An Address to America
By Ryan Ringnald
He's Worth It!
Have You Counted the Cost? Are You Prepared to Die and Meet Your Maker? Have You Surrendered All to Jesus Christ the Lord, Who Died to Set Men Free?
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*Disclaimer: Reader, for your own enhancement, to understand my address below,
please see all the videos and pictures in order of this post, and read the Scriptures, hymns, and quotes.
In all sincerity and love to you, friend, if this message is of God, and you reject it, you may forever burn in hell.
please see all the videos and pictures in order of this post, and read the Scriptures, hymns, and quotes.
In all sincerity and love to you, friend, if this message is of God, and you reject it, you may forever burn in hell.
Have you, dear reader, friend, American, professing Christian, whoever you are, been saved from your sins, saved from yourself, saved from hell? What has following the Lamb cost you since you began? "All it cost her was everything." How about you - have you counted the cost? Will it be any less for you than for her? Are you ready to die and stand before the Lord? Have you bowed your knee to King Jesus Christ, the reigning God-Man, never to take it back again, even unto death? If not...are you really saved?
Am I a soldier of the cross,
A follower of the Lamb? And shall I fear to own His cause Or blush to speak His name? Must I be carried to the skies On flowery beds of ease? While others fought to win the prize, And sailed through bloody seas? |
Are there no foes for me to face?
Must I not stem the flood? Is this vile world a friend to grace, To help me on to God? Sure I must fight, if I would reign; Increase my courage, Lord! I'll bear the toil, endure the pain, Supported by Thy Word. |
Thy saints, in all this glorious war,
Shall conquer, though they die; They view the triumph from afar, And seize it with their eye. When that illustrious day shall rise, And all Thy armies shine In robes of victory through the skies, The glory shall be Thine. - Isaac Watts |
The Lord Jesus Christ said (and He meant it):
"... If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."
(Matthew 16:24-28)
"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."
(Luke 14:26-33)
"... If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it. For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man according to his works. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom."
(Matthew 16:24-28)
"If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish. Or what king, going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions of peace. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."
(Luke 14:26-33)
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour."
(John 12:24-26)
My Earnest Plea, Before you Enter Eternity and Stand Before the King:
Friends, Americans, and whosoever is reading this post, please consider these passages, the hymn, the video above, this whole address, and consider the fact that, if you have not fully surrendered to Jesus Christ and His absolute Lordship in your life, the way that this Jewish woman did* - with all of her heart- you are not saved, but are yet in your sins, bound for hell and eternal judgment, regardless of the flattering words of men! I say that with the utmost sobriety. Would to God, friend, that you might, for a moment of time, acknowledge the reality that eternity is hasting upon you, and death is at your door! O the folly of such indifference and procrastination, as most men continue in, when their never-dying soul is on the line, and at any moment in time is apt (liable) to stand condemned before the Judge of all the earth! When the trumpet of the Lord shall sound, and time shall be no more, and the morning breaks, eternal, bright and fair...for the saints, that is; eternal dark and drear, for the wicked. Please answer God. Have you counted the cost? Are you ready to die and stand before the Judgment seat of Christ? Have you surrendered to the Lamb, or is your life, eternally speaking, a sham? Have you been delivered from your sin, or are you living in hypocrisy therein? In a time of revival of true religion, many years ago, when near 300 souls were saved under Jonathan Edwards' pastorate in Northampton, Massachusetts, during a period of 6 months, between 1734 and 1735, the cry of that American town was as follows. O! may it be the cry of this
nation again, and I say that with overwhelming love in my heart for the good of this country.
nation again, and I say that with overwhelming love in my heart for the good of this country.
“It then was a dreadful thing amongst us to lie out of Christ, in danger every day of dropping into hell; and what persons' minds were intent upon, was to escape for their lives, and to fly from wrath to come.”
*Not that everyone must be forsaken of their family the way that this Jewish woman was, to be saved, but they must be willing not only to lose their families, but even their own lives for Christ, if that is the cost, or they have never been nor can be saved, according to the plain teaching of Scripture. Do you believe the Bible? I do. For more information, see the sermon "Hate Your Family?" by Sean Morris.
Reader, if you are not walking in the light of the Gospel of Christ, which says, first to last - "Jesus is Lord, whether you like it or not" - and that, by virtue of His Death, Burial, Resurrection, and Ascension to the Throne of the universe, the Lord will come in a day when you look not for Him, and at a time when you are not prepared, to judge the secrets of your heart and execute the judgment written - "in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power" (2 Thessalonians 1:8-9; see also Philippians 2:5-11*) - and there is no respect of persons with Him: professing Christian, Calvinist, Charismatic, Armenian, alleged theologian! You truly, if that is the case, are "in danger every day of dropping into hell". "For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape" (1 Thessalonians 5:2-3). Again, reader, I say these things with the utmost sobriety. If you die in your sin, whether you are religious and generally moral or not, your torment will never end - unless you repent, wake up and lament your darkened estate, and bow to the reigning scepter of Christ with your life...thus putting off your defiled garment of iniquitous stench, breaking off your sins by righteousness, and putting on the righteousness of Christ, by being washed in the blood of the Lamb (Isaiah 64:6). "...The Lamb... [who was slain] from the foundation of the world" to save our fallen human race from the awful gulf of this world's disgrace, S-I-N! Who died to set you free, that you might walk in liberty, and not in the bondage of iniquity! O! America the free, supposed land of liberty, is there liberty in sin!? I don't think so. When will you die to your American dream, and pick up your cross to follow the King, that is and was and is to come, leaving off all your carnal schemes of foolish things that drown your souls in wrath! Until, like the hymnist, you can say, from your heart, every day: "Lord, I would place my hand in Thine, Nor ever murmur nor repine; Content, whatever lot I see, Since ’tis my God that leadeth me!" Like Paul, "Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me" (Philippians 4:11-13). Please consider the following story of a woman that wasn't prepared to die, she was "playing church", and her sin found her out:
"At one time during a prayer-meeting in about the year 1890, my attention was directed towards an unsaved lady who was present, who appeared to be trifling ["playing games"]. The pastor in charge of the meeting made the remark that as a watchman upon the walls of Zion, he felt that there was danger for someone there; he could not understand why he was impressed with this thought, and repeated that he felt drawn out to say that there was danger and someone there ought to get saved, then and there.
This irreligious lady appeared unconcerned and oblivious to his remarks, and laughed when the minister shook hands with her at the close of the meeting. Just as she was preparing to leave the church she was taken very ill, so ill that she could not go home, neither could she be taken home by friends. Everything that could be done for her relief was done, but in less than one short hour she passed into eternity. Before she died, she tore her hair, cast aside the trashy gew-gaws [showy jewelry] that adorned her person and of which heretofore she had been very fond, and throwing up her hands she cried aloud for mercy, exclaiming "Oh, Lord, have mercy on me! Oh, Lord, help me!" In this distress of body and soul she passed into the great eternity without leaving any hope to those that stood round her dying bed. This sad experience shows the danger of putting off the day and hour of salvation. 'For in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.'" (Dying Testimonies of the Saved and Unsaved - S.B. Shaw)
"At one time during a prayer-meeting in about the year 1890, my attention was directed towards an unsaved lady who was present, who appeared to be trifling ["playing games"]. The pastor in charge of the meeting made the remark that as a watchman upon the walls of Zion, he felt that there was danger for someone there; he could not understand why he was impressed with this thought, and repeated that he felt drawn out to say that there was danger and someone there ought to get saved, then and there.
This irreligious lady appeared unconcerned and oblivious to his remarks, and laughed when the minister shook hands with her at the close of the meeting. Just as she was preparing to leave the church she was taken very ill, so ill that she could not go home, neither could she be taken home by friends. Everything that could be done for her relief was done, but in less than one short hour she passed into eternity. Before she died, she tore her hair, cast aside the trashy gew-gaws [showy jewelry] that adorned her person and of which heretofore she had been very fond, and throwing up her hands she cried aloud for mercy, exclaiming "Oh, Lord, have mercy on me! Oh, Lord, help me!" In this distress of body and soul she passed into the great eternity without leaving any hope to those that stood round her dying bed. This sad experience shows the danger of putting off the day and hour of salvation. 'For in such an hour as ye think not, the Son of Man cometh.'" (Dying Testimonies of the Saved and Unsaved - S.B. Shaw)
"Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."
(James 4:7)
"If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences."
(Ecclesiastes 10:4)
"For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."
(John 3:20-21)
(James 4:7)
"If the spirit of the ruler rise up against thee, leave not thy place; for yielding pacifieth great offences."
(Ecclesiastes 10:4)
"For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."
(John 3:20-21)
Friend, American, fellow human beings - listen to me - if He can save such a wretch as I, He can surely save you too, no doubt, but not at the expense of your utter committal and unquestionable loyalty to the Holy King, Jesus Christ...His people, and His cause, even unto death, no matter how grievously His followers are being spoken against. "For this purpose [cause] the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil"; "For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (John 3:8; 1 Corinthians 15:25-26). There is no such a thing as following this Jesus of the Bible any other way than all the way, and there is not another God or way to the Father, but by the Son, Jesus Christ. There can be no grey area with Him, but black or white: are you with Him, or against Him? That's the question. For, "...God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God" (2 Corinthians 5:19-20)! Consider the following story, and whether you have such courage:
There is an old story. Allegedly, during the time when the Romans ruled the earth, there was a general, who arrived back in Rome with many victories. The Emperor declared a special day to honor the mighty general and thus they found themselves in the coliseum. Shortly thereafter, certain victims were brought into the coliseum, and the general turned to the Emperor, asking, 'Who are these people?' The Emperor said, 'Some of these Christians.' The general responded, 'What do you intend to do with them?' 'Well, we are going to feed them to the lions.' Then, the Roman general stood up, saying, 'Sir, if today is the day you are feeding Christians to the lions, feed me too, I too am a Christian!' O! for such courage for Christ!
There is an old story. Allegedly, during the time when the Romans ruled the earth, there was a general, who arrived back in Rome with many victories. The Emperor declared a special day to honor the mighty general and thus they found themselves in the coliseum. Shortly thereafter, certain victims were brought into the coliseum, and the general turned to the Emperor, asking, 'Who are these people?' The Emperor said, 'Some of these Christians.' The general responded, 'What do you intend to do with them?' 'Well, we are going to feed them to the lions.' Then, the Roman general stood up, saying, 'Sir, if today is the day you are feeding Christians to the lions, feed me too, I too am a Christian!' O! for such courage for Christ!
"He that is not with me is against me; and he that gathereth not with me scattereth abroad."
(Matthew 12:30)
"Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him." (Exodus 32:26)
"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?"
(Joshua 5:13)
"Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
(Joshua 24:14-15)
"When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you...From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?"
(John 6:61, 66-67)
(Matthew 12:30)
"Then Moses stood in the gate of the camp, and said, Who is on the LORD'S side? let him come unto me. And all the sons of Levi gathered themselves together unto him." (Exodus 32:26)
"And it came to pass, when Joshua was by Jericho, that he lifted up his eyes and looked, and, behold, there stood a man over against him with his sword drawn in his hand: and Joshua went unto him, and said unto him, Art thou for us, or for our adversaries?"
(Joshua 5:13)
"Now therefore fear the LORD, and serve him in sincerity and in truth: and put away the gods which your fathers served on the other side of the flood, and in Egypt; and serve ye the LORD. And if it seem evil unto you to serve the LORD, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."
(Joshua 24:14-15)
"When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you...From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him. Then said Jesus unto the twelve, Will ye also go away?"
(John 6:61, 66-67)
The Lord Jesus Christ will not share His glory with another - that includes you - and He will not save you, while you insist upon holding back anything from Him. This is an evidence that you are not sorry for your sin, nor receiving His universal call to forgiveness, evinced on Calvary's tree, when He said, regarding all those who would ever have ears to hear Him, "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do..." (Luke 23:34). If you were sorry, with a godly sorrow that worketh repentance unto salvation not to be repented of, you would quit, as it were, crucifying Him through the willful rebellion of living for self and sin, and receive His forgiveness by universal repentance toward God, and faith in the name of God's Son, Jesus Christ. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). No sir, you wouldn't be doing those things anymore that put Him on that cursed tree in the first place; you would cease from sin, that you should no longer live the rest of your time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God (1 Peter 4:1-2), evermore walking in all the light of what you know to be God's will, with all that in you is. Your heart-felt rule of thumb would be as Jonathan Edwards plea, "I make it my rule, to lay hold of light and embrace it, wherever I see it, though held forth by a child or an enemy" - lest the following scripturally sound statements of a man of God overtake you: "God isn't filling hell with innocent victims, hell’s being filled with rebellious refusers to walk in the light they got." "The surest way for you to be dead certain you'll go on to hell is to keep on sinning against what you know is so." For a more thorough understanding of the fearful responsibility given to a man to walk in the light that he has, listen to "When the Lights Go Out on the Road to Hell", by Rolfe Barnard.
"O my reader, make no mistake upon this point: a conversion which the Holy Spirit produces is a very radical thing. It is a miracle of grace. It is the enthroning of Christ in the life. And such conversions are rare indeed. Multitudes of people have just sufficient "religion" to make them miserable. They refuse to forsake every known sin--and there is no true peace for any soul until he does. They have never "received Christ Jesus the Lord" (Col. 2:6). Had they done so, "the joy of the Lord" would be their strength (Neh. 8:10). But the language of their hearts and lives (not their "lips") is, "We will not have this Man to reign over us" (Luke 19:14). Is that your case?" - A.W. Pink
"O my reader, make no mistake upon this point: a conversion which the Holy Spirit produces is a very radical thing. It is a miracle of grace. It is the enthroning of Christ in the life. And such conversions are rare indeed. Multitudes of people have just sufficient "religion" to make them miserable. They refuse to forsake every known sin--and there is no true peace for any soul until he does. They have never "received Christ Jesus the Lord" (Col. 2:6). Had they done so, "the joy of the Lord" would be their strength (Neh. 8:10). But the language of their hearts and lives (not their "lips") is, "We will not have this Man to reign over us" (Luke 19:14). Is that your case?" - A.W. Pink
"O house of Jacob, come ye, and let us walk in the light of the LORD."
(Isaiah 2:5)
"And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath."
(Mark 4:24-25)
"Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them."
(John 12:35-36)
"Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing."
(Philippians 3:15-16)
"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."
(James 4:17)
(Isaiah 2:5)
"And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear: with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you: and unto you that hear shall more be given. For he that hath, to him shall be given: and he that hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he hath."
(Mark 4:24-25)
"Then Jesus said unto them, Yet a little while is the light with you. Walk while ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you: for he that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light. These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide himself from them."
(John 12:35-36)
"Let us therefore, as many as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you. Nevertheless, whereto we have already attained, let us walk by the same rule, let us mind the same thing."
(Philippians 3:15-16)
"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin."
(James 4:17)
Jesus Christ will have no rivals and He allows no compromise. As plain as I can say it, if you will not put down every area of rebellion in your life, dear friend, and all forms of self-will, and sin against Him, God will not put down His warrant for your everlasting arrest. You will have forfeited all the rights you could have had to His propitiation (substitutionary blood atonement), which was sufficient to pardon the sins of the whole world, to those that receive Him...a ransom for all, to be testified in due time (1 Timothy 2:6; 1 John 2:2), and your blood will be upon your own head, in the long echoes of eternity, world without end. "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12-13). Yet, to as many as "received Him not", hell will be their long awaited lot...you cannot and will not be able to say, on that Great Day when you are damned, friend, that God didn't do all that He can to save your soul, in bruising His only begotten Son on a cursed tree, that you might not henceforth live unto yourself, but unto God that made you. "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again" (2 Corinthians 5:14-15). Truly, he will send you to hell, poor sinner, and there is no escaping from the fearful "hands of the living God". You will know, in that time, if you are never saved, the sweetness of this Gospel call from an agonizing distance, while you never cease to fall into the bottomless pit of the blackness of darkness forever. "And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal" (Matthew 25:46). "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God" (Psalm 9:17). "Behold, the righteous shall be recompensed in the earth: much more the wicked and the sinner." (Proverbs 11:31) Matthew Henry, the great commentator of yesteryear, and a faithful contender for the Lamb, said, regarding the Day of Judgment...and I quote:
"There is, undoubtedly there is, a judgment to come; the fallen angels are reserved to the judgment of the great day; and shall fallen men escape it? Surely not. Let every reader consider this in due time. Their chains are called everlasting, because it is impossible they should ever break loose from them, or make an escape; they are held fast and sure under them. The decree, the justice, the wrath of God, are the very chains under which fallen angels are held so fast. Hear and fear, o sinful mortals of mankind!" May the Lord have mercy!
Pertinent Scriptures and a Quote to Consider:
"Evil pursueth sinners: but to the righteous good shall be repayed."
(Proverbs 13:21)
"And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him."
(Luke 12:4-5)
"And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence."
(Luke 16:23-26)
"Richard Baxter went up and down England years ago saying, 'Sinner, turn or burn.' The gifted and sainted and lamented Spurgeon had a sermon, 'Turn or Burn.' And that is just what it is. Our text here [Psalm 7:11-12], from which I think John the Baptist drank deeply, simply puts it on the line – if you don't turn, God will whet His sword! He has got it ready. He has prepared the instruments of death, and you have made a pit and you have dug it; then you have fallen into the ditch you made. It is turn or burn. God has a sword, and God will punish sin. The old-time preachers believed this. They went up and down the land and copied or republished God's demands, saying, "Turn, sinner, turn!" There is no time to argue. There is not time to delay. There is no time for a conference. Turn! Throw down your arms. It is turn or burn!"
- Rolfe Barnard
(Proverbs 13:21)
"And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will forewarn you whom ye shall fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into hell; yea, I say unto you, Fear him."
(Luke 12:4-5)
"And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame. But Abraham said, Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things: but now he is comforted, and thou art tormented. And beside all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed: so that they which would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us, that would come from thence."
(Luke 16:23-26)
"Richard Baxter went up and down England years ago saying, 'Sinner, turn or burn.' The gifted and sainted and lamented Spurgeon had a sermon, 'Turn or Burn.' And that is just what it is. Our text here [Psalm 7:11-12], from which I think John the Baptist drank deeply, simply puts it on the line – if you don't turn, God will whet His sword! He has got it ready. He has prepared the instruments of death, and you have made a pit and you have dug it; then you have fallen into the ditch you made. It is turn or burn. God has a sword, and God will punish sin. The old-time preachers believed this. They went up and down the land and copied or republished God's demands, saying, "Turn, sinner, turn!" There is no time to argue. There is not time to delay. There is no time for a conference. Turn! Throw down your arms. It is turn or burn!"
- Rolfe Barnard
The Italians surrender to the British in WWII, thus they laid down their weapons of rebellion against them. Sinner, have you stacked arms before a holy God? Have you surrendered to the Lord Jesus Christ? Make no mistake about it, God still demands men to repent, and to believe, and to surrender to the Lordship of Jesus Christ in every area of their life.
"The idea that God will pardon a rebel who has not given up his rebellion is contrary both to the Scriptures and to common sense."
(A.W. Tozer - The Root of the Righteous, pg. 43.)
"God Almighty has sent forth the proclamation and said, 'Rebel, lay down your arms; do it right now, and I promise pardon.' But you say, 'Well, I will do it when I get ready.' Men walk the streets and breathe God's air; eat God's food and drink God's water, and enjoy God's blessings and continue with the shotgun of their wills pointed at the very heart of God. God Almighty demands immediate repentance – not tomorrow, not the next day, but NOW! God doesn't say, 'It is all right; you just keep on. You just keep on being on the enemy's side. You just keep on'..."
- Rolfe Barnard
(A.W. Tozer - The Root of the Righteous, pg. 43.)
"God Almighty has sent forth the proclamation and said, 'Rebel, lay down your arms; do it right now, and I promise pardon.' But you say, 'Well, I will do it when I get ready.' Men walk the streets and breathe God's air; eat God's food and drink God's water, and enjoy God's blessings and continue with the shotgun of their wills pointed at the very heart of God. God Almighty demands immediate repentance – not tomorrow, not the next day, but NOW! God doesn't say, 'It is all right; you just keep on. You just keep on being on the enemy's side. You just keep on'..."
- Rolfe Barnard
Necessary Scripture and Quotes Before We Go On, Regarding the Lordship of Christ (Lordship Salvation): America and Especially American Professing Christianity, If He Isn't Your King (Lord), He Isn't Your Saviour - Be Sure of That! As A.W. Pink said, "We do not ask, Is Christ your "Saviour," but is He, really and truly, your Lord? If He be not your Lord, then most certainly He is not your "Saviour." Those who have not received Christ Jesus as their "Lord," and yet suppose Him to be their "Saviour," are deluded, and their hope rests on a foundation of sand..."
"And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you. Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing. And Thomas answered and said unto him, My Lord and my God. Jesus saith unto him, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
(John 20:26-29)
"Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."
(Acts 2:36)
"For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living."
(Romans 14:7-9)
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
(Philippians 2:5-11)
"But what saith it [the righteousness which is of faith]? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
(Romans 10:8-10)
"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"
(Luke 6:46)
(John 20:26-29)
"Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ."
(Acts 2:36)
"For none of us liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself. For whether we live, we live unto the Lord; and whether we die, we die unto the Lord: whether we live therefore, or die, we are the Lord's. For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living."
(Romans 14:7-9)
"Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
(Philippians 2:5-11)
"But what saith it [the righteousness which is of faith]? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach; That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation."
(Romans 10:8-10)
"And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?"
(Luke 6:46)
George Goodman (in giving an example of the foolishness of
professing to trust in His salvation, while not being willing to submit
to His rule, as so many do today): “A king has
part of his kingdom in rebellion, and in order to show his grace, causes
mercy to be proclaimed to the rebels on their yielding to him and
seeking reconciliation on the ground of the proclamation. He threatens
destruction to those who continue to defy his authority. One of the
rebels is warned of his danger, but he replies, 'I am in no danger; I am
resting on the proclamation; I am sure the king is faithful. He will
never break his promise or withdraw his proclaimed mercy.' 'But
you are still in rebellion. You are continuing in the course he
condemns, and are indifferent to His commands, and the mercy is offered
to those who yield.' 'True, but the mercy is free; there are no
conditions, and to make conditions would be to make it no more of
grace,' is the reply. What should we say to such reasoning?
