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Post by Admin on May 25, 2023 21:36:05 GMT -5
On several different messageboards i have enjoyed Starting this same thread. I will reproduce this thread srom a board that I got banned from,lol
At times i was answering people who opposed me, so that is why it looks like i was answering someone.
Scripture is the greatest gift to mankind, because God has designed it to be used by the Spirit to save the elect who are scattered worldwide.
We do not know who the elect are,so we preach and teach all we are able to reach.
All who are Christian today,were at one point children of wrath even as others Eph.2 :1-3, But GOD who is rich in mercy intervenes.
The word of God is the instrument used by the Spirit. Heb4:12
The op doesn't say scripture is above, or greater than God.
How do you know there is God? What is He like? Has He revealed Himself? Did man come from evolution?
Does man have a problem with God? Who determines what is lawful, or unlawful?
Is there a judgment? What do you know about anything apart from scripture?
Everything we know about life, truth, good evil, salvation, redemption, The Lord Jesus Christ,The Father, The Spirit, is only truly known by the Spirit quickening the scriptures to new hearts.
Outside of the scriptures we are religious heathens as described in Roman's 1.
Who is Christ? Who is God? Where did you get these concepts?
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Post by Admin on May 25, 2023 21:46:35 GMT -5
Answer the questions as asked. They are not rhetorical, but actual. You cannot accurately answer any of them without scripture. Truth, what is it? Who defines it?
We should be able to write Psalm119 as.our own Psalm. psalm 1 speaks of our stability from the word.
I always think of those older glass coffee makers.
The coffee was placed in the metal.basket,like scripture taken into our mind.
The water was heated and travelled up the glass stem and ran over the stored coffee grounds,
It then began to drip down and transform into the finished product.
the unseen internal work of the Spirit takes the words of life off of the page and pours them through our minds and heart so we can commune with our Lord.
The more we pray ,meditate, study,and serve, the stronger we become.in 2Pet1,we are told we are given All that pertains to life and godliness.
We should never take for granted this great gift which is like a portal into our future communion with God face to face.
When I pray I picture my prayer going to the throne as recorded in Rev,4 and 5.
In Hebrews10, we are to come boldly, with confidence in prayer.
Without such instruction we would flounder, and be weak, and unsteady.
We only know about God's plan because of scripture that's why it is obviously the greatest gift.
In fact we know nothing about Jesus the Redemptive plan, the Father,the Father giving the Son we know nothing of any of this without scripture that's why scripture is the greatest gift.
The Apostle Paul Used scripture all the time when presenting the gospel. And acts 17 he found people that were not familiar with scripture so he spoke of God as creator sustainer , Redeemer,and judge and he just put it in regular terms but when anyone knew the scripture he used it all the time.
In 1 cor 9, He explained he was all things to all men that he might win .
When people knew scripture he used it when he met people at work not familiar with scripture he put it in his own language but still based all of his testimony and witness on what was revealed truth revealed in scripture
There is no one that seeks or knows God by himself. God has determined to save a multitude in his son and hes going to save each and every person elected to be saved.
of course God is able to save people in the womb or retarded persons or whatever but that normal way that people are saved as through preaching and teaching of the word the going above and beyond that is God's business but that's not what we're discussing . people or perishing without the word of God and that's what they need.
Yes.He has a single focus on the great gift of scripture that gives him all that pertains to life and godliness.
Most likely as he enjoys delighting in the scripture he is joyful in rejoicing in the promises of God,not only in this life and time, but that which is to come.
This can be an indication of grace working itself out in the life.
Those graceless professors who always find fault and speak out of both sides of their mouth never seem to realize they are still estranged from the life of a true believer.
Something is wet ,and dry at the same time!
Scripture is good but scripture is an idol?
They believe man is spiritually dead, but he did not die spiritually at the fall?
Gods wrath is revealed, but on no one at all?
A substitute is provided,but does not actually take the penalty?
A double minded man is unstable in all his ways!
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Post by Admin on May 25, 2023 21:59:04 GMT -5
From CHS, Treasury of David;
For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name.
The word of promise made to David was in his eyes more glorious than all else that he had seen of the Most High.
Revelation excels creation in the clearness, definiteness, and fulness of its teaching.
