of many hearts are revealed. There are only too many of whom we may say with sorrow, “These men are not of God, because they keep not the Sabbath day.” —J.C. Ryle, ‘Expository Thoughts on John’ ...

. . . what a solemn lesson Christ gives us about the use of opportunities. He says to the disciples who asked Him about the blind man, “I must work while it is called today: the night cometh, when no man can work.” [John 9:4] That saying was eminently true when applied to our Lord Himself. He knew well that his own earthly ministry would only last three years altogether, and knowing this He diligently redeemed the time. He let slip no opportunity of doing works of mercy and attending to His Fat...

A murder, a sudden death, a shipwreck, or a railway accident will completely occupy the minds of a neighborhood and be in the mouth of everyone you meet. And yet these very people dislike talking of their own deaths and their own prospects in the eternal world beyond the grave. Such is human nature in every age. In religion, men are ready to talk of anybody’s business rather than their own! The state of our own souls should always be our first concern. It is eminently true that real Christiani...

Those ministers that would be found faithful in the work of God, must not be afraid of the face of man. If we seek to please men, further than is for their spiritual good, we are not the servants of Christ. —Matthew Henry (Commentary on Mark) ...

We learn, lastly from these verses, that the greater a man’s religious light is, the greater is his guilt if he is not converted. “That slave who knew his master’s will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will, will receive many lashes. From everyone who has been given much, much will be required.” The lesson of these words is one of wide application. It demands the attention of many classes. It should come home to the conscience of every professing Christian. His judgment shall be...

The professing Christian who begins to persecute God’s people and to take pleasure in worldly society is on the high road to eternal ruin! —J.C. Ryle, ‘Expository Thoughts on Luke’ ...

We hear a great deal about people’s intentions, and hopes, and wishes, and feelings, and professions. It would be better if we could hear more about people’s practices. It is not the servant who is found wishing and professing, but the servant who is found doing whom Jesus calls blessed. —J.C. Ryle, ‘Expository Thoughts on John’ ...

[John 8:37–47] We are taught for one thing the ignorant self-righteousness of the natural man. We find the Jews pluming themselves on their natural descent from Abraham, as if that must of necessity cover all deficiencies – “Abraham is our father.” We find them going even further than this and claiming to be God’s special favorites and God’s own family – “We have one Father, even God.” They forgot that fleshly relationship to Abraham was useless, unless they shared Abraham’s grace. They forgot ...

How many on every side are total slaves, although they do not acknowledge it! They are led captive by their besetting corruptions and infirmities and seem to have no power to get free. Ambition, the love of money, the passion for drink, the craving for pleasure and excitement, gambling, gluttony, illicit relationships – all these are so many tyrants among men. Each and all have crowds of unhappy prisoners bound hand and foot in their chains. The wretched prisoners will not admit their bondage. T...

To make a beginning in religious life is comparatively easy. Not a few mixed motives assist us. The love of novelty, the praise of well-meaning but imprudent professors, the secret self-satisfaction of feeling “how good I am,” the universal excitement attending a new position – all these things combine to aid the young beginner. Aided by them he begins to run the race that leads to heaven, lays aside many bad habits, takes up many good ones, has many comfortable frames and feelings, and gets on ...

“You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?” [Luke 12:20] Foolishness, He bids us to learn, nothing less than foolishness is the right word by which to describe the conduct of the man who thinks of nothing but his money. The man who stores up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God is the man whom God declares to be a fool! It is a solemn thought that the character which Jesus brings before us in this parable is far from being...

It would be vain to dogmatically decide which is the most common sin in the world. It would be safe to say that there is none, at any rate, to which the heart is more prone than covetousness. It was this sin which helped to cast down the angels who fell. They were not content with their first estate. They coveted something better. It was this sin which helped to drive Adam and Eve out of Paradise and bring death and damnation into the world. Our first parents were not satisfied with the thin...

They are greatly mistaken who suppose that it is harsh and unkind to speak of hell and future punishment. How can such people get over such language as that which is before us? How can they account for many a like expression which our Lord used, and specially for such passages as those in which He speaks of the “worm that dieth not, and the fire that is not quenched” (Mark 9:46)? They cannot answer these questions. Misled by a false charity and a morbid amiability, they are condemning the plain ...

The true Christian, though in the world, is not of it; his citizenship is in heaven, and his best things are yet to come. The true Christian will do well never to forget this line of demarcation. If he loves his soul and desires to serve God, he must be content to find himself separated from many around him by a gulf that cannot be passed. He may not like to seem peculiar and unlike others; but it is the certain consequence of grace reigning within him. He may find it brings on him hatred, rid...