Alas, is it not in effect what some of us say who, while refusing Christ
as Lord, profess to trust in Him and His work for salvation?”
Charles Spurgeon:
“If the professed convert distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows the Lord's will but does not mean to attend to it, you are not to pamper his presumption, but it is your duty to assure him that he is not saved. Do you imagine that the Gospel is magnified or God glorified by going to the worldlings and telling them that they may be saved at this moment by simply accepting Christ as their Saviour, while they are wedded to their idols and their hearts are still in love with sin? If I do so, I tell them a lie, pervert the Gospel, insult Christ, and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness.”
James A. Stewart:
“To those who want to receive Christ as Saviour in order to have a passport to Heaven, but desire to remain in their sins and in the world, we must be faithful and declare like Peter, 'Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity' (Acts 8:21-23).”
Walter Marshall:
"Why doth a man seek a pardon if he intends to go on in rebellion and stand out in defiance of his prince? They seek a pardon in a mocking way and intend not to return unto obedience...To take a part of His salvation and leave out the rest? But Christ is not divided...They would be saved by Christ and yet be out of Christ in a fleshly state, whereas God doth free none from condemnation, but those who are IN Christ."
Jonathan Edwards:
"I claim no right to myself, no right to this understanding, this will, these affections that are in me. Neither do I have any right to this body or its members, no right to this tongue, to these hands, feet, ears or eyes. I have given myself clear away and not retained anything of my own."
Thomas Watson:
"Many say they love God but they hate His laws. "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us" (Psa. ii. 3). God’s precepts are compared to cords, they bind men to their good behaviour; but the wicked think these cords too tight, therefore they say, Let us break them. They pretend to love Christ as a Saviour, but hate Him as a King. Christ tells us of His yoke (Matt. xi. 29). Sinners would have Christ put a crown upon their head, but not a yoke upon their neck. He were a strange king that should rule without laws."
Matthew Henry:
"Christ has bands and cords for us; those that will be saved by him must be ruled by him..."
Leonard Ravenhill:
"Jesus didn't die to save us from Hell. That's a fringe benefit! He died to get total occupation of us..."
A.W. Tozer:
"...Nowhere [in the Bible] are we ever led to believe that we can use Jesus as a Savior and not own Him as our Lord. He is the Lord and as the Lord He saves us, because He has all of the offices of Savior and Christ and High Priest and Wisdom and Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption! He is all of these things and all of these are embodied in Him as Christ the Lord." ("I Call It Heresy!")
A.W. Pink:
"Those who have not bowed to Christ's scepter and enthroned Him in their hearts and lives, and yet imagine that they are trusting in Him as their Saviour, are deceived, and unless God disillusions them they will go down to the everlasting burnings with a lie in their right hand."
Rolfe Barnard (who I believe was more fluent in expressing this biblically and historically orthodox non-Roman Catholic Doctrine than others):
"Somebody said, 'It is so easy to get saved.' Yes, all it will cost you is a full surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. All you've got to do to be saved is to die: that's all it costs to get to Christ."
"'I have fought a battle over America, and time after time preachers have said in their pulpits, 'Rolfe Barnard is a liar,' when I preached - but I am not a liar when I say, 'Any salvation that doesn't bring you to a glad, happy submission to the rule of God in your life is not what Jesus bought on the cross.' This little stuff they call salvation now, that allows men and women to claim Jesus as Saviour without their wills being broken to His will, and without gaining glad submission to where men and women rejoice in the rule of Christ Jesus - that is no salvation at all!'"
"I knew for five long years that salvation for me meant I had to be a public preacher. And I believe it is meant for you to do whatever the will of God is for you. For me it was this: I knew that surrender to King Jesus meant I would have to be a preacher and that was the one thing I was not going to do! So I did what it seems that most professing Christians have been able to do (I couldn't get the job done though!). I tried to get God to save me without throwing down my rebellion, but that just won't work. You just can't do it and call yourself a Christian. If you do, you're certain to go to hell. Until your rebellion is crushed and you surrender to do his will, there is no salvation."
"My dear unsaved friend, tears do not count if your heart is in rebellion. More than tears are needed. A great ONCE-FOR-ALL "LORD, I SURRENDER" is needed! Repentance is not an emotion or excitement, but repentance includes it. No man has ever been able to repent who did not get terribly excited in the very seat of the affections of his soul about the heinousness of his sin and the desperateness of his relation, or lack of it, to Almighty God! What is repentance? It is one great deliberate act of the soul, the whole man, in obedience to the call of God. It is turning from and turning to. It is putting your hand on your sin and pulling it out. That is what repentance is...Have you repented? Have you been able – as you sought a new heart, as you put yourself in the hands of a Sovereign God, have you been able to abhor yourself, your old nature and your sinful way, and turn utterly, renouncing all hope in self, to put your confidence and your trust and your surrender in the Lord Jesus Christ? I hope you have."
"Ladies and gentlemen, to be a Christian is first of all to bow the knee to Jesus, to crown Him Lord of all. Friend He is as well as Counselor, as well as Example and Guide; but before all these He is absolute Lord. For the Lord God our God, the Almighty, reigns – that is the theme of the Word of God. And it was the theme song of the early church; and it must become the theme song of every one who names the Name of Christ today...God's people confront the world, not primarily with an offer to heal its ills or to solve its problems. Our first appeal is to rebels who have taken up arms against their Creator, and it is an appeal which is nothing less than the demand for surrender. The Gospel faces the world with terms and does not simply subdue it with a glow. The message is still, 'Jesus is Lord,' The Lord Jesus Christ will not settle for anything short of the total absolute surrender, not of our time or our money, but of ourselves to Him as God's Lord for time and for eternity."
Charles Spurgeon:
“If the professed convert distinctly and deliberately declares that he knows the Lord's will but does not mean to attend to it, you are not to pamper his presumption, but it is your duty to assure him that he is not saved. Do you imagine that the Gospel is magnified or God glorified by going to the worldlings and telling them that they may be saved at this moment by simply accepting Christ as their Saviour, while they are wedded to their idols and their hearts are still in love with sin? If I do so, I tell them a lie, pervert the Gospel, insult Christ, and turn the grace of God into lasciviousness.”
James A. Stewart:
“To those who want to receive Christ as Saviour in order to have a passport to Heaven, but desire to remain in their sins and in the world, we must be faithful and declare like Peter, 'Thou hast neither part nor lot in this matter: for thy heart is not right in the sight of God. Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee. For I perceive that thou art in the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of iniquity' (Acts 8:21-23).”
Walter Marshall:
"Why doth a man seek a pardon if he intends to go on in rebellion and stand out in defiance of his prince? They seek a pardon in a mocking way and intend not to return unto obedience...To take a part of His salvation and leave out the rest? But Christ is not divided...They would be saved by Christ and yet be out of Christ in a fleshly state, whereas God doth free none from condemnation, but those who are IN Christ."
Jonathan Edwards:
"I claim no right to myself, no right to this understanding, this will, these affections that are in me. Neither do I have any right to this body or its members, no right to this tongue, to these hands, feet, ears or eyes. I have given myself clear away and not retained anything of my own."
Thomas Watson:
"Many say they love God but they hate His laws. "Let us break their bands asunder, and cast away their cords from us" (Psa. ii. 3). God’s precepts are compared to cords, they bind men to their good behaviour; but the wicked think these cords too tight, therefore they say, Let us break them. They pretend to love Christ as a Saviour, but hate Him as a King. Christ tells us of His yoke (Matt. xi. 29). Sinners would have Christ put a crown upon their head, but not a yoke upon their neck. He were a strange king that should rule without laws."
Matthew Henry:
"Christ has bands and cords for us; those that will be saved by him must be ruled by him..."
Leonard Ravenhill:
"Jesus didn't die to save us from Hell. That's a fringe benefit! He died to get total occupation of us..."
A.W. Tozer:
"...Nowhere [in the Bible] are we ever led to believe that we can use Jesus as a Savior and not own Him as our Lord. He is the Lord and as the Lord He saves us, because He has all of the offices of Savior and Christ and High Priest and Wisdom and Righteousness and Sanctification and Redemption! He is all of these things and all of these are embodied in Him as Christ the Lord." ("I Call It Heresy!")
A.W. Pink:
"Those who have not bowed to Christ's scepter and enthroned Him in their hearts and lives, and yet imagine that they are trusting in Him as their Saviour, are deceived, and unless God disillusions them they will go down to the everlasting burnings with a lie in their right hand."
Rolfe Barnard (who I believe was more fluent in expressing this biblically and historically orthodox non-Roman Catholic Doctrine than others):
"Somebody said, 'It is so easy to get saved.' Yes, all it will cost you is a full surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. All you've got to do to be saved is to die: that's all it costs to get to Christ."
"'I have fought a battle over America, and time after time preachers have said in their pulpits, 'Rolfe Barnard is a liar,' when I preached - but I am not a liar when I say, 'Any salvation that doesn't bring you to a glad, happy submission to the rule of God in your life is not what Jesus bought on the cross.' This little stuff they call salvation now, that allows men and women to claim Jesus as Saviour without their wills being broken to His will, and without gaining glad submission to where men and women rejoice in the rule of Christ Jesus - that is no salvation at all!'"
"I knew for five long years that salvation for me meant I had to be a public preacher. And I believe it is meant for you to do whatever the will of God is for you. For me it was this: I knew that surrender to King Jesus meant I would have to be a preacher and that was the one thing I was not going to do! So I did what it seems that most professing Christians have been able to do (I couldn't get the job done though!). I tried to get God to save me without throwing down my rebellion, but that just won't work. You just can't do it and call yourself a Christian. If you do, you're certain to go to hell. Until your rebellion is crushed and you surrender to do his will, there is no salvation."
"My dear unsaved friend, tears do not count if your heart is in rebellion. More than tears are needed. A great ONCE-FOR-ALL "LORD, I SURRENDER" is needed! Repentance is not an emotion or excitement, but repentance includes it. No man has ever been able to repent who did not get terribly excited in the very seat of the affections of his soul about the heinousness of his sin and the desperateness of his relation, or lack of it, to Almighty God! What is repentance? It is one great deliberate act of the soul, the whole man, in obedience to the call of God. It is turning from and turning to. It is putting your hand on your sin and pulling it out. That is what repentance is...Have you repented? Have you been able – as you sought a new heart, as you put yourself in the hands of a Sovereign God, have you been able to abhor yourself, your old nature and your sinful way, and turn utterly, renouncing all hope in self, to put your confidence and your trust and your surrender in the Lord Jesus Christ? I hope you have."
"Ladies and gentlemen, to be a Christian is first of all to bow the knee to Jesus, to crown Him Lord of all. Friend He is as well as Counselor, as well as Example and Guide; but before all these He is absolute Lord. For the Lord God our God, the Almighty, reigns – that is the theme of the Word of God. And it was the theme song of the early church; and it must become the theme song of every one who names the Name of Christ today...God's people confront the world, not primarily with an offer to heal its ills or to solve its problems. Our first appeal is to rebels who have taken up arms against their Creator, and it is an appeal which is nothing less than the demand for surrender. The Gospel faces the world with terms and does not simply subdue it with a glow. The message is still, 'Jesus is Lord,' The Lord Jesus Christ will not settle for anything short of the total absolute surrender, not of our time or our money, but of ourselves to Him as God's Lord for time and for eternity."
A Sermon on "Lordship Salvation", by Sean Morris:
Finally, on the pivotal issue above, concerning "Lordship Salvation," expressed in all the quotes, I do ask that the reader would, in due time, listen to the sermon below by Sean Morris. In fact, I dare you to listen to it, you might never be the same: not because Sean is anything but because God is everything and this is the truth of His Word, which He owns for that reason, as it is brought through holy vessels that honor him and preach His Word without adulteration in the power of the Holy Ghost. May God give the listener ears to hear, a heart to fear, and grace to surrender to the Lordship of the reigning King, Jesus Christ. "Both Lord & Christ"
A Worthy Gospel Tract on "Lordship Salvation", by A.W. Pink: "Is Christ Your Lord?"
Finally, on the pivotal issue above, concerning "Lordship Salvation," expressed in all the quotes, I do ask that the reader would, in due time, listen to the sermon below by Sean Morris. In fact, I dare you to listen to it, you might never be the same: not because Sean is anything but because God is everything and this is the truth of His Word, which He owns for that reason, as it is brought through holy vessels that honor him and preach His Word without adulteration in the power of the Holy Ghost. May God give the listener ears to hear, a heart to fear, and grace to surrender to the Lordship of the reigning King, Jesus Christ. "Both Lord & Christ"
A Worthy Gospel Tract on "Lordship Salvation", by A.W. Pink: "Is Christ Your Lord?"
"You need not bring your problems or your alibis or your theology, or anything else, to try to have a Bible conference with a Holy God. He's got just one thing to say to a sinner: "Stack arms, sinner! Throw down that shotgun! Yield yourself to My claims." Plant, by the grace of God, the flag of King Jesus in your life, then the Lord God will put up the white flag of peace, and you will know the peace that this old world didn't give, and therefore cannot take away. Romans 5:1, 'Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.'"
- Rolfe Barnard
- Rolfe Barnard
My Earnest Plea to the Needy: Go to Christ!
To my American friend, or whoever is reading this post, in conclusion to the portion of my address above, "My Earnest Plea, Before You Enter Eternity and Stand Before the King", I present to you the following Scriptures, sermons and video, and leave you in the hands of Christ. This short section is not for all Americans, but a word of hope "to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at [His] word" (Isaiah 66:2b; see also Psalm 51:17; Isaiah 57:17; etc.).
"They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick. But go ye and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice: for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." (Matthew 9:12-13)
- Jesus Christ
Indeed, it should be a word of hope to a broken-hearted soul, if a mournful man could be found in this land*...that is, if you, poor man, whoever you be, would go to Christ, Who is even at God's right hand, ready to save all that come unto God by Him. He is not only the King of glory but also the Great High Priest, and a Substitute for sinners, who come unto God at His feet: the print of the nails still in His hands, the thorn-made scars still on His head, the wounds of that spear still in His side, and the holes in His feet still to be seen. O what a word is that, "For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sin and their iniquities will I remember no more" (Hebrews 8:12). A sweet word indeed for them to whom it is meet...lost sinners that go to Him, and are translated into His heavenly seat."All the fitness he requireth is to feel your need of him!"
"Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of
the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we
have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins."
(Colossians 1:12-14)
the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of
darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: In whom we
have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins."
(Colossians 1:12-14)
Yea, such a Substitute is Christ, an advocate indeed to help in time of need, that if you came to Him to atone, forsaking all your righteousness before His Throne, to dwell in His land and be clothed in His robe, you would be more secure than angels, who stand before him every day without fear! "But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:4-6). As the hymns go,"Rock of ages, cleft for me, Let me hide myself in Thee; Let the water and the blood, From Thy wounded side which flowed, Be of sin the double cure, Save from wrath and make me pure." "Jehovah lifted up His rod, Oh, Christ it fell on Thee, Thou wast sore stricken of Thy God, There’s not one stroke for me." And the Scriptures: "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). "...Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21). "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14). "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). "Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed." (1 Peter 2:24) O let us bless Him and bow down before His worthy Throne!
*To the needy soul that needs salvation, when it is convenient, please see my "biblical salvation sermon series", "Are You Really Lost" to understand the scriptural principle that a man must be lost/broken/undone before God will save him (not that it merits anything, it’s just a biblical fact). Please also listen to a sermon I preached, "Behold the Man! The Great Dilemma and the Cross", about "the Atonement".
*To the needy soul that needs salvation, when it is convenient, please see my "biblical salvation sermon series", "Are You Really Lost" to understand the scriptural principle that a man must be lost/broken/undone before God will save him (not that it merits anything, it’s just a biblical fact). Please also listen to a sermon I preached, "Behold the Man! The Great Dilemma and the Cross", about "the Atonement".
Vital Scripture, a Powerful Quote, and an Analogous Video About the Lord:
"All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out."
(John 6:37)
"For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly... But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life."
(Romans 5:6, 5:8-10)
"Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us."
(Romans 8:34)
"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; by which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures."
(1 Corinthians 15:1-4)
"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."
(Galatians 3:13)
"But this man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them."
(Hebrews 7:24-25)
"But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us."
(Hebrews 9:11-12)
"My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world."
(1 John 2:1-2)
"As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, walk ye in Him" (Col. 2:6). That is an exhortation to Christians, and its force is, Continue as you begin. But how had they "begun" By receiving "Christ Jesus the Lord"; by surrendering to Him, by subjecting themselves to His will, by ceasing to please themselves. His authority was now owned. His commands now became their rule of life, His love constrained them to a glad and unreserved obedience. They "gave their own selves to the Lord" (2 Cor. 8:5). Have you, my reader, done this? Have you? Do the details of your life evidence it? Can those with whom you come into contact see that you are no more living to please self (2 Cor. 5:15)?"
-A.W. Pink
He'll Lead You Home
In Light of the Video Above, Sinner, Friend, Please Consider the Following Scriptures:
"Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus."
(Romans 3:20-26)
To My Regenerate Brethren, God is No Respecter of Your Persons:
A Warning Against the Folly of Christian Presumption:
Furthermore, to my readers, if you are a Christian, my brother, my sister, this section is for you. I warn you, please don't judge the outwardly immoral and the "heathen without" (see 1 Corinthians 5:12, Colossians 4:5), if you have become a "heathen within", who's living in sin! Yea, please don't show partiality to your own person, and lightly esteem your own sin, or your sin will find you out, brethren! God doesn't respect your persons, even when you do, "for there is no respect of persons with [Him]" (Romans 2:11). You must keep your life, and heart, and everything else in His hands unto eternity, or don't expect to rejoice with the saints in glory (Proverbs 4:23; Revelation 2:10-11; 1 Corinthians 9:27; Matthew 10:22), whether you have formerly been converted or not*! Whether you know the Bible through and through and have done mighty exploits for God, or not! You won't. You will die in your sins, and in the greatness of your folly, you will go astray from the mercy of God forever. For, "...if, while we seek to be justified by Christ, we ourselves also are found sinners, is therefore Christ the minister of sin? God forbid. For if I build again the things which I destroyed, I make myself a transgressor" (Galatians 2:17-18). And, "...if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them. But it is happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire" (2 Peter 2:20-22). And finally, "If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well: But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all" (James 2:8-10). *A short exhortation on "Keeping Your Heart", for Christians: "Are You Keeping Your Heart?" by Ryan Ringnald.
But you say, I'm a saint, you see, and I've been bought by the blood of Calvary, and I know that he died for me, thus once saved always saved; once a child of God, always a child of God unconditionally. Well, it is true that all saints get to heaven, and it is true that all the children of God are welcome therein. Yet, a saint implies one who is sanctified (set apart unto something or someone), not just legally, but spiritually and morally too, and to be called a child of God implies that you are like your Father in heaven, God, not like the father of this world, the devil - thus if you ruin that saintliness and godliness (literally meaning God-likeness in nature, as opposed to satan-likeness) you were given as a free gift at the new birth, by way of willfully turning again to the miry clay of sin, you disqualify yourself from such a title as "saint", or "child of the King", and thus forfeit your right to inherit eternal life - you forsake your own mercy, brethren! Truly, He has said that "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5b), but in the same book of Hebrews, God says to "holy brethren" or true-sainted Christians (you can't be "holy brethren" but by the saving grace of God, by the way, or we must needs change the definition of biblical salvation), "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul" (Hebrews 10:38-39) - many such like warnings of eternal judgment are given to genuine children of God in the book of Hebrews (e.g. Hebrews 2, 6, 10, 12), as well as in the rest of the Bible. Yea, and that promise that He will never leave thee nor forsake thee comes from a promise given to Joshua, regarding the promised land, which God had given to him, as a representative head of Israel (the promised land, a type of the saints' heavenly inheritance promised to us by our Joshua, Jesus Christ, "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" - 1 Peter 1:5.). Yet, when there was willful rebellion in the camp of Israel, 36 men were slain for a man named Achan's willful sin. Thus, the promise was breached, and God openly confessed that He had forsaken Joshua and Israel, neither would He be with them anymore, except they repent (see Joshua 1:5-9; Joshua 7-8; Hebrew 13:5-6)!
But you say, I'm a saint, you see, and I've been bought by the blood of Calvary, and I know that he died for me, thus once saved always saved; once a child of God, always a child of God unconditionally. Well, it is true that all saints get to heaven, and it is true that all the children of God are welcome therein. Yet, a saint implies one who is sanctified (set apart unto something or someone), not just legally, but spiritually and morally too, and to be called a child of God implies that you are like your Father in heaven, God, not like the father of this world, the devil - thus if you ruin that saintliness and godliness (literally meaning God-likeness in nature, as opposed to satan-likeness) you were given as a free gift at the new birth, by way of willfully turning again to the miry clay of sin, you disqualify yourself from such a title as "saint", or "child of the King", and thus forfeit your right to inherit eternal life - you forsake your own mercy, brethren! Truly, He has said that "I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee" (Hebrews 13:5b), but in the same book of Hebrews, God says to "holy brethren" or true-sainted Christians (you can't be "holy brethren" but by the saving grace of God, by the way, or we must needs change the definition of biblical salvation), "Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul" (Hebrews 10:38-39) - many such like warnings of eternal judgment are given to genuine children of God in the book of Hebrews (e.g. Hebrews 2, 6, 10, 12), as well as in the rest of the Bible. Yea, and that promise that He will never leave thee nor forsake thee comes from a promise given to Joshua, regarding the promised land, which God had given to him, as a representative head of Israel (the promised land, a type of the saints' heavenly inheritance promised to us by our Joshua, Jesus Christ, "Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" - 1 Peter 1:5.). Yet, when there was willful rebellion in the camp of Israel, 36 men were slain for a man named Achan's willful sin. Thus, the promise was breached, and God openly confessed that He had forsaken Joshua and Israel, neither would He be with them anymore, except they repent (see Joshua 1:5-9; Joshua 7-8; Hebrew 13:5-6)!