The name of the Lord in nature is not so easily read as in the Scriptures, which are a revelation in human language, specially adapted to the human mind, treating of human need, and of a Saviour who appeared in human nature to redeem humanity.
Heaven and earth shall pass away, but the divine word will not pass away, and in this respect especially it has a preeminence over every other form of manifestation.
Moreover, the Lord lays all the rest of his name under tribute to his word: his wisdom, power, love, and all his other attributes combine to carry out his word. It is his word which creates, sustains, quickens, enlightens, and comforts.
As a word of command it is supreme; and in the person of the incarnate Word it is set above all the works of God's hands.
The sentence in the text is wonderfully full of meaning. We have collected a vast mass of literature upon it, but space will not allow us to put it all into our notes.
Let us adore the Lord who has spoken to us by his word, and by his Son; and in the presence of unbelievers let us both praise his holy name and extol his holy word.
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Post by Admin on May 25, 2023 22:06:35 GMT -5
From A Baptist Cathechism with Commentary, by W.R.Downing;
Quest. 3: Who is the one great Object of our knowledge, worship and enjoyment?
31
Ans: The one great Object of our knowledge, worship and enjoyment is the triune, self–revealing God of Scripture.
Psa 29:2. Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness.
Psa. 73:25–26. 25Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire beside thee. 26My flesh and my heart faileth: but God is the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.
Psa. 96:9. O worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness: fear before him, all the earth.
Prov. 1:7. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Prov. 9:10. The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
Jn. 17:3. And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.
1 Cor. 10:31. Whether therefore ye eat, or drink, or whatsoever ye do, do all to the glory of God. See also:
Rom. 1:18–32; 11:33–36; Acts 17:27; Eph. 4:17–19.
COMMENTARY There are various approaches to the belief or disbelief in God. No belief– system is simply neutral; each carries with it necessary theological, moral and ethical implications. These implications have been and are seen throughout the history of mankind and in its various cultures and societies. Every religion, therefore, has a corresponding world–and–life view.
Theism is the belief in a god or gods. Atheism is the disbelief in God or gods. Atheism, as held by modern, secularized man, presupposes evolution, chance and fate.
Deism is the rationalistic idea that God is an absolute personal being and creator of the universe, but that he has neither revealed himself nor is involved in the events of nature, history or the human drama. Thus, man need not fear God or retribution.
Polytheism is the belief in many gods. Polytheism cannot bring all the Divine characteristics into one being.
Skepticism, denying Divine revelation, believes that reason cannot prove the existence of God.
Pantheism holds that God is identical with creation. It is the denial of the personality of God, and thus of any accountability to God. Panentheism provides a philosophical basis for open theism or Process Theology.
God is identified with the universe, but he is more than the universe. He is the eternal mind of which the universe is the body, as it were. Both God and the universe are in the process of expanding; the future is unknown. Religious Pluralism, characteristic of postmodern philosophy, is the idea that all religions have some good, and men may have a meaningful relationship with God through various religious paths.
These various views all lack a definitive, revealed source, a self–attesting Divine revelation—and thus a sufficient epistemological base [source of truth and knowledge
Biblical Christianity is not merely theistic, i.e., it does not simply believe in the existence of a God.
Biblical Christianity holds to Christian Theism, which necessarily means the triune, self–disclosing God who has revealed himself in creation, providence, history, his inscripturated Word and in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Only Christian Theism possesses the sufficient basis, as revealed religion, to provide a coherent system of truth, theology, creation, history, morality and ethics—an inclusive world–and–life view.
Christian Theism as a belief–system holds that the triune God has revealed himself, that he is the one Great Object of knowledge, and that having a right relationship to him through the Person and work of his Son leads to the highest meaning and fulfillment.
The triune, self–disclosing God of Scripture is the source of all true knowledge.
Man, as a created being, must find the source of truth and knowledge outside himself. Thus, man is by necessity a creature of faith. Although modern man would fain consider himself to be scientific and empirical in his epistemology [science of knowledge and truth–claims], he is necessarily brought to a principle of faith, and therefore a presuppositional stance for what he considers to be true and truth.
As the image–bearer of God, man must find meaning—truth and knowledge—in his Creator.
For man to truly know himself, he must, as the image–bearer of God, begin with God. God is the Creator, Sustainer and Governor of the created universe, and his laws reign in every sphere—spiritual, moral and physical (Rom. 11:36).