We learn, for one thing, that it is possible to seek Christ in vain. Our Lord says to the unbelieving Jews, “Ye shall seek Me, and shall die in your sins.” He meant, by these words, that the Jews would one day seek Him in vain. The lesson before us is a very painful one. That such a Savior as the Lord Jesus, so full of love, so willing to save, should ever be sought “in vain” is a sorrowful thought. Yet so it is! A man may have many religious feelings about Christ without any saving religion. ...

The duty of confessing Christ is incumbent on all Christians in every age of the church. Let us never forget that. It is not for martyrs only but for all believers in every rank of life. It is not for great occasions only but for our daily walk through an evil world. The rich man among the rich, the laborer among laborers, the young among the young, the servant among servants – each and all must be prepared, if they are true Christians, to confess their Master. It needs no blowing a trumpet. It ...

Luke 12:4, “But I say to you, My friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. 5 “But I will show you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him! The fear of man is one of the greatest obstacles which stand between the soul and heaven. “What will others say of me? What will they think of me? What will others do to me?” How often these little questions have turned the balance agai...

The first thing that demands our attention in these verses is Christ’s warning against hypocrisy. This is a warning of which the importance can never be overrated. It was delivered by our Lord more than once during His earthly ministry. It was intended to be a standing caution to His whole church in every age and in every part of the world. It was meant to remind us that the principles of the Pharisees are deeply ingrained in human nature, and that Christians should be always on their guard ag...

We are told that so many thousands of people had gathered together that they were stepping on one another. And what does our Lord do? In the hearing of this multitude He delivers warnings against false teachers, and denounces the sins of the times in which He lived unsparingly, unflinchingly, and without partiality. This was true charity. This was doing the work of a physician. This was the pattern which all His ministers were intended to follow. Well would it have been for the church and the wo...

We learn, lastly from our Lord’s words, how great is the wickedness of keeping back others from religious knowledge. He says, “Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge; you yourselves did not enter, and you hindered those who were entering.” The sin here denounced is awfully common. The guilt of it lies at far more doors than at first sight many are aware. It is the sin of the unconverted Protestant minister who warns his people against “extreme views” and sneers at the...

Let us often look forward to the judgment day. There are many things going on in the world which are trying to our faith. The frequent triumphing of the wicked is perplexing. The frequent depression of the godly is a problem which appears hard to solve. But it shall all be made clear one day. The great white throne judgment and the books of God shall put all things in their right places. The tangled maze of God’s providence shall be unraveled. All shall be proved to a wondering world to have b...

John 8:12, Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will never walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” False lights on every side invite man’s attention in the present day. Reason, philosophy, earnestness, liberalism, conscience, and the voice of the Church are all, in their various ways, crying loudly that they have got “the light” to show us. Their advocates know not what they say. Wretched are those who believe their high profess...

We learn, firstly from our Lord’s words, how great is the sin of professing to teach others what we do not practice ourselves. He says to the lawyers, “You weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.” [Luke 11:46] They required others to observe wearisome ceremonies in religion which they themselves neglected. They had the impudence to lay yokes upon the consciences of other men and yet to grant exemptions from these yo...

[Luke 11:45–54] The passage before us is an example of our Lord Jesus Christ’s faithful dealing with the souls of men. We see Him without fear or favor rebuking the sins of the Jewish expounders of God’s law. That false love which calls it “unkind” to say that anyone is in error finds no encouragement in the language used by our Lord. He calls things by their right names. He knew that acute diseases need severe remedies. He would have us know that the truest friend to our souls is not the man w...

Let us notice, lastly, the falseness and hollowness which characterize the “religious hypocrite.” We read that our Lord compared the Pharisees to concealed tombs, and the people who walk over them are unaware of it. [Luke 11:44] Even so, these boasting Jewish teachers were inwardly full of corruption and impurity to such an extent of which their deluded hearers had no conception! The picture here drawn is both painful and disgusting. Yet the accuracy and truthfulness of it have often been prov...

Let us notice, thirdly in this passage, the gross inconsistency which is often exhibited by hypocrites in religion. We read that our Lord says to the Pharisees, “Woe to you Pharisees! For you pay tithe of mint and rue and every kind of garden herb, and yet disregard justice and the love of God.” [Luke 11:42] They carried to an extreme their zeal to pay tithes for the service of the temple, and yet they neglected the plainest duties towards God and their neighbors. They were scrupulous to an extr...

