Sleeping Soundly?

The world at large is thoroughly careless; sleeping soundly; dreaming its dreams of vanity; enjoying sin, vanity, luxury, pleasure, gaiety. 

Awake! sleep no more! Awake, lest the flash of God's avenging sword be the first thing that awakens you!

[Horatius Bonar]

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Ephesians 5:14 ... Wherefore he saith, Awake thou that sleepest, and arise from the dead, and Christ shall give thee light.

Romans 13:11 ... And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed.

1 Corinthians 15:34 ... Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame. ❤

Have We Not Many Orpah's?

Orpah was not prepared to leave Moab. The ties between her and it were still unbroken, though for a time a little loosened. Moab was still Moab to her, the home of her kindred, the center of her affections, the dwelling place of her gods. Thus, millions are not ready to leave the world, though often in some measure broken from it. They cling to their old haunts of vanity, foolishness, pleasure, lust, or literature. They cannot think of forsaking these. No, they soothe their consciences with the argument, that it would not be right to break off from all these. To them the world is still the world; attractive and excellent. They cannot think of crucifying it, or themselves to it. They have been born in it, lived in it, their friends are in it; why should they leave it? Their hearts are still here, their treasure is here; and they linger in it, though at times they feel the necessity of leaving it. 

What would life be to them without the novel or the ballroom, the theater, the gay assembly, the banquet, the revel, the folly, the wine cup, and the song? For the sake of Moab, Orpah was willing to part with Naomi. She was not without longings after Naomi and her city, and her kindred, and her God. But her old longings and ties kept her back, and in the end prevailed. Yet she wished to part in peace, to bid a decent farewell to her mother-in-law. She kissed that she might not cleave. Her kiss was a farewell, a farewell to Naomi, her land, and her God. 

Have we not many Orpah's? They would sincerely have both Israel and Moab. They would rather not part with either. Their heart is divided. They would sincerely cast in their lot with God's people and obtain their inheritance. They are not scoffers. They are not openly godless. They are not reckless pleasure seekers. But half and half Christians, or rather not so much. They would be religious up to a certain point; to the point when a choice must be made; and then their heart speaks out. They give up Christ and turn back to the world. Yet they do so quietly, as it were, and kindly. They kiss at parting; but will that kiss avail them? Will God accept the kiss as an excuse for turning back, or as a substitute for the wholehearted service which He desires? God will not accept the divided heart. He abhors vacillation and compromise. If you prefer Moab, go dwell there! 

Enjoy its pleasures and worship its gods! If you choose Israel, pitch your tent there, and take Jehovah for your all. 

[Horatius Bonar] 

Ruth 1:14 ... And they lifted up their voice, and wept again: and Orpah kissed her mother in law; but Ruth clave unto her.

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"The Savior!"

Faith is the acknowledgment of the entire absence of all goodness in us and the recognition of the cross as the substitute for all the lack on our part. Faith saves, because it owns the complete salvation of another and not because it contributes anything to that salvation. 

Faith is not our Savior. It was not faith that was born at Bethlehem and died on Golgotha for us. It was not faith that loved us and gave itself for us; that bore our sins in its own body on the tree; that died and rose again for our sins. Faith is one thing the Savior is another. 

Faith is one thing and the cross is another. Let us not confound them, nor ascribe to a poor, imperfect act of man that which belongs exclusively to the Son of the Living God. 

[Horatius Bonar]

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Romans 5:10 ...  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.

Ephesians 2:16 ... And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:

Galatians 2:20 ...  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. ❤

Compromised.

1. I looked for the church and I found it in the world! 

2. I looked for the world and I found it in the church! 

[Horatius Bonar]

Matthew 28:19 ...  Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:

2 Timothy 4:3 ... For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; ❤

Are We Christians or Are We Worldlings?

What do we say to our self-indulgence, our spiritual sloth, our love of ease, our avoidance of hardship, our luxury, our pampering of the body, our costly feasts, our silken couches, our brilliant furniture, our gay attire, our expensive jewelry, our idle mirth, our voluptuous music, our jovial tables, loaded with every variety of rich viands? Are we Christians or are we worldlings? 

Where is the self-denial of the New Testament days? Where is the separation from a self-pleasing luxurious world? Where is the cross, the true badge of discipleship, to be seen except in useless religious ornaments for the body, or worse than useless decorations for the sanctuary? "Woe to those who are at ease in Zion!" Is not this the description of multitudes who name the name of Christ? They may not be "living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry." But even where these are absent, there is 'high living' luxury of the table or the wardrobe in conformity to this present evil world. "At ease in Zion!" 