"And Joshua said, Alas, O Lord GOD, wherefore hast thou at all brought this people over Jordan, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us? would to God we had been content, and dwelt on the other side Jordan! O Lord, what shall I say, when Israel turneth their backs before their enemies! For the Canaanites and all the inhabitants of the land shall hear of it, and shall environ us round, and cut off our name from the earth: and what wilt thou do unto thy great name? And the LORD said unto Joshua, Get thee up; wherefore liest thou thus upon thy face? Israel hath sinned, and they have also transgressed my covenant which I commanded them: for they have even taken of the accursed thing, and have also stolen, and dissembled also, and they have put it even among their own stuff. Therefore the children of Israel could not stand before their enemies, but turned their backs before their enemies, because they were accursed: neither will I be with you any more, except ye destroy the accursed from among you." (Joshua 7:7-12)
Saint, Christian, friend, the conclusion of the matter is: if you are lukewarm, in sin, and also have an "Achan within" of willful rebellion, neither will He be with you anymore, either, except you repent, lament and "remember...from whence thou art fallen...and do the first works..." (Revelation 2:5)! neither can you stand before your enemies of sin or overcome the world, and the devil and hell. Yet... you must overcome all three, Christian, living a life of universal holiness unto the end, whoever you are, and that by grace through faith in the Son of God, not of yourselves, but by the gift of saving faith which worketh by love (Galatians 5:6), or you will not be finally saved! "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith" (1 John 5:4). Don't doubt it, friends, you must repent daily, and unto the end, with all that in you is, or you will surely perish in your own transgression, though you really are a true Christian! It doesn't matter who tells you otherwise. As a man of God once said, in accordance with God's Word, “The day you sign a treaty of peace with any sin, you are headed for hell. When you come to where you can have peace with any kind of rebellion against Him you’re dead wrong! You are dead wrong!" "Yea, let God be true, and every man a liar" (Romans 3:4). "He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels" (Revelation 3:5). Else...all the righteousness that you have done will be forgotten (Ezekiel 3:20), Christian, though you have served Him well for over 50 years, and you will sink into the pit of everlasting destruction, into the blackness of darkness forever. Your judgment will be greater than those who never knew the truth, "...for unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required..." (Luke 12:48), and you will not be able to stand at the reckoning day of the Lamb! As it is written of hypocrites professing God's ordained religion, "You only have I known of all the families of the earth: therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities" (Amos 3:2).
"I’ve studied the Puritans, and I’ve studied John Calvin and I’ve studied everybody I could get books or borrow from. I differ with the Puritans, I differ with Brother Calvin. I believe the warnings in the book of Hebrews are not the people who almost got saved but didn’t. I wish I could believe when he talks about people who have tasted and been illuminated, tasted the power; they didn’t get almost saved–I believe they got saved. Now if you’re going to throw me out, I believe that New Testament salvation calls for you to spit on your hands and roll upon your sleeves and see to it that these terrible warnings never take place in your life. That’s what I believe. You say, 'brother Barnard, what are you going to do, tear up our Baptist doctrine of the eternal security of the believer?' I don’t know what to do about it, but I’m going to look you in the face and tell you now, that the scriptures talk about crucifying afresh the Son of God and he’s talking to God’s people! It talks about putting him to open shame and it’s talking to saved people.
"And I used an expression one time that liked to shock me. I believe that hell is hot on your trail tonight. I believe the devil gets you if he can. I believe that God’s people better quit getting their doctrine out of books and they better face the fact that salvation isn’t something you can put in a tin can. It’s a daily relationship. And if there ever was a generation of church people this side of hell that needs to be shocked out of this damnable, carnal idea that the security of the believer is to live like hell and go to heaven when you die. No! Oh no. Our forefathers thought they needed what they call the means of grace. There is a cocksureness today that is gonna fill hell full of church members if we don’t watch out. I don’t know how to handle those passages in Hebrews – they just scare the living daylights out of me. If we sin willfully, that’s talking to Christian people. How shall we escape if we treat lightly so great salvation? That’s talking to Christian people. You say, “brother Barnard, you trying to scare us into doing right?” The book of Hebrews will if you will read it. It dead sure will! Oh, it is impossible to renew them to repentance. That scares me. That scares me...” - Rolfe Barnard
"I’ve studied the Puritans, and I’ve studied John Calvin and I’ve studied everybody I could get books or borrow from. I differ with the Puritans, I differ with Brother Calvin. I believe the warnings in the book of Hebrews are not the people who almost got saved but didn’t. I wish I could believe when he talks about people who have tasted and been illuminated, tasted the power; they didn’t get almost saved–I believe they got saved. Now if you’re going to throw me out, I believe that New Testament salvation calls for you to spit on your hands and roll upon your sleeves and see to it that these terrible warnings never take place in your life. That’s what I believe. You say, 'brother Barnard, what are you going to do, tear up our Baptist doctrine of the eternal security of the believer?' I don’t know what to do about it, but I’m going to look you in the face and tell you now, that the scriptures talk about crucifying afresh the Son of God and he’s talking to God’s people! It talks about putting him to open shame and it’s talking to saved people.
"And I used an expression one time that liked to shock me. I believe that hell is hot on your trail tonight. I believe the devil gets you if he can. I believe that God’s people better quit getting their doctrine out of books and they better face the fact that salvation isn’t something you can put in a tin can. It’s a daily relationship. And if there ever was a generation of church people this side of hell that needs to be shocked out of this damnable, carnal idea that the security of the believer is to live like hell and go to heaven when you die. No! Oh no. Our forefathers thought they needed what they call the means of grace. There is a cocksureness today that is gonna fill hell full of church members if we don’t watch out. I don’t know how to handle those passages in Hebrews – they just scare the living daylights out of me. If we sin willfully, that’s talking to Christian people. How shall we escape if we treat lightly so great salvation? That’s talking to Christian people. You say, “brother Barnard, you trying to scare us into doing right?” The book of Hebrews will if you will read it. It dead sure will! Oh, it is impossible to renew them to repentance. That scares me. That scares me...” - Rolfe Barnard
Important Quote and Verses of Note, in Light the Section Above:
"The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you."
(2 Chronicles 15:2)
"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."
(Hebrews 6:4-6)
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
(Hebrews 10:25-31)
"I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not."
(Jude 1:5)
"Let me urge you frequently to re-examine the foundation of your hope. O, it is a solemn thing to die — an awful thing to go into eternity, and discover that we have been deceiving ourselves! Let us depend upon it that nothing but real faith in Christ, proved to be genuine by a holy life, can support us at last. That faith which consists merely in a correct belief of the doctrines of grace, and prompts to no self-denial, — that faith which allows us to spend all our days in serving self, content with merely refraining from outward sins, and attending to the ordinary duties of religion, — is no faith at all. O, let me beg of you to look well into this matter! And let me beg my dear mother, in her old age, and in view of the near approach of death and eternity, to examine again and again whether her faith is of the right kind. Is it that faith which gives her more enjoyment in Jesus, from day to day, than she finds in anything else?" -Adoniram Judson (Missionary to Burma, written in 1829 in a letter to his mother and sister upon the death of his brother.)
(2 Chronicles 15:2)
"For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."
(Hebrews 6:4-6)
"Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God."
(Hebrews 10:25-31)
"I will therefore put you in remembrance, though ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward destroyed them that believed not."
(Jude 1:5)
"Let me urge you frequently to re-examine the foundation of your hope. O, it is a solemn thing to die — an awful thing to go into eternity, and discover that we have been deceiving ourselves! Let us depend upon it that nothing but real faith in Christ, proved to be genuine by a holy life, can support us at last. That faith which consists merely in a correct belief of the doctrines of grace, and prompts to no self-denial, — that faith which allows us to spend all our days in serving self, content with merely refraining from outward sins, and attending to the ordinary duties of religion, — is no faith at all. O, let me beg of you to look well into this matter! And let me beg my dear mother, in her old age, and in view of the near approach of death and eternity, to examine again and again whether her faith is of the right kind. Is it that faith which gives her more enjoyment in Jesus, from day to day, than she finds in anything else?" -Adoniram Judson (Missionary to Burma, written in 1829 in a letter to his mother and sister upon the death of his brother.)
Please! Quit trusting in the doctrine of eternal security, brethren, and trust in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ, the all-sufficient One, Who is security and peace, and there is none anywhere else. As William Carey said, "All my friends are but One, but He is all sufficient." If you are not trusting in Him, but rather are carnally trusting in a mere doctrine supposedly taught by Him, you are nothing less than an idolater, friend, convinced of the law as a transgressor; you have a form of godliness and are denying the power thereof, which is Him; you are in heresy, whoever you are, denying the only Lord God that bought you. Hebrews 13:5 is not for you: sir, ma'am, Calvinist, Armenian, Presbyterian, theologian! Nay, the promises all hang upon Him and are fulfilled in Him - Solo Christo! Nor is John 1:4 for you either, who are trusting in your own powers of mental assent to a twisted understanding of the letter which killeth, and not in the Lord Himself. "In HIM [alone] was life; and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4), first, last, and in between. Truly, any Gospel that doesn't revolve around Him, but is rather some kind of form allegedly about Him, is no Gospel at all - though you say you adhere to the Westminster Confession and are a follower of the Reformation. And any Gospel that does not demand you to follow Him, trust Him, look to Him, abide in Him, believe in Him, and obey Him, first to last, all by grace through real unfeigned faith in a real Saviour, is an antinomian lawless deception - and judgment awaits you, false teacher, whoever you are that teaches such things, though you be an open-air preacher. Consider the Bible, my reader: "Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, according to the promise of life which is in Christ Jesus" (2 Timothy 1:1; see also 2 Corinthians 1:20) - thus, not anywhere else. I reiterate, it is not merely by the letter of a promise about Him, which you somehow superstitiously wish upon yourself, by mustering up the strength of your mental faculties to believe in, that a man is saved. That is headiness, which is nothing else but a mark of the grievous sin prophesied to be prevalent in the great falling away of the last days (2 Timothy 3:4). Nay, that is no more than the faith of Devils, sir, that doesn't save nor lead to vital reality, fellowship, and communion with God, who hath "called [us] unto the fellowship of His Son Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Corinthians 1:9). "Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him (1 Thessalonians 5:10). As it is written, "Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble" (James 2:19). My brethren, in light of the above, please answer the following questions:
Can you be orthodox without the living Lord? Who is the foundation-stone of true Christianity and the ruling King of Zion, whereon the government lies upon? Can you say you love the blood without the blood-giver, can you say that you love the peace of Zion, without the peace-Maker, can you say that you love the faith, without the object of that faith, which is the living and reigning King, Jesus Christ? I don't think so!
Can you be orthodox without the living Lord? Who is the foundation-stone of true Christianity and the ruling King of Zion, whereon the government lies upon? Can you say you love the blood without the blood-giver, can you say that you love the peace of Zion, without the peace-Maker, can you say that you love the faith, without the object of that faith, which is the living and reigning King, Jesus Christ? I don't think so!
More Important Scriptures and Imperative Quotes: It's All About Christ!
"Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."
(John 5:39)
"Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."
(Luke 24:25-27)
"And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ."
(Acts 5:42)
"Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them."
(Acts 8:5)
"Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus."
(Acts 8:35)
"Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus."
(Acts 11:18-20)
"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ."
(Acts 17:2-3)
"Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection."
(Acts 17:18)
"And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening."
(Acts 28:23)
"For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."
(1 Corinthians 1:22-24)
"For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified."
(1 Corinthians 2:2)
“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
(Colossians 1:27-28)
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”
(Colossians 2:8-10)
"Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned [i.e. real faith in a real Christ]: from which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling [talk]; desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm."
(1 Timothy 1:5-7)
"It was Adolf Ishman who took time to go through the New Testament, and discover the key to Paul's writings. And he found the expression or the equivalent of it, 'In Christ,' 164 times. This is the key to unlock every doctrine of the New Testament. You preach justification by faith apart from this key and it will turn out people who rejoice in the Grace of God, so they can raise some more Cain. Every one of the doctrines is effected by this key phrase, 'In Christ.'"
- Rolfe Barnard
"The Gospel of God's salvation is the proclaiming of a Person in Whom and through Whom God purposes to do everything that will ever be done for kingdoms or nations or worlds or systems or individuals!"
- Rolfe Barnard
"In the supposed enjoyment of all created things there are still wants, but in the enjoyment of Him there is nothing wanting; yea, more than a soul can desire, and than all created capacities are able to comprehend, is to be found in Him, for He is all in all."
- James Renwick
(John 5:39)
"Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself."
(Luke 24:25-27)
"And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ."
(Acts 5:42)
"Then Philip went down to the city of Samaria, and preached Christ unto them."
(Acts 8:5)
"Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus."
(Acts 8:35)
"Now they which were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose about Stephen travelled as far as Phenice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to none but unto the Jews only. And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord Jesus."
(Acts 11:18-20)
"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures, Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ."
(Acts 17:2-3)
"Then certain philosophers of the Epicureans, and of the Stoicks, encountered him. And some said, What will this babbler say? other some, He seemeth to be a setter forth of strange gods: because he preached unto them Jesus, and the resurrection."
(Acts 17:18)
"And when they had appointed him a day, there came many to him into his lodging; to whom he expounded and testified the kingdom of God, persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening."
(Acts 28:23)
"For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom: But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumblingblock, and unto the Greeks foolishness; But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God."
(1 Corinthians 1:22-24)
"For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified."
(1 Corinthians 2:2)
“To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory: Whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom; that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus.”
(Colossians 1:27-28)
“Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ. For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power.”
(Colossians 2:8-10)
"Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned [i.e. real faith in a real Christ]: from which some having swerved have turned aside unto vain jangling [talk]; desiring to be teachers of the law; understanding neither what they say, nor whereof they affirm."
(1 Timothy 1:5-7)
"It was Adolf Ishman who took time to go through the New Testament, and discover the key to Paul's writings. And he found the expression or the equivalent of it, 'In Christ,' 164 times. This is the key to unlock every doctrine of the New Testament. You preach justification by faith apart from this key and it will turn out people who rejoice in the Grace of God, so they can raise some more Cain. Every one of the doctrines is effected by this key phrase, 'In Christ.'"
- Rolfe Barnard
"The Gospel of God's salvation is the proclaiming of a Person in Whom and through Whom God purposes to do everything that will ever be done for kingdoms or nations or worlds or systems or individuals!"
- Rolfe Barnard
"In the supposed enjoyment of all created things there are still wants, but in the enjoyment of Him there is nothing wanting; yea, more than a soul can desire, and than all created capacities are able to comprehend, is to be found in Him, for He is all in all."
- James Renwick
My true regenerate brethren, before I leave off the above topic, please don't quote to me Philippians 1:6, to justify yourself against the plain teaching of Scripture, thus making the Word of God of none effect, and justifying your lukewarmness and carnality all by way of your antinomian and idolatrous doctrine of eternal security. That is, don't quote it to me without acknowledging the context in which it was written, as is seen in verse 7, alongside verse 6. Consider: "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: even as it is meet [suitable, right] for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace" (Philippians 1:6-7). Obviously, the promise of Philippians 1:6 is binding for the Philippian Christians, and why? "...inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye are all partakers of my grace." Meaning, the Philippians had a right to believe that "he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ", because they were not denying the Gospel, sowing in the flesh, or denying the Apostle Paul, who was hated throughout the world and in prison for his faith, allegedly as an evildoer. No, they were suffering with him, and defending and confirming the Gospel he believed, which implies not merely preaching holiness, but living what they preached; they were glorying in the reproach of Christ too, implied in their defending and confirming the true Gospel of God's Son, unashamed of Paul's chain: further, they were defending and confirming the truth that this Jesus, who was known throughout the world at that time as a false prophet, crucified criminal, and terrorist-rebel, is the reigning Lord and Christ of all the universe, right now, and there is not another! "The LORD reigneth; let the people tremble: he sitteth between the cherubims; let the earth be moved" (Psalm 99:1). Otherwise, the church of Philippi wouldn't have had the right to quote Philippians 1:6, and Paul couldn't have rightly written it to them. Do you have the right to such a promise, therefore, or have you been flattering yourself with verse 6, as you deny the terms in verse 7? Let me help you - if you are ashamed of His name, and not defending and confirming the Gospel in truth, like the Philippians, you don't have the right, friend, to claim that promise is for you, it would be blasphemy! For instance, if you are wasting your time defending and confirming an allegedly biblical form of systematic theology without a living Lord, or a supposed doctrine of eternal security and not the reigning King, the promise in Philippians 1:6 is not "meet" for you, as it was for them. As it is written, "Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ: Even as it is meet [suitable, right] for me to think this of you all, because I have you in my heart; inasmuch as both in my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the gospel, ye all are partakers of my grace" (Philippians 1:6-7).
"To argue from mercy to sinful liberty, is the devil's logic, and such logicians do ever walk as upon a mine of gunpowder ready to be blown up. No such soul can ever avert or avoid the wrath of God. This is wickedness at the height, for a man to be very bad, because God is very good. A worse spirit than this is not in hell. Ah, lord, doth not wrath, yea, the greatest wrath, lie at this man's door? Are not the strongest chains of darkness prepared for such a soul? To sin against mercy is to sin against humanity. It is bestial; nay, it is worse. To render good for evil is divine, to render good for good is human, to render evil for evil is brutish; but to render evil for good is devilish; and from this evil deliver my soul, O God." - Thomas Brooks
Readers, "It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers" (2 Timothy 2:11-14). That is what I am trying to do, friends. Thus, before I move on, I urge you, please don't quote to me John 10:27-28 out of context either, my brethren, namely, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand" (John 10:27-28), unless you are meeting the terms to that promise also - that is, hearing Him, knowing Him, and following Him wheresoever He goes, full-stop. As Spurgeon said, "No man is really saved unless he is in his heart obedient to Christ." And Tozer, "the Bible recognizes no faith that does not lead to obedience, nor does it recognize any obedience that does not spring from faith." Else...you are not eternally secure, sir, though you say you are and misquote the verse, like I used to, nor are you bound for the promised land, but rather the apostate land of hell!
Concerning how the Philippians were not ashamed of Paul's chain, I will close this line of thought by making this thing personal. Reader, if the Church of Wells is of God, suffering for God and our biblical integrity, and not for heresy, or such like abominations, and you shut up your bowels of compassion against us, without a proper cause, Philippians 1:6 is not for you, and I assure you that God will shut up His bowels of compassion against you forever, unless you repent. May it not be so, that these words would lay hold upon you. I love all them that love my Lord Jesus Christ in truth, and pray that He will have mercy, even upon our greatest enemies. God knows, I even love you, Mr. Grove, and Mrs. Grove, as I have told you many times, despite all your slander, attempted vilification of innocent followers of Jesus Christ, utterly unfounded murderous words, hatred, and atrocious lies, et al. Truly I do love you, and not only so, but I am praying that the Lord will bring salvation to your souls, and I intend to continue to do so, before the King of all the earth.
"To argue from mercy to sinful liberty, is the devil's logic, and such logicians do ever walk as upon a mine of gunpowder ready to be blown up. No such soul can ever avert or avoid the wrath of God. This is wickedness at the height, for a man to be very bad, because God is very good. A worse spirit than this is not in hell. Ah, lord, doth not wrath, yea, the greatest wrath, lie at this man's door? Are not the strongest chains of darkness prepared for such a soul? To sin against mercy is to sin against humanity. It is bestial; nay, it is worse. To render good for evil is divine, to render good for good is human, to render evil for evil is brutish; but to render evil for good is devilish; and from this evil deliver my soul, O God." - Thomas Brooks
Readers, "It is a faithful saying: For if we be dead with him, we shall also live with him: If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us: If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself. Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers" (2 Timothy 2:11-14). That is what I am trying to do, friends. Thus, before I move on, I urge you, please don't quote to me John 10:27-28 out of context either, my brethren, namely, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand" (John 10:27-28), unless you are meeting the terms to that promise also - that is, hearing Him, knowing Him, and following Him wheresoever He goes, full-stop. As Spurgeon said, "No man is really saved unless he is in his heart obedient to Christ." And Tozer, "the Bible recognizes no faith that does not lead to obedience, nor does it recognize any obedience that does not spring from faith." Else...you are not eternally secure, sir, though you say you are and misquote the verse, like I used to, nor are you bound for the promised land, but rather the apostate land of hell!
Concerning how the Philippians were not ashamed of Paul's chain, I will close this line of thought by making this thing personal. Reader, if the Church of Wells is of God, suffering for God and our biblical integrity, and not for heresy, or such like abominations, and you shut up your bowels of compassion against us, without a proper cause, Philippians 1:6 is not for you, and I assure you that God will shut up His bowels of compassion against you forever, unless you repent. May it not be so, that these words would lay hold upon you. I love all them that love my Lord Jesus Christ in truth, and pray that He will have mercy, even upon our greatest enemies. God knows, I even love you, Mr. Grove, and Mrs. Grove, as I have told you many times, despite all your slander, attempted vilification of innocent followers of Jesus Christ, utterly unfounded murderous words, hatred, and atrocious lies, et al. Truly I do love you, and not only so, but I am praying that the Lord will bring salvation to your souls, and I intend to continue to do so, before the King of all the earth.
"Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished."
(Proverbs 17:5)
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."
(Matthew 25:41-45)
"And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do."
(Acts 9:4-6)
"He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me."
(Luke 10:16)
"If you are weary of your life, persecute the Christians."
- An Old Proverb
(Proverbs 17:5)
"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not. Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee? Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me."
