Author: Art Davison

HAVE YOU TRULY COME TO CHRIST?–BY ARTHUR W. PINK

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HAVE YOU TRULY COME TO CHRIST?

BY ARTHUR W. PINK

 
By the way of introduction let us bring before the reader the following Scriptures:

1. “Ye will not come to Me, that ye might have life.” (John 5:40).

2. “Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28).

3. “No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him” (John 6:44).

4. “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).

5. “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.” (Luke 14:26,27).

6. “To whom coming, as unto a living Stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious.” (1 Peter 2:4).

7. “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 7:25).

The first of these passages applies to every unregenerate man and woman on this earth. While he is in a state of nature, no man can come to Christ. Though all excellencies both Divine and human, are found in the Lord Jesus, though “He is altogether lovely” (Song of Solomon 5:16), yet the fallen sons of Adam see in Him no beauty that they should desire Him. They may be well instructed in “the doctrine of Christ,” they may believe unhesitatingly all that Scripture affirms concerning Him, they may frequently take His name upon their lips, profess to be resting on His finished work, sing His praises, yet their hearts are far from Him. The things of this world have the first place in their affections. The gratifying of self is their dominant concern. They surrender not their lives to Him. He is too holy to suit their love of sin; His claims are too exacting to suit their selfish hearts; His terms of discipleship are too severe to suit their fleshly ways. They will not yield to His Lordship – true alike with each one of us till God performs a miracle of grace upon our hearts.

The second of these passages contains a gracious invitation, made by the compassionate Saviour to a particular class of sinners. The “all” is at once qualified, clearly and definitely, by the words which immediately follow it. The character of those to whom this loving word belongs is clearly defined: It is those who “labour” and are “heavy laden.” Most clearly then it applies not to the vast majority of our light-headed, gay-hearted, pleasure-seeking fellows who have no regard for God’s glory and no concern about their eternal welfare. No, the word for such poor creatures is rather, “Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth, and walk in the ways of thine heart, and in the sight of thine eyes; but know thou, that for all these things God will bring thee to judgment” (Ecclesiastes 11:9). But to those who have “laboured” hard to keep the law and please God, who are “heavy laden” with a felt sense of their utter inability to meet His requirements, and who long to be delivered from the power and pollution of sin, Christ says: “Come unto Me, and I will give you rest.”

The third passage quoted above at once tells us that “coming to Christ” is not the easy matter so many imagine it, nor so simple a thing as most preachers represent it to be. Instead of its so being, the incarnate Son of God positively declares that such an act is utterly impossible to a fallen and depraved creature unless and until Divine power is brought to bear upon him. A most pride humbling, flesh-withering, man-abasing word is this. “Coming to Christ” is a far, far different thing from raising your hand to be prayed for by some Protestant “priest,” coming forward and taking some cheap-jack evangelist’s hand, signing some “decision” card, uniting with some “church,” or any other of the “many inventions” of man (Ecclesiastes 7:29). Before any one can or will “come to Christ” the understanding must be supernaturally enlightened, the heart must be supernaturally changed; the stubborn will must be supernaturally broken.

The fourth passage is also one that is unpalatable to the carnal mind, yet is it a precious portion unto the Spirit-taught children of God. It sets forth the blessed truth of unconditional election, or the discriminating grace of God. It speaks of a favoured people whom the Father giveth to His Son. It declares that every one of that blessed company shall come to Christ. Neither the effects of their fall in Adam, the power of indwelling sin, the hatred and untiring efforts of Satan, nor the deceptive delusions of blind preachers, will be able to finally hinder them – when God’s appointed hour arrives, each of His elect is delivered from the power of darkness and is translated into the kingdom of His dear Son. It announces no matter how unworthy and vile he be in himself, no matter how black and long the awful catalogue of his sins, He will by no means despise or fail to welcome him, and under no circumstances will He ever cast him off.

The fifth passage is one that makes known the terms on which alone Christ is willing to receive sinners. Here the uncompromising claims of His holiness are set out. He must be crowned Lord of all, or He will not be Lord at all. There must be the complete heart-renunciation of all that stands in competition with Him. He will brook no rival. All that pertains to “the flesh,” whether found in a loved one or in self, has to be hated. The “cross” is the badge of Christian discipleship: not a golden one worn on the body, but the principle of self-denial and self-sacrifice ruling the heart. How evident is it, then, that a mighty, supernatural, divine work of grace must be wrought in the human heart, if any man will even desire to meet such terms!

The sixth passage tells us the Christian is to continue as he began. We are to “come to Christ” not once and for all, but frequently, daily. He is the only One who can minister unto our needs, and to Him we must constantly turn for the supply of them. In our felt emptiness, we must draw from His “fulness” (John 1:16). In our weakness, we must turn to him for strength. In our ignorance we must apply to Him for wisdom. In our falls into sin, we must seek afresh His cleansing. All that we need for time and eternity is stored up in Him: refreshment when we are weary (Isaiah 40:31), healing of body when we are sick (Exodus 15:26), comfort when we are sad (1 Peter 5:7), deliverance when we are tempted (Hebrews 2:18). If we have wandered away from Him, left our first love, then the remedy is to “repent and do the first works” (Revelation 2:5), that is, cast ourselves upon Him anew, come just as we did the first time we came to Him – as unworthy, self-confessed sinners, seeking His mercy and forgiveness.

