don’t fight your sins in your own power — C. H. Spurgeon

"But we must take our sins to God too. Possibly this is a more difficult point. The sinner thinks that he must fight this battle for himself, wrestle with his own evil temper himself, and he himself must enter into conflict with his lusts and his besetting sins; but when he comes into the fight, he soon meets with a defeat, and then he is ready to give it all up. Take your sins to God, my brethren. Take them to the cross that the blood may fall upon them, to purge away their guilt, and to take away their power. Your sins must all be slain. There is only one place where they can be slaughtered—the altar where your Saviour died. If you would flog your sins, flog them with the whip that tore your Saviour’s shoulder. If you would nail your sins fast, drive the same nails through them which fastened your Lord to the cross; I mean, let your faith in the great Surety, and your love to him who suffered so much for you, be the power with which you do conflict with evil. It is said of the saints in heaven, “They overcame through the blood of the Lamb.” That is how you must overcome. Go to Jesus with your sins; no one else can help you; you are powerless without him."

C. H. Spurgeon (1867). The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit Sermons, Vol. XIII (164–165). London: Passmore & Alabaster.

daily rehearsings of the gospel ― Milton Vincent

“The New Testament teaches that Christians ought to hear the gospel as much as non-Christians do….In most of Paul’s letters to churches, sizeable portions of them are given over to rehearsing gospel truths. For example, Ephesians 1-3 is all gospel, Colossians 1-2 is gospel, and Romans 1-11 is gospel. The remainder of such books shows specifically how to bring the gospel truths to bear on life. Re-preaching the gospel and then showing how it applied to life was Paul’s choice method for ministering to believers, thereby providing a divinely inspired pattern for me to follow when ministering to myself and to other believers.

The gospel is so foolish (according to my natural wisdom; 1 Corinthians 1:21-23), so scandalous (according to my conscience; 1 Corinthians 1:23), and so incredible (according to my timid heart; 1 John 3:19-20), that it is a daily battle to believe the full scope of it as I should. There is simply no other way to compete with the forebodings of my conscience, the condemnings of heart, and the lies of the world and the Devil (2 Corinthians 4:4) than to overwhelm such things with daily rehearsings of the gospel…

The glory of God is the most powerful agent of transformation available to mankind.  It is so powerful that it transforms those who merely gaze upon it.  The Apostle Paul gives personal testimony concerning this stunning fact.  "But we all," he says, "beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, and being transformed into the same image from glory to glory." (2 Corinthians 3:18)  From Paul's testimony I learn that if I wish to become all that God wants me to be, I must behold His glory each day.

 But where do I find God's glory to behold?  Indeed, the glory of God is revealed throughout all of Creation, (Psalm 19:1, Isaiah 6:3) but the Bible indicates that, outside of heaven, the glory of God in its thickest density dwells inside the gospel.  It is for this reason that the gospel is described in Scripture as "the gospel of the glory of Christ" and "the gospel of the glory of the blessed God." (2 Corinthians 4:4, 1 Timothy 1:11)  Consequently, as I habitually gaze upon the glory of the Lord revealed in the gospel, I can know the actual deposits of God's very glory are attaching themselves to my person and transforming me from one level of glory to another. (2 Corinthians 3:18) This transformation is deep and abiding, and unfadingly displays the glory of God to others. (2 Corinthians 3:13)”

― Milton Vincent. A Gospel Primer for Christians: Learning to See the Glories of God’s Love. Focus Publishing (MN), 2008.

Who are you, Lord? And what shall I do, Lord? — James Montgomery Boice

"When we read Acts 9, we find Paul asking Jesus, “Who are you, Lord?” (Acts 9:5). In response Jesus told him, “I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and you will be told what you must do” (vv. 5–6). However, when we read Acts 22, we find that Paul also asked a second question: “What shall I do, Lord?” (Acts 22:10). This is an important addition to the story and a significant combination of ideas, because together the two questions form a sound basis for a strong Christian life…

Christianity begins with the question, Who are you, Lord? (Acts 9:5) That is because the deity of Jesus Christ is the foundation for everything that follows. Without that foundation we rush around doing things that appeal to us, things that seem good, but are not necessarily the Lord’s plan for us. But having established that base, we also need to ask the second question: What shall I do? (Acts 22:10) This is because God has appointed certain good works to be done by every Christian (Eph. 2:10)."