(Matthew 25:41-45)
"And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me? And he said, Who art thou, Lord? And the Lord said, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he trembling and astonished said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do."
(Acts 9:4-6)
"He that heareth you heareth me; and he that despiseth you despiseth me; and he that despiseth me despiseth him that sent me."
(Luke 10:16)
"If you are weary of your life, persecute the Christians."
- An Old Proverb
To my brethren, in light of the above, am I negating the doctrine of justification by faith alone, through grace alone, in Christ alone, Who is "the LORD our righteousness" alone - Solo Christo!? God forbid. Don't appropriate to me that which I have not taught. Paul said, "But by the grace of God I am what I am..." So do I, yea, with all my heart! He goes on, but most professedly orthodox 5 point Calvinists, for instance, in truth, do not: "...and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10). I have heard mighty religious leaders of our day and age, who are supposedly fundamental, biblical, and orthodox, major on the first part of the verse, and slight the second, too many times. Paul further said, in Philippians 2:12-13, "Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure". I believe that; do you? It doesn't contradict the Five Solae of the Reformation, does it? Nor can one touch the glory for it, because it is "Christ in us" mightily striving through us, Who wills and does of his own good pleasure, as the text clearly says. Yet, if we are not doing so, it is evident from the text that we are not trusting in Christ, but have forsaken the narrow way, our responsibility, and are on the broad way to hell. Right? I like what A.W. Tozer said about Paul's biblical faith, "Faith as Paul saw it, was a living flaming thing leading to surrender and obedience to the commandments of Christ. Faith in our day often means no more than a meek assent to a doctrine" (Paths to Power; 56-57).
"It will not be asked at the great day, “Who ate flesh, and who ate herbs?” “Who kept holy days, and who did not?” Nor will it be asked, “Who was conformist and who was non-conformist?” But it will be asked, “Who feared God and worked righteousness, and who did not?” Nothing (is) more destructive to true Christianity than placing it in modes, and forms, and circumstantials, which eat out the essentials."
- Matthew Henry
"Truth without enthusiasm, morality without emotion, ritual without soul, are things Christ unsparingly condemned. Destitute of fire, they are nothing more than a godless philosophy, an ethical system, and a superstition."
- Samuel Chadwick
"There is scarcely anything so dull and meaningless as Bible doctrine taught for its own sake. Truth divorced from life is not truth in its Biblical sense, but something else and something less."
- A.W. Tozer
"Your doctrine can be as straight as a gun barrel…and just as empty!"
- Leonard Ravenhill
“It is an undoubted truth that every doctrine that comes from God, leads to God; and that which doth not tend to promote holiness is not of God.”
- George Whitefield
Finally, readers, please consider what Paul said in Philippians 3:7-15, "But what things were gain to me, those I counted loss for Christ. Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, and be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith: That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead. Not as though I had already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus. Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus. Let as many of us as be perfect, be thus minded: and if in any thing ye be otherwise minded, God shall reveal even this unto you". Can you say that, friend? Are you like-minded with Paul and "perfect", as he is commanding the Christians of Phillippi to be? Biblically perfect, not "sinlessly perfect", which is something Paul says, in the same passage, that he has not attained. This man didn't teach works-righteousness, brethren, though that is how it may seem to your lopsided theological perspective, as it once did to me, but the Lord had mercy. Friends, herein was Paul's open confession and heartfelt conviction in the passages above, and it's safe to say that the Apostle Paul, our pattern saint, who wrote 13 epistles in the New Testament under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, by the wisdom which God explicitly gave to him, knows more than the esteemed theologians of our generation, though they disagree with him. Thus, I warn you, if this is not your confession too (Philippians 3:7-14, 1 Corinthians 15:10, et al.), whoever you are, you are deceived, sir, and your heresy is damnable. Your heart is not right in the sight of God, and you are not presently saved, because you are not presently sanctified and thus being present progressively saved or made into the image of Christ, which is purpose for which He died and the dying prayer of His heart! Yea, and if you are not presently sanctified, you are not justified, sir, and the blood is not yours (I will share more about that below). Christ said, "And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth (John 17:19). Thus, if you are not being sanctified, you are denying the Lord, my backslidden friend, and His precious cause for which he shed His blood; therefore repent, or He will deny you at the Judgment. "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Romans 8:28-29). "For this is the will of God, even your sanctification..." (1 Thessalonians 4:3), Christians. If you would like to know more about the predestinated purpose of God, to make His followers like Jesus Christ, holy and sanctified, please listen to the following sermons by Rolfe Barnard and Jake Gardner to begin, and understand that if that is not the drift of your pastor's ministry, rather people are being made more like the world thereby, you should flee! Here are the links: "Do You Want To Be Like Christ?" by Rolfe Barnard; "Do You Want To Be Free From Sin?" by Jake Gardner.
"I am also deepened in my conviction, that if we are to be instruments in such a work [of revival], we must be purified from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit. Oh, cry for personal holiness, constant nearness to God by the blood of the Lamb! Bask in his beams, – lie back in the arms of love, – be filled with his Spirit; or all success in the ministry will only be to your own everlasting confusion. You know how I have always insisted on this with you. It is because I feel the need thereof myself. Take heed, dear friend; do not think any sin trivial; remember it will have everlasting consequences. Oh to have Brainerd’s heart for perfect holiness, – to be holy as God is holy, – pure as Christ is pure, – perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect! Oh, what a cursed body of sin we bear, that we should be obliged by it to break these sweet Gospel rules! How much more useful might we be, if we were only more free from pride, self-conceit, personal vanity, or some secret sin that our heart knows! Oh hateful sins, that destroy our peace, and ruin souls!"
- Robert Murray M'Cheyne
"None but those that are holy are in the way to heaven, whatever profession they may make, whatever church they may be in: for in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything nor uncircumcision, but a new creature."
- Jonathan Edwards
"Holiness is the image of God, his likeness, in him that is holy. By being conformed unto God is not meant a conformity to him in his eternity, or infinity, or infinite power. These are God's inimitable and incommunicable attributes; but a conformity to his will, whereby he wills things that are just, right, and truly excellent and lovely; whereby he wills real perfection, and goodness; and perfectly abhors everything that is really evil, unjust, and unreasonable. And it is not only a willing as God wills, but also a doing as he does: in acting holily and justly and wisely and mercifully, like him. It must become natural thus to be, and thus to act; it must be the constant inclination and new nature of the soul, and then the man is holy, and not before."
- Jonathan Edwards
"My friend, you have never been saved unless you wanted to be saved from sinning. If all that you have ever experienced was, you decided you didn't want to go to hell, you don't know my Lord. He came to save people from their sins, and unless He can do that He will have to send you to hell, if He stays God... The essence of salvation is to make men holy; and those whom He cannot make holy, He sends to hell. If He allowed one unsaved, unsanctified, unregenerated sinner into heaven, that sinner would turn heaven into hell. But God is not going to do that. My blessed Lord says He had rather send men to hell, than to let them ruin heaven. He is determined that the eternal city shall be occupied by people who are Holy and happy in the presence of God."
- Rolfe Barnard
"The Salvation which Christ purchased for His people includes both justification and sanctification. The Lord Jesus saves not only from the guilt and penalty of sin, but from the power and pollution of it. Where there is genuine longing to be freed from the love of sin, there is a true desire for His salvation; but where there is no practical deliverance from the service of sin, then we are strangers to His saving grace. Christ came here to "Perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember His holy covenant; the oath which He sware to our father Abraham, that He would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve Him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before Him, all the days of our life" (Luke 1:72-75). It is by this we are to test or measure ourselves: are we serving Him "in holiness and righteousness?" If we are not, we have not been sanctified; and if we are unsanctified, we are none of His."
- A.W. Pink
The Scripture - hear me out please - does not exalt the doctrine of justification by faith alone above the doctrine of sanctification. They are both a part of the overall doctrine of biblical salvation, and they go together in Him, Who is our salvation. If you exalt one above the other, as many do, you are grievously mistaken, and liable to become an antinomian-liberal, denying Lordship Salvation. The Bible does not do that: if you are justified, according to Scripture, you are also sanctified, presently and thus present-progressively, or you are lost! A.W. Pink rightly says, "Though the justification and the sanctification of the believing sinner may be, and should be, contemplated singly and distinctively, yet they are inseparably connected, God never bestowing the one without the other; in fact we have no way or means whatsoever of knowing the former apart from the latter..." Sanctified, meaning not only that you are being made more like Christ all the time (that is one aspect of sanctification), even a daily growth into His likeness in all things, but also that you are holy, consecrated, completely surrendered, pure in heart, and set apart unto Him, from the spirit and ways of the world right now! Period. This is so important, friends, because without holiness, no man shall see God (Hebrews 12:14), and as Peter said, so I quote, "but as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy" (1 Peter 1:15-16). That's a direct command! If you are not sanctified, you cannot say what Paul said above in Philippians 3:7-15, which came from a presently sanctified heart, and therefore you are not justified as Paul was either, nor are you being made more like Christ. There is no blood for you, dear sir, whoever you are. Period. Paul believed that these two doctrines were wedded together, thus he says, the following verses back-to-back in the same passage, (8) "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, (9) And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith." The first verse, verse 8, is his evident heartfelt confession of "present sanctification", and the second is his belief in justification by faith alone in Christ alone, not of works, lest any man should boast - you see how they go together and cannot be apart? As Ravenhill rightly said, "Holiness is not a luxury, it's a necessity. If you're not holy, you'll never make it to Heaven." Paul is obviously keeping his all on the altar all the time, even counting all things but loss, yea dung, that he may be found in Christ, or in other words, justified by faith alone, in Christ alone, all of grace alone! How about you, reader!
"But we are bound to give thanks alway to God for you, brethren beloved of the Lord, because God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit [sanctification] and belief of the truth [justification] : Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ."
(2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)
"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
(1 Corinthians 6:11)
"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit [sanctification], unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ [justification]: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."
(1 Peter 1:1-2)
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [justification], and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [sanctification]."
(1 John 1:9)
"These blessings walk hand in hand; and never were, never will be, never can be parted. No more than the delicious scent can be separated from the beautiful bloom of the rose or carnation: let the flower be expanded, and the fragrance transpires. Try if you can separate gravity from the stone or heat from the fire. If these bodies and their essential properties, if these causes and their necessary effects, are indissolubly connected, so are our justification and our sanctification."
(James Hervey, 1770)
"Like as Adam alone did personally break the first covenant by the all-ruining offence, yet they to whom his guilt is imputed, do thereupon become inherently sinful, through the corruption of nature conveyed to them from him; so Christ alone did perform the condition of the second covenant, and those to whom His righteousness is imputed, do thereupon become inherently righteous, through inherent grace communicated to them from Him by the Spirit. ‘For as by one man’s offence death reigned by one, much more they which receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ’ (Rom. 5:17). How did death reign by Adam’s offence? Not only in point of guilt, whereby his posterity were bound over to destruction, but also in point of their being dead to all good, dead in trespasses and sins. Therefore the receivers of the gift of righteousness must thereby be brought to reign in life, not only legally in justification, but also morally in sanctification"
(Thomas Boston, 1690)
(2 Thessalonians 2:13-14)
"And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God."
(1 Corinthians 6:11)
"Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit [sanctification], unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ [justification]: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied."
(1 Peter 1:1-2)
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins [justification], and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [sanctification]."
(1 John 1:9)
"These blessings walk hand in hand; and never were, never will be, never can be parted. No more than the delicious scent can be separated from the beautiful bloom of the rose or carnation: let the flower be expanded, and the fragrance transpires. Try if you can separate gravity from the stone or heat from the fire. If these bodies and their essential properties, if these causes and their necessary effects, are indissolubly connected, so are our justification and our sanctification."
(James Hervey, 1770)
"Like as Adam alone did personally break the first covenant by the all-ruining offence, yet they to whom his guilt is imputed, do thereupon become inherently sinful, through the corruption of nature conveyed to them from him; so Christ alone did perform the condition of the second covenant, and those to whom His righteousness is imputed, do thereupon become inherently righteous, through inherent grace communicated to them from Him by the Spirit. ‘For as by one man’s offence death reigned by one, much more they which receive the abundance of grace and the gift of righteousness, shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ’ (Rom. 5:17). How did death reign by Adam’s offence? Not only in point of guilt, whereby his posterity were bound over to destruction, but also in point of their being dead to all good, dead in trespasses and sins. Therefore the receivers of the gift of righteousness must thereby be brought to reign in life, not only legally in justification, but also morally in sanctification"
(Thomas Boston, 1690)
Note: In light of this Gospel reality, which Thomas Boston expressed in the quotation above, I must say, glory to God in the highest for so great a salvation! Yea, praise His holy name for the truth! "For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith (1 John 5:4). Truly, I praise God for the doctrine of justification by faith alone through grace alone in the LORD our righteousness alone, apart from works...but that aspect of salvation is not what is the most vital burden for fundamental professing Christianity in 2014, as a whole, rather, what Thomas Boston said about sanctification, the other aspect of Christ's salvation, that is the burden for the hour and the truth in which I currently rejoice! "Surely, shall one say, in the LORD have I righteousness [legal pardon/justification before God apart from works] and strength [spiritual power/a sanctified heart and righteously disposed heart]: even to him shall men come; and all that are incensed against him shall be ashamed." (Isaiah 45:24) Brethren, even King David in the Old Testament understood that justification and sanctification cannot be separated, do you understand yet? He said in Psalm 32:1-2, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile". In verses 1 and 2a, he is speaking of justification by faith alone and imputed righteousness, which means the righteousness of Christ and His meritorious blood and death being legally appropriated to us by faith alone in Him alone, not in our own works. Then, in verse 2b David is speaking about the doctrine of present sanctification, as though both doctrines are wedded together and cannot be apart! They stand together and fall together, brethren, and if they are separated in your life, you are separated from Christ, Who is our life - thus, be careful! "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness [implies justification], and sanctification, and redemption (1 Corinthians 1:30). Regarding Psalm 32 again, the only reason why Paul does not quote the second half of Psalm 32:2b in Romans 4, if you were wondering, those that know the Scriptures, is because he is explicitly trying to prove the doctrine of justification by faith alone in the righteousness of Christ alone in that chapter, not present sanctification or present progressive salvation. Here is the passage again, and my closing thoughts on it. "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity and in whose spirit there is not guile". From this passage and this teaching, we can conclude, if there is guile in your spirit, Christian, because you have a presently unsanctified heart (and there is guile for we are born in sin, unless you have been saved by the mercy of God and are right with Him now, thus legally forgiven through justification and morally changed through sanctification), you are not justified by the blood of Christ but are yet in your sins, and dead therein. Contrariwise, if there is no guile in your spirit, rather, you are presently sanctified and can say from your heart, "Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ" (Phillippians 3:8), like Paul, you are also justified at the same time, all by the free grace of God alone. Praise the Lord! I suppose this means that when "Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile! (John 1:47), Nathanael was justified and sanctified, indeed he was saved! Bless the Lord Jesus, ye that have ears to hear, a heart to fear, and grace to understand, bless Him! To understand more about the doctrine of sanctification, salvation in general, and present progressive salvation/sanctification, please read Chapters 18 & 19 of Sean Morris's book, "The Condescension of God." I am also available to talk, as the Lord leads, or could find someone else to help you, if you need it, reader. Don't be deceived with these doctrines, friends, of justification and sanctification and the overall doctrine of salvation, lest you err on the antinomian-extreme of justifying your sin or on of works-righteousness extreme of glorying in the dead works of men! Both are potentially damning. Your never dying soul is surely on the line, and if you err on either side, things will not be fine - you will find yourself in hell, outside of the true vine, rotten and withered, and there is no salvation anywhere but in Him, wherein is no sin, rather both sanctification and justification, yea, and the redemption of men
To apply the things that I have taught above more personally, I would like to go back to the passages that I have mentioned, in Philippians 3 and 1 Corinthians 15:10, for instance. That done, I warn you very straitly, in fear and trembling, that if the confession of Paul in those passages is not the cry of your heart, you who say that you believe the Gospel Paul preached, you are taken in hypocrisy, and are a liar, wresting the Scriptures to your own destruction. You are on your way to hell, regardless of what your deceitful heart might say, yea, though you have experienced regeneration; because without sanctification (e.g. 1 Corinthians 15:10b, Philippians 3:8), there is no blood for you (1 Corinthians 15:10a; Philippians 3:9), as we have seen. I know not how you have been deceived, if you are, but if you cannot make these confessions, like Paul, you surely have been: Calvinist, Armenian, Open Theist, Anabaptist, Charismatic, et al. You are not believing the sound doctrine of the Apostles aright, which are the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ though you say you do, and you need to repent of unbelief and believe the truth, which if you do, you will be able to, with a good conscience before God and man, say the same thing as Paul every day. May God help you not flatter yourself, whoever you are, that you might not burn with the wicked in hell, but rejoice with the righteous in glory.
To apply the things that I have taught above more personally, I would like to go back to the passages that I have mentioned, in Philippians 3 and 1 Corinthians 15:10, for instance. That done, I warn you very straitly, in fear and trembling, that if the confession of Paul in those passages is not the cry of your heart, you who say that you believe the Gospel Paul preached, you are taken in hypocrisy, and are a liar, wresting the Scriptures to your own destruction. You are on your way to hell, regardless of what your deceitful heart might say, yea, though you have experienced regeneration; because without sanctification (e.g. 1 Corinthians 15:10b, Philippians 3:8), there is no blood for you (1 Corinthians 15:10a; Philippians 3:9), as we have seen. I know not how you have been deceived, if you are, but if you cannot make these confessions, like Paul, you surely have been: Calvinist, Armenian, Open Theist, Anabaptist, Charismatic, et al. You are not believing the sound doctrine of the Apostles aright, which are the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ though you say you do, and you need to repent of unbelief and believe the truth, which if you do, you will be able to, with a good conscience before God and man, say the same thing as Paul every day. May God help you not flatter yourself, whoever you are, that you might not burn with the wicked in hell, but rejoice with the righteous in glory.
"The transgression of the wicked saith within my heart, that there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flattereth himself in his own eyes, until his iniquity be found to be hateful...he abhorreth not evil."
(Psalm 36:1-2, 4b)
"Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity."
(2 Timothy 2:19)
"Sometimes I hear the expression, 'He saved and sanctifies.' That is not Scriptural – sanctification isn't something tagged on to salvation; it is a part of salvation. No man is saved unless he is sanctified. Sanctification means that day by day he progresses in Holiness unto the Lord – that isn't something optional, but is a part of what Christ died on the cross to purchase...you see, justification is not all of salvation. Salvation is a man being regenerated, justified, sanctified, and glorified. It takes them all to make a Christian."
- Rolfe Barnard
Finally, Paul, who was a man after God's own heart, further manifested his heart (which was obviously an extension of his doctrine) in Philippians 1:20-21, saying. "According to my earnest expectation and my hope, that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ shall be magnified in my body, whether it be by life, or by death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." This was the fruit of the Gospel he believed, this was still his mindset after many decades of battle for Christ - just before standing at the judgment seat of a cruel tyrannical monster named Nero. His love had not grown cold, and he was still 100 % sold out for God after many decades, or He would not have been ready to die. He fulfilled Proverbs 4:23-27, in Christ, unto that day: "Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life. Put away from thee a froward mouth, and perverse lips put far from thee. Let thine eyes look right on, and let thine eyelids look straight before thee. Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established. Turn not to the right hand nor to the left: remove thy foot from evil (Pro 4:23-27), and so must you! Yea, Paul wrote this epistle to the Philippians from a prison cell, and he didn't know if he would live or die, but his convictions remained the same regardless. Can you say that, from your heart, before God, my brethren or anyone else: Calvinist, Armenian, Anabaptist, et al.? If you cannot, your heart is not right in the sight of God, you're lukewarm, you're asleep, you're in darkness, and you must needs repent, or be sure of this, you will not inherit the Kingdom of God, and your sin will find you out. Your are not ready to stand before God and you are despising the blood of God's Son. May the Lord have mercy. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.
Timely Quotes About Sanctification, Justification, and Salvation:
A.W. Pink:
"Though absolutely inseparable, yet these two great blessings of Divine grace are quite distinct. In sanctification something is actually imparted to us, in justification it is only imputed. Justification is based entirely upon the work Christ wrought for us, sanctification is principally a work wrought in us. Justification respects its object in a legal sense and terminates in a relative change—a deliverance from punishment, a right to the reward; sanctification regards its object in a moral sense, and terminates in an experimental change both in character and conduct—imparting a love for God, a capacity to worship Him acceptably, and a meetness for heaven. Justification is by a righteousness without us, sanctification is by a holiness wrought in us. Justification is by Christ as Priest, and has regard to the penalty of sin; sanctification is by Christ as King, and has regard to the dominion of sin: the former cancels its damning power, the latter delivers from its reigning power."