These verses show us, for another thing, how eminent must have been our Lord’s gifts, as a public Teacher of religion. We are told that even the officers of the chief priests, who were sent to take Him, were struck and amazed. They were, of course, not likely to be prejudiced in His favor. Yet even they reported – “Never man spoke like this Man.” Of the manner of our Lord’s public speaking, we can of necessity form little idea. Action, and voice, and delivery are things that must be seen and h...

There is no safety except in “thorough” Christianity. To lay aside open sin is nothing unless grace reigns in our hearts. To cease to do evil is a small matter if we do not also learn to do good. The house must not only be swept and whitewashed, but also a new tenant must be introduced, or else the leprosy may yet appear again in the walls. The outward life must not only be decorated with the formal trappings of religion, but the power of vital religion must also be experienced in the inward man...

Let us observe, for another thing in these verses, how strongly our Lord teaches the impossibility of neutrality. He says, “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me, scatters.” The principle laid down in these words should be constantly remembered by all who make any profession of decided religion. We all naturally love an easy Christianity. We dislike collisions and separation. We like, if possible, to keep in with both sides. We fear extremes. We dread being ov...

Our Lord tells us that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. And He adds, By your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. There are few of our Lord’s sayings which are so heart-searching as this. There is nothing, perhaps, to which most men pay less attention than their words. They go through their daily work, speaking and talking without thought or reflection, and seem to imagine that if they do what i...

Happy are those who know something by experience of spiritual “thirst.” The beginning of all true Christianity is to discover that we are guilty, empty, needy sinners. Until we know that we are lost, we are not in the way to be saved. The very first step toward heaven is to be thoroughly convinced that we deserve hell. —J.C. Ryle, ‘Expository Thoughts on John’ ...

“He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.” There are many people in every age of the church who need to have this lesson pressed upon them. They endeavor to steer a middle course in religion. They are not so bad as many sinners, but still they are not saints. They feel the truth of Christ’s gospel when it is brought before them, but they are afraid to confess what they feel. Because they have these feelings, they flatter themselves that they are not so ...

When the Christian’s arguments cannot be answered and the Christian’s works cannot be denied, the last resource of the wicked is to try to blacken the Christian’s character. If this be our lot, let us bear it patiently. Having Christ and a good conscience, we may be content. False charges will not keep us out of heaven. Our character will be cleared at the last day. —J.C. Ryle, ‘Expository Thoughts on Matthew’ ...

The Jews at Jerusalem were ready to condemn our Lord as a sinner against the law of Moses, because He had done a miracle of healing on the Sabbath day. They forgot in their blind enmity that the fourth commandment was not meant to prevent works of necessity or works of mercy. A work on the Sabbath our Lord had done, no doubt, but not a work forbidden by the law. And hence they drew down on themselves the rebuke, “Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.” The practica...

We are told that our Lord said to His unbelieving brethren, “The world cannot hate you; but me it hateth, because I testify of it, that the works thereof are evil.” These words reveal one of those secret principles which influence men in their treatment of Christ. They help to explain that deadly enmity with which many during our Lord’s earthly ministry regarded Him and His Gospel. It was not so much the high doctrines which He preached as the high standard of practice which He proclaimed, whi...

Our Lord declares that it shall be more tolerable for Tyre, Sidon, and Sodom in the day of judgment than for those towns where people had heard His sermons and seen His miracles but had not repented. There is something very solemn in this saying. Let us look at it well. Let us think for a moment what dark, idolatrous, immoral, and profligate places Tyre and Sidon must have been. Let us call to mind the unspeakable wickedness of Sodom. Let us remember that the cities named by our Lord – Chorazi...

“To what then shall I compare the men of this generation, and what are they like? They are like children who sit in the market place and call to one another, and they say, ‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance; we sang a dirge, and you did not weep.’ For John the Baptist has come eating no bread and drinking no wine, and you say, ‘He has a demon!’ The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, ‘Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinne...

Let us pray daily for all ministers that they may be true successors of Peter and his brethren, and that they may preach the same full and free gospel which they preached, and live the same holy lives which they lived. These are the only ministers who will ever prove successful fishermen. To some of them God may give more honor and to others less. But all true and faithful preachers of the gospel have a right to believe that their labor shall not prove in vain. They may often preach the Word wit...