To know God is to possess true knowledge; to suppress the knowledge of God is to deny the possibility of truth, knowledge and reality.
To have a right relationship with God in the context of his Law–Word, i.e., to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ by faith, is to truly know him and thus to possess the only correct and consistent basis for truly understanding anything or all things. To have a right relationship to God through the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ is to find forgiveness, reconciliation, peace and communion—and thus communion with and enjoyment in God (Rom. 3:21– 26; 5:1–2; 1 Jn. 1:3–7).
For believers, the inscripturated Word of God constitutes our sole rule of both faith and practice. Under the sovereign Lordship of Jesus Christ (Matt. 28:18; Acts 2:36), this Word is to govern every sphere of life—the spiritual, religious, moral, ethical, social, political and physical realms.
Jesus Christ is the sovereign Lord of this universe and his Word is the believer’s law. The totalitarian claims of Christ Jesus as sovereign Lord must be believed, loved, joyfully obeyed, declared and defended in every sphere of human existence.
As The Lord God is Creator, Possessor and Sovereign Ruler of heaven and earth, as every fact is a created fact and as we are to do all for the glory of God, there is nothing which is secular; all is ultimately sacred. Thus, everything in our thinking, speaking and acting is ultimately a form of worship—or ought to be. Formal worship, either private or public, must reflect the character of God; it is to be holy, righteous, reverent, joyful and God–honoring i.e., worship must be theocentric [God–centered] and not anthropocentric [man–centered].
True worship is to be regulated by the Word of God, not the innovation of man. Worship and entertainment are mutually exclusive. Much of contemporary “worship” is neither worthy of the name nor glorifying to the God of Scripture.
True spirituality is essentially intellectual, as one must apprehend and come to terms with the inscripturated truth of God in order to comply with the gospel and consistently apply this truth to the life and experience.
There is no place for an irrational religion. An intelligent faith, which is grounded in Scripture, gives the proper and sufficient basis to feeling. Truth and the emotions are inherently related. The former is to serve as the basis for the latter or religion would become irrational and inconsistent.
As The Lord God is Creator, Possessor and Sovereign Ruler of heaven and earth, as every fact is a created fact and as we are to do all for the glory of God, there is nothing which is secular; all is ultimately sacred. Thus, everything in our thinking, speaking and acting is ultimately a form of worship—or ought to be. Formal worship, either private or public, must reflect the character of God; it is to be holy, righteous, reverent, joyful and God–honoring i.e., worship must be theocentric [God–centered] and not anthropocentric [man–centered].
True worship is to be regulated by the Word of God, not the innovation of man. Worship and entertainment are mutually exclusive. Much of contemporary “worship” is neither worthy of the name nor glorifying to the God of Scripture.
True spirituality is essentially intellectual, as one must apprehend and come to terms with the inscripturated truth of God in order to comply with the gospel and consistently apply this truth to the life and experience.
There is no place for an irrational religion. An intelligent faith, which is grounded in Scripture, gives the proper and sufficient basis to feeling. Truth and the emotions are inherently related. The former is to serve as the basis for the latter or religion would become irrational and inconsistent.
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Post by Admin on May 25, 2023 22:09:58 GMT -5
Yes, there always seems to bo those who resist the truth, by redefining words and terms, nothing new here.
You have to love when someone uses scripture to diminish scripture,lol:oops::eek::oops:
No one would know about God, creation, or who has preeminence without the sure words of scripture;)
Here is Matthew Henry;
What he would praise God for. 1. For the fountain of his comforts—for thy lovingkindness and for thy truth, for thy goodness and for thy promise, mercy hidden in thee and mercy revealed by thee, that God is a gracious God in himself and has engaged to be so to all those that trust in him.
For thou hast magnified thy word (thy promise, which is truth) above all thy name. God has made himself known to us in many ways in creation and providence, but most clearly by his word.
The judgments of his mouth are magnified even above those of his hand, and greater things are done by them. The wonders of grace exceed the wonders of nature; and what is discovered of God by revelation is much greater than what is discovered by reason.
In what God had done for David his faithfulness to his work appeared more illustriously, and redounded more to his glory, than any other of his attributes.
Some good interpreters understand it of Christ, the essential Word, and of his gospel, which are magnified above all the discoveries God had before made of himself to the fathers. He that magnified the law, and made that honourable, magnifies the gospel much more.