James A. Stewart:
"The word salvation is the all-inclusive word of the Gospel. All the redemptive words and blessings mentioned in the Scriptures are incorporated into this great word salvation. Salvation is in three tenses: salvation past, which is deliverance from the penalty of sin; salvation present, which is deliverance from the power of sin; salvation future, which is deliverance from the presence of sin. We are familiar with the past and future tense of the Gospel, but what about the present tense? What about the Christian life we must live on earth from the day of our regeneration to the day of our translation? Three-quarters of the New Testament is occupied with the present tense of the Christian life. Jesus Christ is saving us now. Romans 5:10 is one of the greatest and yet one of the most neglected verses of the entire New Testament. ‘For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.’ What an astonishing statement! Saved by His life? What life? The perfect, flawless, sinless life He lived down here on earth? Oh no! That would only condemn us. We are saved from the power of sin day by day through the present life of Christ. This is His intercessory life at the Father's right hand as we read in Hebrews 7:25: ‘[He] ever liveth to make intercession for them.’ Thank God for the finished work of Christ on the cross which reconciled us, but here now is the unfinished work of Christ which he is carrying on for us right now in glory. As our High Priest He maintains us in fellowship with the Father; as our Advocate He reinstates us into fellowship with the Father when we have sinned, according to 1 John 2:1: ‘[And] if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.’" (The Christian Life and How to Live it)
Rolfe Barnard:
"Oh, how we need some people to get saved from the love of their sins, unto a life of Holiness! Paul preached a Salvation that has a crisis to it, we call that past Salvation; then he preached a Salvation that has a process to it, we call that present Salvation; then he preached a Salvation that has a future to it and we call that the hope of Glory. The Apostle Paul would say in Romans 8:24: 'For we are saved by hope, but hope that is not seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?' Yes, we have been saved. Then Paul would say, 'We are being saved,' in 1 Corinthians 15:2-4: 'By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.' Then he said we shall be saved in Romans 5:9: 'Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.' Now that is Salvation, it has its past aspect, it has its present aspect, and it has its future glory. There is one verse in Scripture in Paul’s writing that I think sums up all of his Gospel and all of his theology about this glorious word Salvation. And we so desperately need to look at and experience the power of that verse in Scripture today. Paul’s whole doctrine of Salvation is found in Romans 5:1-2: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By Whom also we have access by faith into this Grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the Glory of God.” We have past, present and future Salvation in these two verses. As Paul thinks of Salvation he looks (1) back to the time when by faith the believer receives God’s forgiveness in Jesus Christ. (2) And then he dwells on the believer’s blessedness, he used the expression the “Grace wherein we stand.” (3) He looks forward to the time when with sin and death no more, he with all of God’s redeemed ones will see Christ as He is with an undimmed view of Him, and praise the Son of God. 1 John 3:2: 'Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.' Salvation has a past aspect, there was a crisis. Salvation has a present aspect, it is day by day, according to II Peter 3:18: 'But grow in Grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever.' Salvation has a future hope, when with undimmed view of Christ, we shall see Him as He is, and we shall be like Him."
"Though absolutely inseparable, yet these two great blessings of Divine grace are quite distinct. In sanctification something is actually imparted to us, in justification it is only imputed. Justification is based entirely upon the work Christ wrought for us, sanctification is principally a work wrought in us. Justification respects its object in a legal sense and terminates in a relative change—a deliverance from punishment, a right to the reward; sanctification regards its object in a moral sense, and terminates in an experimental change both in character and conduct—imparting a love for God, a capacity to worship Him acceptably, and a meetness for heaven. Justification is by a righteousness without us, sanctification is by a holiness wrought in us. Justification is by Christ as Priest, and has regard to the penalty of sin; sanctification is by Christ as King, and has regard to the dominion of sin: the former cancels its damning power, the latter delivers from its reigning power."
James A. Stewart:
"The word salvation is the all-inclusive word of the Gospel. All the redemptive words and blessings mentioned in the Scriptures are incorporated into this great word salvation. Salvation is in three tenses: salvation past, which is deliverance from the penalty of sin; salvation present, which is deliverance from the power of sin; salvation future, which is deliverance from the presence of sin. We are familiar with the past and future tense of the Gospel, but what about the present tense? What about the Christian life we must live on earth from the day of our regeneration to the day of our translation? Three-quarters of the New Testament is occupied with the present tense of the Christian life. Jesus Christ is saving us now. Romans 5:10 is one of the greatest and yet one of the most neglected verses of the entire New Testament. ‘For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.’ What an astonishing statement! Saved by His life? What life? The perfect, flawless, sinless life He lived down here on earth? Oh no! That would only condemn us. We are saved from the power of sin day by day through the present life of Christ. This is His intercessory life at the Father's right hand as we read in Hebrews 7:25: ‘[He] ever liveth to make intercession for them.’ Thank God for the finished work of Christ on the cross which reconciled us, but here now is the unfinished work of Christ which he is carrying on for us right now in glory. As our High Priest He maintains us in fellowship with the Father; as our Advocate He reinstates us into fellowship with the Father when we have sinned, according to 1 John 2:1: ‘[And] if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.’" (The Christian Life and How to Live it)
Rolfe Barnard:
"Oh, how we need some people to get saved from the love of their sins, unto a life of Holiness! Paul preached a Salvation that has a crisis to it, we call that past Salvation; then he preached a Salvation that has a process to it, we call that present Salvation; then he preached a Salvation that has a future to it and we call that the hope of Glory. The Apostle Paul would say in Romans 8:24: 'For we are saved by hope, but hope that is not seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?' Yes, we have been saved. Then Paul would say, 'We are being saved,' in 1 Corinthians 15:2-4: 'By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures.' Then he said we shall be saved in Romans 5:9: 'Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him.' Now that is Salvation, it has its past aspect, it has its present aspect, and it has its future glory. There is one verse in Scripture in Paul’s writing that I think sums up all of his Gospel and all of his theology about this glorious word Salvation. And we so desperately need to look at and experience the power of that verse in Scripture today. Paul’s whole doctrine of Salvation is found in Romans 5:1-2: “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By Whom also we have access by faith into this Grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the Glory of God.” We have past, present and future Salvation in these two verses. As Paul thinks of Salvation he looks (1) back to the time when by faith the believer receives God’s forgiveness in Jesus Christ. (2) And then he dwells on the believer’s blessedness, he used the expression the “Grace wherein we stand.” (3) He looks forward to the time when with sin and death no more, he with all of God’s redeemed ones will see Christ as He is with an undimmed view of Him, and praise the Son of God. 1 John 3:2: 'Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when He shall appear, we shall be like Him; for we shall see Him as He is.' Salvation has a past aspect, there was a crisis. Salvation has a present aspect, it is day by day, according to II Peter 3:18: 'But grow in Grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To Him be glory both now and for ever.' Salvation has a future hope, when with undimmed view of Christ, we shall see Him as He is, and we shall be like Him."
May it not be so, that you, my brothers and sisters, for whom Christ died, through indoctrination, evil communications, and false applications of the Bible, should die in your sins, being cast forth as a branch, withered, gathered by men, cast into the fire, and burned (John 15:6). Rather, may you hear the trumpet blow: "Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame" (1 Corinthians 15:34). Yea rather, may the Lamb that was slain receive the reward for His sufferings in your life - your love and soul and life and obedience, all by the grace of God, and that, unto eternity, no matter the cost, no matter whether all the world wonders after the beast and the love of many waxes cold or not. There is no excuse. “For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God's.” (1 Corinthians 6:20) Therefore, as Paul said, “Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.” And again, “I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (1 Timothy 6:12; Romans 12:1-2).
"Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give us of your oil; for our lamps are gone out. But the wise answered, saying, Not so; lest there be not enough for us and you: but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves. And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came; and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage: and the door was shut. Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us. But he answered and said, Verily I say unto you, I know you not. Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh." (Matthew 25:1-13)
Brethren, if you need to speak more on these matters, whether you are a famous preacher, a masterful theologian or someone else, let me know, but don't presume on God's mercy when you are in sin, not abiding in Him, and thus under His wrath (John 3:36), despite your professed doctrine. "There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (Romans 8:1). Thus, if you're in the flesh (see 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, Galatians 5:19-20, and Ephesians 5:3-6 to test if you're in the flesh) and evidencing fruits therefrom, you're abiding in death, and you're on your way to hell. Paul, our pattern saint (1 Timothy 1:16), surely did not so presume, nor should we! He said to the Corinthians, and I close with this, "Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain. And every man that striveth for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible. I therefore so run, not as uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air: But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Corinthians 9:24-27).
Must Jesus bear the cross alone, And all the world go free?
No, there’s a cross for everyone, And there’s a cross for me.
The consecrated cross I’ll bear Till death shall set me free;
And then go home my crown to wear, For there’s a crown for me.
How happy are the saints above, Who once went sorrowing here!
But now they taste unmingled love, And joy without a tear.
Upon the crystal pavement, down At Jesus' pierced feet,
Joyful, I'll cast my golden crown, and His dear name repeat.
O precious cross! O glorious crown! O resurrection day!
Ye angels, from the stars come down, And bear my soul away.
- "Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone?"
“It is the same narrow way that Christ tells us of. Some don't go to heaven in a broad way, and others in a narrow; some in an easy and others in a difficult way; some in a way of self-denial and mortification, and others in a way of enjoyment of their lusts and sinful pleasures; some up hill and others down: but the way to heaven is the same, and it is the highway here spoken of. There is only one highway or common road, and no by-paths that some few go to heaven in, as exceptions from the rest. If we seek never so diligently, we shall never find out an easier way to heaven than that which Christ has revealed to us. We cannot find a broader way, but if we go to heaven, the way is so narrow that we must rub hard to get along and press forward. The kingdom of heaven must suffer violence; it must be taken by force, or else it never will be taken at all. If we don't go by the footsteps of the flock, we shall never find the place where Christ feeds, and where he makes his flock to rest at noon.”
- Jonathan Edwards
"I do not believe a man's a Christian who isn't hotly seeking Christ right now."
- Rolfe Barnard
“It is not admiring Christ, but a vital devotion to Him and a complete surrender to a Sovereign Christ. To know Christ is to experience Him and to experience Him is power; the power of a changed life comes from Him Who sits on a throne. To know Christ is to love Him, and to love Him is to serve Him in utter loyalty and devotion. Somewhere down the line in order to accommodate ourselves to this damnable stuff they have called the Gospel for sixty years, we have invented some terms. He is a consecrated Christian, there ain't no other kind; if you don't love the Lord with all your heart, you are not saved. If you do not serve Him with utter loyalty and devotion, you are not saved. We ought to start telling people the truth and stop speaking peace when there is no peace. Most preachers are deceiving people and they are on the road to hell. God says: “My sheep hear my voice and they follow Me.” Those who come to know and experience Christ are those who are seekers after Him.”
- Rolfe Barnard
"Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel: therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me... Again, when a righteous man doth turn from his righteousness, and commit iniquity, and I lay a stumblingblock before him, he shall die: because thou hast not given him warning, he shall die in his sin, and his righteousness which he hath done shall not be remembered; but his blood will I require at thine hand. Nevertheless if thou warn the righteous man, that the righteous sin not, and he doth not sin, he shall surely live, because he is warned; also thou hast delivered thy soul."
(Ezekiel 3:17-21)
"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
(Matthew 7:21-23)
"Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear: For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off."
(Romans 11:18-22)
"Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall."
(1 Corinthians 10:12)
"Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences."
(2 Corinthians 5:9-11)
"Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it ... Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief." (Hebrew 4:1,11)
"Wherefore lift up the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees; and make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed. Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord: looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled; lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears."
(Hebrews 12:12-17)
"Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: for our God is a consuming fire."
(Hebrews 12:28-29)
"Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother."
(1 John 3:4-10)
"We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not."
(1 John 5:18)
Finally, my regenerate brethren, is this your Christianity? This right well describes my experience and, I think, the Apostle Paul's (not to the extent, but in heart). What about you? Are you even a Christian, or are you just severely backslidden? May the Lord give you light (Ephesians 5:14). Here is a sermon about the Christianity I see in the Bible, namely, a warfare against the powers of hell as opposed to a foolish game called "American Christianity as a whole." "Will You Go?" by Ryan Ringnald.
"A generation or two ago – I remember even when I started to preach nearly 33 years ago [1920's] – a generation ago it meant something
to stack arms, to throw down your shotgun, to repent, to surrender, to come into the presence of the Living Christ in such a way as to be saved. In that day and time this Christian walk and this Christian way was a pilgrimage. Men and women walked in enemy territory as a pilgrim and walked the tightrope, seeking the will of God. In those days this business of being a Christian was a warfare – constantly at war with our old flesh within us, the devil tempting us. In those days this business of walking with Christ was an eternal conflict – it was an agonizing struggle. In those days coming to Christ meant an honest attempt to do eternally the will of a Sovereign God. In those days coming to Christ in what we call repentance meant, if necessary, the cutting off of the arms or a plucking out of the eye.
In the Word of God we are told about a cross and about taking it up and about denying self. In those days coming to Christ in
repentance meant being willing to be a fool for Christ's sake. In those days coming to Christ in repentance meant walking alone if necessary. It meant a
willingness to be hated for His sake. Now, God help us, it is more or less a picnic – it is a social – it is a mockery! May God open our eyes!"
- Rolfe Barnard
"A generation or two ago – I remember even when I started to preach nearly 33 years ago [1920's] – a generation ago it meant something
to stack arms, to throw down your shotgun, to repent, to surrender, to come into the presence of the Living Christ in such a way as to be saved. In that day and time this Christian walk and this Christian way was a pilgrimage. Men and women walked in enemy territory as a pilgrim and walked the tightrope, seeking the will of God. In those days this business of being a Christian was a warfare – constantly at war with our old flesh within us, the devil tempting us. In those days this business of walking with Christ was an eternal conflict – it was an agonizing struggle. In those days coming to Christ meant an honest attempt to do eternally the will of a Sovereign God. In those days coming to Christ in what we call repentance meant, if necessary, the cutting off of the arms or a plucking out of the eye.
In the Word of God we are told about a cross and about taking it up and about denying self. In those days coming to Christ in
repentance meant being willing to be a fool for Christ's sake. In those days coming to Christ in repentance meant walking alone if necessary. It meant a
willingness to be hated for His sake. Now, God help us, it is more or less a picnic – it is a social – it is a mockery! May God open our eyes!"
- Rolfe Barnard
A Sermon on "Christian Suffering", by Ryan Ringnald:
The following is a message I preached a number of years ago, 2011, highlighting my general experience as a true Christian - suffering. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all" (Psalms 34:19). Praise God! - "Beloved, Think It Not Strange"
The following is a message I preached a number of years ago, 2011, highlighting my general experience as a true Christian - suffering. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous: but the LORD delivereth him out of them all" (Psalms 34:19). Praise God! - "Beloved, Think It Not Strange"
Please consider the following video, clearly evincing the fact that Jesus Christ died to set you free, that you may walk in the liberty of righteousness, and not in the slavery of iniquity, in the awful gulf of sin!
Jesus Died to ... SET YOU FREE!
In Light of this Video, Please Take Some Time to Answer God: Does Your Gospel Save From Sin?!
Friends, and countrymen, before God, have you really been saved, or are you still a slave?! There's something worse than carnal slavery, and it's the slavery of sin! Have you been delivered from the power thereof, or are you still an enemy of God? Thus, is your Gospel worthy of praise, or is it an unworthy expression of our apostate days?
My response to the video immediately above, from my heart is, "Praise, praise, praise the LORD!" That's the Gospel I believe, and there is not another! There is no other way to be free from sin, but by way of Calvary's tree! The Gospel that saves from the awful gulf of iniquity, and from the dreadful grip of sin - that is the Gospel of grace, found in the written Word of God, and any other kind is a falsified gospel of disgrace! Can you say the following with me, or are you living in hypocrisy? He bought me to set me free, from the slavery of iniquity and the bitter bondage of S-I-N! Praise the Lord Jesus! Regarding the true Gospel that saves from sin, William Law wrote the following words. Do you agree?
"This is the whole Gospel, the birth of the Holy Law of Jesus within us. His conquering life overcoming our inward death."
The Lord Jesus Christ said:
"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
(John 8:31-36)
The Apostle Paul said:
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
(Romans 1:16-17)
"Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. They answered him, We be Abraham's seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed."
(John 8:31-36)
The Apostle Paul said:
"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith."
(Romans 1:16-17)
O how truly the true Gospel of Jesus Christ is under attack, in your day and mine, friend! A false gospel has infiltrated the professedly Christian parts of the world, and has, as it were, covered the whole earth with darkness. Our generation has been under the tyranny of Satan for so long that it has gotten used to the dark. We need a cry, such as was heard in Scotland, many years ago, for freedom! Freedom from the devil's reign, and the spiritual captivity of carnal men, who hold those whom they deceive in sin, under the pretense of righteousness! How long will God let this be, when multitudes of people are deluded in iniquity, and falling into hell - unwept for, unwarned, and utterly neglected. Yea, millions of Americans are overcome by sin, within or without the church, and hardly a man even takes a second look! O! what a day is ours!
"But what I do, that I will do, that I may cut off occasion from them which desire occasion; that wherein they glory [In their flesh: e.g. intellect, oratory ability, carnal heritage, but not the cross of Christ], they may be found even as we. For such are false apostles, deceitful workers, transforming themselves into the apostles of Christ. And no marvel; for Satan himself is transformed into an angel of light. Therefore it is no great thing if his ministers also be transformed as the ministers of righteousness; whose end shall be according to their works."
(2 Corinthians 11:12-15)
Without true faith, my friends - hear me now - without saving faith in Christ, which is the victory that overcomes the world (1 John 5:4), you're on your way to hell. Is that complicated? There is no greater evidence of the hatred of God against a man or a woman, than that a person is living in sin. Are you? God has the keys to save from sin, and rebuke the wind of human lusts, and the power to let them go. If He loves you, He will give you victory; if He is against you, He won't. He has promised, "When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him" (Proverbs 16:7). And, seeing the greatest enemy to the human race is sin's disgrace, if you don't have the victory over this enemy, you're an enemy of God - thus, you are not a Christian - one who follows the Lord Jesus Christ, as opposed to the cultural norm of sin, or the lust of the flesh and the lusts of men. How do I know that the Lord is for me, and that His pleasure is upon me, but that He is allowing me to overcome my iniquity, all by the free grace of God!? If you are in secret sin, Pharisee, be careful or God will manifest your folly. You are not right with Him, in your heart, or God would give you more grace to impart freedom from the shame of your sinful heart. "Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). "Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy? But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up" (James 4:5-10).
In light of this principle in the paragraph above, please consider the following passage:
"And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine." (Genesis 20:2-7)
Do you see how God was in control, even as to whether this man sinned? Friend or foe, would you rather have a flattering carnal speech, deceiving you into a false peace, while you're in rebellion to God? I'm not going to give you one, for "a lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin" (Proverbs 26:28). If you are in sin, you are a disgrace to His name, and you need to lament and repent of the "filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1): by grace through faith in His Almighty name, that is able to save to the uttermost, all that come unto God by Him. God would give you more grace, friend, if your heart was right in His sight, but you're obviously not following the Lamb with all of your heart and might, and believing in the God of the Bible. "The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein" (Proverbs 22:14).
In light of this principle in the paragraph above, please consider the following passage:
"And Abraham said of Sarah his wife, She is my sister: and Abimelech king of Gerar sent, and took Sarah. But God came to Abimelech in a dream by night, and said to him, Behold, thou art but a dead man, for the woman which thou hast taken; for she is a man's wife. But Abimelech had not come near her: and he said, Lord, wilt thou slay also a righteous nation? Said he not unto me, She is my sister? and she, even she herself said, He is my brother: in the integrity of my heart and innocency of my hands have I done this. And God said unto him in a dream, Yea, I know that thou didst this in the integrity of thy heart; for I also withheld thee from sinning against me: therefore suffered I thee not to touch her. Now therefore restore the man his wife; for he is a prophet, and he shall pray for thee, and thou shalt live: and if thou restore her not, know thou that thou shalt surely die, thou, and all that are thine." (Genesis 20:2-7)
Do you see how God was in control, even as to whether this man sinned? Friend or foe, would you rather have a flattering carnal speech, deceiving you into a false peace, while you're in rebellion to God? I'm not going to give you one, for "a lying tongue hateth those that are afflicted by it; and a flattering mouth worketh ruin" (Proverbs 26:28). If you are in sin, you are a disgrace to His name, and you need to lament and repent of the "filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God" (2 Corinthians 7:1): by grace through faith in His Almighty name, that is able to save to the uttermost, all that come unto God by Him. God would give you more grace, friend, if your heart was right in His sight, but you're obviously not following the Lamb with all of your heart and might, and believing in the God of the Bible. "The mouth of strange women is a deep pit: he that is abhorred of the LORD shall fall therein" (Proverbs 22:14).
"Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD. Blessed are they that keep his testimonies, and that seek him with the whole heart. They also do no iniquity: they walk in his ways."
(Psalm 119:1-3)
(Psalm 119:1-3)
O my soul! How we need another movement of rights in this country - not civil rights, but spiritual ones. Not the rights to be an independent nation, as in the days of George Washington and the American Revolution, but the right to be independent from Satan's tyranny! Sadly, false prophets have had the platform in this world far too long. They promise others liberty, while they themselves are overcome by their iniquity and running on in their apostasy, making merchandise of those whom they deceive. With "...great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error" (2 Peter 2:18). They destroy precious souls (See 2 Peter 2), while they are justified in their own eyes by their man-made theology, at the expense of the whole counsel of God. Therefore, since this is not a game, but a war, and souls are really perishing, it is needful to consider the Gospel we acclaim, and make sure that we are not deceived to our shame. Do you believe such a Gospel, that is mentioned in the verses and the video above? Namely, a Gospel that is "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth"? A gospel which takes effect when you, as the British did before George Washington in the picture above, stack arms before the conqueror? A Gospel that sets men free from the slavery of iniquity to walk in the liberty of the truth? Is there any other kind? I don't think so. Friends, sin is personal slavery instead of true liberty, which is only found in Christ, by way of His Spirit! Thus Paul says, "where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17b). Is His Spirit in you? Have you counted the cost, are you ready to meet Him at His judgment seat, are you walking in the liberty that is meet for a child of God?
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised."
(Luke 4:18)
"Is it the desire of my heart to be made altogether holy? Is there any sin I wish to retain? Is sin a grief to me, the sudden risings and overcomings thereof especially? Lord, thou knowest all things – thou knowest that I hate all sin, and desire to be made altogether like thee. It is the sweetest word in the Bible – 'Sin shall not have dominion over you.' O then that I might lie low in the dust – the lower the better – that Jesus' righteousness and Jesus' strength alone be admired."
- Robert Murray M'Cheyne
"Our personal holiness is required by the Mediation of Christ. One principal end of the design of God in sending His Son into the world was to recover us unto that state of holiness which we had lost: "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). Among the principal of the works of the Devil was the infecting of our natures and persons with a principle of sin and enmity against God, and that evil work is not destroyed but by the introduction of a principle of holiness and obedience. The image of God in us was defaced by sin; the restoration of that image was one of the main purposes of Christ's mediation. Christ's great and ultimate design was to bring His people unto the enjoyment of God to His eternal glory, and this can only be by grace and holiness, by which we are made "meet for the inheritance of the saints in light" (Col. 1:12)."
