Not of It...

A man who is Born Again does not use the world's opinion as his standard of right and wrong.

[J. C. Ryle]

Acts 5:29 ... Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.

1 John 5:19 ... And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness.

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. ❤

Flowers in the Lord's Garden

We are taught in these verses, that there are widely different temperaments in different believers. This is a point which is curiously brought out in the conduct of Peter and John, when Mary told them that the Lord's body was gone. We are told that they both ran to the sepulcher; but John, the disciple whom Jesus loved, outran Peter, and reached the empty grave first. Then the difference between the two men comes out. 

John, of the two more gentle, quiet, tender, reserved, retiring, deep feeling, stooped down and looked in, but went no further. Peter, hotter, and zealous, and impulsive, and fervent, and forward, cannot be content without going down into the sepulcher, and actually seeing with his own eyes. Both, we may be sure, were deeply attached to our Lord. The hearts of both, at this critical juncture, were full of hopes, and fears, and anxieties, and expectations all tangled together. 

Yet each behaves in his own characteristic fashion. We need not doubt that these things were intentionally written for our learning. Let us learn, from the case before us, to make allowances for wide varieties in the inward character of believers. To do so will save us much trouble in the journey of life and prevent many an uncharitable thought. Let us not judge brethren harshly, and set them down in a low place, because they do not see or feel things exactly as we see and feel, and because things do not affect or strike them just as they affect and strike us. 

The flowers in the Lord's garden are not all of one color and one scent, though they are all planted by one Spirit. The subjects of His kingdom are not all exactly of one tone and temperament, though they all love the same Savior, and are written in the same Book of Life. The Church of Christ has some in its ranks who are like Peter, and some who are like John; and a place for all, and a work for all to do. Let us love all who love Christ in sincerity, and to thank God that they love Him at all. The great thing is to love Jesus! 

[J. C. Ryle] 

John 20:3-6 ... Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they ran both together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter, and came first to the sepulchre.  And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in.  Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie,

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Living in the Light of Christ's Return

I am afraid that the subject of the second coming of Jesus is not sufficiently thought of and studied by many Christians. I must say that the greater number of believers are not like the early Christians in this matter. The early Christians made it a principal part of their religion to look for the second coming of Jesus. They looked backward to the cross and the atonement and rejoiced in Christ crucified. But they also looked forward to the coming of Christ and lived in a state of expectation."

The New Testament continually presses upon believers the certainty and suddenness of the return of Jesus. Again and again, we are exhorted: "Keep watch. Be ready. Be alert!" These are not gentle suggestions, but urgent commands from the lips of our Lord.

 

1. Keep Watch!

"Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come." (Matthew 24:42)

To keep watch is to live with eyes lifted heavenward, weighing every choice in the light of eternity. The world lulls souls to sleep with its vanities, but the Christian must remain awake, knowing that at any moment the skies may part and the Son of Man may appear.

"Let us live like men who believe in the reality of Hell and Heaven, the near coming of Christ, the value of the soul, the vanity of this world, and the importance of holiness. Our time is short our days are numbered. We are on our way to the final judgment!"

 

2. Be Ready!

"You also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him." (Luke 12:40)

To be ready is to have our sins forgiven, our hearts cleansed, and our lamps filled with oil. It means walking in daily faith and repentance, clinging to Jesus, and living as pilgrims bound for glory.

"The great question is whether we have saving grace in our hearts whether we have been born again and are ready to meet the bridegroom. The saddest sight in the day of Christ's appearing will be unready professors, with lamps gone out and no oil to be found."

 

3. Be Alert!

"Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come." (Mark 13:33)

Alertness is the vigilance of a soldier who knows the enemy is prowling around him. It is to resist sin, redeem the time, and serve faithfully as stewards who long to hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant… Come and share your Master's happiness!"

"Nothing is of such importance, as to be found "in Christ" when He comes. Riches, rank, health, honors, pleasures all will be worthless then. To be a true servant of Christ, ready for His appearing this will be the only thing that matters."

