“You are weak, my dear brother; so weak, so flagging,
so destitute, so beaten down in body & spirit that you find yourself unable
to surmount the least temptation. Truly you would be unable if you had to
triumph in your own strength, but do you think that our Lord triumphed in the
wilderness in his own strength? Perhaps you consider him a stranger to all your
grief, tranquil, imperturbable. But who portrayed him to you that way? It is
your imagination, not the Scriptures. The Scriptures present the Messiah to us
as “a man of sorrows, & acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3)...
Where, then, does Jesus find strength? In God. The spirit of the whole
temptation is to detach him from God. The goal is to get him first to meet his
own needs without God’s providence (Luke 4:1-4), then to receive the heritage
of the nations without God’s gift (Luke 4:5-8), & finally to display his
divine glory without God’s command (Luke 4:9-12). But Jesus holds fast to God.
It is not in his own strength that he struggles & triumphs; it is in his
Father’s strength.
If you are not as strong as Jesus, your God is no less strong than his God, so
let his rock be your rock, & his strength will be your strength. For Jesus,
for Adam, for you, it is not a question of strength; it is a question of faith.
Your own strength cannot deliver you if you do not believe, nor can your own
weakness hurt you if you do believe. Your weakness will even help you if you
know how to deal with it properly, & through the sense you have of it
pushing you to seek God’s, you will experience the truth of the phrase, “When I
am weak, then I am strong” (2 Corinthians 12:10).
Strange paradox! Sublime truth! Instead of stopping at merely discussing it,
believe it, live it. My dear brother, are you flagging, impoverished, and
beaten down in body and spirit, unable to surmount the least temptation? Good.
You are precisely in the desired state for being victorious. It is now, when
you are deprived of the illusions of pride and absolutely despairing of
yourself, that you are going to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of
his might,” and that you will “put on the whole armor of God, that you may be
able to stand against the schemes of the devil” (Ephesians 6:10-11).
Hold fast to God, as the branch holds fast to the vine. In him you will “find
grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). Note well the phrase “in time of
need”. Strength is promised to you for your moment of need. You would like to
get it ahead of time, so that by casting a self-satisfied glance at your
spiritual supplies you could reassure yourself about future terrors. But this
is not the Lord’s way. He does not give today the things for tomorrow, but he
will certainly give today the things for today, and tomorrow for tomorrow. The
man with the withered hand and to whom Jesus said, “Stretch out your hand”
(Matthew 12:13, Mark 3:5, Luke 6:10)
would never have stretched it out if he had waited to receive the required
strength for this movement ahead of time, but at the Lord’s word he stretched
it out, and there it is, healed. “If you believe, you will see the glory of
God” (John 11:40).”
— Adolphe Monod, Jesus Tempted in the
Wilderness: Sharing Christ's Victory
Friday, April 27, 2012
Saturday, April 14, 2012
Paul’s order of salvation — B.B. Warfield
Ephesians 3:14-19 — “We note the significant order of the requests. First, the work of the Spirit in the heart; second, the realizing knowledge of the Gospel; third, the Christian life. Men sometimes seek other orders. We hear the cry around us daily of first the life, then doctrine. Paul’s order is, first the doctrine, then the life. We hear the cry around us of first know, then believe. Paul’s order is, first believe, then know…
What in detail is his [Paul’s] order of salvation? Just this: first, the Gospel is proclaimed; secondly, there is the preparation of the heart by the Spirit; thirdly, then faith and Christ’s indwelling through faith; fourthly, through this indwelling we grow strong to apprehend the truth of Christ’s love; fifthly, by this apprehended knowledge we are enabled to live a Christian life. Search and look: and you will find the same order everywhere in Paul and in the New Testament…
It issues hence into all Christian sentiments and activities. First the Apostle mentions love; “being rooted and grounded in love” (Eph 3:17) is the intermediate step to the apprehension of Christ’s love. Love apprehends love. Out of this Christ-filled and Christ-led heart, we are able to see His love and to appreciate it. Hence, next, knowledge. And then, out of this knowledge, life.
Now, observe as to Christ’s indwelling: (1) Christ may dwell in us; (2) He dwells in us through faith; (3) His dwelling in us is the source of all our knowledge of the Gospel and of all our Christian walk.”
— B.B. Warfield, Faith and Life, (“the fullness of God” sermon)
What in detail is his [Paul’s] order of salvation? Just this: first, the Gospel is proclaimed; secondly, there is the preparation of the heart by the Spirit; thirdly, then faith and Christ’s indwelling through faith; fourthly, through this indwelling we grow strong to apprehend the truth of Christ’s love; fifthly, by this apprehended knowledge we are enabled to live a Christian life. Search and look: and you will find the same order everywhere in Paul and in the New Testament…
It issues hence into all Christian sentiments and activities. First the Apostle mentions love; “being rooted and grounded in love” (Eph 3:17) is the intermediate step to the apprehension of Christ’s love. Love apprehends love. Out of this Christ-filled and Christ-led heart, we are able to see His love and to appreciate it. Hence, next, knowledge. And then, out of this knowledge, life.