2. For the streams flowing from that fountain, in which he himself had tasted that the Lord is gracious, v. 3. He had been in affliction, and he remembers, with thankfulness, (1.) The sweet communion he then had with God. He cried, he prayed, and prayed earnestly, and God answered him, gave him to understand that his prayer was accepted and should have a gracious return in due time. The intercourse between God and his saints is carried on by his promises and their prayers. (2.) The sweet communications he then had from God: Thou strengthenedst me with strength in my soul. This was the answer to his prayer, for God gives more than good words, Ps. 20:6 .
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Post by Admin on May 25, 2023 22:36:32 GMT -5
Not one person here has seen Jesus face to face.
To say that we just need Jesus sounds wonderful but does not get to any of the truths that are needful for all of mankind to know.
The scripture indeed informs us on all we need in life.
Some have given lip service to this, but are in complete denial.
Christians know that the life of faith , communion and service to God is possible only because of special revelation.
There is not a radical division between scripture and what scripture points to as the object of our worship, as if God did not appoint the scriptures as a major means of grace.
Scripture being God breathed is fully authoratative.
In jn.8,10,12, Jesus declares the word which He has spoken will judge those on the last day.
Scripture reveals how Cain was jealous of Abel.
He became so jealous he killed his brother.
Lying and dishonesty lead to such carnal sins.
Scripture is given not only to reveal God and our need for a new birth, but also to warn against envious jealous people who would do us harm.
Job23;
12Neither1 have I gone back from the commandment of his lips;
I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
Psalm 19;
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
Christians rejoice in the gift of special revelation available in the scriptures. more than gold, sweeter than honey, God's words valued more than necessary food!
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Post by Admin on May 25, 2023 22:46:48 GMT -5
Job23;
12Neither1 have I gone back from the commandment of his lips;
I have esteemed the words of his mouth more than my necessary food.
Psalm 19;
7 The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple.
8 The statutes of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes.
9 The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.
11 Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.
12 Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.
13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
14 Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my strength, and my redeemer.
Christians rejoice in the gift of special revelation available in the scriptures. more than gold, sweeter than honey, God s words valued more than necessary food!
The unsaved heathen without scripture invent their own gods as we were told in psalm115
They have religion, but are without God.
Like in the day of jer.23:
16 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto the words of the prophets that prophesy unto you: they make you vain: they speak a vision of their own heart, and not out of the mouth of the Lord.
17 They say still unto them that despise me, The Lord hath said, Ye shall have peace; and they say unto every one that walketh after the imagination of his own heart, No evil shall come upon you.
18 For who hath stood in the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard his word? who hath marked his word, and heard it?
19 Behold, a whirlwind of the Lord is gone forth in fury, even a grievous whirlwind: it shall fall grievously upon the head of the wicked.
20 The anger of the Lord shall not return, until he have executed, and till he have performed the thoughts of his heart: in the latter days ye shall consider it perfectly.
21 I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran: I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied.
22 But if they had stood in my counsel, and had caused my people to hear my words, then they should have turned them from their evil way, and from the evil of their doings.
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Post by Admin on May 25, 2023 22:47:28 GMT -5
John Gill;
for thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name; or "above every name of thine"F14; which Aben Ezra interprets of the glorious name Jehovah; the word God spake to Moses, the name in which he made himself known to him, and to the Israelites, he had not to their fathers, Exodus 3:14; but rather it is to be understood of God's word of promise, and his faithfulness in fulfilling it; which, though not a greater attribute than any other, yet is made more known and more illustrious than the rest; and particularly may regard the promise of the coming of the Messiah, and of the blessings of grace by him; Jarchi interprets it particularly of the pardon of sin. It may with propriety be applied to Christ, the essential Word, that was made flesh, and dwelt among men; whom God has highly exalted, and not only given him a name above every name of men on earth, but also above any particular name or attribute of his: or however he has magnified him "according"F15 to every name of his, it being his will that men should honour the Son as they honour the Father; or "with"F16 every name along with each of them; or "besides"F17 every name; for all these senses the word will bear. Some render them, as Ben Melech, "thou hast magnified above all things thy name" and "thy word"; or, as others, "thy name by thy word"F18; see Psalm 8:1; The Targum is,
"the words of thy praise above all thy name;'
or "over all thy name": everything by which he has made himself known in creation and providence; "thou hast magnified thy word", all being done according to the word said in himself, his decrees and purposes; or declared in his word and promises, whereby he has glorified it.
