Paths of Disappointment # 2
What shall it profit a man if he be a great farmer and know not Jesus, the Sower and Lord of Harvests? What shall it profit a man if he be a great florist and know not Jesus, the Rose of Sharon? What shall it profit a man if he be a great geologist and know not Jesus, the Rock of Ages? What shall it profit a man if he be a great astronomer and know not Jesus, the Star of Bethlehem? What shall it profit a man if he be a great horticulturist and know not Jesus, the True Vine? What shall it profit a man if he be a great judge and know not Jesus, the Righteous Judge? What shall it profit a man if he be a great jurist and know not Jesus, the True Witness? What shall it profit a man if he be a great jeweler and know not Jesus, the Pearl of Great Price? What shall it profit a man if he be a great philanthropist and know not Jesus, the Unspeakable Gift? What shall it profit a man if he be a great lawyer and know not Jesus, the Sinner's Advocate? What shall it profit a man if he be a great philosopher and know not Jesus, the Wisdom of God? What shall it profit a man if he be a great sculptor and know not Jesus, the Living Stone? What shall it profit a man if he be a great student and know not Jesus, the Incarnate Truth? What shall it profit a man if he be a great sinner and know not Jesus, the Lamb of God?
Mere human wisdom never satisfies. Even if we knew all things, there are many things we never would and never could know. Millions of things we do not know. Write down all we know and it will be a small volume. Write down all we do not know of things in the heavens and things in the earth and things under the earth, it would be a large library of many shelves and many large volumes.
But even if we knew all that there is to know in the realm of human knowledge, it would be a path of disappointment if, in knowing so much, we did not learn the two things most worth knowing.
Man in the course of his life, lays down one world after another. First, the infant's world of toys is abandoned. Second, the boy's world of games, amusements. So also the youth's world of schemes, enterprises, the dreams of progress and wealth. The path of disappointment is the path of human wisdom that excludes the things best worth knowing and most worth knowing.
Solomon sought experience and found disappointment in:
II. The Path of Wine
"I sought in mine heart, to give myself unto wine, yet acquainting mine heart with wisdom; till I might see what was that good for the sons of men, which they should do under the heaven all the days of their life" (Ecc. 2:3).
Having tried the path of earthly knowledge and wisdom and failing to find and get guest room in the house of happiness, Solomon next turns to wine. "Wine maketh glad the heart" (Psalm 104:15). And so we hear him saying, "Come, now, I will prove thee with mirth, therefore enjoy thou pleasure" - that is, the pleasures wine is supposed to give. So Solomon "descends to the realm of the purely physical to cheer his flesh with wine."
I don't think he "descended to the low plain of sordid drunkenness," for he said, "I...give myself to wine, yet acquainting my heart with wisdom." Doubtless Solomon was not in the gutter. Doubtless he never did some of the fool things men do when they get under the influence of wine.
"Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? Who hath contentions? Who hath babbling? Who hath wounds without cause? Who hath redness of eyes? They that tarry long at the wine; they that go to seek mixed wine. Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright. At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder. Thine eyes shall behold strange women, and thine heart shall utter perverse things. Yea, thou shalt be as he that lieth down in the midst of the sea, or as he that lieth upon the top of the mast. They have stricken me, shalt thou say, and I was not sick - they have beaten me, and I felt it not; when shall I awake? I will seek it yet again" (Proverbs 23:29-35).
He discovered for himself and transmitted to future generations the bitterness of that experience and observation which finds in the dregs of the sparkling cup, the sting of the adder, the poison of the serpent!
Solomon, while doubtless never a debased drunkard, "learned the ropes" of the wine realm. And the warnings he has put out against the bottle are vivid and true warnings.
Now the follies of the wine realm are still with us. The bitter fruit of the wine press is with us. The sins of the wine cup are rampant. There is the wine domination of certain social circles. There is the wine domination of certain customs.
"There is the wine iniquity of certain political institutions, parties, and governments. Perhaps no factor in American life has dealt with a more arrogant hand. Perhaps no factor in our American life has carried a mightier weight of influence in social, commercial political life than the wine business - the iniquitous whiskey business, the business without a conscience, the business without a care for the welfare of others."
But I am not to speak much of the drink business as a national curse, but an in individual curse, blight, and enormous sin. With many, what is the high mark of sociability today? The offer and the acceptance of the invitation to "have a drink!"
~Robert G. Lee~
(continued with # 3)
Saturday, April 27, 2019
Paths of Disappointment # 1
Paths of Disappointment # 1
"Vanity of vanities; all is vanity" (Ecc. 1:2)
Thirty-seven times the word "vanity" occurs in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Moreover, vanity is the key word of the Book of Ecclesiastes - the keynote to its dirge-like message.
"Vanity of vanities...All is vanity!" Now these words are not due to a fit of temporary depression. They are not given utterance because of some passing adverse circumstance. They were not born of the quick and passing bitterness begotten by the foul play of some friend who turned traitor. Subtle pride did not prompt this language of Solomon. They are, according to our judgment, the result of experience arrived at after mature and deliberate thought.