Out of Christ, God is a consuming fire! In Christ, He is a reconciled Father! Without Christ, the strictest moralist may well tremble as he ponders his final destiny. Through Christ, the chief of sinners may approach God with confidence and feel perfect peace. —J.C. Ryle, ‘Expository Thoughts on Luke’ ...

Where we are and as we are, in season or out of season, by one means or by another, by tongue or by pen, by speaking or by writing – let us strive to be ever working for God. But let us never stand still. —J.C. Ryle, ‘Expository Thoughts on Luke’ ...

We read that our Lord said, “Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil.” And it goes on, “He spoke of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon.” If ever there was a man who had great privileges and opportunities, that man was Judas Iscariot. A chosen disciple, a constant companion of Christ, a witness of His miracles, a hearer of His sermons, a commissioned preacher of His kingdom, a fellow and friend of Peter, James, and John – it would be impossible to imagine a more favorable position...

Our learning may be small, but do we believe? Our opportunities of giving and working for Christ’s cause may be few, but do we believe? We may neither be able to preach, nor write, nor argue for the gospel, but do we believe? May we never rest until we can answer this question! Faith in Christ appears a small and simple thing to the children of this world. They see in it nothing great or grand. But faith in Christ is most precious in God’s sight, and like most precious things, is rare. By it tru...

. . . what an old sin backsliding is. We read that when our Lord had explained what He meant by “eating and drinking his flesh and blood,” – “From that time, many went back and walked no more with him.” The true grace of God no doubt is an everlasting possession. From this men never fall away entirely, when they have once received it. “The foundation of God standeth sure” (2 Timothy 2:19). “My sheep shall never perish” (John 10:28). But like the stony ground hearers in the parable of the sower...

So long as the heart is naturally proud, worldly, unbelieving, and fond of self-indulgence, if not of sin, so long there will never be lacking people who will say of Christian doctrines and precepts, “These are hard sayings; who can hear them?” Humility is the frame of mind which we should labor and pray for, if we would not be offended by scriptural teaching. If we find any of Christ’s sayings hard to understand, we should humbly remember our present ignorance and believe that we shall know m...

Most true is it that what costs little is worth little! A religion which costs us nothing and consists of nothing but hearing sermons will always prove at last to be a useless thing. —J.C. Ryle, ‘Expository Thoughts on Matthew’ ...

What is the best safeguard against false teaching? Beyond all doubt, it is the regular study of the Word of God with prayer for the teaching of the Holy Spirit. The Bible was given to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Psalm 119:105). The man who reads it aright will never be allowed greatly to err. It is neglect of the Bible which makes so many a prey to the first false teacher whom they hear. They would have us believe that they are not learned and do not pretend to have decided op...

We have no reason to be discouraged and cast down if the religion we profess is not popular and few agree with us. We must remember the words of our Lord Jesus Christ in this passage: “The gate is small and the way is narrow.” Repentance and faith in Christ and holiness of life have never been fashionable. The true flock of Christ has always been small. It must not move us to find that we are reckoned singular, peculiar, bigoted, and narrow-minded. This is “the narrow way.” Surely it is better t...

Jesus lays down a general principle for our guidance in all doubtful questions between man and man. We are to do to others as we would have others do unto us. We are not to deal with others as others deal with us. This is mere selfishness and heathenism. We are to deal with others as we would like others to deal with us. This is real Christianity. This is a golden rule indeed! It does not merely forbid all petty malice and revenge, all cheating and taking advantage of others. It does much more...

“Do not judge so that you will not be judged. For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with what measure you measure, it will be measured to you. And why do you look at the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ and behold, the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck ou...

Let us never doubt for a moment, that the preaching of Christ crucified – the old story of His blood, and righteousness, and substitution – is enough for all the spiritual necessities of all mankind. It is not worn out. It is not obsolete. It has not lost its power. We need nothing new – nothing more broad and kind – nothing more intellectual – nothing more effectual. We need nothing but the true bread of life, distributed faithfully among starving souls. Let men sneer or ridicule as they will. ...

He forbids us to keep up an anxious spirit about the things of this world. Three times over He says, “Do not be worried” or “Do not worry.” About life, about food, about clothing, about tomorrow – “do not be worried.” Be not over-careful. Be not over-anxious. Prudent provision for the future is right. Wearing, corroding, and self-tormenting anxiety is wrong. —J.C. Ryle, ‘Expository Thoughts on John’ ...