Yes! there is the shrinking from hard service; from spending and being spent; from toil, and burden-bearing and conflict; from self-sacrifice and noble service; for the Master's sake. There is conformity to the world, instead of conformity to Christ! There is a laying down of the cross, instead of a taking up of the cross. Or there is a lining of the cross with velvet, lest it should gall our shoulders as we carry it! Or there is an adorning of the cross, that it may suite the taste and the manners of our refined and intellectual age. Anything but the bare, rugged and simple cross! 

We think that we can make the strait gate wider, and the narrow way broader so as to be able to walk more comfortably to the heavenly kingdom. We try to prove that modern enlightenment has so refined 'the world and its pleasures', that we may safely drink the poisoned cup, and give ourselves up to the inebriation of the siren song. "At ease in Zion!" Even when the walls of our city are besieged, and the citadel is being stormed! Instead of grasping our weapons, we lie down upon our couches! Instead of the armor, we put on the silken robe! 

We are cowards, when we should be brave! We are faint-hearted, when we should be bold! We are lukewarm, when we should be fervent! We are cold, when we should be full of zeal! We compromise and shuffle and make excuses when we should lift up our voice like a trumpet! We pare down truth, or palliate error, or extenuate sin in order to placate the world, or suit the spirit of the age, or 'unify' the Church. Learn self-denying Christianity. Not the form or name, but the living thing. 

Let us renounce the lazy, luxurious, self-pleasing, fashionable religion of the present day! A self-indulgent religion has nothing in common with the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ; or with that cross of ours which He has commanded us to take up and carry after Him renouncing ease and denying self. Our time, our abilities, our money, our strength, are all to be laid upon the altar. 

[Horatius Bonar] 

Amos 6:1 ... Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

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Herod's Birthday Ball!

Herod's birthday ball was a high and royal festival. Pomp, splendor, luxury, and lust were all gathered there. In the midst of the song, and the glitter, and the mirth, there was one troubled conscience, that of Herod one trembling man, Herod. His soul was ill at ease, though surrounded with all that the world could give to banish care. His course of sin had been begun and persevered in. He was braving out his crimes; and like worldly men in such circumstances, he rushes into gaiety to drown his troubles and terrors. 

The pleasures of the feast and the ballroom, the song and the dance these are welcomed to induce forgetfulness, and "minister to a diseased mind." In how many cases do men fly to the ball, the theater, the card-table, the tavern, the riotous party not simply for pleasure's sake, and to "taste life's glad moments," but to drown care, to smother conscience, to efface convictions, to laugh away the impressions of the last sermon, to soothe an uneasy mind, to relieve the burden, to pluck out the sting of conscious guilt! 

O slaughterhouses of souls! O slaughterhouses, reeking with blood! O lust of the flesh, lust of the eye, and pride of life when will you cease to intoxicate, and lead men captive at your will? O God-forgetting gaiety! O dazzling worldliness! O glittering halls of midnight when, when will you cease to be resorted to by men to "heal the hurt" of the human soul, to still its throb and heartache, and to soothe the unsoothable wound? 

It is a gay scene. The lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye, and the pride of life are there! All that can minister to these are there. Herod is there, feeding on lust, drinking in pleasure, stupefying conscience. The fair daughter is there, in all the splendor of gay wantonness. And the vile mother is there, lascivious and revengeful. And the courtiers are there, in pomp and glitter. Music and mirth are there. The dance and the song are there. No note of gloom no indication of trouble. What a scene of mirth and revelry! 

These scenes of royal vanity are instructive; for they present the world in its most fascinating aspects. All that regal state, and princely beauty, and wealth, and gold, and silver, and gems, and tapestry, and blazing lamps can do to make this world fair, is in such scenes and haunts. These balls are the most seductive specimens of pure worldliness that can be found. Surely the god of this world knows how to enchant both ear and eye. In an assembly like this, the natural man is at home. Here the unregenerate heart gets full delight. 

It was during that ball, that the murder of John was plotted and consummated that a drunken, lustful king, urged on by two women, perpetrated that foul deed! Such are the haunts of pleasure! Such are the masquerades of time. Lust is let loose; revenge rises up; murder rages; conscience is smothered; the floor of the ballroom is spotted with blood; the dancers may slip their feet in it, but the dance goes on! Such was the coarse worldliness of old days. But is the 'refined worldliness' of modern times less fatal to the soul? 