They are not the words of a man who walked a few paths, but the words of a man who walked many paths. Nor the words of one bored with the routine of some prosaic task. Nor the words of a man whose courage failed in some steep ascent of toil. Nor the words of one in rebellion against the tortures of some couch of pain.
Rather let us say that these are the words of one who sailed over many seas of human experience and made, with deliberate care, special notes and charts of his voyages. Words they are of one who drank of every cup and wrote a label for each. And in these words Solomon the wise, Solomon the rich, Solomon the mighty, has left the testimony that even a king could not find and cannot find genuine satisfaction in things finite, in things perishing, in things of the earth.
By what path shall I go to find the home of perfect happiness? Which road must I take to compass heart satisfaction? What must i do to find contentment: What must I do to have a "good time?" What must I do to be superior to the habitations in which I am domiciled? What must I do to have the merry heart within the stern war of things? What must I do to know the intoxication of pleasure without the dissipation of the soul's finest resources?
In answer, Solomon tried out five paths leaving each, discarding each in turn, until he cried over the grave of all disappointed hopes, as his life's fair morning died in dark sunset, "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity!" And these five paths, which he tried out and traveled over and found paths of disappointment, do men try out and travel over today.
And these five paths are the only paths which men try. These five paths compass all the experiences and all the imaginations of men.
Let us be content to give these five paths telescopic observation, for we shall not have time to give them microscopic scrutiny. May the instruction thereof be received. May the warning therein be heeded.
1. The Path of Wisdom
"I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly" (Ecc. 1:17). Solomon knew everything as nearly as mortal man could know everything. His was no capsule brain capable of tidbits only. He was a scientist. He was a philosopher. He was a moralist and a historian. He was a publicist and a poet. He had a mind trained to observe, to meditate.
But with all this, he missed the one essential and found no rest for his heart. It is he, this great Solomon with all his glory, who, after roaming through all the realms of thoughts and imagination, of human wisdom and human knowledge, cried "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity."
"And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly; I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit" (Ecc. 1:17).
Once a man traveled a long way, a journey of many miles, to interview a distinguished scholar. The butler ushered him in, upon the presentation of his card, into the study of the great scholar. He was cordially greeted. Before seating himself he asked this question of the noted scholar:
"Doctor, I have come a long way to ask you just one question. I observe that the walls of your room are filled with books. This room is literally lined with them from ceiling to floor. I supposed you have read them all. I know you have written many books. You have traveled the world over; you have held intimate converse with the world's wisest men - its leaders of thought, its creators of opinion. Tell me, if you will, after the years you have spent in study, out of the things you have learned, what is the one thing best worth knowing?"
The great scholar's face flushed with emotion. He placed, with clumsy gentleness, both hands over the hands of his caller. And he said:
"My dear sir, out of all the things I have learned there are only two lessons best worth knowing. The first is, I am a great sinner. The second is, Jesus Christ is a great Saviour. In the knowledge of these two facts are applied in my own personal experience lies all my happiness and all my hopes!"
Thus we learn in that man's answer, in many ways, that men may know some things and not the best things - the things best worth knowing. Thus we see that men may treasure rags and throw away treasures. Yes, though many many not see it, a man may know all about the rocks, and his heart be as hard as they. A man may know all about the winds and his life be swept by passions fiercer than they. A man may know all about the tides and the seas, and his life resemble their troubled waters that rest not and know no peace. A man may know all about light - the light of showers of meteors, the light of phosphorus, the light of millions of stars, the light of the moon when it hangs like a sickle, candle light, lamp light, electric light, the light of the aurora borealis - and not know Jesus who said "I am the Light of the world." A man may know all about roads in the country, roads in the jungle, roads through burning deserts, and not know Jesus who said, "i am the way."
All of which brings us to say, to ask, what shall it profit a man if he be a great artist and know not Jesus, the one altogether lovely? What shall it profit a man if he be a great architect and know not Jesus, the Chief Corner Stone? What shall it profit a man if he be a great baker and know not Jesus, the Living Bread? What shall it profit a man if he be a great banker and know not Jesus, the Priceless Possession? What shall it profit a man if he be a great biologist and know not Jesus, the Life? What shall it profit a man if he be a great builder and know not Jesus, the Sure Foundation? What shall it profit a man if he be a great carpenter and know not Jesus, the Door? What shall it profit a man if he be a great doctor and know not Jesus, the Great Physician? What shall it profit a man if he be a great educator and know not Jesus, the Teacher? What shall it profit a man if he be a great engineer and know not Jesus, the New and Living Way?
~Robert G. Lee~
(continued with # 2)
"Vanity of vanities; all is vanity" (Ecc. 1:2)
Thirty-seven times the word "vanity" occurs in the Book of Ecclesiastes. Moreover, vanity is the key word of the Book of Ecclesiastes - the keynote to its dirge-like message.