- A.W. Pink
"Any nation which for an extended period puts pleasure before liberty is likely to lose the liberty it misused."
- A.W. Tozer
(Luke 4:18)
"Is it the desire of my heart to be made altogether holy? Is there any sin I wish to retain? Is sin a grief to me, the sudden risings and overcomings thereof especially? Lord, thou knowest all things – thou knowest that I hate all sin, and desire to be made altogether like thee. It is the sweetest word in the Bible – 'Sin shall not have dominion over you.' O then that I might lie low in the dust – the lower the better – that Jesus' righteousness and Jesus' strength alone be admired."
- Robert Murray M'Cheyne
"Our personal holiness is required by the Mediation of Christ. One principal end of the design of God in sending His Son into the world was to recover us unto that state of holiness which we had lost: "For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil" (1 John 3:8). Among the principal of the works of the Devil was the infecting of our natures and persons with a principle of sin and enmity against God, and that evil work is not destroyed but by the introduction of a principle of holiness and obedience. The image of God in us was defaced by sin; the restoration of that image was one of the main purposes of Christ's mediation. Christ's great and ultimate design was to bring His people unto the enjoyment of God to His eternal glory, and this can only be by grace and holiness, by which we are made "meet for the inheritance of the saints in light" (Col. 1:12)."
- A.W. Pink
"Any nation which for an extended period puts pleasure before liberty is likely to lose the liberty it misused."
- A.W. Tozer
Please read Romans 6 below, before going on. Thank you.
"What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein? Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin. For he that is dead is freed from sin. Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with him: knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more; death hath no more dominion over him. For in that he died, he died unto sin once: but in that he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye should obey it in the lusts thereof. Neither yield ye your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin: but yield yourselves unto God, as those that are alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness unto God. For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you. Being then made free from sin, ye became the servants of righteousness. I speak after the manner of men because of the infirmity of your flesh: for as ye have yielded your members servants to uncleanness and to iniquity unto iniquity; even so now yield your members servants to righteousness unto holiness. For when ye were the servants of sin, ye were free from righteousness. What fruit had ye then in those things whereof ye are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. But now being made free from sin, and become servants to God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:1-23)
The Gospel essentially means the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ the Lord, Who is the Gospel of grace, and there is not another, nor grace anywhere else to be found! He is salvation, not the doctrine of eternal security, not your mental assent to His promises, but the person of Christ Jesus the Lord. Do you know Him? He is security, in Him is safety; He is sanctification, in Him is justification; He is the propitiation, in Him is all in all; He is life, and the foremost strength of His "holy nation", which are the holy saints of God. It's all about Him, my friend! The world revolves around Him, and if anybody is not utterly pointing you to Him and His holy Word in a vital and sanctified way, he is doing the work of the devil, though his name be Dylan McCabe*. You are not right, my friend, but yours is a path of darkness and sin. Brother, brokenness is not sin, but fellowshipping with an ecumenical seminary is (see Ephesians 5:11) and so is slandering your brethren behind their backs, without a proper hearing (see Proverbs 18:13, John 7:51). "He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD" (Proverbs 17:15). "It is not good to accept the person of the wicked, to overthrow the righteous in judgment" (Proverbs 18:5). Jesus Christ was a man of sorrows and so were all His men, but you have forsaken your former paths of holiness, which you formerly and rightly walked in. God is calling you to repent, Dylan! "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent" (Revelation 2:5). "But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to smite his fellowservants, and to eat and drink with the drunken; the lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth" (Matthew 24:48-51).
*Dylan, consider this poem, which Cory wrote against your shameful sin, a blog post linked below, in which you essentially accuse Jesus Christ, "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53) of being in sin! - not to mention every other faithful follower of the Lamb that ever lived, both in biblical and extra-biblical history, without exception, which you impudently condemn with your terrifying and deceitful pen: e.g. Charles Spurgeon, David Brainerd, John Bunyan, Job, Adam, King David, Jacob, et al. Let me mention one Scripture to manifest your folly, and if you would stop slandering us behind our backs, behind your whited seminarian mask, I would kindly share with you some more in person. King David said, "but I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people" (Psalm 22:6) - King David, the godliest man of his generation, and one of the most Christlike men that ever lived - a worm. Dylan, like I said, dear sir, you need to repent! Your glorying is in your shame, and not the cross of Christ anymore, which the Apostle Paul gloried in (Galatians 6:14). May the Lord save you from your folly or cease to let it be, lest you carry on destroying souls bound for eternity. "And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of" (2 Peter 2:2).
The following poem is from your former best friend, and a faithful follower of the Lamb, who has refused to compromise with sin, though it has cost him everything - Dylan's blog: http://twofoundations.com/?p=372, and the response of Cory James McLaughlin to it, in the form of a poem:
"I am a Wormist"
*Dylan, consider this poem, which Cory wrote against your shameful sin, a blog post linked below, in which you essentially accuse Jesus Christ, "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief" (Isaiah 53) of being in sin! - not to mention every other faithful follower of the Lamb that ever lived, both in biblical and extra-biblical history, without exception, which you impudently condemn with your terrifying and deceitful pen: e.g. Charles Spurgeon, David Brainerd, John Bunyan, Job, Adam, King David, Jacob, et al. Let me mention one Scripture to manifest your folly, and if you would stop slandering us behind our backs, behind your whited seminarian mask, I would kindly share with you some more in person. King David said, "but I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people" (Psalm 22:6) - King David, the godliest man of his generation, and one of the most Christlike men that ever lived - a worm. Dylan, like I said, dear sir, you need to repent! Your glorying is in your shame, and not the cross of Christ anymore, which the Apostle Paul gloried in (Galatians 6:14). May the Lord save you from your folly or cease to let it be, lest you carry on destroying souls bound for eternity. "And many shall follow their pernicious ways; by reason of whom the way of truth shall be evil spoken of" (2 Peter 2:2).
The following poem is from your former best friend, and a faithful follower of the Lamb, who has refused to compromise with sin, though it has cost him everything - Dylan's blog: http://twofoundations.com/?p=372, and the response of Cory James McLaughlin to it, in the form of a poem:
"I am a Wormist"
I am a Wormist through and through:
I rejoice the day long
As a worm in a happy throng!
His holiness to impart,
To this poor man's sore heart!
O the blessed redeeming Lord
To set this worm free by His mercy can afford!
In short I am a worm indeed,
In fact it is my dying creed!
To be as my Saviour was hanging on that cross,
That I might turn others by my death to clear the dross!
Yes by my death I say,
For Christ says I must die every day!
But if I be not a worm, from what must I daily die?
It seems it's all vain glory and the bible is a lie!
But wait before you crucify afresh the Son of God,
Perhaps it's not just some big facade.
Could it be that to be a worm is a happy lot?
Lest we find ourselves left that Day with some unseemly blot?
If one be of a poor spirit, we are but dust and dirt, yea unworthy to be a worm!
We are of no reputation, no stateliness of form
O to be a worm by seed,
This is my final creed
Adopted by a holy seed
Finally to be freed!
There is no other way to heaven,
Unless you're overcome with leaven.
It is the highway of holiness
Of this I must confess!
There is but one road,
To relieve you of your load!
You must become a worm you see!
Nothing of your own to plea!
You say a Wormist is such a "depressing lot"
But what saith King Solomon's plot?
Sorrow is better than laughter:
For by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
You seem to have it wrong dear sir,
I hope your heart's astir!
I can but entreat you to explore
The heart of David perhaps a little more!
It is the heart of Christ you'll find,
Toward asceticism not too inclined.
But rather to my favored seat,
Before the throne above I meet.
It is His blood, His death, His resurrection power that saved my filthy soul,
Still it is my feet that need be cleansed as all His billows roll!
It is my joy, my joy, my joy to serve my King this day!
It is not free grace theology that set me free from sin I say!
But rather His great Lordship to savingly embrace,
It is not of myself you see but of His Kingly grace!
Now that you've heard my crude wormful pathos,
Pathos may be misleading because truly it's my joyful ethos.
Yes, it's true, it's true....
I am a Wormist through and through.
I rejoice the day long
As a worm in a happy throng!
His holiness to impart,
To this poor man's sore heart!
O the blessed redeeming Lord
To set this worm free by His mercy can afford!
In short I am a worm indeed,
In fact it is my dying creed!
To be as my Saviour was hanging on that cross,
That I might turn others by my death to clear the dross!
Yes by my death I say,
For Christ says I must die every day!
But if I be not a worm, from what must I daily die?
It seems it's all vain glory and the bible is a lie!
But wait before you crucify afresh the Son of God,
Perhaps it's not just some big facade.
Could it be that to be a worm is a happy lot?
Lest we find ourselves left that Day with some unseemly blot?
If one be of a poor spirit, we are but dust and dirt, yea unworthy to be a worm!
We are of no reputation, no stateliness of form
O to be a worm by seed,
This is my final creed
Adopted by a holy seed
Finally to be freed!
There is no other way to heaven,
Unless you're overcome with leaven.
It is the highway of holiness
Of this I must confess!
There is but one road,
To relieve you of your load!
You must become a worm you see!
Nothing of your own to plea!
You say a Wormist is such a "depressing lot"
But what saith King Solomon's plot?
Sorrow is better than laughter:
For by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.
You seem to have it wrong dear sir,
I hope your heart's astir!
I can but entreat you to explore
The heart of David perhaps a little more!
It is the heart of Christ you'll find,
Toward asceticism not too inclined.
But rather to my favored seat,
Before the throne above I meet.
It is His blood, His death, His resurrection power that saved my filthy soul,
Still it is my feet that need be cleansed as all His billows roll!
It is my joy, my joy, my joy to serve my King this day!
It is not free grace theology that set me free from sin I say!
But rather His great Lordship to savingly embrace,
It is not of myself you see but of His Kingly grace!
Now that you've heard my crude wormful pathos,
Pathos may be misleading because truly it's my joyful ethos.
Yes, it's true, it's true....
I am a Wormist through and through.
Merely pointing someone to a head knowledge of His attributes, that's not going to cut it, preacher, nor to a book of theology about the Lord, but to the person of Jesus Christ and His written Word - that will do it. Paul said, "For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake" (2 Corinthians 4:5). It's all about Him! My friends, just read the book of Colossians in a legitimate translation, and then the rest of the Bible, and put this generation's flesh-pampering, cross-denying theology as far as you can from your mind! Paris Reidhead rightly stated, in the video above, "You see, salvation is not in a plan; salvation is not in Scripture verses; salvation is not in the ordinances nor a scheme of theology; salvation is not in a decision; salvation is not in a pronouncement of an evangelist or a pastor or a teacher; salvation is a Person. This is the cardinal truth of our faith: salvation isn't from a Person only - it is - but salvation is a Person. You understand therefore that salvation is Christ; He is our life, He is our salvation. He didn't die to send it, He died to become it. The Lord Jesus died therefore to set His people free." The Apostle Paul said: "For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified" (1 Corinthians 2:2). Is this the Gospel that you believe, or are you, my friend, totally deceived? Is this your theology, your vital reality, the cry of your thirsty soul...a Gospel that is not "...in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance..." (1 Thessalonians 1:5), or not? "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for [American Christianity] is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto [HIM] the righteousness of God. For CHRIST is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Romans 10:1-4). Regarding biblical salvation, please listen to the "Biblical Salvation Sermon Series", which I have recorded, for more help, if you need it, especially the 3 sermons against false prophets and false peace.
There is another message that is called the gospel today, but it doesn't have the power to save, and it isn't good news at all. It is a gospel in form only, but not a Gospel indeed, whether the form is of a more Calvinistic persuasion or from an Armenian tree, it is not the gospel of grace. Grace means "God's riches at Christ's expense", not merely legally but spiritually! No, theologian! salvation is not merely justification, but also sanctification, as has been stated above. Both are in Him and without Him is no salvation! This false gospel of our apostate day leaves its believers in slavery to unconquered lusts, and not enslaved to the righteousness from above. Which Gospel have you bought into, my friends? Like in the video above, does your Christianity set you free, or does it work as a spiritual narcotic to dull you to true liberty and peace in God? "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed" (Galatians 1:6-8). Can you agree? He died to set His people free from their sins, that they might not live the rest of their days to the lusts of men, but to do the will of God. By abiding in the Vine, and cleaving to the Lord, they maintain their lot in the promised land, and keep themselves from their iniquitous sin. |
"I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity."
(Psalm 18:23)
"The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments."
(Habakkuk 3:19)
"We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not."
(1 John 5:18)
(Psalm 18:23)
"The LORD God is my strength, and he will make my feet like hinds' feet, and he will make me to walk upon mine high places. To the chief singer on my stringed instruments."
(Habakkuk 3:19)
"We know that whosoever is born of God sinneth not; but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that wicked one toucheth him not."
(1 John 5:18)
Please consider the following video of Salvation, which is in Christ, not a doctrine about Him:
Old Mother Merrit
Having watched the immediate video above, from my heart I say, that is the Gospel truth; that is salvation indeed! As Barnard said in this video, "No one but Jesus can give ya' peace. Faith about Him will not bring peace. But, bless God, He gives peace. To be joined to Him...He gives peace. Men need life - nobody can give you life, my brother, except Him. Men need liberty, bound men need to be set free. Nobody can set you free except Him. Miserable men need peace, nobody can give you peace but Him..." As Paris Reidhead said, in the video above this one, "and no wonder the writer of Hebrews says, 'How can we escape if we neglect so great salvation?' When God's salvation intended deliverance not only from the penalty of our sin and from the certainty of hell, but has included deliverance from the power of the law and its grip and its hold upon us. It included deliverance from the power of the flesh, the personalities and nature, the traits of the individual. It included deliverance from the power and control of Satan himself, and the demons of darkness. And for a person to say, 'Well, all I really want from Christ is just to go to heaven anyway...' Why, it's unthinkable! It's inconceivable! It can't be...it just can't be that anyone can spurn the grace of God, the mercy of God, the love of God, manifest in the death of His son to set His people free, and go on in bondage when He's already paid the price of their deliverance." Have you ever heard of such a message, friend, American, or thought of such a thing? A truth so sweet and precious, that it has the power to save the fallen human race, but a reality so scorned and hated by sinful men that it led to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. It must needs be applied by those for whom Christ died, that they might walk in the glorious liberty of the children of God and truly be lights in this dark world.
"Do all things without murmurings and disputings: that ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world; holding forth the word of life; that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain."
(Philippians 2:14-16)
"Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter."
(Romans 7:1-6)
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."
(Romans 8:1-14)
(Philippians 2:14-16)
"Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth? For the woman which hath an husband is bound by the law to her husband so long as he liveth; but if the husband be dead, she is loosed from the law of her husband. So then if, while her husband liveth, she be married to another man, she shall be called an adulteress: but if her husband be dead, she is free from that law; so that she is no adulteress, though she be married to another man. Wherefore, my brethren, ye also are become dead to the law by the body of Christ; that ye should be married to another, even to him who is raised from the dead, that we should bring forth fruit unto God. For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sins, which were by the law, did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death. But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter."
(Romans 7:1-6)
"There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you. Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh. For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."
(Romans 8:1-14)
In summary of this section above, "Does Your Gospel Save From Sin", and my meager exposition of a cross-affirming Christianity, which Jesus Christ led out in and died to establish. As you must needs see, Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of fallen humanity, and He died to set men truly free, not to leave them impotent in their iniquity, in the shackles and vomit of sin! Anyone who teaches otherwise is a false prophet; thus my friends, lest you are taken in their sins, "Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch" (Matthew 15:14). This is Gospel (good news) indeed, and this is what we need, a message that can set a person free! Like I said above, we need a new rights movement in this country, namely, that of spiritual rights in Christ, where all the promises are yea and amen, to those who trust in His Person alone for salvation! Jesus Christ, Who is our righteousness, Who is our strength, Who is hope, Who is the King of Kings! "But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption" (1 Corinthians 1:30). Civil rights and carnal rights are only capable of helping you temporarily, my friends, but not truly able to set you free for eternity, of which you are in great need. You could win the right to vote, but if you lose the right to the redemption of your soul, you are lost from spiritual and eternal rights forever. Truly, as the phrase goes, "In His service is perfect freedom", and there's no freedom anywhere else! Jesus died to set men free, not to make men claim Christianity, while they are living a life of hypocrisy, in a fallen seminary, being tossed with the winds of sin-justifying theology, and leading others to hell! When He makes men whole, as He came to do, He makes all things new and crowns Himself Lord of all in their life (see a relevant sermon by me, "All Things New", for more help here). His people, freed from the bondage of Satanic tyranny, don't object, but let it be, as He lets the world know that they are free-slaves to the grace of God, which is Him: "That as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 5:21). Do you believe that? Is this your Gospel, dear reader, that you believe and love? There is not another. William Booth, the founder of the Salvation Army, a century ago, said prophetically,
“In answer to your inquiry, I consider that the chief dangers which confront the coming century will be religion without the Holy Ghost, Christianity without Christ, forgiveness without repentance, salvation without regeneration, politics without God, and heaven without hell.”
O beloved friends and even my enemies, who I don't resent at all, these words of Mr. Booth have laid hold upon our generation...and it is time to turn, or we must forever burn. May the Lord have mercy on some before it is too late, and the door is shut for good! O! How precious was God's mercy and longsuffering in the days of Noah, when He didn't utterly destroy the whole human race, but saved 8 out of 2 or 3 billion souls alive, rebuking the devil, while preserving "a remnant according to the election of grace", and keeping them out of the flood! Yea, He strove with that world for 120 years, commissioning Noah, a preacher of righteousness, to stand in the gap and warn those people before they were judged. If that is not mercy, I don't know what is. Truly, our race had so corrupted His way in the earth, that they all deserved to die and go to hell, but His mercy endures forever, and He saved a remnant alive, all for the sake of Christ! Bless Him, sir, bless Him indeed! The rest rightly perished in hell. Reader, is our world any different today, than in the days of Noah, where sexual perversions, violence, persecution of God's true saints, and sin did abound? I don't think so. Rolfe Barnard, a faithful preacher of old, said, "You know, my friends, people sneered at Noah when he preached righteousness. No wonder the people didn't pay much attention to him. Imagine old Noah coming back to America and walking down the streets and seeing the parade of naked flesh and all the outright flagrant disobedience of God's plain teaching – men and women doubling their fists at God, snubbing their noses at Him, and blowing the smoke of their absolute impenitent attitude in the holy nostrils of God! Imagine Noah coming and preaching righteousness. No wonder they didn't get in the ark! No wonder they didn't pay any attention to his preaching! Perhaps they made fun of Noah. But the day came when the flood was there and they came to appreciate the old man after it was too late." "The heart of the Gospel is that God in His marvelous grace (of course, nobody can make Him do it) said, 'Sinner, the way has been prepared so that, as you throw down your arms, peace and pardon may be yours.' And that way is through the Lord Jesus in His precious life and His death and His present reign, and because of Who He is and what He does now, God Almighty is able and willing (Praise God!) to promise (imagine God promising an old sinner anything, but He does – isn't that grace?) – to promise that the vilest sinner out of hell, if he repents toward God and believes in Christ, that pardon will be his! He will be set free. Thank God! Isn't that grace? Isn't that great?!"
Finally, can you not reiterate the phrase of the blessed Potentate, Jesus Christ, with me: "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36)? Has the Lord set you free, sir, lady, friend, like the slave woman in this video analogy, or are you still in captivity and the grievous dungeon of sin? America, are you ready for the judgment and have you marked it on your calenders? I will see you there.
Finally, can you not reiterate the phrase of the blessed Potentate, Jesus Christ, with me: "If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed" (John 8:36)? Has the Lord set you free, sir, lady, friend, like the slave woman in this video analogy, or are you still in captivity and the grievous dungeon of sin? America, are you ready for the judgment and have you marked it on your calenders? I will see you there.
"There are two things at which I cannot wonder enough and these are, the invaluableness of Christ, and the low value which the children of men put upon Him. Judas sold Him for thirty pieces of silver, but many nowadays sell Him for less; and, though they could get ten thousand worlds for Him, they but make a mad and foolish bargain, who would quit Him for these. Yea, suppose that it were possible one person could possess ten thousand worlds, and that everlastingly, he could not have, in the use thereof, so much contentment by far, as the smallest part Christ can give. Yea, one half-hour's enjoyment of Him would far surpass all the satisfaction in the supposed case. O then! what must the eternal and full enjoyment of Him be!"
- James Renwick
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
(Matthew 13:44-46)
- James Renwick
"Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto a merchant man, seeking goodly pearls: who, when he had found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had, and bought it."
(Matthew 13:44-46)
"The breaker is come up before them: they have broken up, and have passed through the gate, and are gone out by it: and their king shall pass before them, and the LORD on the head of them."
(Micah 2:13)
"Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)"
(Ephesians 4:8-10)
"For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
(Galatians 2:19-21)
"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4)
(Micah 2:13)
"Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)"
(Ephesians 4:8-10)
"For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God. I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
(Galatians 2:19-21)
"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory." (Colossians 3:1-4)
Before unrighteously condemning me for allegedly preaching sinless perfection or such like abominable deception, please consider the following story from the faithful evangelist, Rolfe Barnard, who was similarly and falsely accused, not for the sake of his sin:
"I went some years ago to hold a meeting under these circumstances. I had been in the town in a church meeting, and GOD was pleased to bless; and there was no small stir in the city. On Tuesday night of the first week, they started a petition down at the big mill where everybody worked. And they had several hundred people sign it by Wednesday, and the petition was to run me out of town. Wednesday night they said I was radical and a fellow that believed in Holy living, and that unless you are crying after perfection, you are not saved.