The ball is finished, and John lies dead in prison. What a picture of gaiety! What a specimen of ball-room revelry! And this is pleasure! This is the world's joy! Of the chief actors in this ball-room murder, nothing more is said. They pass to the judgment-seat, there to receive sentence for lust, rage, revenge and murder. They have sent John before them to the presence of his Judge to receive his reward. The day of recompense is coming! O gaieties of earth! Feasts, and reveling, and banqueting how often have you slain both body and soul! 

Men call you innocent amusements, harmless pleasures. But can you be harmless, can you be innocent, when you steal away the soul from God, when you nurse the worst lusts of humanity, when you smother conscience, when you shut out Jesus, when the floors on which your votaries dance off their immortal felicity, are red with the blood of souls! 

[Horatius Bonar] 

Matthew 14:6-1 ... But when Herod's birthday was kept, the daughter of Herodias danced before them, and pleased Herod. Whereupon he promised with an oath to give her whatsoever she would ask.  And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist's head in a charger. And the king was sorry: nevertheless for the oath's sake, and them which sat with him at meat, he commanded it to be given her.  And he sent, and beheaded John in the prison. And his head was brought in a charger, and given to the damsel: and she brought it to her mother.

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The Religious Man

Balaam is a specimen of multitudes in these last days. An educated and intelligent man, shrewd and quick seeing, of respectable character, high in favor with the rich and great a religious man too, after a fashion. But he is fond of the world, fond of money, fond of preferment. He is one who would not let his religion stand in the way of his advancement. He could pocket all scruples, if only he could pocket a little gold along with them. He is hollow of heart, but with an acceptable outside. His worldly interests are the main thing to him. He would rather not risk offending God, but yet he would not like to lose Balak's rewards and honors. He would rather not take up his cross, nor deny himself, nor forsake all for God. So is it with multitudes among us! 

They want as much religion as they imagine will save them from Hell and not an atom more! The world is their real God. Gold is their idol. It is in mammon's temple that they worship. Love God with all their heart. They don't so much as understand the meaning of such a thing. Sacrifice riches, place, honor, friends to Christ. They scoff at the thing as madness. Don't trifle with religion. Don't mock God. Do not love the world. Be pious in your inmost soul. Don't mistake sentimentalism for genuine piety, or a good character for the New Birth. 

This world OR the world to come that is the alternative; not this world AND the world to come. Christ must be all or nothing! No middle ground; no half discipleship; no compromise. The friendship of the world is enmity with God. Come out and be separate. The New Birth, or no religion at all. 

[Horatius Bonar] 

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Numbers 23:7, 10... And he took up his parable, and said, Balak the king of Moab hath brought me from Aram, out of the mountains of the east, saying, Come, curse me Jacob, and come, defy Israel..... Who can count the dust of Jacob, and the number of the fourth part of Israel? Let me die the death of the righteous, and let my last end be like his!

2 Peter 2:15 ... Which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; ❤

One Drop of Redeeming Love!

O worldly professor, if you would enter Heaven at last, then you must begin at the cross of Christ! Count all your good works as dung and dross before the holy God. Fling away your vain hopes, and self-righteous confidences. Give up your fond idea of securing both earth and Heaven. 

Go straight to Calvary! There be crucified to the world, and the world to you, by the cross of Christ! (Galatians 6:14) Go at once to Him who died for the ungodly, and drink into His love! 

One draught, nay, one drop of redeeming love, will forever quench your love of sin, and be the death of that worldliness which threatens to be your eternal ruin! 

[Horatius Bonar] 

Romans 5:6-10 ... For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.  For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die.  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.

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From Head to Toe!!

The tip of the right ear was the first place the blood was to be sprinkled, denoting that his hearing was now set apart for God, and that he was to be ever in the attitude of one listening to God alone hearing no words but His, heeding no instructions but His. 

Our ears are thus set apart to God. And if so, how wide open should they be to hear His voice; how thoroughly closed against all sinful sounds. The thumb of the right hand was the next place sprinkled, indicating the consecration of all bodily skill, and energy, and power, to the service of Jehovah. The great toe of the right foot was the third place touched with blood, signifying that his feet were to be ever ready for priestly service, that his limbs were to be employed for God, and their strength or swiftness solely dedicated to bearing His burdens or running His errands. Our feet are set apart for Him; let us run the errands of no other master, nor use our limbs in the service of the flesh, or the world, or the devil. 