"Vanity of vanities...All is vanity!" Now these words are not due to a fit of temporary depression. They are not given utterance because of some passing adverse circumstance. They were not born of the quick and passing bitterness begotten by the foul play of some friend who turned traitor. Subtle pride did not prompt this language of Solomon. They are, according to our judgment, the result of experience arrived at after mature and deliberate thought.
They are not the words of a man who walked a few paths, but the words of a man who walked many paths. Nor the words of one bored with the routine of some prosaic task. Nor the words of a man whose courage failed in some steep ascent of toil. Nor the words of one in rebellion against the tortures of some couch of pain.
Rather let us say that these are the words of one who sailed over many seas of human experience and made, with deliberate care, special notes and charts of his voyages. Words they are of one who drank of every cup and wrote a label for each. And in these words Solomon the wise, Solomon the rich, Solomon the mighty, has left the testimony that even a king could not find and cannot find genuine satisfaction in things finite, in things perishing, in things of the earth.
By what path shall I go to find the home of perfect happiness? Which road must I take to compass heart satisfaction? What must i do to find contentment: What must I do to have a "good time?" What must I do to be superior to the habitations in which I am domiciled? What must I do to have the merry heart within the stern war of things? What must I do to know the intoxication of pleasure without the dissipation of the soul's finest resources?
In answer, Solomon tried out five paths leaving each, discarding each in turn, until he cried over the grave of all disappointed hopes, as his life's fair morning died in dark sunset, "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity!" And these five paths, which he tried out and traveled over and found paths of disappointment, do men try out and travel over today.
And these five paths are the only paths which men try. These five paths compass all the experiences and all the imaginations of men.
Let us be content to give these five paths telescopic observation, for we shall not have time to give them microscopic scrutiny. May the instruction thereof be received. May the warning therein be heeded.
1. The Path of Wisdom
"I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly" (Ecc. 1:17). Solomon knew everything as nearly as mortal man could know everything. His was no capsule brain capable of tidbits only. He was a scientist. He was a philosopher. He was a moralist and a historian. He was a publicist and a poet. He had a mind trained to observe, to meditate.
But with all this, he missed the one essential and found no rest for his heart. It is he, this great Solomon with all his glory, who, after roaming through all the realms of thoughts and imagination, of human wisdom and human knowledge, cried "Vanity of vanities; all is vanity."
"And I gave my heart to know wisdom, and to know madness and folly; I perceived that this also is vexation of spirit" (Ecc. 1:17).
Once a man traveled a long way, a journey of many miles, to interview a distinguished scholar. The butler ushered him in, upon the presentation of his card, into the study of the great scholar. He was cordially greeted. Before seating himself he asked this question of the noted scholar:
"Doctor, I have come a long way to ask you just one question. I observe that the walls of your room are filled with books. This room is literally lined with them from ceiling to floor. I supposed you have read them all. I know you have written many books. You have traveled the world over; you have held intimate converse with the world's wisest men - its leaders of thought, its creators of opinion. Tell me, if you will, after the years you have spent in study, out of the things you have learned, what is the one thing best worth knowing?"
The great scholar's face flushed with emotion. He placed, with clumsy gentleness, both hands over the hands of his caller. And he said:
"My dear sir, out of all the things I have learned there are only two lessons best worth knowing. The first is, I am a great sinner. The second is, Jesus Christ is a great Saviour. In the knowledge of these two facts are applied in my own personal experience lies all my happiness and all my hopes!"
Thus we learn in that man's answer, in many ways, that men may know some things and not the best things - the things best worth knowing. Thus we see that men may treasure rags and throw away treasures. Yes, though many many not see it, a man may know all about the rocks, and his heart be as hard as they. A man may know all about the winds and his life be swept by passions fiercer than they. A man may know all about the tides and the seas, and his life resemble their troubled waters that rest not and know no peace. A man may know all about light - the light of showers of meteors, the light of phosphorus, the light of millions of stars, the light of the moon when it hangs like a sickle, candle light, lamp light, electric light, the light of the aurora borealis - and not know Jesus who said "I am the Light of the world." A man may know all about roads in the country, roads in the jungle, roads through burning deserts, and not know Jesus who said, "i am the way."
All of which brings us to say, to ask, what shall it profit a man if he be a great artist and know not Jesus, the one altogether lovely? What shall it profit a man if he be a great architect and know not Jesus, the Chief Corner Stone? What shall it profit a man if he be a great baker and know not Jesus, the Living Bread? What shall it profit a man if he be a great banker and know not Jesus, the Priceless Possession? What shall it profit a man if he be a great biologist and know not Jesus, the Life? What shall it profit a man if he be a great builder and know not Jesus, the Sure Foundation? What shall it profit a man if he be a great carpenter and know not Jesus, the Door? What shall it profit a man if he be a great doctor and know not Jesus, the Great Physician? What shall it profit a man if he be a great educator and know not Jesus, the Teacher? What shall it profit a man if he be a great engineer and know not Jesus, the New and Living Way?