Keep Watch. Be Ready. Be Alert. Let us live wisely, walk in holiness, and long for His appearing.

"So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect Him." (Matthew 24:44)

Even so, come, Lord Jesus! 

[J. C. Ryle]

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"Your Daughter is Dead"

"While Jesus was still speaking, someone came from the house of Jairus, the synagogue ruler. 'Your daughter is dead!' he said." Luke 8:49 

Let us notice in this verse how universal is the dominion which death holds over mankind.  We see death coming to a rich man's house and tearing from him the desire of his eyes with a stroke!  Such tidings as these, are the bitterest cups which we have to drink in this world. Nothing cuts so deeply into man's heart as to part with beloved ones and lay them in the grave.  Few griefs are so crushing and heavy as the grief of a parent over the death of an only child.  

Death is indeed a cruel enemy! He makes no distinction in his attacks. He comes to the rich man's mansion as well as to the poor man's cottage.  He does not spare the young, the strong, and the beautiful any more than the old, the infirm, and the grey haired.  Not all the gold of Australia, nor all the skill of doctors can keep the hand of death from our bodies, in the day of his power.  When the appointed hour comes, and God permits him to smite then our worldly schemes must be broken off, and our darlings must be taken away and buried out of our sight. 

These thoughts are melancholy, and few like to hear of them. The subject of death is one that men shut their eyes at and refuse to look at. "All men think all men mortal, but themselves!"  But why should we treat this great reality in this way?  Why should we not rather look the subject of death in the face, in order that when our turn comes, we may be prepared to die?  Death will come to our houses, whether we like it or not. Death will take each of us away despite our dislike to hearing about it. Surely it is the part of a wise man to get ready for this great change. Why should we not be ready? 

There is one who can deliver us from the fear of death. Christ has overcome death, and "brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel." He who believes on Him, has everlasting life. Though he dies yet shall he live. Let us believe in the Lord Jesus and then death will lose his sting. We shall then be able to say with Paul, "To me, to die is gain!" (Philippians 1:21) 

[J. C. Ryle]

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Romans 8:13 ...  For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

John 5:24 ... Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.

Galatians 6:8 ... For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting. ❤

Listen to Christ!!

Let us see in these words a striking lesson to the whole Church of Christ. There is a constant tendency in human nature to "hear man."  Bishops, priests, popes, cardinals, councils, preachers, and ministers, are continually exalted to a place which God never intended them to fill and made practically to usurp the honor of Jesus. Against this tendency let us all watch and be on our guard.  Let these solemn words of the vision ever ring in our ears, "Listen to Jesus!"  

The best of men are only men at their very best! Patriarchs, prophets, apostles, martyrs, church fathers, reformers, puritans all, all are sinners, who need a Savior. They may be holy, useful, honorable in their place; but they are sinners after all.  They must never be allowed to stand between us and Jesus.  He alone is the Son, in whom the Father is well pleased.  He alone is sealed and appointed to give the bread of life. He alone "hold the keys of death and the grave" in His hands. Let us take heed that we hear His voice and follow Him.

Let us value all religious teaching just in proportion as it leads us to Jesus. The sum and substance of saving religion is to "listen to Christ!" 

[J. C. Ryle] 

Matthew 17:5 ...  While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.

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Sound Doctrine ....

Sound doctrine is useless if it is not accompanied by a holy life! It is my firm impression that we need a thorough revival of Scriptural holiness. I have had a deep conviction for many years, that practical holiness and consecration to God are not sufficiently attended to by modern Christians. Worldliness has eaten out the heart of vital piety in too many of us. The subject of personal godliness has fallen sadly into the background. The standard of Christian living has become painfully low in many quarters. The immense importance of "adorning the doctrine of God our Savior" (Titus 2:10) and making it lovely and beautiful by our daily habits and tempers has been far too much overlooked! 