The seventh passage assures us of the eternal security of those who do come. Christ saves “unto the uttermost” or “for ever more” those who come unto God by Him. He is not of one mind today and of another tomorrow. No, He is “the same yesterday, and today, and for ever (Hebrews 13:8). “Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end” (John 13:1), and blessedly does He give proof of this, for “He ever liveth to make intercession for them.” Inasmuch as His prayers are effectual, for He declares that the Father hears Him “always” (John 11:42), none whose name is indelibly stamped on the heart of our great High Priest can ever perish. Hallelujah!

DIVINE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE–BY ARTHUR W. PINK

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DIVINE INSPIRATION OF THE BIBLE
BY ARTHUR W. PINK
The Character of its Teachings Evidences the Divine Authorship of the Bible

Take its teaching about God Himself. What does the Bible teach us about God? It declares that He is Eternal: “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever Thou hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting to everlasting, Thou are God” (Psalm 90:2). It reveals the fact that He is Infinite: “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain Thee,” (1 Kings 8:27). Vast as we know the universe to be, it has its bounds; but we must go beyond them to conceive of God— “Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty unto perfection? It is as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what canst thou know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth and broader than the sea.” (Job 11:7-9). It makes mention of His Sovereignty: “Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all My pleasure.” (Isaiah 46:9-10). It affirms that He is Omnipotent: “Behold I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for Me?’” (Jeremiah 32:27). It intimates that He is Omniscient: “Great is our Lord, and of great power: His understanding is infinite.” (Psalms 147:5) It teaches that He is Omnipresent: “Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the Lord.” (Jeremiah 23:24). It declares that He is Immutable: “The same yesterday, and today, and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8). Yea, that with Him ‘is no variableness, neither shadow of turning’. (James 1:17) It reveals that He is “The Judge of all the earth” (Genesis 18:25) and that every one shall yet have to ‘give an account of himself to God’. (Romans 14:12) It announces that He is inflexibly just in all His dealings so that He can by “no means clear the guilty’; (Numbers 14:18) that all will be judged ‘according to their works’, (Revelation 20:12) and that they shall reap whatsoever they have sown. (Galatians 6:7) It reveals the fact that He is absolutely holy, dwelling in light inaccessible. So holy that even the seraphim have to veil their faces in His presence (Isaiah 6:2); so holy that the heavens are not clean in His sight. (Job 15:15) So holy that the best of men when face to face with their Maker have to cry, ‘I abhor myself’ (Job 42:6); ‘Woe is me! For I am undone’ (Isaiah 6:5). Such a delineation of Deity is as far beyond man’s conception as the heavens are above the earth. No man, and no number of men, ever invented such a God as this. Ransack the libraries of the ancient, examine the musings of the mystics, study the religions of the heathen and nothing will be found which can for a moment be compared with the sublime and exalted description of God’s character which is furnished by the Bible.
The teaching of the Bible about man is unique. Unlike all other books in the world, the Bible condemns man and all his doings. It never eulogizes his wisdom, nor praises his achievements. On the contrary, it declares that ‘every man at his best state is altogether vanity’. (Psalms 39:5) Instead of teaching that man is a noble character, evolving heavenwards, it tells him that all his righteousnesses (his best works) are as ‘filthy rags,’ that he is a lost sinner, incapable of bettering his condition; that he is deserving only of Hell.
The picture which the Scriptures give of man is deeply humiliating and entirely different from all which are drawn by human pencils. The Word of God describes the state of the natural man in the following language: —’There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. They are all gone out of the way, they are together become unprofitable. There is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their throat is an open sepulcher; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips; whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift to shed blood: destruction and misery are in their ways: and the way of peace have they not known. There is no fear of God before their eyes’. (Romans 3:10-18)
Instead of making Satan the source of all the black crimes of which we are guilty, the Bible declares, ‘For from within, out of the heart of man proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within and defile the man’. (Mark 7:21-23) Such a conception of man—so different from man’s own ideas and so humiliating to his proud heart—never could have emanated from man himself. ‘The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately wicked’ (Jeremiah 17:9) is a concept that never originated in any human mind.
The teaching of the Bible about the world is unique. In nothing perhaps are the teachings of Scripture and the writings of man at such variance as they are at this point. Using the term as meaning the world-system in contradistinction to the earth, what is the direction of man’s thoughts concerning the same? Man thinks highly of the world, for he regards it as his world. It is that which his labors have produced and he looks upon it with satisfaction and pride. He boasts that ‘the world is growing better.’ He declares that the world is becoming more civilized and more humanized. Man’s thoughts upon this subject have been well summarized by the poet in the familiar language—’God is in heaven: All’s well with the world.’ But what saith the Scriptures? Upon this subject, too, we discover that God’s thoughts are very different from ours. The Bible uniformly condemns the world and speaks of it as a thing of evil. We shall not attempt to quote every passage which does this, but shall merely single out a few specimen Scriptures.