~Robert G. Lee~
(continued with # 2)
Saturday, April 20, 2019
Classic Quotes From Classic Ministers
Classic Quotes From Classic Ministers
Market-Driven Christianity
(Don Fortner)
"Am I now trying to win the approval of men--or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men--I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10
Religion in America is big business. Scads of money, powerful personalities, huge egos, and positions of prominence, influence, and recognition are at stake in the business of religion, just as they are in any other business. There was a time when the concern of churches and preachers in this country was the glory of God and the truth of God. Today, like any business, the concern is for success.
Christianity today is market-driven. The goal of all marketing is to make both the buyer and the seller satisfied. Consequently, market-driven churches, in utter abandonment of God's glory and God's truth, in their insatiable quest for success and recognition--do whatever it takes to win customers and keep them.
Be warned! False doctrine and worldliness always go hand in hand. Worldliness usually leads the way. The early modernists did not aim at destroying biblical Christianity. They simply tried to make Christianity palatable to an unbelieving world. It cannot be done. When Christianity becomes acceptable to unregenerate people--it has ceased to be Christianity!
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing!" 1 Corinthians 1:18
__________________________
Market-Driven Christianity
(Don Fortner)
"Am I now trying to win the approval of men--or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men--I would not be a servant of Christ." Galatians 1:10
Religion in America is big business. Scads of money, powerful personalities, huge egos, and positions of prominence, influence, and recognition are at stake in the business of religion, just as they are in any other business. There was a time when the concern of churches and preachers in this country was the glory of God and the truth of God. Today, like any business, the concern is for success.
Christianity today is market-driven. The goal of all marketing is to make both the buyer and the seller satisfied. Consequently, market-driven churches, in utter abandonment of God's glory and God's truth, in their insatiable quest for success and recognition--do whatever it takes to win customers and keep them.
Be warned! False doctrine and worldliness always go hand in hand. Worldliness usually leads the way. The early modernists did not aim at destroying biblical Christianity. They simply tried to make Christianity palatable to an unbelieving world. It cannot be done. When Christianity becomes acceptable to unregenerate people--it has ceased to be Christianity!
"For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing!" 1 Corinthians 1:18
__________________________
BIBLE MEDITATION:
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is He that is in you, than he that is in the world. 1 John 4:4
DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT:
The One who created the valley is there with you! He has prepared the way through the valley. It is not a place of permanence, but a place of passage. He knows every twist and turn, every changing shadow, every den where danger lurks—that One is with you!
Focus on the light and not the darkness. God has made you to walk through shadows. When the shadow approaches, you must walk through. The One greater than death is in you! He is your Jehovah-Shammah—the Lord ever-present. His grace is greater. His peace is purer. His devotion is dearer. Where Satan casts a shadow, our Sovereign Lord reigns supreme.
ACTION POINT:
This is a day of hope. Meditate on 1 John 4:4 throughout the day and ask God to give you a divine appointment to share this beloved truth with someone today.
~Adrian Rogers~
__________________________
When Others Fail Us
A disappointing friendship is one area of life that causes great distress. Companionship is one of our essential needs, and when friends fail us, we feel wounded, rejected, and alone. We’ve probably all experienced this to one degree or another, and the apostle Paul was no exception.
Although he’d surrounded himself with friends and had sacrificed greatly to take the gospel throughout the Roman world, when Paul neared the end of his life, he was basically alone. As he spent his last days in prison, only Luke was with him.
Some of the apostle’s friends were ministering in other parts of the world, but others, like Demas, had deserted him. When Paul stood at his preliminary trial, no one supported him. In fact, everyone had abandoned him. To associate with Paul at this point was risky.
It would have been understandable for Paul to complain about friends who’d let him down in his time of need. But instead, he displayed a forgiving spirit by saying, “May it not be counted against them” (2 Timothy 4:16). Although betrayal or abandonment hurts, we will never heal if we yield to bitterness and resentment. Forgiveness is our only solution.
Like Paul, we need an eternal perspective when facing disappointment. Nothing comes into our life without first passing through the hands of our heavenly Father, and no experience of ours is wasted. His ways may not make sense to us, but He uses every painful situation to accomplish His will in our life—and He’ll walk through it with us.
~Dr/ Charles F. Stanley~
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Lord, Teach Us To Pray # 3
Lord, Teach Us To Pray # 3
Praying in Humility
How many people pray in a real sense? How many people pray in humility and truth? Some men pray for humility when it is pride they want. Many a man gets down on his knees and says, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name: Thy kingdom come -" (Matt. 6:9). That is not so; they don't want God's kingdom to come. It is not so with half the people that pray. I say to you when you pray in the church pew and say that, it don't count a snap of my finger if you don't live it. You pray, "Thy kingdom come," and then you go out and do something to prevent that kingdom from coming. No man can get down and pray, "The kingdom come," and have a beer wagon back up to his door and put beer in the ice box. No man can get down on his knees and pray, "Thy kingdom come," and look through the bottom of a beer glass. God won't stand for it. If you wanted God's will done you would do God's will, even if it took every drop of blood in your body to do it.