The details and particular ingredients of which holiness is composed in daily life ought to be fully set forth and pressed on believers. True holiness does not consist merely of believing but of doing, and a practical exhibition of the active and passive graces. Our tongues, our tempers, our natural passions and inclinations, our conduct at home and abroad, our dress, our employment of time, our behavior in business, our demeanor in sickness and health, in riches and poverty all, all these are matters which are fully treated by inspired writers. They go into particulars. They specify what a holy man ought to do an be in his own family, by his own fireside, and at the workplace. 

True holiness is something of "the image of Christ" which can be seen and observed by others in our private life, and habits, and character, and doings! 

[J.C. Ryle] 

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1 Timothy 6:3-5  ...  If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw thyself.

1 Thessalonians 4:1 ... Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. ❤

A Woman To Be Remembered!

Few words ever spoken by the Lord Jesus are more solemn or searching than this brief, three-word warning: "Remember Lot's wife!" How striking it is that, out of all the women of Scripture, our Lord singled out one for us to remember, not Sarah for her faith, not Ruth for her devotion, not Hannah for her prayer, not Mary for her love but Lot's wife, for her destruction! 

The Spirit of God has placed this warning before us as a perpetual beacon, lest we too be deceived by the bewitching world and perish. Yet all of this availed her nothing. She perished miserably because her heart was never truly separated from the world. Outwardly she fled Sodom, but inwardly she lingered. Her body was on the path to safety, but her affections were chained to the city of destruction. With one glance backward, she revealed the state of her soul. That look cost her eternal glory, and she was turned into a pillar of salt a monument of God's righteous judgment against hypocrisy and divided hearts. 

The tragedy of Lot's wife stands as a warning to all who imagine that religious advantages, spiritual associations, or outward privileges can save. Many think that because they were raised in a Christian home and attend church, that they are safe. Lot's wife shows us that one may be surrounded by light and truth and yet perish in eternal darkness. She had seen angels, heard warnings, and been led by the hand of mercy yet she never savingly believed. The heart is what God is concerned with, and her heart was still in Sodom. Her backward look was not a small matter. It was the outward expression of inward rebellion. God had said, "Do not look back." (Genesis 19:17) 

In disobeying, she revealed where her treasure lay. She longed for the life she left behind, the comforts, the pleasures, the society of Sodom and in doing so she despised the salvation of her soul. Jesus declares, "No man having put his hand to the plow and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God." (Luke 9:62) The danger of worldliness and divided affection is real. How many professors of religion today claim to follow Jesus, yet their hearts cling to the world! They say they are bound for Heaven, but they look longingly at Sodom. They want to go to Heaven when they die, but they also want the soul-ruining world. The end of such double mindedness is eternal destruction. 

Scripture is full of warnings against this very danger. John writes, "Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him." (1 John 2:15) James tells us that "friendship with the world is hatred toward God." (James 4:4) The Savior Himself declared, "Remember Lot's wife!" She was almost saved yet lost forever! There are many in churches today who will come just that far they will hear sermons and sing hymns, and yet their hearts remain with the world. Their empty profession will not hold up in the Day of Judgment. Beloved reader, let us examine our hearts. 

Are we secretly longing for the very things that God calls us to forsake? Are we following Christ with a whole heart, or are we still glancing backward toward Sodom? When Jesus calls us to take up our cross, we must not look back to our Sodom. Salvation demands the forsaking of sin, and the forsaking of the world. It demands a heart fixed on Christ. "The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever." (1 John 2:17) The warning of Lot's wife is not written to terrify the believer, but to search the heart of the hypocrite and to awaken the careless professor. 

If you are resting in your church attendance, your upbringing, your knowledge then, remember Lot's wife. If you are unwilling to forsake the world and to follow Christ, then remember Lot's wife. If you are almost persuaded, almost a Christian, almost saved, remember Lot's wife. If you are but almost saved, then you will be altogether damned! "Remember Lot's wife!" 