‘If the world hates you, ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you’ (John 15:18-19). This passage teaches that the world hates both Christ and His followers. ‘The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God.’ (1 Corinthians 3:19). Certainly no uninspired pen wrote these words. ‘Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God’. (James 4:4). Here again we learn that the world is an evil thing, condemned by God, and to be shunned by His children. ‘Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world’ (1 John 2:15-16). Here we have a definition of the world: it is all that is opposed to the Father—opposed in its principles and philosophy, its maxims and methods, its aims and ambitions, its trend and its end ‘And the whole world lieth in the Evil One’. (1 John 5:19, R.V.). Here we learn why it is that the world hates Christ and His followers; why its wisdom is foolishness with God; why it is condemned by God and must be shunned by His children—it is under the dominion of that old serpent, the devil, whom Scripture specifically denominates ‘The prince of this world.’
The teaching of the Bible about sin is unique. Man regards sin as a misfortune and ever seeks to minimize its enormity. In these days, sin is referred to as ignorance, as a necessary stage in man’s development. By others, sin is looked upon as a mere negation, the opposite of good; while Mrs. Eddy and her followers that went so far as to deny its existence altogether. But the Bible, unlike every other book, strips man of all excuse and emphasizes his culpability. In the Bible sin is never palliated or extenuated, but from first to last the Holy Scriptures insist upon its enormity and heinousness. The Word of God declares that ‘sin is very grievous’ (Genesis 18:20) and that our sins provoke God to anger. (1 Kings 16:2) It speaks of the ‘deceitfulness of sin’ (Hebrews 3:13) and insists that sin is ‘exceedingly sinful’. (Romans 7:13). It declares that all sin is sin against God (Psalms 51:4) and against His Christ. (1 Corinthians 8:12). It regards our sins as being ‘as scarlet’ and ‘red like crimson’ (Isaiah 1:18). It declares that sin is more than an act, it is an attitude. It affirms that sin is more than a non-compliance with God’s law—it is rebellion against the One who gave the law. It teaches that ‘sin is lawlessness ’(1 John 3:4, R. V.) which means that sin is spiritual anarchy, open defiance against the Almighty. Moreover, it singles out no particular class; it condemns all alike. It announces that ‘all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,’ that ‘there is none righteous, no, not one’. (Romans 3) Did man ever write such an indictment against himself? What human mind ever invented such a description of sin as that discovered in the Bible? Whoever would have imagined that sin was such a vile and dreadful thing in the sight of God that nothing but the precious blood of His own beloved Son could make an atonement for it!
The teaching of the Bible about the punishment of sin is unique. A defective view of sin necessarily leads to an inadequate conception of what is due sin. Minimize the gravity and enormity of sin and you must proportionately reduce the sentence which it deserves. Many are crying out today against the justice of the eternal punishment of sin. They complain that the penalty does not fit the crime. They argue that it is unrighteous for a sinner to suffer eternally in consequence of a short life span of wrong-doing. But even in this world it is not the length of time which it takes to commit the crime which determines the severity of the sentence. Many a man has suffered a life term of imprisonment for a crime which required only a few minutes for its perpetration. Apart, however, from this consideration, eternal punishment is just if sin be looked at from God’s viewpoint. But this is just what the majority of men refuse to do. They look at sin and its deserts solely from the human side. One reason why the Bible was written was to correct our ideas and views about sin, to teach us what an unspeakably awful and vile thing it is, to show us sin as God sees it. For one single sin Adam and Eve were banished from Eden. For one single sin Canaan and all his posterity were cursed. For a single sin Korah and his company went down alive into the pit. For one single sin Moses was debarred from entering the Promised Land. For a single sin Achan and his family were stoned to death. For a single sin Elisha’s servant was smitten with leprosy. For a single sin Ananias and Sapphira were cut off out of the land of the living. Why? To teach us what an infinite evil it is to revolt against the thrice holy God. We repeat, that did men but see the terribleness of sin—did they but see that it was sin that put to a shameful death the Lord of Glory—then they would realize that nothing short of eternal punishment would meet the demands which justice has upon sinners.
But the great majority of men do not see the meetness or justice of eternal punishment; on the contrary, they cry out against it. In lands which were not illumined by the Old Testament Scriptures, where there existed any belief in a future life, it was held that at death the wicked either passed through some temporary suffering for remedial and purifying purposes or else they were annihilated. Even in Christendom, where the Word of God has held a prominent and public place for centuries, the great bulk of the people do not believe in eternal punishment. They argue that God is too merciful and kind to ban one of His own creatures to endless misery. Yea, not a few of the Lord’s own people are afraid to take the solemn teachings of the Scriptures on this subject at their face value. It is therefore evident that had the Bible been written by uninspired men; had it been a mere human composition, it certainly would not have taught the eternal and conscious torment of all who die out of Christ. The fact that the Bible does so teach is conclusive proof that it was written by men who spake not of themselves, but as they were ‘moved by the Holy Spirit.’
The teachings of God’s Word upon eternal punishment are as clear and explicit, as they are solemn and awful. They declare that the doom of the Christ rejector is a conscious, never-ending, indescribable torment. The Bible depicts the place of punishment as a realm where the ‘worm dieth not’ and ‘the fire is not quenched’. (Mark 9:48). It speaks of it as a lake of fire and brimstone, (Revelation 20:10) where even a drop of water is denied the agonized sufferer. (Luke 16:24) It declares that ‘the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night’. (Revelation 14:11). It represents the world of the lost as a scene into which penetrates no light—’the blackness of darkness for ever’ (Jude 1:13) —a doom alleviated by no ray of hope. In short, the portion of the lost will be unbearable, yet it will have to be borne, and borne for ever. What mortal mind conceived of such a fate? Such a conception is too repugnant and repulsive to the human heart to have had its birth on the earth.