— James Montgomery Boice, Acts: An expositional commentary (155–156).

on importance of Bible study and prayer — James Montgomery Boice

"Two things go together in the Christian life: prayer, in which we talk to God, and Bible study, in which God talks to us. Prayer is of great importance. But somebody once said, I think wisely, that when we’re talking to God and God is talking to us, we had better let God do most of the talking. In other words, we should spend most of our time in Bible study…

We as Christians sometimes say, “We want God to bless our church” or “We want God to bless our family” (or our Bible study or nation or whatever it might be). But if we are serious, we must learn that the way God blesses is usually through a study of the Bible—as people come to know what God has written, respond to it, believe it, and proclaim it to other people in the world. If you find yourself in what seems to be a time of waiting or inactivity, redeem the time, as these disciples did. Become a better student—a more knowledgeable student—of the Word of God…

A Spirit-filled church always studies the apostolic teaching. It is a learning church that grounds its experiences in and tests those experiences by the Word of God…

Let’s put that in terms easy to understand: A Spirit-filled church is always going to be a Bible-studying church. Those two things go together… Wherever the church has been greatly blessed, where the Spirit of God has come upon God’s people and the gospel has gone forth in great power and people have responded to it, these have always been ages in which the Bible has been studied carefully. Why? It is because the closer men and women come to God the closer they want to get to where he speaks to their hearts, and that is in the Bible.

What is true of the church is true for individuals also. If you are Spirit-filled, then you will be drawn to this Book. If you are not drawn to this Book, if you do not really want to study it, if you say, “Well, you know, I look at the Bible from time to time, but it seems rather boring to me: it never really does much for me,” you ought to question whether you are really born again. Or if you are born again, you at least ought to question whether you are filled by the Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit, whose chief task is to bear witness to Jesus Christ, inevitably draws the people of God to Jesus through the Scriptures.

This means, among other things, that evangelical, Spirit-filled, Bible-oriented churches should offer many ways for people to get to know the Bible. It must be done through the preaching. In fact, that is the preacher’s chief task: to expound the Word of God. He is to study it and then teach it to others. It may be done through Bible classes and home Bible studies. We are going to see that the early Christians worshiped in their homes. So I am sure they studied the Bible in their homes. If we had been there, we would have said, “They’re having home Bible studies.”

— James Montgomery Boice, Acts: An expositional commentary (57–58).

in sensing oneself to be loved one learns to love — Adolphe Monod

“As you look upon God’s love, it will communicate itself to you and will renew your entire being. It is in sensing oneself to be loved that one learns to love. Self-centeredness reigns only because we are ignorant of God’s love: “Anyone who does not love does not know God” (1 John 4:8). You will love as you have been loved. You will love God, because God has first loved you. You will love your neighbor, because God has loved you both. Do you glimpse the new life that this change opens up for you?

I see you as “imitators of God, as beloved children” (Ephesians 5:1), no longer living for anything except to pour out around you the love with which God has filled your hearts. I see you, following the example of Christ who loved you, “going about doing good” (see Acts 10:38) and finding your joy in privation, in fatigue, and in the sacrifices of charity. I see you “controlled by the love of Christ” (see 2 Corinthians 5:14); weaned from your self-will, from the love of money, and from the empty pleasures of the world; consoling the afflicted, relieving the poor, visiting the sick, and carrying Jesus Christ and all his blessings with you wherever you go.

Then the image and resemblance of God will have been formed anew in your heart! Then you will dwell in God and God in you! If being loved is the life of our soul, to love is its joy. If being loved is all the doctrine of the gospel, then to love is all of its ethic. To love as we have been loved is heaven on earth until such time as it becomes heaven in heaven.”

— Adolphe Monod, an undivided love: loving and living for Christ

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)