"They said, 'That fellow preaches that you can’t have any sin; that if you can be content to indulge in any sin, you are lost.' If any sin comes to your knowledge and it doesn't break your heart, so you can turn and forsake it, you’re lost. You do not know God. They said, 'That fellow is a holy roller.' Isn't it awful that Baptists, who in all their creeds say they believe in Bible salvation – yet they are making fun of Bible holiness! Hebrews 12:14: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” And so they were going to run me out of town, but God came to the rescue. My soul, He turned defeat into victory! I’ve never seen anything that tasted like revival until God’s people got out on a limb where they would be disgraced or God must come to the rescue so God’s people were asking God for something definite and the whole city was disturbed.*
*The unconverted and/or backslidden townspeople were trying to run him out of town, but there were some that were praying for a definite work of God - revival.
"When the scheduled meetings were over, the pastors of that town asked me to meet with them. They said, 'We would like to talk to you about coming back for a citywide meeting.' (I know most citywide campaigns are a joke.) But they said, 'We would rent the city auditorium, and we would buy you an hour’s time on the radio, and we promise to pack the place out. And we will get our people behind it, and be on our faces before God, if you would come for a month.' But they said, 'Now we want to make two requests of you before we agree on this meeting.' They said, 'We are not trying to tell you how to run your business; but this is our deep conviction. Would you come to our city and agree before you get here that you would preach three weeks on one subject and not give any kind of an invitation?' (Now that was unusual; what is the subject?) 'Would you come over the radio every day and night in the auditorium and preach on one subject: Will the God of the Bible punish sin?'
"We’ve whittled us out a little god that won’t punish sin. Nobody is screaming for mercy now, because they don’t believe God will punish sin. Nobody is screaming for mercy now, because they don’t believe God hates sin. They said there was no use trying to get men saved, for they have nothing to be saved from! For if God won’t punish sin, there is no need for a Saviour. Those preachers said, 'We are preaching our hearts out here and people don’t want to be saved. Nobody wants to be done with sin, nobody desires to be turned to righteousness.' And the reason for it is: nobody believes God will punish sin.
"And so they said, 'Instead of trying to get people to accept Jesus as Saviour when they feel no need of Him, come and preach three weeks on the radio and in the auditorium on the subject: "Will God Punish Sin?" We would pray for you and stay on our faces praying that God Almighty would take the truth over the radio and in the auditorium and men and women would go to their places of business, and back to their homes, and get to the place where they couldn't sleep, facing the awful fact that the God who revealed Himself in the pages of this Book that our mothers stained with tears, and our forefathers gave their life’s blood to defend – THAT GOD WILL PUNISH SIN!'
"Those preachers said they believed somebody might feel the need of being saved. And I went the next year and did as they planned and one time in my life I saw Holy Ghost conviction! I saw men so disturbed that they could not go to their place of business. I saw people going in the hospital stricken with the fear of God. They said some people went crazy – one woman was sent to the asylum and hasn’t got through cursing me yet! But conviction seized that town, businessmen were saved, church members were saved, young people were saved, people everywhere were saved. We never did give any kind of public invitation in that revival (as long as you have to invite people to come to Jesus, you are not seeing true Holy Ghost conviction and real revival)!
"What kind of God do you know? Is He a Holy God? Is He so Holy that He will punish all sins? Is that the God you know? The God of the Bible will punish sin, He is set to punish sin and has sworn to punish sin. Every act of His and every Word of the Scriptures join to let this generation know that God Almighty is set to punish sin." (Do You Know God?)
"They said, 'That fellow preaches that you can’t have any sin; that if you can be content to indulge in any sin, you are lost.' If any sin comes to your knowledge and it doesn't break your heart, so you can turn and forsake it, you’re lost. You do not know God. They said, 'That fellow is a holy roller.' Isn't it awful that Baptists, who in all their creeds say they believe in Bible salvation – yet they are making fun of Bible holiness! Hebrews 12:14: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” And so they were going to run me out of town, but God came to the rescue. My soul, He turned defeat into victory! I’ve never seen anything that tasted like revival until God’s people got out on a limb where they would be disgraced or God must come to the rescue so God’s people were asking God for something definite and the whole city was disturbed.*
*The unconverted and/or backslidden townspeople were trying to run him out of town, but there were some that were praying for a definite work of God - revival.
"When the scheduled meetings were over, the pastors of that town asked me to meet with them. They said, 'We would like to talk to you about coming back for a citywide meeting.' (I know most citywide campaigns are a joke.) But they said, 'We would rent the city auditorium, and we would buy you an hour’s time on the radio, and we promise to pack the place out. And we will get our people behind it, and be on our faces before God, if you would come for a month.' But they said, 'Now we want to make two requests of you before we agree on this meeting.' They said, 'We are not trying to tell you how to run your business; but this is our deep conviction. Would you come to our city and agree before you get here that you would preach three weeks on one subject and not give any kind of an invitation?' (Now that was unusual; what is the subject?) 'Would you come over the radio every day and night in the auditorium and preach on one subject: Will the God of the Bible punish sin?'
"We’ve whittled us out a little god that won’t punish sin. Nobody is screaming for mercy now, because they don’t believe God will punish sin. Nobody is screaming for mercy now, because they don’t believe God hates sin. They said there was no use trying to get men saved, for they have nothing to be saved from! For if God won’t punish sin, there is no need for a Saviour. Those preachers said, 'We are preaching our hearts out here and people don’t want to be saved. Nobody wants to be done with sin, nobody desires to be turned to righteousness.' And the reason for it is: nobody believes God will punish sin.
"And so they said, 'Instead of trying to get people to accept Jesus as Saviour when they feel no need of Him, come and preach three weeks on the radio and in the auditorium on the subject: "Will God Punish Sin?" We would pray for you and stay on our faces praying that God Almighty would take the truth over the radio and in the auditorium and men and women would go to their places of business, and back to their homes, and get to the place where they couldn't sleep, facing the awful fact that the God who revealed Himself in the pages of this Book that our mothers stained with tears, and our forefathers gave their life’s blood to defend – THAT GOD WILL PUNISH SIN!'
"Those preachers said they believed somebody might feel the need of being saved. And I went the next year and did as they planned and one time in my life I saw Holy Ghost conviction! I saw men so disturbed that they could not go to their place of business. I saw people going in the hospital stricken with the fear of God. They said some people went crazy – one woman was sent to the asylum and hasn’t got through cursing me yet! But conviction seized that town, businessmen were saved, church members were saved, young people were saved, people everywhere were saved. We never did give any kind of public invitation in that revival (as long as you have to invite people to come to Jesus, you are not seeing true Holy Ghost conviction and real revival)!
"What kind of God do you know? Is He a Holy God? Is He so Holy that He will punish all sins? Is that the God you know? The God of the Bible will punish sin, He is set to punish sin and has sworn to punish sin. Every act of His and every Word of the Scriptures join to let this generation know that God Almighty is set to punish sin." (Do You Know God?)
Back to "My Earnest Plea, Before You Enter Eternity and Stand Before the King":
What will become of your poor soul, O sinful man, when you are arraigned before the Great Tribunal of the Lamb? To whom will you turn and look, and where will you run and flee, from the indignant glare of His wrathful Majesty?! In that Day, not so far away, many will say to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: for the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand" (Revelation 6:16-17)!? There will be nowhere to hide then, not for anyone in sin, when the severest of God's judgments begin, and end in the Lake of Fire. O what misery, to look at the face of Him who died for thee, as He stares you down contemptuously, because you despised His grace! Shameful creature you will be, if you enter into eternity, having spurned the blood of God's Son! If that Day finds you unawares, unready and unprepared to meet Him in the air, you will regret the day you were born. May the Lord have mercy on your poor soul, before you, too, blatantly know your everlasting folly. Woe to you who lightly esteem the Lamb of Calvary and scorn the royal blood of Christ's Dignity...may you repent before you mournfully lament in hell! "Behold, he cometh with clouds; and every eye shall see him, and they also which pierced him: and all kindreds of the earth shall wail because of him. Even so, Amen." (Revelation 1:7)
Death of a Daughter, Likened unto the Death of God's Son
"Thou, even thou, art to be feared: and who may stand in thy sight when once thou art angry?"
(Psalm 76:7)
"The lion hath roared, who will not fear? the Lord GOD hath spoken, who can but prophesy?"
(Amos 3:8)
"Seek good, and not evil, that ye may live: and so the LORD, the God of hosts, shall be with you, as ye have spoken. Hate the evil, and love the good, and establish judgment in the gate: it may be that the LORD God of hosts will be gracious unto the remnant of Joseph. Therefore the LORD, the God of hosts, the Lord, saith thus; Wailing shall be in all streets; and they shall say in all the highways, Alas! alas! and they shall call the husbandman to mourning, and such as are skilful of lamentation to wailing. And in all vineyards shall be wailing: for I will pass through thee, saith the LORD. Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light. As if a man did flee from a lion, and a bear met him; or went into the house, and leaned his hand on the wall, and a serpent bit him. Shall not the day of the LORD be darkness, and not light? even very dark, and no brightness in it?"
(Amos 5:14-20)
"A prudent man foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself: but the simple pass on, and are punished." (Proverbs 22:3)
Today is the day of salvation, my friends - now is the time to repent! We are not promised tomorrow and we are not guaranteed another breath. In "God's Bloodhound", Rolfe Barnard tells of a 16-year-old girl from Arkansas, a star high school basketball player, who was mightily striven with by the Spirit of God. One night, after Rolfe preached, she was so convicted that she clung to the wood of her seat, until the veins in her hands were enlarged...yet she still wouldn't obey the Gospel call and bow the knee to the King! While many of the faithful saints did plead, she would not secede from her iniquity, to honor the Spirit of God. She trembled and wept many tears of worldly regret (sorrow), but no godly sorrow* was found. Finally, Rolfe went over to her, to speak a few words in her ear, but she blatantly refused, saying, 'Don't talk to me', 'I'm gonna get saved tomorrow night', and she said it again and again. She hardened her heart against the light of the Lord. Then, as Barnard tells it, when she spake of putting off her salvation another day, Proverbs 27:1 flashed in his mind: "Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." Surely, this was God's Word for her. In a conclusive summary of what happened next, she, having tempted the Spirit of God by not heeding His call, and presuming that He would give another, did fall to the ground dead the next day at 10:00 A.M. in the middle of a basketball court. Her teammates heard a great agonizing cough, but before they could reach her, she was in hell. Where would you be if you entered into eternity right now? Therefore, "while it is said, To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts..." (Hebrews 3:15), my reader. Rather, "Enter into the rock, and hide thee in the dust, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty" (Isaiah 2:10). Yea, turn to Him and live, but God forbid that you should flee from Him and die! O thou poor soul, don't you know that God is Holy? "A wise man feareth, and departeth from evil: but the fool rageth, and is confident" (Proverbs 14:16). Therefore, don't put off your eternity for another moment; yea rather, put off all your infidelity and be washed in blood of the Lamb! What can wash away my sin? Nothing but the blood of Jesus; What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus. Oh! precious is the flow, That makes me white as snow; No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus. In order to give my readers a grasp of the vitality and the necessity of repentance, here is a document containing a majority of the scriptures in the New Testament about repentance.
*“For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death. For behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge! In all things ye have approved yourselves to be clear in this matter." (2 Corinthians 7:10-11)
"Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he
that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief."
(Proverbs 28:14)
"He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck,
shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."
(Proverbs 29:1)
that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief."
(Proverbs 28:14)
"He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck,
shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy."
(Proverbs 29:1)
In light of the fearfully serious and factual story above, I must say, God is desiring all men to repent* of their sin and take up their cross and follow Him, right now! Truly, He has always been after sinners from the very beginning, in the garden of Eden, and He is still after sinners today in 2014! He warned them then, by way of putting a curse on this consequentially awful earth, to turn to Him and live. The curse is still here now, Americans, and part of that curse is death (in this life and that which is to come), which is all around us. Thus Jesus Christ, Who died on a cursed tree, to save us for eternity, would warn you right now, R-E-P-E-N-T! He warns that there is no other way around repentance and faith in Him to be saved! It is not enough to know about Him; you must lay down your life before Him. This earth is not heaven, dear friends, and it is no true friend to men; it is only for a moment of time. It is passing away as I type, and the death of this 16-year-old girl should warn men about the terror of sin and God's imminent Judgment against it! There are no coincidences with God, for He worketh all things after the purpose of His own will. So, when you hear, you should turn to Him and fear, forsaking the folly of foolish men, that you might be prepared to die! Repent and believe, or you will conceive your own eternal destruction. What kind of repentance is needed, you say, to be reconciled to God today? Immediate, absolute, and actual repentance is biblical repentance. Every time that the word repent is used in the New Testament, it is in the imperative mood - meaning - do it right now! Actual repentance is also required, meaning that you have to actually forsake all of your rebellion against Him, starting in your heart but consequencing in your life, agreeing with His verdict of condemnation against yourself, full-stop. A repentance in your mind that doesn't actually change your life is no repentance at all. Finally, absolute repentance is required, to be acceptable with God. It is not enough to repent of most of your sin, and leave out a place of rebellion in your life. It must be complete, or it will not be accepted. Have you done that, sinner - have you repented of all known sin - agreeing with God against yourself, and received pardon in Christ? All to Jesus I surrender, all to Him I freely give; I will ever love and trust Him, in His presence daily live. "The Way to Heaven: Are you on it?" by Ryan Ringnald.
*Note to the reader: As to initial salvation, repentance and faith always go together. Whoever makes an issue of what comes first in salvation, repentance or faith, is straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel. The Scripture never does that, nor can it be known what comes first, repentance or faith. Scripture teaches that both go together and that if saving repentance is mentioned in Scripture, saving faith is implied, and vice versa.
Below, the story of a sixteen-year-old girl, who obeyed the Gospel call, in contradistinction to the one in the story above who was taken in her sins because she refused to soften her heart.
“The fear of the wicked, it shall come upon him: but the desire of the righteous shall be granted. As the whirlwind passeth, so is the wicked no more: but the righteous is an everlasting foundation.”
(Proverbs 10:24-25)
Sixteen Year Old Girl
On May 7, 1945, after 6 years of World War II, and a week after the double suicide of Adolf Hitler and his wife, the German High Command, being represented by General Alfred Jodl, signed the unconditional surrender of the whole German military to the Allied Powers, at Reims, in northwestern France. Jodl had hoped that the terms would be limited, but General Dwight Eisenhower (who would become the 34th President of the United States in 1953), of the Allied Expeditionary Force, demanded complete surrender, without limitation, under the pain of sure death to many German soldiers (via barring their way of escape to the West that they might surrender, thus selling them into the hands of Russian troops invading from the East) if not met. The German leader, General Jodl, having been defeated militarily (after submitting the terms to Hitler's successor, Karl Donitz), did what was right in the circumstance, having no other option, and signed the "Instrument of Surrender" you see above. He reportedly said, in essence, that the Germans had fallen "for better or worse into the victors' hands".
Do you have any other option than they, fallen humanity? Will you still fight with God, the Victor in time and eternity, as though you could win, like the 16-year-old girl above, who hardened her heart, and many other men? Or...will you "obey the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ" and sign your life away, to turn from your sin, and pick up your cross, and follow Him (see 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9)? If you surrender now, the Lord Jesus Christ promises to be lenient and show clemency. Yea, he is offering complete acquittal of all your crimes against Him (past, present, and future), by the substitutionary atonement of His own blood. If you wait until it is too late, you will be judged by the holy law of a holy God in the most severe trial anyone has ever faced, to your everlasting disgrace, when the secrets of your vile heart are manifested before all.
The man above, General Jodl, along with many other Nazi war criminals, was tried and executed for war crimes shortly after the aforementioned surrender in the comparatively small-scale, Nuremberg trials, compared to the Day of the Lamb. You, my friends, are also guilty of war crimes against Jesus Christ, who has already won the well-fought day, and is demanding immediate surrender of all your sin, under pain of eternal banishment in hell, when you are arraigned, indicted, and judged for the mountain of iniquities you have been committing since you were a child against God. Not one of your sins will be forgotten before His all-seeing eye, and in the long echoes of hell, you will never be able to pay off the debt of your heinous crimes. "For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings. His own iniquities shall take the wicked himself, and he shall be holden with the cords of his sins. He shall die without instruction; and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray" (Proverbs 5:21-23). Will you defy His reign, or submit to His holy name, reader. thus pleading for mercy and yielding to His absolute and irrefutable claims: professing Christian, gangster, secularist, business man, news reporter, magistrate, bum on the streets, whoever you are? He is coming again, my friend, and He will not meet you like a helpless lamb, but as the Lion of the tribe of Judah. Please consider listening to the following sermon, in light of this section, wherein I speak of the grievous deaths of wicked men, who died without God, e.g. Hugo Chavez, Muammar Gaddafi, and King Saul - "Who Would Die Without God?"
"And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS."
(Revelation 19:11-16)
“I believe only men and women, who sign their lives away … You can't kill 'em, they're already dead … You can't rob 'em of their property, they ain't got none … They've signed their lives away. I believe the scripture teaches that a man who's a Christian is a martyr to be. When my Lord said, 'if any man will come after me let him deny himself, sign your life away, pick up your cross, like Him! And I believe those people are gonna be under the blood, safe and secure.”
- Rolfe Barnard
The Sentence of Death - Do You Have It?
(Revelation 19:11-16)
“I believe only men and women, who sign their lives away … You can't kill 'em, they're already dead … You can't rob 'em of their property, they ain't got none … They've signed their lives away. I believe the scripture teaches that a man who's a Christian is a martyr to be. When my Lord said, 'if any man will come after me let him deny himself, sign your life away, pick up your cross, like Him! And I believe those people are gonna be under the blood, safe and secure.”
- Rolfe Barnard
The Sentence of Death - Do You Have It?
The following sermon was preached in January 2012, but we believe it to be as relevant today as it was then. It is a forthright presentation of biblical, cross-bearing Christianity, and must inevitably be a reproach to those deluded by the falsified system of cross-less, professing Christianity, that is prevalent in the world today. “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.” (1 Cor. 1:18) It was preached from the heart of one, who is a dying man pleading with dying men, that all might pick up their crosses and follow the LAMB, “who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:2). It was preached because Scripture teaches, “He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.” (1 John 2:6) And since the “servant is not greater than His lord”, if the master of the house “resisted unto blood striving against sin”, how much more they of His own household?...
O! reader, like Martin Luther, the Reformer of old, the Jewish woman in the video at the top of this post, thought that "one drop (speaking of the blood of Christ) is more worth than heaven and earth!" So do all true saints, and their life agrees with their profession. Yet most Americans are rather fond of their families and friends, or entertainment systems, than the precious blood of the God's Son. Their god is their belly, not the God of all the earth; they mind earthly things and they glory in their shame (Philippians 3:17-21; 1 Timothy 6:3-5*). Is it not so, that as Israel of old, multitudes today eat and drink and rise up to play, without a concern for the Lord...or the purpose for which God gave His life, to atone for the sin of the world!? Rolfe Barnard says it well: "Listen! You had better wake up to the fact that you are living in a world that is acting as though there were no life to come – acting as if there were no God, and thus no responsibility due Him. They act as if we were just animals, and we claw each other – 'eat, drink and be merry' - but man is more than a body, he is more than a fallen human being. Man was created in the image of God, and he desperately needs to be restored to favor with the creator..." My friends, the majority of Americans are spotted by sin, in a filthy garment of spiritual vomit, before the all-seeing eye of a God Who hates it! Sin that has offended a holy, sin-hating, righteous God, so much that He will not spare the culprits thereof His unflinching indignation forever, unless they repent and begin to lament for the grief and the folly they've caused - and then look to the cross and "behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" (John 1:29)! Are you guilty, sir, ma'am, gentleman - are you ready to be tried at the Great Tribunal of the Lamb, that is higher than the highest court on earth? In that Great Day, many will be "speechless", and all will be afraid. "The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness hath surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings" (Isaiah 33:14) - when God comes to the scene, to gather in all of His wheat, and to tread His enemies under His feet. May it not be so with you, that you would be found wanting on that Day, reader, without the hope of mercy.
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"And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: and he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth." (Matthew 22:11-13)
*"If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself." (1 Timothy 6:3-5)
A Humble Depiction of the Great White Throne Judgment:
"And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire."
(Revelation 20:11-15)
O! my fellow human beings, is it wise to neglect so great a salvation which Christ has offered for our redemption, and enter into "the way of all the earth" without the hope of mercy? I don't think so! “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead” (Acts 17:30-31). Martin Luther, said, in the first point of his famous 95 Theses, “When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said, "Repent"' (Matthew 4:17), he willed the entire life of believers to be one of repentance.” Is yours? Saint or sinner? Tearful mourner or haughty scorner? If not, how could you possibly think that you are saved? According to Rolfe Barnard, "Luther saw that true faith was a bowing to God even if nothing resulted to him, and thus he came to define salvation as 'the realization of God's will and purpose whatever that might be, rather than the satisfaction of human need.' He went so far as to say that 'those who truly love God freely offer themselves to all the will of God, even to hell and death eternal should God so will in order that His will should fully be done.'" Luther also said, and I quote, "The only saving faith is that which casts itself upon God for life or death." Have you surrendered to God like that, reader, saying something to this effect (in the heart of your soul), "Lord Jesus, I will follow You and obey You, and walk in the light of Your Word, with all that in me is, until death, and if I go to hell at the end of the road, I will still follow You, because You are worthy and nothing else is - please pardon my sin and save my soul for the sake of the blood of Your Son!" For your information, this is the sort of prayer, if it is from your heart, that will get God's attention. Contrariwise, if you have never said such a thing, it is hard to believe that you ever have. O reader, if your heart was in such a place, you would surely find grace, and the Lord's heavenly redemption! Have you counted the cost of following Christ - are you ready to meet with your Maker? In due time, please listen to this sermon about the sovereign work of salvation, Sovereign Mercy, by Rolfe Barnard.