matthew poole;
For thou hast magnified thy word above all thy name; for thou hast glorified thy word or promise, or thy faithfulness in fulfilling thy promises unto me, more than any other of thy glorious perfections by which thou art known. Not that one of God’s attributes is really and in itself more great or glorious than another, or can be made so, but because one may be more celebrated and admired by men than another, as here God’s gracious promise made to David, and the wonderful accomplishment thereof in spite of all those difficulties which stood in the way, and which seemed to men to be insuperable, was at this time more observed and admired than any other of his attributes or actions. But here we must remember, that amongst the rest of the promises made to David, one was that the Messias should come out of his loins, and that those parts of the promised mercies which David had actually received were pledges to assure him that he should receive the rest in due time, and especially that great and eminent word of promise concerning the Messias, which might well be said to be magnified above all God’s name.
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Post by Admin on May 25, 2023 23:01:17 GMT -5
Without scripture, we would have no knowledge of God the Father, Son, or Holy Spirit.
We would not know God was sending "His Son" to begin with.
Sending His Son...sending His Son for what reason?
What do we mean that God has a Son?
Why has it become necessary to send the Son.?
Without the gift of scripture, we have no knowledge of any of this.
We have no knowledge of the gospel itself.
We would not understand anything, about anything.
When we witness to individuals we need to establish the Bible as it is in truth,the word of God.
We need to be able to say all of what the Psalmist says in Psalm 119.
Scripture was his meditation around the clock.
Scripture enabled him to draw near to God.
Scripture was his refuge when evil ,wicked ,persons sought to bear false witness against him, workers of Satan,religious but seeking to turn him away from his God.119:95-100.
When we obey Mt:28, we make disciples, using scripture
Teaching them. We can tell of so great a salvation by using the God-given scriptures, not by fables, man's wisdom, carnal thoughts, and carnal philosophy.
All of that are dead ends that religious people do.
As pointed out in the first thread, The Lord Jesus God incarnate, used scripture to confront and drive away Satan in the gospels
It is written, it is written, it is written.
Anyone who in any way diminished scriptures most likely does not know God, or has major defects in their understanding.
Like those in Acts 17, they do not know what to them is the unknown God.
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Post by Admin on Jun 29, 2023 10:25:59 GMT -5
Inward Impressions
by Arthur W. Pink
This is a subject which is rarely touched upon today, yet in certain quarters especially there is a real need that it should be dealt with. By inward impressions we have reference to some passage of Scripture or some verse of a hymn being laid upon the mind with such force that it rivets the attention, absorbs the entire inner man and is accompanied by such an influence, that the partaker thereof is deeply affected. For example: a person may have lived a most godless life, utterly unconcerned about spiritual things and eternal interests, when suddenly (perhaps while he was indulging the lusts of the flesh, his thoughts being entirely occupied with carnal objects), there sounded in his conscience the words, “Be sure your sin will find you out.” So forcibly is he impressed, it seems as though someone must have audibly uttered those words, and he turns to discover the speaker, only to find he is alone. So deep is the impression, he cannot shake it off, and he is convicted of his lost condition and made to seek the Saviour.
No doubt each one who reads the above paragraph has heard or read some such case, perhaps many like it. And quite possibly a number of our readers are distressed in that there has been nothing in their own experience which corresponds thereto, and because there is not, they greatly fear they have never been truly converted. But such an inference is quite unwarranted. God does not act uniformly in the work of regeneration, any more than He does in creation or in providence; and we have met many who never had any such experience as we have described above, yet whose salvation we could not doubt for a moment. “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 everyone that is born of the Spirit” (John 3:8). Sometimes the wind blows with great velocity, at other times very gently and almost imperceptibly. But how foolish I would be if, seeing the leaves moving in the breeze, I denied the wind was blowing at all, merely because it came not with hurricane intensity!