Let us take warning. Let us not dally with sin, linger in compromise, or toy with the world. Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus. (Hebrews 12:1-2) For the soul that looks to Him in faith shall never be cast away, but the soul that loves the world will be lost forever.

[J.C. Ryle] 

Luke 17:32 ... Remember Lot's wife!

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"The Love of Money!"

"The RICH man also died and was buried. In Hell, where he was in torment . . . " Luke 16:22-23

I believe that this passage is meant to teach us that riches bring special danger with them. Yes! Riches, which the vast majority of people are always seeking after riches for which they spend their lives, and of which they make an idol! Riches entail on their possessor, immense spiritual peril! The possession of them has a very hardening effect on the soul they chill; they freeze; they petrify the heart! They close the eye to spiritual realities. They insensibly produce a tendency to forget God.

What can be more obvious than the fact that the Bible has frequently spoken of money, as a most fruitful cause of sin and evil?

For money, Achan brought defeat on the armies of Israel, and death on himself.

For money, Balaam sinned against light and tried to curse God's people.

For money, Delilah betrayed Samson to the Philistines.

For money, Gehazi lied to Naaman and Elisha, and became a leper.

For money, Ananias and Sapphira became the first hypocrites in the early Church and lost their lives.

For money, Demas deserted the apostle, Paul.

For money, Judas sold Christ and was ruined eternally.

Surely these facts speak loudly!

Money, in truth, is one of the most unsatisfying of possessions. There is no doubt that it takes away some cares, but it brings with it quite as many cares as it takes away!

There is trouble in the getting of it.

there is anxiety in the keeping of it.

there are temptations in the use of it.

there is guilt in the abuse of it.

there is sorrow in the losing of it.

there is perplexity in the disposing of it!

Two-thirds of all the strife, quarrels, and lawsuits in the world, arise from one simple cause money! It seems desirable at a distance, yet it often proves a poison when in our hand!

And does not this stand in perfect harmony with all the language of Scripture on the same subject?

What does the Lord Jesus say?

"How hard it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle--than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God!" Mark 10:23-25

"No one can serve two masters... You cannot serve both God and money." Matthew 6:24

"The deceitfulness of riches choke the Word, and he becomes unfruitful." Matthew 13:22

"Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions!" Luke 12:15

What does the apostle Paul say?

"Greediness, which is idolatry!" Colossians 3:5

"Those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows!" 1 Timothy 6:9–10

"Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have!" Hebrews 13:5

There is nothing more deceitful, tempting, foolish, idolatrous, perilous and heart-ensnaring than the love of money!

[J. C. Ryle]

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Indifference to Doctrine

One great danger of the church today, consists in the rise and progress of a spirit of indifference to all doctrines and opinions in religion. A wave of latitudinarianism about theology, appears to be passing over the land. The minds of many seem utterly incapable of discerning any difference between one belief and another belief, one creed and another creed, one tenet and another tenet, one opinion and another opinion, one thought and another thought, however diverse and mutually contrary they may be! 

Everything is true and nothing is false. Everything is right and nothing is wrong. Everything is good and nothing is bad if only it comes to us under the garb and name of religion. Most think that it is kind and liberal, to maintain that we have no right to think that anyone is wrong, who is earnest about his creed. We are not allowed to ask what God's truth is but what is liberal, and generous, and charitable. 

Most professing Christians make cleverness and earnestness the only tests of orthodoxy in religion. Thousands nowadays seem utterly unable to distinguish things that differ. If a preacher is only clever and eloquent and earnest they think that he must be right, however strange and heterodox his sermons may be. Popery or Protestantism, an atonement or no atonement, a personal Holy Spirit or no Holy Spirit, future punishment or no future punishment they swallow it all! 