Singleness of purpose is one great secret of spiritual prosperity. If our eyes do not see distinctly, we cannot walk without stumbling and falling. If we attempt to work for two different masters, we are sure to give satisfaction to neither. It is just the same with respect to our souls. We cannot serve Christ and the world at the same time. It is vain to attempt it. The thing cannot be done. The ark and Dagon will never stand together. God must be king over our hearts. His law, His will, and Hi...

[Jesus] tells us to “labor for the meat that endureth to everlasting life.” He would have us take pains to find food and satisfaction for our souls. That food is provided in rich abundance in Him. But he that would have it must diligently seek it. How are we to labor? There is but one answer. We must labor in the use of all appointed means. We must read our Bibles like men digging for hidden treasure. We must wrestle earnestly in prayer like men contending with a deadly enemy for life. We must...

The Christian life involves in many cases choices between things which are good in themselves and the choice in such instances is dictated by intelligent evaluation of the circumstances, of the gifts God has given us, and of the calling to which he has called us. —John Murray, 'Principles of Conduct' ...

There is always the tendency to invest with the sanction of law certain courses of action which considerations of expediency may dictate. Consequently, courses of action against which there is no law are liable to be branded as wrong because they contravene the prescriptions of expediency. This is a tendency which must be resisted. Expediency knows no law, and when expediency is erected into law the sphere of liberty is invaded and confusion of conscience results. —John Murray, 'Principles of C...

Marriage is not a sacrament, as the Church of Rome asserts. It is simply a state of life ordained by God for man’s benefit. But it is a state which ought never to be spoken of with levity or regarded with disrespect. Society is never in a healthy condition, and true religion never flourishes in that land where the marriage tie is lightly esteemed. They who lightly esteem it have not the mind of Christ. —J.C. Ryle ...

. . . diligently we ought to persevere in well doing, notwithstanding discouragements. We are doubtless meant to draw this lesson from the conduct of our Lord after His rejection at Nazareth. Not moved by the harsh treatment He received, He patiently works on. Thrust out of one place, He passes on to another. Cast forth from Nazareth, He comes to Capernaum and there teaches on the Sabbath. Such ought to be the conduct of all the people of Christ. Whatever the work they are called to do, they s...

We must distinctly understand that neither here nor elsewhere does the Lord Jesus overthrow the obligation of the fourth commandment. Neither here nor elsewhere is there a word to justify the vague assertions of some modern teachers that “Christians ought not to keep a Sabbath” and that it is “a Jewish institution which has passed away.” The utmost that our Lord does is to place the claims of the Sabbath on the right foundation. He clears the day of rest from the false and superstitious teaching...

“Judge not” (Matthew 7:1) These words of Christ do not contain an absolute prohibition from judging, but are intended to cure a disease, which appears to be natural to us all. We see how all flatter themselves, and every man passes a severe censure on others. This vice is attended by some strange enjoyment: for there is hardly any person who is not tickled with the desire of inquiring into other people's faults. All acknowledge, indeed, that it is an intolerable evil, that those who   overlook ...

Well may we be told to pray for the coming of God’s kingdom! Well may we be told to long for the second advent of Jesus Christ! Then, and not until then, shall there be no more curse on the earth, no more suffering, no more sorrow, and no more sin. Tears shall be wiped from the faces of all who love Christ’s appearing, when their Master returns. Weakness and infirmity shall all pass away. Hope deferred shall no longer make hearts sick. There will be no chronic invalids and incurable cases, when ...

Affliction is one of God’s medicines. By it He often teaches lessons which would be learned in no other way. By it He often draws souls away from sin and the world, which would otherwise have perished everlastingly. Health is a great blessing, but sanctified disease is a greater. Prosperity and worldly comfort are what all naturally desire, but losses and crosses are far better for us, if they lead us to Christ. Thousands at the last day, will testify with David and the nobleman before us, “It i...

We learn, secondly, in this passage that sickness and death come to the young as well as to the old. We read of a son sick unto death and a father in trouble about him. We see the natural order of things inverted. The elder is obliged to minister to the younger, and not the younger to the elder. The child draws near to the grave before the parent, and not the parent before the child. The lesson is one which we are all slow to learn. We are apt to shut our eyes to plain facts and to speak and a...

We see, for another thing in this passage [Mark 1:35–39], a remarkable saying of our Lord as to the purpose for which He came into the world. We find Him saying, “Let us go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may preach there also; for that is what I came for.” The meaning of these words is plain and unmistakable. Our Lord declares that He came on earth to be a preacher and a teacher. He came to fulfill the prophetical office, to be the prophet greater than Moses who had been so long ...