"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." When you say this in your pew on Sunday it means nothing unless you live it on Monday. You say "Thy kingdom come,"and then go out and do the very thing that will prevent God's kingdom from coming. Your prayers or anything you do in the church on Sunday mean nothing if you don't do the same thing in business on Monday. I don't care how loud your wind-jamming in prayer- meeting may be if you go out and skin somebody in a horse deal the next day.
The man who truly prays, "Thy kingdom come," cannot take his heart out of his prayer when he is out of the church. The man who truly prays "Thy kingdom come" will not be shrinking his measures at the store; the load of coal he sends to you won't be half slate. The man who truly prays "Thy kingdom come" won't cut off his yardstick when he measures you a piece of calico. It will not take the pure-food law to keep a man who truly prays "Thy kingdom come" from putting chalk in the flour, sand in the sugar, brick dust in red pepper, ground peanut shells in breakfast food!
A lot of church members are praying wrong. You should pray first, "God be merciful to me a sinner," and than, "Thy kingdom come."
Saying a prayer is one thing: doing God's will is another. Both should be synonymous. Angels are angels because they do God's will. When they refuse to do God's will they become devils.
Many a man prays when he gets in a hole. Many a man prays when he is up against it. Many a man prays in the time of trouble, but when he can stick his thumbs in his armholes (swagger) and take a pair of scissors and cut his coupons off (collect his interest), then it is Goodbye, God; I'll see you later." Many a man will make promises to God in his extremity, but forget them in his prosperity. Many a man will make promises to God when the hearse is backed up to the door to carry a baby out, but will soon forget the promises made in the days of adversity. Many a man will make promises when lying on his back, thinking he is going to die, and load up just the same when he is on his feet.
Men of Prayer
Every man and every woman that God has used to halt this sin-cursed world and set it going Godward has been a Christian of prayer. Martin Luther arose from his bed and prayed all night, and when the break of day came he called his wife and said to her, "It has come." History records that on that very day King Charles granted religious toleration, a thing for which Luther had prayed.
John Knox, whom his queen feared more than any other man, was in such agony of prayer that he ran out into the street and fell on his face and cried, "O God, give me Scotland or I'll die!" And God gave him Scotland and not only that, he threw England in for good measure!
When Jonathan Edwards was about to preach his greatest sermon on "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God," he prayed for days, and when he stood before the congregation and preached it, men caught at the seats in their terror, and some fell to the floor, and the people cried out in their fear, "Mr. Edwards, tell us how we can be saved!"
The critical period of American history was between 1764 and 1789. There was no common coinage, no common defense. When the colonies sent men to a constitutional convention, Benjamin Franklin, rising with the weight of his four score years, asked that the convention open with prayer, and George Washington there sealed the bargain with God. In that winter in Valley Forge, Washington led his men in prayer and he got down on his knees to do it.
When the battle of Gettysburg was on, Lincoln, old Abe Lincoln, was on his knees with God, yes, he was on his knees from five o-clock in the afternoon till four o'clock in the morning, and Bishop Simpson was with him.
"And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13). No man can ever be saved without Jesus Christ. There's no way to God unless you come through Jesus Christ. It's Jesus Christ or nothing.
"Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1).
~Billy Sunday~
(The End)
Praying in Humility
How many people pray in a real sense? How many people pray in humility and truth? Some men pray for humility when it is pride they want. Many a man gets down on his knees and says, "Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name: Thy kingdom come -" (Matt. 6:9). That is not so; they don't want God's kingdom to come. It is not so with half the people that pray. I say to you when you pray in the church pew and say that, it don't count a snap of my finger if you don't live it. You pray, "Thy kingdom come," and then you go out and do something to prevent that kingdom from coming. No man can get down and pray, "The kingdom come," and have a beer wagon back up to his door and put beer in the ice box. No man can get down on his knees and pray, "Thy kingdom come," and look through the bottom of a beer glass. God won't stand for it. If you wanted God's will done you would do God's will, even if it took every drop of blood in your body to do it.
"Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven." When you say this in your pew on Sunday it means nothing unless you live it on Monday. You say "Thy kingdom come,"and then go out and do the very thing that will prevent God's kingdom from coming. Your prayers or anything you do in the church on Sunday mean nothing if you don't do the same thing in business on Monday. I don't care how loud your wind-jamming in prayer- meeting may be if you go out and skin somebody in a horse deal the next day.
The man who truly prays, "Thy kingdom come," cannot take his heart out of his prayer when he is out of the church. The man who truly prays "Thy kingdom come" will not be shrinking his measures at the store; the load of coal he sends to you won't be half slate. The man who truly prays "Thy kingdom come" won't cut off his yardstick when he measures you a piece of calico. It will not take the pure-food law to keep a man who truly prays "Thy kingdom come" from putting chalk in the flour, sand in the sugar, brick dust in red pepper, ground peanut shells in breakfast food!