Now, observe as to Christ’s indwelling: (1) Christ may dwell in us; (2) He dwells in us through faith; (3) His dwelling in us is the source of all our knowledge of the Gospel and of all our Christian walk.”
— B.B. Warfield, Faith and Life, (“the fullness of God” sermon)
Sunday, April 8, 2012
something to say to people… — Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“The Christian is not a seeker; the Christian is one who has found. “Come, see a man…” (John 4:29); “We have found the Messiah…” (John 1:41); “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth…” (John 1:45). Christians are men and women who have found; they have found something to give; they are not merely seeking…
By definition Christians have something; they have something to say… So the great question we must all ask ourselves is this: do we have something to give to people who are in need? I like to think of it like this. Imagine that tonight when you are in your home, somebody knocks at your door or rings the bell. You go to the door, and there you find a messenger. What is the message? Well, it is a request, an appeal, from a man whom you have known for years; perhaps you have known him since you were children together. Unfortunately, poor fellow, he has gone wrong in life, he has lived a godless life, and yet you somehow liked him. Whenever you met him, you were glad to see him, you always spoke to him, and you often tried to urge him to come with you to listen to the gospel. But he would not come; he laughed it off, as such people often do.
Now here is the message – this afternoon that poor fellow had a sudden heart attack, and he is desperately ill; in fact, he is dying. The doctor can do no more for him. He has told the family, and this man realizes the truth – he can see it in their faces. And suddenly he has come to himself. He sees that his life is finished, and he is going to the unknown and to darkness. He has nothing – nothing to lean on in his past life, nothing to lean on in the present. Nobody can help him. He is absolutely alone, as we all shall be sooner or later, as our soul passes from time to eternity and into the presence of God. He does not know what to do or where to turn; he is in agony of soul. But suddenly he has thought of you because he thinks of you as a Christian and as a member of a church, because you have invited him to go with you to church. So he has sent for you – that is the message. Of course, you have no choice; you must go. And when you arrive in the room, there is your friend lying on his back in bed.
This is the test as to whether or not we are Christians. Do you have something you can give him that will make all the difference in the world to him? What is the point of telling this man that you are also a seeker and a searcher after the truth – he will be dead before midnight? What is the point of saying to him, “I hope that my sins are going to be forgiven sometime, I’m doing my best, I’m living a good life”? Does that help him? That puts him into hell while he is still alive. Or how does it help him if you turn to him and say, “Well, at last you see it. How many times have I told you that the life you were living was wrong? If only you had live as I live!” What is the value of that? That is sheer cruelty. That, again, is putting him in hell while he is still alive. It is of no value at all.
No, no; that is not the Christian way. Christians are not seeking truth or seeking forgiveness. They are not trying to make themselves Christians by living good lives; they are not merely church members. What are they? Well, in the end it just comes to this: they are men and women who, like the woman of Samaria, have met Christ, the Son of God. They are able to tell this poor fellow that it is not too late, that it is not hopeless, that no one is justified by their works or by their lives, that we are all sinners, and there is no ultimate difference between us at all, but that this is the message: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever [even he] believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Christians can tell this man not about their own experience but about Jesus Christ. There is no time to give experiences; there is no time to go through your drill and mechanically quote this or that. All they can say is, “Jesus Christ – look to him!” They just tell the dying man about him, who he is, what he has done. And that is the only way this man can be helped, the only way he can find peace and rest for his soul.”
— Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Living water: Studies in John 4
By definition Christians have something; they have something to say… So the great question we must all ask ourselves is this: do we have something to give to people who are in need? I like to think of it like this. Imagine that tonight when you are in your home, somebody knocks at your door or rings the bell. You go to the door, and there you find a messenger. What is the message? Well, it is a request, an appeal, from a man whom you have known for years; perhaps you have known him since you were children together. Unfortunately, poor fellow, he has gone wrong in life, he has lived a godless life, and yet you somehow liked him. Whenever you met him, you were glad to see him, you always spoke to him, and you often tried to urge him to come with you to listen to the gospel. But he would not come; he laughed it off, as such people often do.