The whole man, in all its faculties and powers of soul and body, was to be thus set apart for God. Our ears, our hands, our feet, are thus wholly His; not our own, not the world's, not Satan's. As those who have died and risen with Christ, we hear Him always, and listen for His words and commands, ready to put forth hands and feet, every power and faculty of soul and body in His service, to whom we are thus solemnly set apart. 

The whole man, from head to toe, becomes a sacred thing, dedicated to the service of the living God. As God's consecrated priests, His true Aarons, His true Levites, His true Israel whether we eat or drink, or whatever we do, let us do all to the glory of God. (1 Corinthians 10:31) 

Follow the Master fully. Give Him no divided heart. Serve Him wholly. Give Him no half service. 

[Horatius Bonar] 

Leviticus 8:22-23 ... And he brought the other ram, the ram of consecration: and Aaron and his sons laid their hands upon the head of the ram.  And he slew it; and Moses took of the blood of it, and put it upon the tip of Aaron's right ear, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and upon the great toe of his right foot.

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Bonar Quotes 3

 Let the righteousness of the Righteous One be your daily covering.

Don't dally with error, and don't tamper with truth. 'Buy the truth' at any price; but 'sell it not' for all the gold and silver on earth.

But the love of controversy is pernicious, even when it takes the side of truth. The man who likes better to be fighting about his food than eating it, is likely to remain lean enough. 

Deal honestly with every part of your daily life; in regard to duty, or trial, or sacrifice, or self-denial, or forbearance with others.

We have few excuses for others, many for ourselves; evils that seem monstrous in others are trifles in us. 

If you are one given to the divine companionship, you will be saved from much idle and wasteful society and conversation. You will not feel at home with worldly men, nor they with you.

Do not conform to the world in order to please men or to save yourself from their taunt or jest.

Go where you please, if you can take Jesus with you; go nowhere if He cannot be admitted, or if you are obliged for the time to conceal or disguise your divine discipleship.

You must go straight to Jesus with that cold heart, and warm it at His cross, then your work for Him will be at once a necessity, a delight, and a success.

Let your reading be always select and whatever you read, begin with seeking God's blessing on it.

But see that your relish for the Bible is above every other enjoyment. The moment you begin to feel greater relish for any other book, lay it down until you have sought deliverance from such a snare, and obtained from the Holy Spirit a more intense relish, and a keener appetite for the Word of God!

Keep self in the background, and don't say or do anything that looks like baiting your hook for a little praise.

God calls us to be holy. He expects us to grow in unlikeness to this world, and in likeness to that world which is to come.

[Horatius Bonar]

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Fill My Life With Thee

Fill Thou my life, O Lord my God,

In every part with praise,

That my whole being may proclaim

Thy being and Thy ways.

Not for the lip of praise alone,

Nor e’en the praising heart

I ask, but for a life made up

Of praise in every part!

Praise in the common words I speak,

Life’s common looks and tones,

In fellowship in hearth and board

With my belovèd ones;

Not in the temple crowd alone

Where holy voices chime,

But in the silent paths of earth,

The quiet rooms of time.

Fill every part of me with praise;

Let all my being speak

Of Thee and of Thy love, O Lord,

Poor though I be, and weak.

So shalt Thou, Lord, from me, e’en me,

Receive the glory due;

And so shall I begin on earth

The song forever new.

So shall each fear, each fret, each care

Be turned into a song,

And every winding of the way

The echo shall prolong;

So shall no part of day or night

From sacredness be free;

But all my life, in every step

Be fellowship with Thee.

[Horatius Bonar]

Psalm 150:6 ...  Let every thing that hath breath praise the Lord. Praise ye the Lord. ❤

Unspeakably Dreadful!

Sin is the abominable thing which I hate!

Sin is an evil that I cannot bear.

Sin cast the angels out of Heaven.

Sin ruined the whole world in Adam's time.

Sin brought the universal deluge in Noah's time.

Sin drew down the fire and brimstone on Sodom.

Sin will yet destroy this world with fire.

Sin will kindle Hell!

Sin slew My beloved Son!

God's estimate of sin is unspeakably dreadful!