The teaching of the Bible about Salvation from Sin is unique. Man’s thoughts about salvation, like every other subject which engages his mind are defective and deficient. Hence the force of the admonition—’Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts’. (Isaiah 55:7) In the first place, left to himself, man fails to realize his need of salvation. In the pride of his heart he imagines that he is sufficient in himself, and through the darkening of his understanding by sin he fails to comprehend his ruined and lost condition. Like the self-righteous Pharisee, he thanks God that he is not as other men, that he is morally the superior of the savage or the criminal, and refuses to believe that so far as his standing before God is concerned there is ‘no difference.’ It is not until the Holy Spirit deals with him that man is constrained to cry, ‘God be merciful to me a sinner.’
In the second, place man is ignorant of the way of salvation. Even when man has been brought to the place where he recognizes that he is not prepared to meet God, and that if he died in his present state he would be eternally lost; even then he has no right conception of the remedy. Being ignorant of God’s righteousness he goes about to establish his own righteousness. He supposes that he must make some personal reparation for his past wrong-doings, that he must work for his salvation, do something to merit the esteem of God, and thus win heaven as a reward. The highest concept of man’s mind is that of merit. To him salvation is a wage to be earned, a crown to be coveted, a prize to be won. The proof of this is to be seen in the fact that even when pardon and life are presented as a free gift, the universal tendency, at first, is to regard it as being ‘too good to be true.’ Yet, such is the plain teaching of God’s Word—’For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works; lest any man should boast’ (Ephesians 2:8-9) And again—’Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us’. (Titus 3:5)
If it is true that man left to himself would never have fully realized his need of salvation, and would never have discovered that it was by grace through faith and not of works, how much less would the human mind have been capable of rising to the level of what God’s Word teaches about the nature of salvation and the glorious and marvelous destiny of the saved! Who would have thought that the Maker and Ruler of the universe should lay hold of poor, fallen, depraved men and women and lifting them out of the miry clay should make them His own sons and daughters, and should seat them at His own table! Who would ever have suggested that those who deserve naught but everlasting shame and contempt, should be made ‘heirs of God and joint-heirs with Christ’! Who would have dreamed that beggars should be lifted from the dunghill of sin and made to sit together with Christ in heavenly places! Who would have imagined that the corrupted offspring of disobedient Adam should be exalted to a position higher than that occupied by the unfallen angels! Who would have dared to affirm that one day we shall be ‘made like Christ’ and ‘be for ever with the Lord’! Such concepts were as far beyond the reach of the highest human intellect as they were of the rudest savage. ‘But as it is written, eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love Him. But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God’. (1 Corinthians 2:9-10)
Again we ask what human intellect could have devised a means whereby God could be just and yet merciful, merciful and yet just? What mortal mind would ever have dreamed of a free and full salvation, bestowed on hell-deserving sinners, ‘without money and without price’! And what flight of carnal imagination would ever have conceived of the Son of God Himself being ‘made sin’ for us and dying the Just for the unjust?
The teaching of the Bible concerning the Saviour of sinners is unique. The description which the Scriptures furnish of the Person, the Character, and the Work of the Lord Jesus Christ is without anything that approaches a parallel in the whole realm of literature. It is easier to suppose that man could create a world than to believe he invented the character of our adorable Redeemer. Given a piece of machinery that is delicate, complex, exact in all its movements, and we know it must be the product of a competent mechanic. Given a work of art that is beautiful, symmetrical, original, and we know it must be the product of a master artist. None but an Angelo could have designed Saint Peter’s; none but a Raphael could have painted the ‘transfiguration;’ none but a Milton could have written a ‘Paradise Lost.’ And, none but the Holy Spirit could have produced the peerless portrait of the Lord Jesus which we find in the Gospels. In Christ all excellencies combine. Here is one of the many respects in which He differs from all other Bible characters. In each of the great heroes of Scripture some trait stands out with peculiar distinctness—Noah, faithful testimony; Abraham, faith in God; Isaac, submission to his father; Joseph, love for his brethren; Moses, unselfishness and meekness; Joshua, courage and leadership; Job, fortitude and patience; Daniel, fidelity to God; Paul, zeal in service; John, spiritual discernment—but in the Lord Jesus every grace is found. Moreover, in Him all these perfections were properly poised and balanced. He was meek yet regal; He was gentle yet fearless; He was compassionate yet just; He was submissive yet authoritative; He was Divine yet human; add to these, the fact that He was absolutely ‘without sin’ and His uniqueness becomes apparent. Nowhere in all the writings of antiquity is there to be found the presentation of such a peerless and wondrous character.
Not only is the portrayal of Christ’s character without any rival, but the teaching of the Bible concerning His Person and Work is also utterly incredible on any other basis save that they are part of a Divine revelation. Who would have dared to imagine the Creator and Upholder of the universe taking upon Himself the form of a servant and being made in the likeness of men? Who would have conceived the idea of the Lord of Glory being born in a manger? Who would have dreamed of the Object of angelic worship becoming so poor that he had not where to lay His head? Who would have declared that the One before whom the seraphim veil their faces should be led as a lamb to the slaughter, should have suffered His own blessed face to be defiled with the vile spittle of man, and should permit the creatures of His hand to scourge and buffet Him? Whoever would have conceived of Emmanuel becoming obedient unto death, even the death of the Cross!
Here then is an argument which the simplest can grasp. The Scriptures contain their own evidence that they are Divinely inspired. Every page of Holy Writ is stamped with Jehovah’s autograph. The uniqueness of its teachings demonstrates the uniqueness of its Source. The teachings of the Scriptures about God Himself, about man, about the world, about sin, about eternal punishment, about salvation, about the Lord Jesus Christ, are proof that the Bible is not the product of any man