A lot of church members are praying wrong. You should pray first, "God be merciful to me a sinner," and than, "Thy kingdom come."
Saying a prayer is one thing: doing God's will is another. Both should be synonymous. Angels are angels because they do God's will. When they refuse to do God's will they become devils.
Many a man prays when he gets in a hole. Many a man prays when he is up against it. Many a man prays in the time of trouble, but when he can stick his thumbs in his armholes (swagger) and take a pair of scissors and cut his coupons off (collect his interest), then it is Goodbye, God; I'll see you later." Many a man will make promises to God in his extremity, but forget them in his prosperity. Many a man will make promises to God when the hearse is backed up to the door to carry a baby out, but will soon forget the promises made in the days of adversity. Many a man will make promises when lying on his back, thinking he is going to die, and load up just the same when he is on his feet.
Men of Prayer
Every man and every woman that God has used to halt this sin-cursed world and set it going Godward has been a Christian of prayer. Martin Luther arose from his bed and prayed all night, and when the break of day came he called his wife and said to her, "It has come." History records that on that very day King Charles granted religious toleration, a thing for which Luther had prayed.
John Knox, whom his queen feared more than any other man, was in such agony of prayer that he ran out into the street and fell on his face and cried, "O God, give me Scotland or I'll die!" And God gave him Scotland and not only that, he threw England in for good measure!
When Jonathan Edwards was about to preach his greatest sermon on "Sinners in the hands of an Angry God," he prayed for days, and when he stood before the congregation and preached it, men caught at the seats in their terror, and some fell to the floor, and the people cried out in their fear, "Mr. Edwards, tell us how we can be saved!"
The critical period of American history was between 1764 and 1789. There was no common coinage, no common defense. When the colonies sent men to a constitutional convention, Benjamin Franklin, rising with the weight of his four score years, asked that the convention open with prayer, and George Washington there sealed the bargain with God. In that winter in Valley Forge, Washington led his men in prayer and he got down on his knees to do it.
When the battle of Gettysburg was on, Lincoln, old Abe Lincoln, was on his knees with God, yes, he was on his knees from five o-clock in the afternoon till four o'clock in the morning, and Bishop Simpson was with him.
"And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in My Name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son" (John 14:13). No man can ever be saved without Jesus Christ. There's no way to God unless you come through Jesus Christ. It's Jesus Christ or nothing.
"Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1).
~Billy Sunday~
(The End)
Saturday, April 13, 2019
Teach Us To Pray # 2
Teach Us To Pray # 2
Let us take a few examples from Christ. In Mark we learn that He rose up early in the morning and went out to a solitary place and prayed (1:35). He began every day with prayer. You never get up without dressing. You never forget to wash your face and comb your hair. You always think of breakfast. You feed your physical body. Why do you starve your spiritual body? If nine-tenths of you were as weak physically as you are spiritually, you couldn't walk. Seventh-tenths of professing Christians have no family prayers and do not read the Bible. It is no wonder boys and girls are going to hell. It is no wonder the damnable ball-rooms are wrecking the virtue of our girls.
In the fourteenth chapter of Matthew it is told that when Jesus had sent the multitudes away He went up into the mountain and was thee alone with God. Jesus Christ never forgot to thank God for answering His prayers. Jesus asked Him to help Him feed the multitude, and He didn't neglect to thank God for it. Next time you pray don't ask God for anything. Just try to think of all the things you have to be thankful for, and tell Him about them.
Pride Hinders Prayer
Pride keeps us from proper prayer. Being chesty and big-headed is responsible for more failures than anything else in this world. It has spoiled many a preacher, just as it has spoiled many an employee. Some fellows get a job and in about two weeks they think they know more about the business than the boss does. They think he is all wrong. It never occurs to them that it took some brains and some knowledge to build that business up and keep it running till they got there.
Here's two things to guard against. Don't get chesty over success, or discouraged over a seeming defeat.
"And when He prayed He said: "Lazarus, come forth; and he that was dead came forth" (John 11:43). If we prayed right we would raise men from sin and bring them forth into the light of righteousness.
"And as He prayed the fashion of his countenance was altered" (Luke 9:29). Ladies, do you want to look pretty? If some of you women would spend less on dope and cold cream and get down on your knees and pray, God would make you prettier. Why, I can look into your faces and tell what sort of lives you live. If you were devoting your time and thoughts to society, your countenances will show it. If you pray, I can see that!
Every man who has helped to light up the dark places of the world has been a praying man. I never preach a sermon until I've soaked it in prayer. Never. Then I never forget to thank God for helping me when I preach. I don't care whether you read your prayers out of a book or whether you just say them, so long as you mean them. A man can read his prayers and go to heaven, or he may just say his prayers and go to hell. We've got to face conditions. When I read I find that all the saintly men who have done things from Pentecost until today, have known how to pray. It was a master stroke of the devil when he got the church to give up prayer. One of the biggest farces today is the average prayer-meeting.