The blowing of the wind is to be ascertained by the effects produced. Necessarily so, for the wind is invisible. But though the wind be invisible, the results it produces are not so: they can be seen and felt, and it is by the breeze on our face and the stirring of the leaves that we perceive its actions, even though trees are not being uprooted thereby. “So is everyone that is born of the Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is invisible, yet His presence may be ascertained by the effects which He produces. Sometimes He comes to a soul as it were in gale force, striking terror into the heart and carrying everything before Him: sweeping away the refuge of lies in which we were sheltering, tearing down our self-righteousness at a single stroke, and bowing us in conscious fear and conviction before Him. Thus it was in the case of Saul of Tarsus. But He does not always act thus—to other souls He comes as the gentle dove, so that His operations are imperceptible at the time, like the cases of Nathanael and Lydia.
A gardener sows his seed and for a while knows not whether his effort is going to meet with any success. He scans his ground, but as yet sees no results. Perhaps he begins to worry, fearing that his soil is unsuited to such vegetables or flowers. But a little later his fears are dispelled: the appearing of green shoots above the earth is the proof that his seed has germinated. Here is one deeply exercised about his state. He has sat under the preaching of some faithful servant of Christ and has sought to appropriate unto himself the Word of Life. But into what kind of soil (heart) has that Seed found abode? Is he but a wayside, a stony, a thorny, or a good-ground hearer (Matt. 13)?—that is the question which causes him so much concern. And rightly so, for there are very few good-ground hearers. And how is his problem to be solved? How is he to make sure whether he is a good-ground hearer? By the results, the fruits produced in his life.
But to return more directly to the point of inward impressions. After reading the last three paragraphs, probably some are inclined to say, Until I experience something like what you describe in the opening paragraph I shall be afraid to regard myself as genuinely converted: I must be sure that the Gospel has come to me not “in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit” (1 Thess. 1:5). A very wise decision, my friend. But how are you going to determine whether the Gospel has come to you “in power and in the Holy Spirit?” By your senses? By your emotions? By some sentence of Scripture being deeply impressed on your mind? That is not the right way of ascertaining. It is easy to be deceived at this point, for Satan can deeply impress the mind and stir the emotions, and when it serves his purpose employ the very words of Scripture, as he did when tempting the Saviour Himself. No, it is by some other, some surer way than that, you must determine your spiritual state.
Whether or not the Gospel has come to me “in power and in the Holy Spirit” is to be ascertained by the effects produced in me: not transient effects, but permanent; not simply in my consciousness, but in my life. If the Gospel has come to me “in power,” it has made me realize that I am a lost sinner—guilty and undone—it has made me realize that I can do nothing to save myself, nothing which can win God’s favour. If the Gospel has come to me “in power,” it has shut me up to Christ! It has not only revealed my dire need of Him, but has shown me how perfectly suited He is to my case, and how ready and willing He is to cleanse me from my sins and to heal my wounds. If the Gospel has come to me “in power,” it has made me come to Christ as an empty-handed beggar, casting myself on His mercy, and closing with His gracious offer to receive and by no means cast me out. If I have done this, it matters not an iota whether some particular verse of Scripture has been deeply impressed on my mind or not.
In the same way we may arrive at a well-grounded assurance of our acceptance with God. There are some who can testify that for a long season they remained in Doubting Castle, wondering whether they were the children of God or whether they were not. When suddenly the Lord spoke those words to their troubled souls, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love.” That text came to them with such sweetness and power, that their soul was quite melted down and all their fears were removed. But there are many gracious souls who have never shared this experience: no specific verse of Scripture has been impressed upon them, discovering that they are the Lord’s. Are we then to assume, must they conclude, that the absence of such an experience is proof they are yet in a state of nature? By no means. Yea, we go further: a Scripturally grounded assurance must rest upon a surer foundation than that, one that is less variable and more durable.
However powerfully a verse may be impressed on the mind, that impression will gradually fade. However sweet and melting may be the accompanying effect, it will not remain with us. Frames and feelings are but evanescent, and Satan may be the inspirer of them. The Scriptural method for obtaining assurance is for us to prayerfully and impartially examine and test ourselves by the Word of God, to see whether or not we bear in ourselves those marks by which God’s children are described and may be identified: such as mourning over sin, hungering after righteousness, grieving over unbelief, longing for conformity to Christ’s image, separation from the world, walking in the way of God’s commandments, distrust of self, praying daily for Divine grace. “The testimony of an enlightened conscience, judging by the Word of God, and deciding in our favour, that by His grace we have been enabled to take up the yoke of Christ, is in some respects a more satisfactory evidence that we are His and He is ours, than if an angel were sent from Heaven to tell us that our names are written in the Book of Life” (John Newton).