COMING TO CHRIST WITH THE WILL–BY ARTHUR PINK

Art Davison REFERENCE MATERALS FOR MESSAGES 0 Comment
COMING TO CHRIST WITH THE WILL
BY ARTHUR PINK
The man within the body is possessed of three principal faculties: the understanding, the affections, and the will. As was shown in the first article, all of these were radically affected by the Fall: they were defiled and corrupted, and in consequence, they are used in the service of self and sin, rather than of God and of Christ. But in regeneration, these faculties are quickened and cleansed by the Spirit: not completely, but initially, and continuously so in the life-long process of sanctification, and perfectly so at our glorification. Now each of these three faculties is subordinated to the others by the order of nature, that is, as man has been constituted by his Maker. One faculty is influenced by the other. In Genesis 3:6 we read, “the woman saw (perceived) that the tree was good for food”—that was a conclusion drawn by the understanding; “and that it was pleasant to the eyes”—there was the response of her affections; “and a tree to be desired”—there was the ill; “she took”—there was the completed action.

Now the motions of Divine grace work through the apprehensions of faith in the understanding, these warming and firing the affections, and they in turn influencing and moving the will. Every faculty of the soul is put forth in a saving “coming to Christ”‘ “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest”—be baptized, Acts 8:37. “Coming to Christ” is more immediately an act of the will, as John 5:40 shows; yet the will is not active toward Him until the understanding has been enlightened and the affections quickened. The Spirit first causes the sinner to perceive his deep need of Christ, and this, by showing him his fearful moving of rebellion against God, and that none but Christ can atone for the same. Secondly, the Spirit creates in the heart a desire after Christ, and this, by making him sick of sin and in love with holiness. Third, as the awakened and enlightened soul has been given to see the glory and excellency of Christ, and His perfect suitability to the lost and perishing sinner, then the Spirit draws out the will to set the highest value on that excellency, to esteem it far above all else, and to close with Him.

As there is a Divine order among the three Persons of the Godhead in providing salvation, so there is in the applying or bestowing of it. It was God the Father’s good pleasure appointing His people from eternity unto salvation, which was the most full and sufficient impulsive cause of their salvation, and every whit able to produce its effect. It was the incarnate Son of God whose obedience and sufferings were the most complete and sufficient meritorious cause of their salvation, to which nothing can be added to make it more apt and able to secure the travail of His soul. Yet neither the one nor the other can actually save any sinner except as the Spirit applies Christ to it: His work being the efficient and immediate cause of their salvation. In like manner, the sinner is not saved when his understanding is enlightened, and his affections fired: there must also be the act of the will, surrendering to God and laying hold of Christ.

The order of the Spirit’s operations corresponds to the three great offices of Christ, the Mediator, namely, His prophetic, priestly, and kingly. As Prophet, He is first apprehended by the understanding, the Truth of God being received from His lips. As Priest, He is trusted and loved by the heart or affections, His glorious person being first endeared unto the soul by the gracious work which He performed for it. As Potentate, our will must be subdued unto Him, so that we submit to His government, yield to His sceptre, and heed His commandments. Nothing short of the throne of our hearts will satisfy the Lord Jesus. In order to this, the Holy Spirit casts down our carnal imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and brings into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ 2 Corinthians 10:5, so that we freely and gladly take His yoke upon us; which yoke is, as one of the Puritans said, “lined with love.”

“No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him” John 6:44. This “drawing” is accomplished by the Spirit: first, in effectually enlightening the understanding; secondly, by quickening the affections; third, by freeing the will from the bondage of sin and inclining it toward God. By the invincible workings of grace, the Spirit turns the bent of that will, which before moved only toward sin and vanity, unto Christ. “Thy people,” said God unto the Mediator, “shall be willing in the day of Thy power” Psalm 110:3. Yet though Divine power be put forth upon a human object, the Spirit does not infringe the will’s prerogative of acting freely: He morally persuades it. He subdues its sinful intractability. He overcomes its prejudice, wins and draws it by the sweet attractions of grace.

“God never treats man as though he were a brute; He does not drag him with cart ropes; He treats men as men; and when he binds them with cords, they are the cords of love and the bands of a man. I may exercise power over another’s will, and yet that other man’s will may be perfectly free; because the constraint is exercised in a manner accordant with the laws of the human mind. If I show a man that a certain line of action is much for his advantage, he feels bound to follow it, but he is perfectly free in so doing. If man’s will were subdued or chained by some physical process, if man’s heart should, for instance, be taken from him and be turned round by a manual operation, that would be altogether inconsistent with human freedom, or indeed with human nature; and yet I think some few people imagine that we mean this when we talk of constraining influence and Divine grace. We mean nothing of the kind; we mean that Jehovah Jesus knows how, by irresistible arguments addressed to the understanding, by mighty reasons appealing to the affections, and by the mysterious influence of His Holy Spirit operating upon all the powers and passions of the soul, so to subdue the whole man, that whereas it was once rebellious it becomes obedient; whereas it stood stoutly against the Most High, it throws down the weapons of its rebellion and cries, ‘I yield! I yield! subdued by sovereign love, and by the enlightenment which Thou hast bestowed upon me, I yield myself to Thy will’”( C. H. Spurgeon, on John 6:37).