"The true Christian should be willing to be damned for the glory of God" ... "we should be willing to affirm God without demanding that He affirm us!" ... "true faith means having confidence in God regardless of profit or loss" ... "only those will go to Heaven who are willing not to go!"
- John Calvin
"Had this evening a more complete understanding of that self-emptying and abasement with which it is necessary to come to Christ. A denying of self, trampling it under foot, a recognition of the complete righteousness and justice of God that could do nothing else with us but condemn us utterly and thrust us down to the lowest hell. A feeling that even in hell we should rejoice in His sovereignty and say all was rightly done."
- Robert Murray M'Cheyne
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
(Titus 2:11-14)
- John Calvin
"Had this evening a more complete understanding of that self-emptying and abasement with which it is necessary to come to Christ. A denying of self, trampling it under foot, a recognition of the complete righteousness and justice of God that could do nothing else with us but condemn us utterly and thrust us down to the lowest hell. A feeling that even in hell we should rejoice in His sovereignty and say all was rightly done."
- Robert Murray M'Cheyne
"For the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
(Titus 2:11-14)
Many of you fear carnal judges, adorned and vested with the authority of earthly governments; you would prepare to meet and stand before them. What about the Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:20) - why shouldn't you prepare to stand before Him in the Supreme Court of Heaven? Who knoweth the number of hairs on your head and nameth the stars in the sky! Who made all things for Himself, and is the author of everlasting life! Who can destroy both the body and soul in hell (Luke 12:4-5), and has promised that every jot and tittle of His truth shall prevail!? I earnestly warn you not to hold His arraignment in contempt, and dare to stand before His Throne without an advocate - one, Jesus Christ the righteous. O! how prone is the human heart to slight God's solemn decrees of coming Judgment, and drown them out with lightness and laughter! "Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil" (Ecclesiastes 8:11). Sir, ma'am, whoever you are, your next breath may very well be the last sliver of comfort you see, unto the far-reaching ends of eternity, and you might momentarily be in hell. That is a sobering thought; would you please consider it now, and make sure you are not condemned forever? Count the cost, prepare to die, and to stand before the Judgment Seat of Christ!
"And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: and he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."
(Luke 12:16-21)
"Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death."
(Proverbs 11:4)
"Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name." (Amos 4:12-13)
(Luke 12:16-21)
"Riches profit not in the day of wrath: but righteousness delivereth from death."
(Proverbs 11:4)
"Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel. For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name." (Amos 4:12-13)
John Bunyan's fearful portrayal of a man awaking to the Day of Judgment unprepared, is as follows. Reader, don't play the part. Christian, the main character of the story, is at the home of one, the Interpreter, and is being shown spiritual realities (or, fundamental Christian truths).
"INTERPRETER. Tarry till I shall show thee one thing more, and then thou shalt go on thy way.
So he took Christian by the hand again and led him into a chamber where there was one rising out of bed; and as he put on his raiment, he shook and trembled. Then said Christian, Why doth this man thus tremble? The Interpreter then bid him tell to Christian the reason of his so doing.
So he began, and said, This night, as I was in my sleep, I dreamed, and behold the heavens grew exceeding black; also it thundered and lightened in the most fearful wise, that it put me into an agony. So I looked up in my dream, and saw the clouds rack at an unusual rate; upon which I heard a great sound of a trumpet, and saw, also, a Man sitting upon a cloud, attended with the thousands of heaven: they were all in flaming fire; also the heavens were on a burning flame. I heard, then, a voice saying, 'Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment!' And with that the rocks rent, graves opened, and the dead that were therein came forth. (John v. 28, 29; 1 Cor. xv. 51-58; 2 Thess. i. 7-10; Jude 14,15; Rev. xx. 11-15.) Some of them were exceeding glad, and looked upward; and some sought to hide themselves under the mountains. (Ps. l. 1-3, 22; Isa. xxvi. 20,21; Mic. vii. 16,17.) Then I saw the Man that sat upon the cloud open the book, and bid the world draw near. Yet there was, by reason of a fierce flame that issued out and came from before Him, a convenient distance betwixt Him and them, as between the judge and the prisoners at the bar. (Dan. vii. 9,10; Mal. iii. 2, 3.) I heard it also proclaimed to them that attended on the Man that sat on the cloud, 'Gather together the tares, the chaff, and stubble, and cast them into the burning lake;' and with that the bottomless pit opened, just whereabout I stood; out of the mouth of which there came, in an abundant manner, smoke, and coals of fire, with hideous noises. It was also said to the same persons, 'Gather my wheat into the garner.' (Mal. iv. 2; Matt. iii. 12; xviii. 30; Luke iii. 17.) And with that I saw many catched up and carried away into the clouds (1 Thess. iv. 13-18), but I was left behind. I also sought to hide myself, but I could not, for the Man that sat upon the cloud still kept His eye upon me; my sins also came into my mind, and my conscience did accuse me on every side. (Rom. ii. 14, 15.) Upon this I awakened from my sleep.
CHRISTIAN. But what was it that made you so afraid of this sight?
MAN. Why, I thought that the day of judgment was come, and that I was not ready for it: but this affrighted me most, that the angels gathered up several, and left me behind; also the pit of hell opened her mouth just where I stood. My conscience, too, afflicted me; and, as I thought, the Judge had always His eye upon me, showing indignation in His countenance."
"INTERPRETER. Tarry till I shall show thee one thing more, and then thou shalt go on thy way.
So he took Christian by the hand again and led him into a chamber where there was one rising out of bed; and as he put on his raiment, he shook and trembled. Then said Christian, Why doth this man thus tremble? The Interpreter then bid him tell to Christian the reason of his so doing.
So he began, and said, This night, as I was in my sleep, I dreamed, and behold the heavens grew exceeding black; also it thundered and lightened in the most fearful wise, that it put me into an agony. So I looked up in my dream, and saw the clouds rack at an unusual rate; upon which I heard a great sound of a trumpet, and saw, also, a Man sitting upon a cloud, attended with the thousands of heaven: they were all in flaming fire; also the heavens were on a burning flame. I heard, then, a voice saying, 'Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment!' And with that the rocks rent, graves opened, and the dead that were therein came forth. (John v. 28, 29; 1 Cor. xv. 51-58; 2 Thess. i. 7-10; Jude 14,15; Rev. xx. 11-15.) Some of them were exceeding glad, and looked upward; and some sought to hide themselves under the mountains. (Ps. l. 1-3, 22; Isa. xxvi. 20,21; Mic. vii. 16,17.) Then I saw the Man that sat upon the cloud open the book, and bid the world draw near. Yet there was, by reason of a fierce flame that issued out and came from before Him, a convenient distance betwixt Him and them, as between the judge and the prisoners at the bar. (Dan. vii. 9,10; Mal. iii. 2, 3.) I heard it also proclaimed to them that attended on the Man that sat on the cloud, 'Gather together the tares, the chaff, and stubble, and cast them into the burning lake;' and with that the bottomless pit opened, just whereabout I stood; out of the mouth of which there came, in an abundant manner, smoke, and coals of fire, with hideous noises. It was also said to the same persons, 'Gather my wheat into the garner.' (Mal. iv. 2; Matt. iii. 12; xviii. 30; Luke iii. 17.) And with that I saw many catched up and carried away into the clouds (1 Thess. iv. 13-18), but I was left behind. I also sought to hide myself, but I could not, for the Man that sat upon the cloud still kept His eye upon me; my sins also came into my mind, and my conscience did accuse me on every side. (Rom. ii. 14, 15.) Upon this I awakened from my sleep.
CHRISTIAN. But what was it that made you so afraid of this sight?
MAN. Why, I thought that the day of judgment was come, and that I was not ready for it: but this affrighted me most, that the angels gathered up several, and left me behind; also the pit of hell opened her mouth just where I stood. My conscience, too, afflicted me; and, as I thought, the Judge had always His eye upon me, showing indignation in His countenance."
O! my fellow American, wherever you have been, I entreat you to turn from your sin! “Seek him that maketh the seven stars and Orion, and turneth the shadow of death into the morning, and maketh the day dark with night: that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth: The LORD is his name.” (Amos 5:8) Seek Him! Dear reader, this may be your last plea! Seek Him, my friend, seek the God of all the earth and live...or neglect your soul and die. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord" (Romans 6:23). “Seek ye the LORD while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near: let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” (Isaiah 55:6-7) "Sow to yourselves in righteousness, reap in mercy; break up your fallow ground: for it is time to seek the LORD, till he come and rain righteousness upon you." (Hosea 10:12) You might be the lowest of the low, at the point of suicide, I don't know, but Jesus Christ can set you free - He can make the most vile sinner clean! In the 1920's, as James A. Stewart was preaching in London on Tower Hill, a man was listening who had left his insurance papers beside his wife's bed that morning. He had quietly kissed his children goodbye, and was prepared to throw himself off of a bridge at the river Thames. Unexpectedly, he was hindered by the presence of a policeman. In avoiding him, he heard God's message through James A. Stewart, who was open-air preaching. He believed the Gospel, and thus his misery was swallowed up in victory, and his life was suddenly changed! The next week he testified to a multitude that God can set you free! Seek Him, my friend, He is worthy and you are not: neither am I. Here is a relevant and powerful sermon about "Seeking the Lord", by Rolfe Barnard. Here is another powerful sermon about seeking the Lord, as follows: "Seeking God Aright", by Jake Gardner.
“The longer I live the more I know by experience, I think, that the seeking that started when God first arrested you back yonder, is to continue. And it must get hotter and hotter all the while until you see the Lord. A Christian is a seeker – he is not somebody that is satisfied and settled down on his lees. He is a seeker, he is a comer.”
- Rolfe Barnard
- Rolfe Barnard
Salvation of a Drunkard
O God forbid that it is so, that any one of us should go to everlasting burnings, in America, or anywhere else in the earth...despite the Bible, despite the blood, despite the Holy Ghost, despite the Resurrection and the Exaltation of the Lamb! Sadly, without coming to the Son, from Whom most everyone doth run, there's no hope for anyone to be saved. Only a fearful looking for of fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries, when the "...Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints, to execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him" (Jude 1:14-15). According to Scripture, most will die in their sins - just make sure that you're not the one, my friend. Make sure that I see you over yonder in eternity, at the right hand of the Throne of His Majesty, His glorious countenance shining upon thee in never-dying love - not rather on the left, His face gazing upon you in unending and indignant wrath (Matthew 25:31-33), because you treated the blood of His Son as if it were a thing as common as bread! Make your calling and election sure, ladies and gentlemen, or be ye sure of this, your sin will find you out! Surely, time is an uncertain commodity, thus who knows when your red-letter day will be, when you cross over into eternity, and are forced to face the Lamb. Count the cost and prepare for the day you will die, for Judgment draweth nigh.
"And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast
into the sea. And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another."
(Mark 9:42-50)
Please Consider the Following Hymn - Does it Resonate in Your Soul?
Years I spent in vanity and pride,
Caring not my Lord was crucified, Knowing not it was for me He died On Calvary. |
By God's Word at last my sin I learned; Then I trembled at the law I'd spurned, Till my guilty soul imploring turned to Calvary.
|
Now I've given to Jesus everything; Now I gladly own Him as my King; Now my raptured soul can only sing Of Calvary.
|
Oh, the love that drew salvation's plan! Oh, the grace that brought it down to man! Oh, the mighty gulf that God did span At Calvary!
- "At Calvary" |
May the Lord, if you are perishing, dear reader, have mercy upon your soul, save you out of the gall of bitterness and the bond of iniquity, and change your heart today...as He changed the heart of this Jewish woman, as He changed the heart of this drunkard, as he changes the heart of Kings! Jesus Christ, as He is in Scripture, an absolute monarch, demands complete surrender all the days of your life, and the cost to follow Him is more than you can know, "but bless God, He's worth it...He's worth it...He's worth it!" Is He worth it to you? Are you with Him or against Him? You could go "the way of all the earth" any moment...are you prepared to die, or are you living a lie that will drown your souls in hell? I pray that you will never say, as a famous politician once did, who seemed prepared for everything in life, but still died in his sins: "I had provided, in the course of my life, for every thing except death, and now alas! I am to die, although entirely unprepared!" I close this "Earnest Plea, Before You Enter Eternity, and Stand Before the King" by quoting Rolfe Barnard from the video of the Jewish woman above, who counted the cost and found her Messiah; she was not found wanting - will you be? "All it cost her was everything. But bless God, He's worth it...He's worth it. He's worth it." In light of so great a salvation, praise the Saviour, praise the King; He's worth it; He has done great things! "Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created" (Revelation 4:11). Americans, please get ready to die and stand before the Man. "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: so Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:27-28).
"'Despair of ever being saved, 'except thou be born again,' or of seeing God 'without holiness,' or of having part in
Christ except thou 'love him above father, mother, or thy own life.' This kind
of despair is one of the first steps to heaven..."
- Richard Baxter
"How about you, sinner, your rebellion and violation heads up in one place, and you want to go to heaven but you won't drop the sin, and you don't want to go to hell, but you won't drop the sin. I tell you, God Almighty demands that you drop it and throw it at the feet of Jesus Christ and come clean with Him, or you are going to be sent to burn in eternity forever and ever by a God Who loved this world enough to give His Son to die for sinners, but doesn't love it enough to send men to heaven who love sin and hate God. May God help us today, is my prayer."
- Rolfe Barnard*
Christ except thou 'love him above father, mother, or thy own life.' This kind
of despair is one of the first steps to heaven..."
- Richard Baxter
"How about you, sinner, your rebellion and violation heads up in one place, and you want to go to heaven but you won't drop the sin, and you don't want to go to hell, but you won't drop the sin. I tell you, God Almighty demands that you drop it and throw it at the feet of Jesus Christ and come clean with Him, or you are going to be sent to burn in eternity forever and ever by a God Who loved this world enough to give His Son to die for sinners, but doesn't love it enough to send men to heaven who love sin and hate God. May God help us today, is my prayer."
- Rolfe Barnard*
*Note to the reader: A majority of the Rolfe Barnard quotes in the post above come from a three-volume set called, "Sermons of Evangelist Rolfe Barnard". I have quoted him more than others, not only because he was very much a John the Baptist-type for the work of God that is happening in our generation, but also because he is more understandable than men of the past who didn't speak in as contemporary of a way and because his sermons are not copyrighted. Truly, I praise God that he didn't compromise like many other men have in our generation, no, not in the slightest as long as he lived (in my honest opinion). He died climbing. Under God, may you be the same, reader.
Depth of mercy! Can there be
Mercy still reserved for me? Can my God His wrath forbear? Me, the chief of sinners spare? |
I have long withstood His grace,
Long provoked Him to His face, Would not hearken to His calls, Grieved Him by a thousand falls. |
Lord, incline me to repent;
Let me now my fall lament, Deeply my revolt deplore, Weep, believe, and sin no more. - Charles Wesley |
Lamb of God,
Thou soon in glory
Wilt to this sad earth return;
All Thy foes shall quake before Thee,
All that now despise Thee, mourn;
Then Thy saints all gather'd to Thee,
With Thee in Thy kingdom reign;
Thine the praise and Thine the glory,
Lamb of God, for sinners slain!
- "Lamb of God! Our Souls Adore Thee"
Thou soon in glory
Wilt to this sad earth return;
All Thy foes shall quake before Thee,
All that now despise Thee, mourn;
Then Thy saints all gather'd to Thee,
With Thee in Thy kingdom reign;
Thine the praise and Thine the glory,
Lamb of God, for sinners slain!
- "Lamb of God! Our Souls Adore Thee"
The Sudden Death of Dixie
"OH! I HAVE MISSED IT AT LAST!"
"Some time ago, a physician called upon a young man who was ill. He sat for a little while by the bedside, examining his patient, and then he honestly told him the sad intelligence that he had but a very short time to live. The young man was astonished; he did not expect it would come to that so soon. He forgot that death comes "in such an hour as ye think not." At length he looked up into the face of the doctor, and, with a most despairing countenance, repeated the expression, "I have missed it –– at last." "What have you missed?" inquired the tenderhearted, sympathizing physician. "I have missed it – at last," again he repeated. "Missed what?" "Doctor, I have missed the salvation of my soul." "Oh, say not so –– it is not so. Do you remember the thief on the cross?" "Yes, I remember the thief on the cross. And I remember that he never said to the Holy Ghost, 'Go thy way.' But I did. And now He is saying to me, 'Go your way.'" He lay gasping a while, and looking up with a vacant, starting eye, he said, "I was awakened and was anxious about my soul a little time ago. But I did not want to be saved then. Something seemed to say to me, 'Don't put it off, make sure of salvation.' I said to myself, 'I will postpone it.' I knew I ought not to do it. I knew I was a great sinner, and needed a Savior. I resolved, however, to dismiss the subject for the present. Yet I could not get my own consent to do it until I had promised to take it up again, at a time not remote and more favorable. I bargained away, resisted and insulted the Holy Spirit. I never thought of coming to this. I meant to have made my salvation sure, and now I have missed it -- at last." "You remember," said the doctor, "that there were some who came at the eleventh hour." "My eleventh hour," he rejoined, "was when I had that call of the Spirit. I have had none since –– shall not have. I am given over to be lost. Oh! I have missed it! I have sold my soul for nothing –– a feather –– a straw –– undone forever!" This was said with such indescribable despondency, that nothing was said in reply. After lying a few moments, he raised his head, and looking all around the room as if for some desired object, he buried his face in the pillow, and again exclaimed in agony and horror, "Oh! I have missed it at last!" and died. Reader, you need not miss your salvation, for you may have it now. What you have read is a true story. How earnestly it says to you, "NOW is the accepted time!" (Dying Testimonies of the Saved and Unsaved, by S.B. Shaw)
In Conclusion, A Final, Fearful Warning to America and Whosoever is Reading this Address:
Finally, America, how long until the Lord quits calling and says, "America is joined to idols: let him alone" (see Hosea 4:17)? Perhaps I should rather say, American Lukewarm False Christianity, sitting upon your lees as though you had need of nothing: how long until the Lord quits calling you and says, "American Christianity has taken My name in vain, and caused it to be blasphemed to the ends of the earth, nor will they repent of their abominations - let them alone - and I will visit them with the rod of Mine anger, the Assyrian, whom I have chosen, that they should not make mention of My name anymore in their mouths." I am afraid for you, America; I am afraid for you, especially, professing church in America - you have taken the name of Jesus Christ in vain, and caused it to be profaned to the ends of the earth, and God is exceedingly grieved. O my soul, when the Lord judges this land, the prudent will be silent.
"Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; but ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof: I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; when your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: for that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: they would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof. Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices. For the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools shall destroy them. But whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil."
(Proverbs 1:23-33)
In light of the context and Scripture above, reader, please consider the hymn below and the dreadfully fearful warning from Rolfe Barnard in the video, "God's Callin'". His last words in this video are as follows – and they are very sober indeed, especially because the Holy Ghost was obviously with Him when he said them!
"The only way God's got - listen to me - according to the Bible, the only way God's got to reach a man savingly is to call him. To CALL him! Meanwhile, men are in the prison house of sin! And sin crushes! And crushes! And closes in! And if God can't reach ya' by callin' ya'...He can't reach ya'. And if He quits callin'...You're gone...you're gone."
"The only way God's got - listen to me - according to the Bible, the only way God's got to reach a man savingly is to call him. To CALL him! Meanwhile, men are in the prison house of sin! And sin crushes! And crushes! And closes in! And if God can't reach ya' by callin' ya'...He can't reach ya'. And if He quits callin'...You're gone...you're gone."
‘Tis midnight and the Saviour calls: Come unto me, both great and small
From every kindred, nation, tongue, Come one, come all, come old and young ‘Tis midnight and we hear the cry; The Saviour now is passing by. Oh, will you let Him call in vain, Lie down and fall asleep again? |
Ye slumb’ring nations, wake and rise, Lift up your heads,
look to the skies; The Saviour’s invitation heed, Awake, arise, and make full speed! Bring oil in lamps and march along, The Lord to meet a happy throng; The precious time may soon be o’er, You’ll hear the Saviour’s call no more. |
Now is the time, the day of grace, For all the fallen human race;
Come to the Lord, accept His hand, Or soon you must rejected stand. Oh, will you now the call obey, Or will you longer ling’ring stay; Until you hear the trumpet sound, The dead rise from the quaking ground? |
Then make your bed in torments where God will not
hear your bitter prayer. Gnashing of teeth will be your doom, No light, no hope-eternal gloom. Oh, will you make that awful choice? Or will you hear the Saviour’s voice? Come unto me while yet I call, For now I will forgive you all. - C. G. Buerge |
"And let every one that is yet out of Christ, and hanging over the pit of hell, whether they be old men and women or middle aged, or young people, or little children, now hearken to the loud calls of God's word and providence. this acceptable year of the lord, a day of such great favour to some, will doubtless be a day of as remarkable vengeance to others. Men's hearts harden, and their guilt increases apace, at such a day as this, if they neglect their souls; and never was there so great danger of such persons being given up to hardness of heart and blindness of mind. God seems now to be hastily gathering in his elect in all parts of the land; and probably the greater part of adult persons that ever shall be saved, will be brought in now in a little time, and that it will be as it was on the great out-pouring of the Spirit upon the Jews in the apostles' days, the election will obtain, and the rest will be blinded. If this should be the case with you, you will eternally curse this day, and will curse the day that ever you were born, to see such a season of the pouring out of God's spirit, and will wish that you had died and gone to hell before you had seen it. Now undoubtedly it is, as it was in the days of John the Baptist, the axe is in an extraordinary manner laid at the root of the trees, that every tree which brings not forth good fruit, may be hewn down, and cast into the fire [Matthew 3:10]. Therefore, let every one that is out of Christ, now awake and fly from the wrath to come. The wrath of Almighty God is now undoubtedly hanging over a great part of this congregation [American Christianity Especially]. Let every one fly out of Sodom: "Haste and escape for your lives, look not behind you, escape to the mountain, lest you be consumed." (Jonathan Edward's concluding plea in his famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God.")