Praying In Secret
Matthew says, "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, which is in secret; and thy Father seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (Matt. 6:6).
Two men came to the Temple to pray (Luke 18:10) - the first was the Pharisee. He was nice and smooth, and his attitude was nice and smooth. He prayed: "God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican (tax collector). I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all I possess," and he went out. I can imagine a lot of people sitting around the church and saying: "That is my idea of religion; that is it. I am no sensationalist; I don't want anything vulgar, no slang." Why don't you use a little, bud, so that something will come your way? An it will come as straight as two and two make four.
Services rendered in such opposite directions cannot meet with the same results. If two men were on the top of a tall building and one should jump and one come down the fire escape they couldn't expect to meet with the same degree of safety. The Pharisee said, "Thank God, I am not as other men are," and the publican said, "God be merciful to me, a sinner." The first man went to his house the same as when he came out of it. "God be merciful to me, a sinner." That man was justified. I am justified in my faith in Jesus Christ. I am no longer a sinner. I am justified as though I had never sinned, by faith in the Son of God. That man went down to his house justified.
~Billy Sunday~
(continued with # 3)
Let us take a few examples from Christ. In Mark we learn that He rose up early in the morning and went out to a solitary place and prayed (1:35). He began every day with prayer. You never get up without dressing. You never forget to wash your face and comb your hair. You always think of breakfast. You feed your physical body. Why do you starve your spiritual body? If nine-tenths of you were as weak physically as you are spiritually, you couldn't walk. Seventh-tenths of professing Christians have no family prayers and do not read the Bible. It is no wonder boys and girls are going to hell. It is no wonder the damnable ball-rooms are wrecking the virtue of our girls.
In the fourteenth chapter of Matthew it is told that when Jesus had sent the multitudes away He went up into the mountain and was thee alone with God. Jesus Christ never forgot to thank God for answering His prayers. Jesus asked Him to help Him feed the multitude, and He didn't neglect to thank God for it. Next time you pray don't ask God for anything. Just try to think of all the things you have to be thankful for, and tell Him about them.
Pride Hinders Prayer
Pride keeps us from proper prayer. Being chesty and big-headed is responsible for more failures than anything else in this world. It has spoiled many a preacher, just as it has spoiled many an employee. Some fellows get a job and in about two weeks they think they know more about the business than the boss does. They think he is all wrong. It never occurs to them that it took some brains and some knowledge to build that business up and keep it running till they got there.
Here's two things to guard against. Don't get chesty over success, or discouraged over a seeming defeat.
"And when He prayed He said: "Lazarus, come forth; and he that was dead came forth" (John 11:43). If we prayed right we would raise men from sin and bring them forth into the light of righteousness.
"And as He prayed the fashion of his countenance was altered" (Luke 9:29). Ladies, do you want to look pretty? If some of you women would spend less on dope and cold cream and get down on your knees and pray, God would make you prettier. Why, I can look into your faces and tell what sort of lives you live. If you were devoting your time and thoughts to society, your countenances will show it. If you pray, I can see that!
Every man who has helped to light up the dark places of the world has been a praying man. I never preach a sermon until I've soaked it in prayer. Never. Then I never forget to thank God for helping me when I preach. I don't care whether you read your prayers out of a book or whether you just say them, so long as you mean them. A man can read his prayers and go to heaven, or he may just say his prayers and go to hell. We've got to face conditions. When I read I find that all the saintly men who have done things from Pentecost until today, have known how to pray. It was a master stroke of the devil when he got the church to give up prayer. One of the biggest farces today is the average prayer-meeting.
Praying In Secret
Matthew says, "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father, which is in secret; and thy Father seeth in secret shall reward thee openly" (Matt. 6:6).
Two men came to the Temple to pray (Luke 18:10) - the first was the Pharisee. He was nice and smooth, and his attitude was nice and smooth. He prayed: "God, I thank Thee that I am not as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this publican (tax collector). I fast twice in the week, I give tithes of all I possess," and he went out. I can imagine a lot of people sitting around the church and saying: "That is my idea of religion; that is it. I am no sensationalist; I don't want anything vulgar, no slang." Why don't you use a little, bud, so that something will come your way? An it will come as straight as two and two make four.
Services rendered in such opposite directions cannot meet with the same results. If two men were on the top of a tall building and one should jump and one come down the fire escape they couldn't expect to meet with the same degree of safety. The Pharisee said, "Thank God, I am not as other men are," and the publican said, "God be merciful to me, a sinner." The first man went to his house the same as when he came out of it. "God be merciful to me, a sinner." That man was justified. I am justified in my faith in Jesus Christ. I am no longer a sinner. I am justified as though I had never sinned, by faith in the Son of God. That man went down to his house justified.