But let us not be misunderstood about what we have said above. Most certainly we do not deny that many of God’s people have had verses of Scripture powerfully impressed upon their minds, nor is it our purpose here to discount the value and comfort of such an experience. No; rather do we desire to point out the tendency of many to ascribe a greater virtue to them than they justly possess, and to warn against some of the dangers attaching thereto. We have met those who attributed more importance to inward impressions than they did to outward walking in God’s precepts—who would rather have a verse of Scripture laid with power on their mind than to have its spiritual meaning opened to their understanding—who placed a higher value on the comfort they received from some promise being spoken to them than they did of grace being given to deny self, take up the cross and follow Christ outside the camp.
If you ask some professing Christians, who are thoroughly carnal and worldly, what is the ground of their hope for eternity, they will tell you they have no fear of the judgment to come because at such and such a time a certain Scripture was “given to” or “spoken to” them, and on that impression they rest, without knowing anything personally and experimentally of the sanctifying operations of the Holy Spirit. We have no hesitation in saying that such people have been misled by their own deceitful hearts, or deluded by Satan posing as an angel of light. On the other hand, were we to approach some, whom charity requires us to account regenerated persons, yet who are altogether lacking in assurance and full of doubts, and inquire of them the ground of such fears about their state, they would answer, “I never have had a Scripture promise applied to me as other Christians have, and therefore I must conclude that I am not an heir to God’s promises.” These poor souls need to be taught the way of the Lord more perfectly.
That which we wish to particularly press upon the reader is the vital importance and imperative necessity of his faith resting upon a sure foundation: that sure foundation is the Word of God and not any painful convictions or happy feelings we may have experienced; not resting on some deep impressions on our mind of some passage of Scripture, but on the Scripture itself. It is not a question of how complete a discovery has been made to me of the plague of my heart or how utterly vile I see and feel myself to be, but have I really taken the place of a sinner before God which matters the most. It is not do I sufficiently feel my need of Christ or do I clearly enough discern His excellencies and suitability to my case, but have I betaken myself to the sinner’s Saviour and received Him as my own by a childlike faith? Nor is it the degree or strength of faith which renders it efficacious: no matter how weak it is, if it clings to the right Object it is sufficient.
Not only is there the danger of being deceived by Satan, and of resting our faith on a wrong foundation, but those who prize so highly these inward impressions generally turn for comfort to a fickle source. Even former experiences of God’s kindness and present marks of grace within the soul, while good in their place, are like marks on a sundial, which say nothing in a cloudy and dark day, say nothing when the sun shines not. If we would have our comfort rest on a solid and unchanging foundation, we must betake ourselves to immediate and direct believing, making Christ and His righteousness the sole ground of our peace. Happy feelings and evidences of grace are to be made matters of comfort only as they are agreeable to the unerring rule of God’s Word and as the Spirit breathes upon us, and by that Word in our heart bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God.
The tendency to draw a false inference from the absence of such inward impressions has been mentioned above, but let us now enlarge a little thereon. It is highly probable that God often withholds the sealing testimony of His Spirit from some souls, not because they are yet in a state of nature, but because they make an idol of comfortable feelings. The only sure ground of faith is the Word of God and the Truth there spoken, and not our feelings. Comfortable feeling is not to be expected before we believe the Word of promise. If we have any feeling of God’s love before our believing of His love, then we shall be foolish enough to build our faith upon transient frames and influences. Many do go wrong at this very point and build their faith on feelings of God’s love rather than upon what He has said, and as their feelings constantly fluctuate so does their faith. This is the reason why there is no stability in such: on the mountain-top one day, in the slough of despond the next.
God is jealous, and therefore does He often withhold the comforts of His Spirit until we give Him the glory of His Truth by believing His love as it is revealed in the Scriptures. The woman with the issue of blood had no sensible feeling of virtue coming from Christ until she touched the hem of His garment (Luke 8:43-48). Grieve not if a sense of the plague of your heart keeps you poor and needy, empty and humble: Christ and His fullness will then be the more precious. Remember it is God’s way to humble before He exalts. Not only has the Lord “heard the desire of the humble,” but the assurance is given, “Thou wilt establish their heart” (Psa. 10:17 margin). Blessed indeed is that promise, “He raiseth up the poor out of the dust, and lifteth the needy out of the dunghill; that He may set him with princes, even with the princes of His people” (Psa. 113:7, 8)—a promise which belongs to no wealthy, puffed up, and self-satisfied Laodicean.
