Posted on Thursday, October 16, 2014 by Samuel
“Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:1 ESV)
And he said to them, “You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God. (Luke 16:15 ESV)
Augustine wrote, “It is not the being seen of men that is wrong, but doing these things for the purpose of being seen of men. The problem with the hypocrite is his motivation. He does not want to be holy; he only wants to seem to be holy. He is more concerned with his reputation for righteousness than about actually becoming righteous. The approbation of men matters more to him than the approval of God.” As a Christian, do you seek to avoid this obvious hypocrisy in your own life?
The Apostle John teaches us that if we believe and obey the gospel of Jesus Christ, we know that we abide in Christ and Christ in us. (1 John 3:24 ESV) We can believe and obey because God has given us His Holy Spirit. We may cast off the chain of sins and lies which made us hypocrites and be renewed after the image of our creator. (Colossians 3:7-10 ESV) We now live by faith in the Son of God. (Galatians 2:20 ESV) Continue reading →
Filed under: Bible, Christianity, Gospel, Holiness, Samuel A. Cain | Tagged: “the real deal”, faking it, Forgiveness, Hypocrisy | 1 Comment »
Posted on Wednesday, October 15, 2014 by Samuel
J.C. Ryle:
“Be very sure of this, – people never reject the Bible because they cannot understand it. They understand it only too well; they understand that it condemns their own behavior; they understand that it witnesses against their own sins, and summons them to judgment.”
Filed under: Bible, Bishop J. C. Ryle, sin | Tagged: Judgment | 4 Comments »
Posted on Tuesday, October 14, 2014 by Samuel
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8 ESV)
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6 ESV)
As Christians, we have faith in God to care for us and to do us good. We have faith that God exists. Our faith is demonstrated by facing the circumstances of life and trusting in the providential care of almighty God. Where does our faith come from? It is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8 ESV) We have faith in God because God has given us faith in Him. Our corrupted human nature has not only made us too weak, but also too blind to even know God on our own. Faith is a gift we have received by God’s amazing grace.
We are told that without faith it is impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6 ESV) This is because no one will ever come to God, unless he believes that God exists, and is also convinced that He rewards all who seek Him. Unless God preserves us in the true knowledge of Himself, we tend to forget who the true God is and begin to form idols of our own imaginations. Therefore, we must know truth if we are to have access to God. Continue reading →
Filed under: Bible, Christianity, Faith, God, Samuel A. Cain | Tagged: providential care, Seeking God, Spirit of God | 2 Comments »
Posted on Monday, October 13, 2014 by Samuel
Paul Washer:
As stewards of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we do no service to men by making light of sin, skirting around the issue, or avoiding it altogether. Men have only one problem: they are under the wrath of God because of their sin. To deny this is to deny one of the most foundational doctrines of Christianity. It is not unloving to tell men that they are sinners, but it is the grossest form of immorality not to tell them! In fact, God declares that their blood will be on our hands if we do not warn them of their sin and the coming judgment. To seek to preach the gospel without making sin an issue is like trying to heal the brokenness of people superficially, saying, “Peace, peace,” when there is no peace.”