Carried away by an imagined liberality and charity, they seem to regard doctrine as a matter of no importance, and to think that everybody is going to be saved and nobody is going to be lost! They dislike distinctness and think that all decided views are very wrong! These people live in a kind of mist or fog! They see nothing clearly, and do not know what they believe. They have not made up their minds about any great point in the Gospel and seem content to be honorary members of all schools of thought. 

For their lives, they could not tell you what they think is truth about forgiveness of sins, or justification, or regeneration, or sanctification, or saving faith, or conversion, or inspiration, or the future state. They are eaten up with a morbid dread of doctrine. And so, they live on undecided, and too often undecided they drift down to the grave, on the broad way which leads to eternal damnation. They are content to shovel aside all disputed points as rubbish, and will tell you, "I do not pretend to understand doctrine, it is all the same in the long run." They are for a general policy of universal toleration of every doctrine. 

Every school of false teaching, however extreme, is to be tolerated. They desire the Church to be a kind of Noah's Ark, within which every kind of opinion and creed shall dwell safely and undisturbed; and the only terms of admittance are a willingness to come inside and let your neighbor alone. Nothing is too absurd to concede and allow into the church, in the present mania for complete freedom of thought, and absolute liberty of opinion. The explanation of this boneless, nerveless condition of soul, is perhaps not difficult to find. The heart of man is naturally in the dark about religion--has no intuitive sense of truth and really needs divine instruction and illumination. 

Besides this, the natural heart in most men hates exertion in religion. Above all, the natural heart generally likes the praise of others, shrinks from controversy, and loves to be thought charitable and liberal. The whole result is that a kind of broad religious anything's just suits an immense number of professors. Ignorance, I am compelled to say, is one of the grand dangers of professors of religion in the present day. Who does not know that such people swarm and abound everywhere? And who does not know that anyone who denounces this state of things and insists that we should be loyal to Scripture truth is regarded as a narrow, bigoted, intolerant person, quite unsuited to our times! When there is no standard of doctrine, there can be no church, but a Babel. 

Let me venture to advise all true Christians to never be ashamed of holding Evangelical views. Those views, I am quite aware, are not fashionable nowadays. They are ridiculed as old-fashioned, narrow-minded, and out of date and those who hold them, are regarded as closed-minded and impractical old fossils. What the final result of the present state of things will be, I do not pretend to predict. 

[J.C. Ryle] 

2 Timothy 4:2-4 ... Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. 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; And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.

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The Pillow of God's Omnipotence!!

Let us mark the mighty principle which the angel Gabriel lays down to silence all objections about the incarnation: "With God nothing shall be impossible." A hearty reception of this great principle is of immense importance to our own inward peace. Questions and doubts will often arise in men's minds about many subjects in religion. They are the natural result of our fallen estate of soul. 

Our faith at the best is very feeble. Our knowledge at its highest is clouded with much infirmity. And among many antidotes to a doubting, anxious, questioning state of mind, few will be found more useful than that before us now a thorough conviction of God's omnipotence.  With Him who called the world into being and formed it out of nothing, everything is possible. 

Nothing is too hard for the Lord. There is no sin too black and bad to be pardoned. The blood of Christ cleanses from all sin. There is no heart too hard and wicked to be changed. The heart of stone can be made a heart of flesh. There is no work too hard for a believer to do. We may do all things through Christ strengthening us. There is no trial too hard to be borne. The grace of God is sufficient for us. There is no promise too great to be fulfilled. Christ's words never pass away and what He has promised, He is able to perform. There is no difficulty too great for a believer to overcome. 

When God is for us then who can be against us? The mountain shall become a plain! Let principles like these be continually before our minds. The angel's maxim is an invaluable remedy. Faith never rests so calmly and peacefully as when it lays its head on the pillow of God's omnipotence!

[J. C. Ryle]

Matthew 19:26 ... But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.

Luke 1:37 ... For with God nothing shall be impossible. ❤

Something Peculiar, Distinct, and Different!!