The perfect consistency between the freedom of a regenerated man’s spiritual actions and the efficacious grace of God moving him thereto, is seen in 2 Corinthians 8:16,17. “But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you. For indeed he accepted the exhortation; but being more forward, of his own accord, he went unto you.” Titus was moved to that work by Paul’s exhortation, and was “willing of his own accord” to engage therein; and yet it was “God which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus” for them. God controls the inward feelings and acts of men without interfering either with their liberty or responsibility. The zeal of Titus was the spontaneous effusion of his own heart, and was an index to an element of his character; nevertheless, God wrought in him both to will and to do of His good pleasure.

No sinner savingly “comes to Christ,” or truly receives Him into the heart, until the will freely consents (not merely “assents” in a theoretical way) to the severe and self-denying terms upon which He is presented in the Gospel. No sinner is prepared to forsake all for Christ, take up “the cross,” and “follow” Him in the path of universal obedience, until the heart genuinely esteems Him “The Fairest among ten thousand,” and this none ever do before the understanding has been supernaturally enlightened and the affections supernaturally quickened. Obviously, none will espouse themselves with conjugal affections to that person whom they account not the best that can be chosen. It is as the Spirit convicts us of our emptiness and shows us Christ’s fullness, our guilt and His righteousness, our filthiness and the cleansing merits of His blood, our depravity and His holiness, that the heart is won and the resistance of the will is overcome.

The holy and spiritual Truth of God finds nothing akin to itself in the unregenerate soul, but instead, everything that is opposed to it, John 15:18; Romans 8:7. The demands of Christ are too humbling to our natural pride, too searching for the callous conscience, too exacting for our fleshly desires. And a miracle of grace has to be wrought within us before this awful depravity of our nature, this dreadful state of affairs, is changed. That miracle of grace consists in overcoming the resistance which is made by indwelling sin, and creating desires and longings Christward; and then it is that the will cries,

“Nay but I yield, I yield,
I can hold out no more;
I sink, by dying love compell’d,
And own Thee Conqueror.”

A beautiful illustration of this is found in Ruth 1:14-18. Naomi, a backslidden saint, is on the point of leaving the far country, and (typically) returning to her Father’s house. Her two daughters-in-law wish to accompany her. Faithfully did Naomi bid them “count the cost” Luke 14:28; instead of at once urging them to act on their first impulse, she pointed out the difficulties and trials to be encountered. This was too much for Orpah: her “goodness” (like that of the stony-ground hearers, and myriads of others) was only “as a morning cloud,” and “as the early dew” it quickly went away Hosea 6:4. In blessed contrast from this we read, “But Ruth clave unto her, saying, Intreat me not to leave thee, to return from following after thee: for whither thou goest I will go; and where thou lodgest I will lodge; thy people shall be my people, and thy God my God.”

What depth and loveliness of affection was here! What whole-hearted self-surrender! See Ruth freely and readily leaving her own country and kindred, tearing herself from every association of nature, turning a deaf ear to her mother-in-law’s begging her to return to her gods Romans 1:15) and people. See her renouncing idolatry and all that flesh holds dear, to be a worshipper and servant of the living God, counting all things but loss for the sake of His favour and salvation; and her future conduct proved her faith was genuine and her profession sincere. Ah, naught but a miraculous work of God in her soul can explain this. It was God working in her “both to will and to do of His good pleasure” Philippians 2:13. He was drawing her with the bands of love: grace triumphed over the flesh. This is what every genuine conversion is—a complete surrender of the mind, heart and will to God and His Christ, so that there is a desire to “follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth” Revelation 14:4.

The relation between our understanding being enlightened and the affections quickened by God and the resultant consent of the will, is seen in Psalm 119:34, “Give me understanding and I shall keep Thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart.” “The sure result of regeneration, or the bestowal of understanding, is the devout reverence for the law and a reverent keeping of it in the heart. The Spirit of God makes us to know the Lord and to understand somewhat of His love, wisdom, holiness, and majesty; and the result is that we honour the law and yield our hearts to the obedience of the faith. The understanding operates upon the affections; it convinces the heart of the beauty of the law, so that the soul loves it with all its powers; and then it reveals the majesty of the law-Giver, and the whole nature bows before His supreme will. He alone obeys God who can say ‘my Lord, I would serve Thee, and do it with all my heart’; and none can truly say this till they have received as a free grant the inward illumination of the Holy Spirit” (C. H. Spurgeon).

Ere turning to our final section, a few words need to be added here upon 1 Peter 2:4, “To whom coming as unto a living Stone … we also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house.” Has the sovereign grace of God inclined me to come unto Christ? Then it is my duty and interest to “abide” in Him, John 15:4. Abide in Him by a life of faith, and letting His Spirit abide in me without grieving Him Ephesians 4:30 or quenching His motions, 1 Thessalonians 5:19. It is not enough that I once believed on Christ, I must live in and upon Him by faith daily, Galatians 2:20. It is in this way of continual coming to Christ that we are “built up a spiritual house.” It is in this way the lift of grace is maintained, until it issue in the life of glory. Faith is to be always receiving out of His fullness “grace for grace” John 1:16. Daily should there be the renewed dedication of myself unto Him and the heart’s occupation with Him.