Filed under: Christianity, Evil, Preaching, Repentance, sin | Tagged: Paul Washer | 5 Comments »
Posted on Sunday, October 12, 2014 by Samuel
Dr. James White:
Objections to irresistible grace are, by and large, actually objections to the previously established truths of the doctrines of grace. Obviously, if God is sovereign and freely and unconditionally elects a people unto salvation, and if man is dead in sin and enslaved to its power, God must be able to free those elect people in time and bring them to faith in Jesus Christ, and that by a grace that does not falter or depend upon human cooperation. Those who disbelieve God’s right to kingship over His creation or the deadness of man in sin and put forward the tradition of man’s autonomous will can hardly confess that God’s grace actually saves without the freewill cooperation of man. From their perspective, the autonomous act of human faith must determine God’s actions. That act of faith becomes the “foreseen” act that controls God’s very decree of predestination, and, of course, that act of faith becomes the “trigger” that results in one being born again. Continue reading →
Filed under: Christianity, Faith, Gospel, Grace, Salvation | Tagged: Debating Calvinism, Dr. James White, Irresistible grace | 3 Comments »
Posted on Saturday, October 11, 2014 by Samuel
Charles Spurgeon:
“My hope lives not because I am not a sinner, but because I am a sinner for whom Christ died; my trust is not that I am holy, but that being unholy, HE is my righteousness. My faith rests not upon what I am or shall be or feel or know, but in what Christ is, in what He has done, and in what He is now doing for me. Hallelujah!” (Morning and Evening)
Filed under: Charles H. Spurgeon, Christianity, Gospel, Hope, Jesus Christ, sin | Tagged: MORNING & EVENING, sinner | 2 Comments »
Posted on Friday, October 10, 2014 by Samuel
Jonathan Edwards:
Many of those things that are worshipped as gods are idols made by their worshippers: mere stocks and stones that know nothing. They are indeed made with ears, but they hear not the prayers of them that cry to them. They have eyes, but they see not, etc. Psa. 115:5, 6. — Others, though not the work of men’s hands, yet are things without life. Thus, many worship the sun, moon, and stars, which though glorious creatures, yet are not capable of knowing anything of the wants and desires of those who pray to them. — Some worship certain kinds of animals, as the Egyptians were wont to worship bulls, which though not without life, yet are destitute of that reason whereby they would be capable of knowing the requests of their worshippers. Others worship devils instead of the true God. 1 Cor. 10:20, “but I say, that the things 
which the Gentiles sacrifice, they sacrifice to devils.” These, though beings of great power, have not knowledge necessary to capacitate them fully to understand the state, circumstances, necessities, and desires of those who pray to them. But the true God perfectly knows the circumstances of everyone that prays to him throughout the world. Though millions pray to him at once, in different parts of the world, it is no more difficult for him who is infinite in knowledge, to take notice of all than of one alone. God is so perfect in knowledge, that he does not need to be informed by us in order to have knowledge of our wants, for he know what things we need before we ask him. The worshippers of false gods were wont to lift their voices and cry aloud, lest their gods should fail of hearing them, as Elijah tauntingly bid the worshippers of Baal [to] do, 1 Kin. 18:27. But the true God hears the silent petitions of his people. He needs not that we should cry aloud: yea, he knows and perfectly understands when we only pray in our hearts, as Hannah did, 1 Sam. 1:13.
Filed under: Bible, Christianity, God, Jonathan Edwards, Worship | Tagged: devils, idols, Prayer | 2 Comments »
Posted on Thursday, October 9, 2014 by Samuel
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:10-12 ESV)
There are times in life when we face opposition. This opposition may consist of personal antagonism or even hostility. People may disagree with us and try to obstruct our plans. They may challenge our character in order to raise disapproval toward us and our motives. Take up God’s cause on any issue and our old adversary, the devil, will raise his head in resistance.
The great English evangelist George Whitefield (1714-1770) experienced this many times in his life. Whitefield sought to honor God even when he was falsely accused by his enemies. On one occasion, Whitefield received a malicious letter accusing him of wrongdoing. He replied, “I thank you heartily for your letter. As for what you and my other enemies are saying against me, I know worse things about myself than you will ever say about me. With love in Christ, George Whitefield.” He offered no defense because he was seeking to please God – not men.