The effects of the Spirit's work in conversion will always be seen. Those effects may be weak and feeble at first. But there where there is true conversion, some fruit will always be seen. Where no effect can be seen there you may be sure is no grace. Where no visible fruit can be found there you may be sure is no true conversion. 

Does anyone ask me what we may expect to see in a true conversion? I reply: There will always be something seen in a converted man's character, and feelings, and conduct, and opinions, and daily life. You will not see perfection in him, but you will see in him something peculiar, distinct, and different from other people. 

You will see him hating sin, loving Christ, following after holiness, taking pleasure in his Bible, persevering in prayer. You will see him penitent, humble, believing, temperate, charitable, truthful, good-tempered, patient, upright, honorable, kind. These, at any rate, will be his aims, these are the things which he will follow after, however short he may come of perfection. 

In some converted people you will see these things more distinctly, in others less. This only I say, wherever there is conversion, something of this kind will be seen. True conversion is a thing that can always be seen. Never, never, will I allow that the blessed Spirit can be in a man's heart when no fruit of the Spirit can be seen in his life! 

A conversion which allows a man to live in sin, to lie, and drink, and swear is not the conversion of the Bible. It is a counterfeit conversion, which can only please the devil, and will lead the man who is satisfied with it not to Heaven, but to Hell! 

[J.C. Ryle]

2 Corinthians 5:17 ... Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

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.

Titus 2:14 ... Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.  ❤

The True Secret of Spiritual Prosperity!!

In Christ alone, there is a full supply of all that we require for the needs of our souls. Of ourselves we are all poor, empty creatures empty of righteousness and peace, empty of strength and comfort, empty of courage and patience, empty of power to persevere in the way of holiness or make progress in this evil world. 

It is in Christ alone, that all these things are to be found grace, peace, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. It is just in proportion as we live upon Him, that we are strong Christians. It is only when self is nothing and Christ is all our confidence, that are we armed for the battle of life and shall overcome. Only then are we prepared for the journey of life and shall move forward. 

To live on Christ, to draw all from Christ, to do all in the strength of Christ, to be ever looking to Christ this is the true secret of spiritual prosperity! 

[J. C. Ryle]

Philippians 4:13 ... I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

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The Workings of Grace

The workings of grace in the heart are utterly mysterious and unsearchable. We cannot explain why the Word produces effects on one person in a congregation, and not upon another. We cannot explain why, in some cases; with every possible advantage, and in spite of every entreaty people reject the Word and continue dead in trespasses and sins. 

We cannot explain why in other cases; with every possible difficulty, and with no encouragement people are born again and become decided Christians. We cannot define the manner in which the Spirit of God conveys life to a soul, and the exact process by which a believer receives a new nature. All these are hidden things to us. We see certain results, but we can go no further. 

This is deeply instructive. It is humbling no doubt to ministers, and teachers of others. The highest abilities, the most powerful preaching, the most diligent working, cannot command success. God alone can give spiritual life! But it is a truth at the same time, which supplies an admirable antidote to excessive anxiety and despondency. Our principal work is to sow the seed. That done, we may wait with faith and patience for the result. We may leave our work with the Lord. He alone can, if He thinks fit, give success. 

[J. C. Ryle] 

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John 3:8 ... The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.

Romans 9:15 ...  For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. ❤

Splendid Sins ...

The holiest actions of the holiest saint that ever lived, are all more or less full of defects and imperfections. They are either wrong in their motive, or defective in their performance, and in themselves are nothing better than splendid sins, deserving God's wrath and condemnation.  To suppose that such actions can stand the severity of God's judgment, atone for sin, and merit Heaven is simply absurd! 

The only righteousness in which we can appear before God, is the righteousness of another even the perfect righteousness of our Substitute and Representative, Jesus Christ the Lord. His work, and not our work is our only title to Heaven. This is a truth which we should be ready to die to maintain! 

[J.C. Ryle] 

Galatians 2:16 ...  Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.

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Never!!!