TODOS OS QUE TENDES SEDE, VINDE–ISAIAS 55:1-7

Art Davison PORTUGUESE MESSAGES 0 Comment
TODOS OS QUE TENDES SEDE, VINDE
Isaías 55:1-7
Introdução:
Esta admoestação foi dada bem mais de dois mil anos atrás e aínda o homen não está atendendo. O Senhor está oferecendo salvação do pecado e ninguem liga.
Ele oferece um acordo que é para sempre, mas ninguem liga. Os termos são simples e faceis para entender. Salvação não é do homem, mas sim, do Senhor e nos Seus termos.
I. TODOS OS QUE TENDES SEDE

A. Dilema da Mulher Samaritana, João 4-30.

1. Ela estava bebendo no poço errado, João 4:13, “Jesus respondeu e disse-lhe: Qualquer que beber desta água tornará a ter sede,”
2. Jesus ofereceu lhe a água da vida, João 4:14, “Mas aquele que beber da água que eu lhe der nunca terá sede, porque a água que eu lhe der se fará nele uma fonte de água a jorrar para a vida eterna.”
3. Ela não entendeu, mas estava interesada, João 4:15, “Disse-lhe a mulher: Senhor, dá-me dessa água, para que não mais tenha sede e não venha aqui tirá-la.”
4. Sua necessidade foi muito grande, João 4:17-18, “A mulher respondeu e disse: Não tenho marido. Disse-lhe Jesus: Disseste bem: Não tenho marido, 18 porque tiveste cinco maridos e o que agora tens não é teu marido; isso disseste com verdade.”
B. A mulher Samaritana toma da fonte da áqua de vida, João 4:25-26, “A mulher disse-lhe: Eu sei que o Messias (que se chama o Cristo) vem; quando ele vier, nos anunciará tudo. 26 Jesus disse-lhe: Eu o sou, eu que falo contigo.”
II. COMPRA SEM DINHEIRO E SEM PREÇO

A. Por que gastais o dinheiro naquilo que não é pão? v. 2, “Por que gastais o dinheiro naquilo que não é pão? E o produto do vosso trabalho naquilo que não pode satisfazer? Ouvi-me atentamente e comei o que é bom, e a vossa alma se deleite com a gordura.”

1. O homem apascenta-se de cinza porque ele foi enganado, Isaías 44:20, “Apascenta-se de cinza; o seu coração enganado o desviou, de maneira que não pode livrar a sua alma, nem dizer: Não há uma mentira na minha mão direita?”
2. Ele está apascentando nas doutrinas dos homens, Mateus 15:9, “Mas em vão me adoram, ensinando doutrinas que são preceitos dos homens.”
3. Ele segue após doutrinas estanhas, Hebreus 13:9, “Não vos deixeis levar em redor por doutrinas várias e estranhas, porque bom é que o coração se fortifique com graça e não com manjares, que de nada aproveitaram aos que a eles se entregaram.”
a. Ele não está firme na Palavra de Deus 2 Timóteo 2:15, “Procura apresentar-te a Deus aprovado, como obreiro que não tem de que se envergonhar, que maneja bem a palavra da verdade.”
b. O Apóstolo Paulo encourajou Timóteo ler a Palavra de Deus, 1 Timóteo 4:12-13, “Ninguém despreze a tua mocidade; mas sê o exemplo dos fiéis, na palavra, no trato, na caridade, no espírito, na fé, na pureza. 13 Persiste em ler, exortar e ensinar, até que eu vá.”
B. Por que trabalhar para aquilo que não pode satisfazer? v. 2.
1. Fazemos grande injustiça a nós mesmos por não escolher o Pão da Vida, João 6:35, “E Jesus lhes disse: Eu sou o pão da vida; aquele que vem a mim não terá fome; e quem crê em mim nunca terá sede.”
2. Fazemos injúria terrível a nós mesmo se recusar a convite do Senhor, João 6:51, “Eu sou o pão vivo que desceu do céu; se alguém comer desse pão, viverá para sempre; e o pão que eu der é a minha carne, que eu darei pela vida do mundo.”
3. Nada mais dá satisfação, Eclesiastes 1:8, “Todas essas coisas se cansam tanto, que ninguém o pode declarar; os olhos não se fartam de ver, nem os ouvidos de ouvir.”
4. Não trabalha para aquilo que perece, João 6:27, “Trabalhai não pela comida que perece, mas pela comida que permanece para a vida eterna, a qual o Filho do Homem vos dará, porque a este o Pai, Deus, o selou.”
III. ESCUTAR E VIVER