If ethics is concerned with manner of life and behaviour, biblical ethics is concerned with the manner of life and behaviour which the Bible requires and which the faith of the Bible produces. —John Murray, 'Principles of Conduct' ...

Principles of Conduct, first published in 1957, is in fact Murray's masterpiece. It is best read as an exploring and fleshing out, and thereby a testing and verifying, of three hermeneutical hypotheses: (1) that single, perfectly coherent divine-command ethic (the law of God) is taught from Genesis to Revelation, and thus remains in force from history's beginning to its anticipated end; (2) that the grace of God is intended not to lead away from, or beyond, a life of law-keeping, but precisely t...

Do we do any work for God? Do we try, however feebly, to set forward His cause on earth – to check that which is evil, to promote that which is good? If we do, let us never be ashamed of doing it with all our heart, and soul, and mind, and strength. Whatever our hand finds to do for the souls of others, let us do it with our might (Ecclesiastes 9:10). The world may mock and sneer, and call us enthusiasts. The world can admire zeal in any service but that of God and can praise enthusiasm on any s...

Just then there was a man in their synagogue with an unclean spirit; and he cried out, saying, “What business do we have with each other, Jesus of Nazareth? Have You come to destroy us? I know who You are⁠—the Holy One of God!” —Mark 1:23–24 We learn, in the first place from these verses, the uselessness of a mere intellectual knowledge of religion. Twice we are specially told that the unclean spirits know our Lord. In one place it says they knew who He was. In another, the devil cries out, “I ...

J.C. Ryle, 'Expository Thoughts on Luke'—Luke 4:23-32 We learn, for one thing, how apt men are to despise the highest privileges when they are familiar with them. We see it in the conduct of the men of Nazareth when they had heard the Lord Jesus preach. They could find no fault in His sermon. They could point to no inconsistency in His past life. But because the preacher had dwelt among them thirty years, and His face, and voice, and appearance were familiar to them, they would not receive His ...

The Samaritan woman seems to have been comparatively unmoved until our Lord exposed her breach of the seventh commandment. Those heart-searching words, “Go, call your husband,” appear to have pierced her conscience like an arrow. From that moment, however ignorant, she speaks like an earnest, sincere inquirer after truth. And the reason is evident. She felt that her spiritual disease was discovered. For the first time in her life, she saw herself. To bring thoughtless people to this state of m...

These verses show us, firstly, what gross spiritual ignorance there may be in the mind of a great and learned man. We see a “master of Israel” unacquainted with the first elements of saving religion. Nicodemus is told about the new birth and at once exclaims, “How can these things be?” When such was the darkness of a Jewish teacher, what must have been the state of the Jewish people? It was indeed due time for Christ to appear! The pastors of Israel had ceased to feed the people with knowledge. ...

Few things show the corruption of human nature more clearly than man’s inability to understand zeal in religion. Zeal about money, or science, or war, or commerce, or business is intelligible to the world. But zeal about religion is too often reckoned foolishness, fanaticism, and the sign of a weak mind. If a man injures his health by study or excessive attention to business, no fault is found; it is said, “He is a diligent man.” But if he wears himself out with preaching or spends his whole tim...

And he called them unto him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. —Mark 3:23–26 John Calvin: In refuting the calumny alleged against him, he first quotes a common proverb. This refutation may appear to be not quite satisfactory. We know what subtle...

An unconverted minister is utterly unfit for his office. How can he speak experientially of that grace which he has never tasted himself? How can he commend that Savior to his people whom he himself only knows by name? How can he urge on souls the need of that conversion and new birth which he himself has not experienced? Miserably mistaken are those parents who persuade their sons to become clergymen in order to obtain a good living or follow a respectable profession! What is it but persuading ...

We see, for one thing, in this passage, how much Christ disapproves all irreverent behavior in the house of God. We are told that He drove out of the temple those whom He found selling oxen and sheep and doves within its walls – that He poured out the changers’ money and overthrew their tables – and that He said to those who sold doves, “Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house an house of merchandise.” On no occasion in our Lord’s earthly ministry do we find Him acting so energetica...

. . . a faithful minister will always exalt Christ. We read that when John saw the state of mind which his hearers were in, he told them of a coming One far mightier than himself. He refused the honor which he saw the people ready to give him and referred them to Him who had the winnowing fork . . . in His hand – the Lamb of God, the Messiah. Conduct like this will always be the characteristic of a true man of God. He will never allow anything to be credited to him or his office which belongs t...