Jesus Christ faced continuous opposition during His ministry on earth. He taught His followers to expect opposition as well. Jesus said: Continue reading →
Filed under: Bible, Christianity, Evil, Gospel, Samuel A. Cain | Tagged: George Whitefield, Nehemiah, opposition | 1 Comment »
Posted on Wednesday, October 8, 2014 by Samuel
Bill Farley:
“Those who understand the cross increasingly see their sin as God does, and therefore begin to feel about sin as does God. We begin to mourn for and hate it. In other words, at the cross God becomes larger and we become smaller. This separation is at the heart of the fear of God. This “fear” opens God’s wisdom to us because only in light of God’s immensity can I see the importance of living for the right end, his glory. And only in the light of my smallness can I feel overawed by the means he used to save me, his cross.” (Outrageous Mercy: Rediscovering the Radical Nature of the Cross, 139-140)
Filed under: Christianity, God, Gospel, sin, The Cross of Christ | Tagged: Bill Farley, Outrageous Mercy: Rediscovering the Radical Nature of the Cross | 1 Comment »
Posted on Tuesday, October 7, 2014 by Samuel
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a desire fulfilled is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12 ESV)
Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation and my God. (Psalm 43:5 ESV)
Life apart from Jesus Christ is a life without hope in God. We all need hope. Hope gives us a future to look forward to. The circumstances of our lives, however, often make that future impossible to imagine. I think most people experience times when they feel no hope. Sometimes, it seems as if the experience of hopelessness goes on and on. Sometimes, you feel as if it is dragging you to your grave.
Loss of hope may be the result of bad choices. Hopelessness may be caused by disastrous circumstances which have erupted in your life which you cannot control. There are emotional conflicts with the people around you at work or at home which often throw your life into chaos. I think most of us would prefer to live positive and upbeat lives. Yet, most of us have experienced a season of hopelessness in our lives. Continue reading →
Filed under: Bible, Christianity, Hope, Jesus Christ, Samuel A. Cain | Tagged: anchor of the soul, hopelessness | 2 Comments »
Posted on Monday, October 6, 2014 by Samuel
John Flavel:
It is the great support and solace of the saints in all the distresses that befall them here, that there is a wise Spirit sitting in all the wheels of motion, and governing the most eccentric creatures and their most pernicious designs to blessed and happy issues.
Filed under: Christianity, God, Grace, Providence, Sovereignty | Tagged: comfort, John Flavel | 1 Comment »
Posted on Sunday, October 5, 2014 by Samuel
Billy Graham:
“When we preach or teach the Scriptures, we open the door for the Holy Spirit to do His work. God has not promised to bless oratory or clever preaching. He has promised to bless His Word.”
Filed under: Bible, Christianity, Gospel, Preaching | Tagged: Billy Graham | 2 Comments »
Posted on Saturday, October 4, 2014 by Samuel
Charles H. Spurgeon:
“Men may change their churches and only change their refuge of lies. But if they come to Christ, whatever church they are in, if they have found Him and are trusting in Him and in Him, alone, their peace will be like a river and their righteousness as the waves of the sea!” (1892, Sermon #2271)
Filed under: Charles H. Spurgeon, Christianity, Church, Jesus Christ | 2 Comments »
Posted on Friday, October 3, 2014 by Samuel
Steve Lawson:
“The demands of following Christ will cost you everything. But you gain far more than you give up. You give up dirt for diamonds.”
Filed under: Christianity, Jesus Christ, Samuel at Gilgal, Truth | Tagged: Steve Lawson | 1 Comment »
Posted on Thursday, October 2, 2014 by Samuel
Even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, (Ephesians 1:4-5 ESV)
As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.” (1 Peter 1:14-16 ESV)
God is holy and therefore, is not apathetic about sin. Because God is holy, He cannot be appeased by the sinner’s own works. The God of the Bible takes sin so seriously that our own efforts cannot erase the guilt of our sin. Only a holy God can deal with it. The example of the holiness we need in our lives was found in the life of Christ. In Christ we have the holiness of the invisible God lived out in human life, conduct, and character. Through the atoning work of Jesus Christ, God has forgiven our sins that we may take part in His holiness.
Salvation is in Christ. If you are saved, it is because God has forgiven you and imparted to you the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Continue reading →
Filed under: Bible, Christianity, Grace, Holiness, Samuel A. Cain | Tagged: natural man, Salvation, Sin | 5 Comments »
Samuel at Gilgal 