[Horatius Bonar]

Romans 6:23 … For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 

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His Way, Not Mine

Your way, not mine, O Lord,

However dark it be,

Lead me by Your own hand,

Choose out the path for me.

I dare not choose my lot,

I would not, if I might;

Choose for me, my God;

So shall I walk aright!

[Horatius Bonar]

Acts 21:14 … And when he would not be persuaded, we ceased, saying, The will of the Lord be done.❤

Bold, Unblushing Audacity!

Man is blind, madly blind, both to his danger and to his sin. Furiously he plunges on in evil, from sin to sin, from lust to lust, defying God, braving His anger, ridiculing His threats, scoffing at His judgments, rushing against His sword, mocking at His Hell.

How much recklessness there is among us! Recklessness in sin, crime, self-indulgence, pleasure, lust. Utter defiance of God!

Bold, unblushing audacity, which nothing will daunt; which mocks at judgments, sorrows, trials, sermons, and plunges on in evil, treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath!

[Horatius Bonar]

Jeremiah 8:6 … I hearkened and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented him of his wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned to his course, as the horse rusheth into the battle.

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A Few More ...

A few more years shall roll, 

A few more seasons come; 

And we shall be with those who rest,

 Asleep within the tomb.

 A few more storms shall beat On this wild rocky shore;

 And we shall be where tempests cease,

And surges swell no more! A few more struggles here,

A few more partings o'er,

A few more toils, a few more tears,

And we shall weep no more!

Then, O my Lord, prepare

My soul for that blessed day;

Oh, wash me in Your precious blood,

And take my sins away.

Up, then, with speed, and work;

Fling ease and self away,

This is no time for you to sleep,

Up, watch, and work, and pray!

[Horatius Bonar]

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Isaiah 25:8 … He will swallow up death in victory; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from off all faces; and the rebuke of his people shall he take away from off all the earth: for the Lord hath spoken it.

Revelation 1:5 … And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,

Revelation 21:4 … And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.❤

Most Church-Goers

Refined worldliness is the present snare of the Church. The young are trained and encouraged by their parents to be "lovers of pleasure." Parties, dancing, theaters, and such like, are no longer forbidden things to the followers of the Lamb!  Most church-goers are in fact, but worldly men varnished over with religion, that is all.  These are the ambiguous disciples of our age, who belong to Christ but in name. These are the stony-ground or thorny-ground hearers!

The religion of such is but a half-and-half religion without depth, or decision, or vigor, or self-sacrifice. It is but a picture or a statue not a living man.  Such a man's whole religious life is one grand misconception; and every step he takes in it is a blunder, and a stumble, and a snare. Let such a man know that, in his present half-worldly, half-religious condition, he has no real religion at all. It is a fiction, a delusion. It will not stand the test of time or of eternity. It will go to pieces with the first touch. It is all hollow and must be begun again, from the very first stone of the foundation.

O worldly formalist, if you would make sure your hope of eternal life and obtain a discipleship that will stand all tests count all the past but loss. Fling away your vain hopes and self-righteous confidences. Give up your fond idea of securing both earth and Heaven. Go straight to Calvary; there be crucified to the world, and the world to you, by the cross of Christ (Galatians 6:14). Go at once to Him who died and rose again, and drink into His love. One draught, nay, one drop of that love will forever quench your love of sin, and be the death of that worldliness which threatens to be your eternal ruin!

[Horatius Bonar]

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The Cross is Not Obsolete

The whole world looked with contempt, indignant at the audacity of a few humble Christians, thus affronting and defying the "public opinion" of nations and ages; assailing the religions of earth with the cross as their only sword; striking down their idols with this as their only hammer; and with this, as their one lever, proposing to turn the world upside down! From that day the cross became "a power" in the earth; a power which went forth, like the light, noiselessly yet irresistibly smiting down all religions alike, all shrines alike, all altars alike sparing no superstition nor philosophy.

This power remains in its mystery, its silence, its influence, it remains. The cross has not become obsolete! The preaching of the cross has not ceased to be powerful and effectual!

There are those who would persuade us that, in this modern age, the cross is out of date and out of fashion, time-worn. But this does not shake us. It only leads us to clasp the cross more fervently, and to study it more profoundly, as embodying in itself that gospel which is at once the wisdom and the power of God.