Let every believer grasp these words and store them up in his heart. Keep them ready and have them fresh in your memory; you will need them one day. 

The Philistines will be upon you, the hand of sickness will lay you low, the king of terrors will draw near, the valley of the shadow of death will open up before your eyes. Then comes the hour when you will find nothing so comforting as a text like this, nothing so cheering as a real sense of God's companionship. Stick to that word, "never." It is worth its weight in gold. 

Cling to it as a drowning man clings to a rope. Grasp it firmly, as a soldier attacked on all sides grasps his sword. God has said, and He will stand to it, "I will never leave you, nor forsake you." NEVER! 

Though your heart be often faint, and you are sick of self, and your many failures and infirmities overwhelm you- even then the promise will not fail. NEVER! 

Though the devil whispers, "I shall have you at last; yet a little time and your faith will fail, and you will be mine." Even then the Word of God will stand. NEVER! 

When the cold chill of death is creeping over you, and friends can do no more, and you are starting on that journey from which there is no return- even then Christ will not forsake you. NEVER! 

When the day of judgment comes, and the books are opened, and the dead are rising from their graves, and eternity is beginning even then the promise will bear all your weight; Christ will not leave His hold on your soul. 

Oh, believing reader, trust in the Lord forever, for He says, "I will never leave you." Lean back all your weight upon Him, do not be afraid. Glory in His promise. Rejoice in the strength of your consolation. 

[J. C. Ryle] 

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Hebrews 13:5-6 ... Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will NEVER leave thee, nor forsake thee. So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. ❤

"The Beauty of Holiness"

Holiness is the antithesis of sin; and the beauty of holiness is in direct contrast from the ugliness of sin. Sin is a deformity, a monstrosity. Sin is repulsive, repellent to the infinitely pure God: that is why He selected leprosy, the most loathsome and horrible of all diseases, to be its emblem. When the Prophet was Divinely inspired to depict the condition of degenerate Israel, it was in these words, "From the sole of the foot even unto the head there is no soundness in it; but wounds, and bruises, and putrefying sores." (Isaiah 1:6) 

O that sin was sickening and hateful to us: not merely its grosser forms but sin itself. At the opposite extreme from the hideousness of sin is "the beauty of holiness." Holiness is lovely in the sight of God: necessarily so. It is the reflection of His own nature, for He is "glorious in holiness" (Exodus 15:11) 

O that it may be increasingly attractive to, and earnestly sought after, by us! 

[J. C. Ryle]

Psalm 29:2 ... Give unto the Lord the glory due unto his name; worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.

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Establishment By Faith

Establishment consists in holding fast our profession. We profess to believe the gospel all that it says regarding ourselves, our God, our Lord Jesus Christ, our foes, our trials. We profess to obey all that it requires, in the strength that it promises. Establishment includes, maintaining our character as the disciples of Christ, the holy ones, the children of God who imitate their Father who is in Heaven, the friends of God and the light of the world. 

Establishment involves perseverance in the paths of holiness, pressing toward the mark for the prize of our high calling, abounding in the work of the Lord. 

 

Establishment supposes the enjoyment of our privileges, such as peace with God, realizing the favor of God, rejoicing in God, walking in sweet fellowship with God, receiving grace from God, and even glorying in tribulation. 

Establishment is to include abiding in Christ as the branch in the vine; living with Christ as the wife with her husband; confiding in Christ as one in the friend which is as his own soul; deriving all from Christ as the member from union to the head. 

Establishment is to stand, to keep our post, fulfill our duties, adorn our profession, hold fast our principles, persevere in our work, and be steadfast in the Savior's cause. Establishment is only by faith. 

By faith we live. By faith we walk. By faith we overcome. By faith we receive the salvation of our souls. 

[J. C. Ryle] 

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2 Corinthians 1:24 ... Not for that we have dominion over your faith, but are helpers of your joy: for by faith ye stand.