God’s way of bringing home His promises to the hearts of His people varies considerably. If you are able to plead a promise and make it a matter of prayer before God, that is much to be thankful for. If the promise comes not to you, go you to the promise of the Word and carry it to the Throne of Grace. Say to the Lord, Here is a promise which is suited to my case: may it please Your gracious Majesty to set it on my heart to my comfort. Depend more on the promise itself than on any felt power and sensible influence in which it may come to you: the latter may vary, the former remains unchanged. God is most glorified when we go out of ourselves and rely wholly on what He is in Himself. Faith is strongest and healthiest when we live on bare promises without the supports of sense. Give God the credit for His veracity. Seek rest not in the streams of blessing and comfort, but in the Fountain.
When a looking and waiting for these inward impressions becomes the rule of duty, the ground of faith, and the foundation of comfort, the Word of God is grievously slighted, if not altogether set aside. A Divinely-given faith answers or responds to God’s faithfulness in the promise, just as it stands in the written Word, without expecting or looking for any further confirmation of the warrant of faith. But a faith which answers to something other than the bare Word of God—to some impressions of it on the mind with light and power—is a fanciful faith, for it makes these impressions and feelings the ground and warrant of believing. How justly may God deliver up to delusion those who make an idol of their feelings and refuse to rest directly on that Word of Truth in which alone the Divine faithfulness is pledged.
A Divinely-given faith perceives the naked promise of God, as it is proclaimed in the gracious call and free offer of the Gospel, to be a sure and sufficient foundation for faith to rest upon, without any powerful impressions of it on the mind. If such impressions and comforts are given, they are not looked upon as affording any better warrant or surer title to believe the promise than they had before, nor do the possessors of such faith regard impressions and feelings— no, not even if they are still further brought before them in a vision or dream—as rendering the promise more sure of accomplishment that it was previously as recorded in the Holy Scriptures. A faith which will not rest on God’s bare promise, which dare not meddle with it as it stands in the written Word until it has additional warrant from inward impressions, is a fanciful and worthless faith.
A Divinely-given faith stands not in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God; whereas a faith which has impressions for its foundation and comfortable feelings for its object, stands in the wisdom of the author of such impressions and feelings, whom we greatly fear is in many instances an evil spirit, who finding other methods unsuccessful transforms himself as an angel of light that he may delude the unwary. Satan is determined to be worshipped in one way or another, and if he cannot secure our homage through the grosser baits by which he catches others, he will make use of our convictions and emotions. When any impression of which he is the author is rested in, he has gained his object and attained his desire. It matters not to him whether wood or iron, silver or gold, or happy frames be our idol, so long as it be our idol.
A Divinely-given faith will honour God and His Word without impressions, comfortable feelings, or even the endorsement of reason—yea, against the dictates of reason. Such was the faith of Abraham, the father of all them that believe. For when God promised him a son in his old age, he “considered not his own body now dead, when he was about a hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sarah’s womb: he staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief, but was strong in faith, giving glory to God” (Rom. 4:19, 20). Such is the faith of God’s elect: not merely a fair-weather commodity, but a supernatural grace which surmounts the storm. But a faith which rests on impressions is extinguished as soon as the impression wears off: such a faiths fails its possessor in the cloudy and dark day, for its foundation is but a sandy and shifting one. Then look well, my reader, to your faith: to its origin, to the foundation it rests upon, to its enduring power.
N.B. How striking and blessed is it to observe the course followed by the Lord Jesus when He was tempted of Satan. Just previously an audible voice from Heaven had witnessed to His Divine Sonship, yet when the Devil assaulted Him, saying, “If Thou be the Son of God,” how did He repulse the Enemy’s attack? Not by saying, “I know that I am the Son of God because I have recently heard the voice of My Father testifying, ‘This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.’ ” No, He did not: instead, He had recourse to the written Word alone, saying, “It is written.” “It is written again,” “It is written!” And this, dear reader, was recorded for our instruction. Here, too, the Saviour has left His people an example that they should follow His steps.
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