Yet the cross is not without its mysteries: It illuminates yet it darkens. It is life yet it is death. It is honor yet it is shame. It is wisdom but also foolishness. The cross is both pardon, and condemnation; both strength, and weakness; both joy, and sorrow; both love, and hatred; both medicine, and poison; both hope, and despair. The cross is Christ's humiliation yet it is His exaltation! The cross is Satan's victory yet it is Satan's defeat! The cross is the gate of Heaven and the gate of Hell!

The cross is the key to God's character, to God's Word, to God's ways, to God's purposes. The cross is the summary of all the Bible, the epitome of Scripture Revelation!

[Horatius Bonar]

1 Corinthians 1:18 … For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.❤

Are We Christians or Worldlings?

What do we say to our self-indulgence, our spiritual sloth, our love of ease, our avoidance of hardship, our luxury, our pampering of the body, our costly feasts,

our silken couches, our brilliant furniture, our gay attire, our expensive jewelry,

our idle mirth, our voluptuous music, our jovial tables, loaded with every variety of rich viands?  Are we Christians or are we worldlings?

Where is the self-denial of the New Testament days? Where is the separation from a self-pleasing luxurious world? Where is the cross, the true badge of discipleship, to be seen except in useless religious ornaments for the body, or worse than useless decorations for the sanctuary?

"Woe to those who are at ease in Zion!" Is not this the description of multitudes who name the name of Christ? They may not be "living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry." But even where these are absent, there is 'high living' luxury of the table or the wardrobe in conformity to this present evil world.

"At ease in Zion!" Yes! there is the shrinking from hard service; from spending and being spent; from toil and burden-bearing and conflict; from self-sacrifice and noble service; for the Master's sake.

There is conformity to the world, instead of conformity to Christ! There is a laying down of the cross, instead of a taking up of the cross.  Or there is a lining of the cross with velvet, lest it should gall our shoulders as we carry it! Or there is an adorning of the cross, that it may suite the taste and the manners of our refined and intellectual age.  Anything but the bare, rugged and simple cross!

We think that we can make the strait gate wider, and the narrow way broader so as to be able to walk more comfortably to the heavenly kingdom. We try to prove that modern enlightenment has so refined 'the world and its pleasures', that we may safely drink the poisoned cup, and give ourselves up to the inebriation of the siren song.  "At ease in Zion!" Even when the walls of our city are besieged, and the citadel is being stormed!

Instead of grasping our weapons, we lie down upon our couches! Instead of the armor, we put on the silken robe!  We are cowards, when we should be brave! We are faint-hearted, when we should be bold!  We are lukewarm, when we should be fervent!  We are cold, when we should be full of zeal!  We compromise and shuffle and make excuses when we should lift up our voice like a trumpet! We pare down truth, or palliate error, or extenuate sin in order to placate the world, or suit the spirit of the age, or 'unify' the Church.  Learn self-denying Christianity. Not the form or name, but the living thing.

Let us renounce the lazy, luxurious, self-pleasing, fashionable religion of the present day!  A self-indulgent religion has nothing in common with the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ; or with that cross of ours which He has commanded us to take up and carry after Him renouncing ease and denying self.  Our time,  our abilities,  our money,  our strength are all to be laid upon the altar.

[Horatius Bonar]

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Amos 6:1 … Woe to them that are at ease in Zion, and trust in the mountain of Samaria, which are named chief of the nations, to whom the house of Israel came!

1 John 2:15 … 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.

Romans 12:2 … 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.❤

Not An Atom More

There are multitudes of professing Christians among us, who want only as much religion as will save them from Hell not an atom more! The world is their real god. Gold is their idol. They worship in mammon's temple!

Love God with all their heart! they do not so much as understand the meaning of such a thing.

Sacrifice riches, place, honor, and friends to Christ! they scoff at the thing as madness.

Oh, be out and out for God!  Do not trifle with religion.  Do not mock God and Christ. Do not love the world.  Be pious in your inmost soul.

Do not mistake mere sentimentalism for saving religion or a good character for the new birth. You may go very far and yet not be a Christian. You may follow Christ in some things but if not in all, what is your following worth?

This world, or the world to come that is the alternative. Not this world, and the world to come.

Christ is all or nothing. There is no middle ground; no half-discipleship; no compromise. No! The friendship of the world is enmity with God. Come out and be separate.

[Horatius Bonar]

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2 Corinthians 6:17 ... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.



James 4:4 ... Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you.


John 12:25 ... He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.❤