A. Incinai os ouvidos, v. 3.

1. Ouvi as palavras da vida, João 6:63, “O espírito é o que vivifica, a carne para nada aproveita; as palavras que eu vos disse são espírito e vida.”
2. Jesus é o Pão de Deus, João 6:33, Porque o pão de Deus é aquele que desce do céu e dá vida ao mundo.”
B. Vinde a Mim, Mateus 11:27-29, “Todas as coisas me foram entregues por meu Pai; e ninguém conhece o Filho, senão o Pai; e ninguém conhece o Pai, senão o Filho e aquele a quem o Filho o quiser revelar. 28 Vinde a mim, todos os que estais cansados e oprimidos, e eu vos aliviarei.”
1. Deus revela o Filho, Lucas 10:22, “Tudo por meu Pai me foi entregue; e ninguém conhece quem é o Filho, senão o Pai, nem quem é o Pai, senão o Filho e aquele a quem o Filho o quiser revelar.”
a. Filho de Deus nos dá descanso do peso do nosso pecado, Mateus 11:30, “Porque o meu jugo é suave, e o meu fardo é leve.”
b. Ele dá vida àqueles que confia nEle, João 3:36, “Aquele que crê no Filho tem a vida eterna, mas aquele que não crê no Filho não verá a vida, mas a ira de Deus sobre ele permanece.”
2. O Filho revela o Pai, João 17:6-7, “Manifestei o teu nome aos homens que do mundo me deste; eram teus, e tu mos deste, e guardaram a tua palavra. 7 Agora, já têm conhecido que tudo quanto me deste provém de ti,”
a. O homem não pode conhecer o Pai até que ele conhece of Filho de Deus.
b. Então o Filho revela lhe o Pai, João 14:10, “Não crês tu que eu estou no Pai e que o Pai está em mim? As palavras que eu vos digo, não as digo de mim mesmo, mas o Pai, que está em mim, é quem faz as obras.”
CONCLUSÃO

Os homens procuram as coisas que os dão pouca ou nenhuma satisfação na vida, ainda eles continuam a correr atrás delas. O Senhor oferece a solução da vida. A solução é Jesus Cristo. Confiando nEle como seu Salvador Deus nos dá vida eterna, assim satisfazendo a nossa alma.

O CORAÇÃO DO HOMEM–JEREMIAS 17:9-10

Art Davison PORTUGUESE MESSAGES 0 Comment
O CORAÇÃO DO HOMEM
JEREMIAS 17:9-10
Introdução:

A palavra perverso quer dizer: Que tem muito má índole; mau; ferino; iníquo; cruel; traiçoeiro.

O retrato que Deus nos mostra do coração do homem não é bonito. Antes do dilúvio Deus disse do homem: “que toda a imaginação dos pensamentos de seu coração era só má continuamente.” Depois o dilúvio dentro de pouco tempo o homem já tinha retornado à mesma situação como antes; segundo Romanos 1:19-32.

Na época de Jeremias o homem não tinha melhorado. Ele descreve o coração do homem como “enganoso” e “perverso”.

I. CORAÇÃO DO HOMEM É ENGANOSO E PERVERSO

A. ENGANOSO — que produz ilusão, Marcos 7:21-23.

1. Não é aquilo de fora que estraga o homem.

2. É aquilo dentro do coração dele.

B. PERVERSO — “cheio de maldade” Eclesiástes 9:3: “há desvarios (atos de loucura) no seu coração, na sua vida.”

II. QUEM O CONHECERÁ? O SENHOR!!!

Verso 10 (texto): “Eu, o Senhor, esquadrinho o coração.”

A. Deus investiga o coração do homem.

1. Ele achou o coração cheio de concupiscência, Romanos 1:24-25.

2. O homem chama o mal, bem, e o bem, mal, Isaías 5:20, “Ai dos que ao mal chamam bem, e ao bem mal; que fazem da escuridade luz, e da luz escuridade; e fazem do amargo doce, e do doce amargo!”

B. Deus observa o coração do homem, Salmos 2:1-4.

1. O homem combina com outros contra o Senhor.

2. Deus está rindo à rebeldia do homem, Provérbios 1:25-26.

C. Deus analisa o coração do homem.

1. Ele achou o coração perverso, v. 9.

a. Incuravelmente mal, Gênesis 6:5

b. Cheio de atos de loucura.

2. Deus achou o corpo inteiro doente, Isaías 1:5-6 “toda a cabeça está enferma e todo o coração fraco.”

III. DEUS PODE CRIAR UM CORAÇÃO PURO

Salmos 51:10, “Cria em mim, ó Deus, um coração puro, e renova em mim um espírito reto.”

A. Pela fé em Cristo, II Corintios 4:6; Mateus 11:28.

3. O homem chama o mal, bem, e o bem, mal, Isaías 5:20, “Ai dos que ao mal chamam bem, e ao bem mal; que fazem da escuridade luz, e da luz escuridade; e fazem do amargo doce, e do doce amargo!”

B. Deus observa o coração do homem, Salmos 2:1-4.

1. O homem combina com outros contra o Senhor.

2. Deus está rindo à rebeldia do homem, Provérbios 1:25-26.

C. Deus analisa o coração do homem.

1. Ele achou o coração perverso, v. 9.

a. Incuravelmente mal, Gênesis 6:5

b. Cheio de atos de loucura.

2. Deus achou o corpo inteiro doente, Isaías 1:5-6 “toda a cabeça está enferma e todo o coração fraco.”

III. DEUS PODE CRIAR UM CORAÇÃO PURO

Salmos 51:10, “Cria em mim, ó Deus, um coração puro, e renova em mim um espírito reto.”

A. Pela fé em Cristo, II Corintios 4:6; Mateus 11:28

B. Pela lavagem da palavra de Deus, Efésios 5:25-26; Salmos 119:9

C. Tendo o coração purificado, Hebreus 10:22-23, “em inteira certeza de fé.”

Conclusão:


O coração do homem é mesmo ruim. Só precisa ler o jornal para saber isto. Graças a Deus que a Palavra de Deus tem a solução deste problema. Fé em Cristo como o seu Salvador pode cuidar este coração perverso.