2 Corinthians 5:7 ... (For we walk by faith, not by sight:)

Ephesians 2:8 ... For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: ❤

Satan's Spiritual Dominion Over Young People

Matthew 17:18, "Jesus rebuked the demon and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment!" 

We must not forget that there are still many instances of Satan's spiritual dominion over young people, which are quite as painful as the case described in this passage. There are thousands of young people who seem to have wholly given themselves up to Satan's temptations, and to be led captive at his will. 

They cast off all fear of God, and all respect for His commandments. They serve all kinds of wicked lusts and pleasures. They run wildly into every vile excess. They refuse to listen to the advice of parents, teachers or ministers. They fling aside all regard for health, character or worldly respectability. They do all that lies in their power to ruin themselves, body and soul, for time and eternity. They are willing slaves of Satan! Who has not seen such young people? They are to be seen in both town and in country. They are to be found among both rich and among poor. Surely such young people give mournful proof, that Satan still exercises a fearful dominion over many men's souls. Yet we must never despair, even over such young people as these. 

We must call to mind the almighty power of our Lord Jesus Christ. As bad as this boy's case was, of whom we read in these verses, he was "was healed from that moment" that he was brought to Christ! Parents, and teachers, and ministers should go on praying for young people, even at their worst. As hard as their hearts seem now, God may yet soften them. As desperate as their wickedness now appears, God may yet save them. God may yet grant them faith and repentance, and they may become trophies of His sovereign and saving grace. Who can tell? Let it be a settled principle with us when we read our Lord's miracles, never to despair of the conversion of ANY soul. 

[J. C. Ryle]

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Little Nook in the Very Heart of God

God's plan for every marriage is happiness. 

Marriage is meant to be a miniature of Heaven; a fragment of the celestial blessedness, let down into this world. Marriage is meant to be a little sanctuary, into which husband and wife may flee from earth's storms and dangers, where in love's shelter, their hearts fed with affection's daily bread-they may dwell in quiet peace. Marriage is meant to be a shelter in which, covered from the frosts of the world and shielded from its cold and tempests-two lives may grow together into richest beauty, realizing their sweetest dreams of happiness, blending in whatever things are true, whatever things are pure, and attaining the finest possibilities of godly character. Marriage is meant to be a holy ark, floating on the wild floods of human life-like Noah's ark on the deluge, bearing to Heaven's gates, to the harbor of glory-the lives which God has shut within its doors. 

A godly marriage is a little nook in the very heart of God, where faithful souls are held close to the Father's heart, and carried safely, amid dangers and sorrows, to the home above! 

[J.C. Ryle]

Ephesians 5:31 ... For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh.

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Reading the Bible

1. Read the Bible with an earnest desire to understand it. Do not be content to just read the words of Scripture. Seek to grasp the message they contain.

2. Read the Scriptures with a simple, childlike faith and humility. Believe what God reveals. Our reason must bow to God's revelation.

3. Read the Word with a spirit of obedience and self-application. Apply what God says to yourself and obey His will in all things.

4. Read the Holy Scriptures every day. We quickly lose the nourishment and strength of yesterday's food. We must feed our souls daily upon the manna God has given to us.

5. Read the whole Bible and read it in an orderly way. "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable." (2 Timothy 3:16) I know of no better way to read the Bible than to start at the beginning and read straight through to the end, a portion every day, comparing Scripture with Scripture.

6. Read the Word of God fairly and honestly. As a general rule, any passage of Scripture means what it appears to mean. Interpret every passage in this simple manner, in its context.

7. Read the Scriptures prayerfully, ever asking the Holy Spirit to illumine the Word. "Then He opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures." (Luke 24:45) "Open my eyes that I may see wonderful things in your law." (Psalm 119:18)

8. Read the Bible with Christ constantly in view. The whole Book is about Him. Look for Him on every page. He is there. If you fail to see Him there, you need to read that page again.

[J. C. Ryle]

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