Now here is the message – this afternoon that poor fellow had a sudden heart attack, and he is desperately ill; in fact, he is dying. The doctor can do no more for him. He has told the family, and this man realizes the truth – he can see it in their faces. And suddenly he has come to himself. He sees that his life is finished, and he is going to the unknown and to darkness. He has nothing – nothing to lean on in his past life, nothing to lean on in the present. Nobody can help him. He is absolutely alone, as we all shall be sooner or later, as our soul passes from time to eternity and into the presence of God. He does not know what to do or where to turn; he is in agony of soul. But suddenly he has thought of you because he thinks of you as a Christian and as a member of a church, because you have invited him to go with you to church. So he has sent for you – that is the message. Of course, you have no choice; you must go. And when you arrive in the room, there is your friend lying on his back in bed.
This is the test as to whether or not we are Christians. Do you have something you can give him that will make all the difference in the world to him? What is the point of telling this man that you are also a seeker and a searcher after the truth – he will be dead before midnight? What is the point of saying to him, “I hope that my sins are going to be forgiven sometime, I’m doing my best, I’m living a good life”? Does that help him? That puts him into hell while he is still alive. Or how does it help him if you turn to him and say, “Well, at last you see it. How many times have I told you that the life you were living was wrong? If only you had live as I live!” What is the value of that? That is sheer cruelty. That, again, is putting him in hell while he is still alive. It is of no value at all.
No, no; that is not the Christian way. Christians are not seeking truth or seeking forgiveness. They are not trying to make themselves Christians by living good lives; they are not merely church members. What are they? Well, in the end it just comes to this: they are men and women who, like the woman of Samaria, have met Christ, the Son of God. They are able to tell this poor fellow that it is not too late, that it is not hopeless, that no one is justified by their works or by their lives, that we are all sinners, and there is no ultimate difference between us at all, but that this is the message: “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever [even he] believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Christians can tell this man not about their own experience but about Jesus Christ. There is no time to give experiences; there is no time to go through your drill and mechanically quote this or that. All they can say is, “Jesus Christ – look to him!” They just tell the dying man about him, who he is, what he has done. And that is the only way this man can be helped, the only way he can find peace and rest for his soul.”
— Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Living water: Studies in John 4
Monday, April 2, 2012
look unto Jesus — Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“Christian joy is always a by-product of something else — our relationship with the Lord... The joy that Christians have is based on the realization of what they are, & therefore, to Christians, what they are is much more important than what they may feel like, much more important than what may be happening to them. The emphasis of all the New Testament writers, from the very beginning of the book of Acts onward — and it is particularly the theme of the epistles and is implicit in the Gospels as well — is for us to realize who and what we are. It is the failure to realize this that more commonly than anything else robs us of this joy and happiness that our Lord offers us...
Our joy is all dependent upon our relationship to Him (Christ), and the way to preserve joy, therefore, is not to be controlled and governed by our feelings and moods and states, nor by what is happening to us. If we are, we will be miserable because this is an evil world and there are evil people in it and because there is illness and accident and death and sorrow. So the way of the New Testament is not seeking joy but having certainty and assurance with regard to who we are, what we are, our relationship to Him, and all that is implicit in that.
And so my third proposition about the character of true joy and happiness is that the way to obtain it, therefore, is not to look into myself or to try to produce joy — never. It is always the result of “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). And that is the message of the entire New Testament — look unto Jesus (Hebrews 12:2)... In other words, you do not look into yourself — you look out from yourself and forget yourself, and you look at Him...
This is the only answer — “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2). The way to get joy is to contemplate the glory of this blessed person. He is “the brightness of his [God’s] glory, and the express image of His person” (Hebrews 1:3). He is God the eternal Son. He is the one about whom we are concerned. He is the one who has come into this world in order to put us right with God. Whatever you may feel, whatever is happening to you, do not look at these things; look at Him, and realize that He is able to give you all you need and infinitely more.”
— Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The purpose of the Scriptures
Our joy is all dependent upon our relationship to Him (Christ), and the way to preserve joy, therefore, is not to be controlled and governed by our feelings and moods and states, nor by what is happening to us. If we are, we will be miserable because this is an evil world and there are evil people in it and because there is illness and accident and death and sorrow. So the way of the New Testament is not seeking joy but having certainty and assurance with regard to who we are, what we are, our relationship to Him, and all that is implicit in that.
And so my third proposition about the character of true joy and happiness is that the way to obtain it, therefore, is not to look into myself or to try to produce joy — never. It is always the result of “looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). And that is the message of the entire New Testament — look unto Jesus (Hebrews 12:2)... In other words, you do not look into yourself — you look out from yourself and forget yourself, and you look at Him...
This is the only answer — “looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2). The way to get joy is to contemplate the glory of this blessed person. He is “the brightness of his [God’s] glory, and the express image of His person” (Hebrews 1:3). He is God the eternal Son. He is the one about whom we are concerned. He is the one who has come into this world in order to put us right with God. Whatever you may feel, whatever is happening to you, do not look at these things; look at Him, and realize that He is able to give you all you need and infinitely more.”
— Martyn Lloyd-Jones, The purpose of the Scriptures
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