~Billy Sunday~
(continued with # 3)
Teach Us To Pray # 1
Teach Us To Pray # 1
"Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1).
We live and develop physically by exercise. We are saved by faith, but we must work out our salvation by doing the things God wills. The more we do for God, the more God will do through us. Faith will increase by experience.
If you are a stranger to prayer you are a stranger to the greatest test source of power known to human beings. If we cared for our physical life in the same lackadaisical way that we care for our spiritual, we would be as weak physically as we are spiritually. You go week in and week out without prayer. I want to be a giant for God. You don't even sing; you let the choir do it. You go to prayer meetings and offer no testimony.
You are a stranger to the great privilege that is offered to human beings. Some of the greatest blessings that people enjoy come from prayer. In earnest prayer you think as the Lord directs, and lose yourself in Him.
Some people say: "It's no use to pray. The Lord knows everything anyway." That's true. He does. He is not limited, as I am limited. He knows everything and has known it since before the world was. We don't know everybody who is going to be converted at this revival, but that doesn't relieve us of our duty. We don't know, and we must do the work He has commanded us to do.
Others say: "But I don't get what I pray for." Well, there's a cause for everything. Get at the cause and you'll be all right. If you are sick and send for the doctor, he pays no attention to the disease, but looks at what produced it. If you have a headache, don't rub your forehead. In Matthew it is written, "Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you." If your prayers are not answered you are not right with God. If you have no faith, if your motive is wrong, then your prayers will be in vain. Many times when people pray they are selfish. They are not gripping the word. I believe that when many a wife prays for the conversion of her husband, it isn't because she really desires the salvation of his soul, but because she thinks if he were converted things would be easier for her personally. Pray for your neighbors as well as your own family. The pastor of one church does not pray for the congregation of another denomination. I'm not saying anything against denominations. I believe in them. I believe they are of God. Denominations represent different temperaments. A man with warm emotions would not make a good Episcopalian, but he would make a crackerjack Methodist. Oh, the curse of selfishness! The Church is dying for religion, for religion pure and undefiled. Pure religion and undefiled is visiting the widow and the fatherless (James 1:27) and doing the will of God without so much thought of yourself! I tell you, a lot of people are going to be fooled the Day of Judgment.
Isaiah says the hand of God is not shortened and His ear is not deaf (59:1). No, his hand is not shortened so that it cannot save. He has provided agencies by which we can be saved. If He had made no provision for your salvation, then the trouble would be with God, but He has, so if you go to hell the trouble will be with you!
In Ezekiel we read that men have taken idols into their hearts and put stumbling-blocks before their faces (14:3). God is not going to hear you if you place clothes, money, pride of relationship before Him. You know there is sin in your life. Many people know there is sin in their lives, yet ask God to bless them. They ought to get down on their knees and pray, "God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13).
Some people are too contemptibly stingy for God to hear them. God won't hear you if you stop your ears to the cries of the poor. You drag along here for three weeks and raise a paltry sum that a circus would take out of town in two hours. When they give things to the poor they rip off the buttons and the fine braid. Some people pick out old clothes that the moths have made into sieves and give them to the poor and think they are charitable. That isn't charity, no sir, it's charity when you'll give something you'll miss. It's charity when you feel it to give.
And when you stand praying, forgive if you have aught (anything) against anyone. It's no use to pray if you have a mean, miserable disposition, if you are grouchy, if you quarrel in your home or with your neighbors.
It's no use to pray for a blessing when you have a fuss on with your neighbors. It doesn't do any good. You go to a sewing society meeting to make mosquito netting for the Eskimo and blankets for the Hottentots, and instead you sit and chew the rag and rip some woman up the back. The spirit of God flees from strife and discord.
People say: "She is a good woman, but a worldly Christian." What? Might as well speak of a heavenly devil! Might as well expect a mummy to speak and bear children as that kind to move the world God-ward. Prayer draws you nearer to God.
Learning From Jesus
"Teach us to pray," implies that I want to be taught. It's a great privilege to be taught by Jesus. A friend of mine was preaching out in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and had to go to a hospital in Chicago for an operation, and I was asked to go and preach in his place. Alexander was leading the singing, and one night Charles (Butler) called a little girl out of the audience to sing. She didn't look over four or five years of age, though she might have been a little older. I thought, "What's the use? His little voice can never be heard over this crowd." But Charles stood her up in a chair by the pulpit and she threw back her head and out rolled some of the sweetest music I have ever heard. It was wonderful. I sat there and the tears streamed down my cheeks. That little girl was the daughter of a Northwestern engineer and he took her to Chicago when her mother was away. It was a great privilege that little girl had, but it's a greater privilege to learn from Jesus Christ how to pray.
~Billy Sunday~
(continued with # 2)
"Lord, teach us to pray" (Luke 11:1).
We live and develop physically by exercise. We are saved by faith, but we must work out our salvation by doing the things God wills. The more we do for God, the more God will do through us. Faith will increase by experience.
If you are a stranger to prayer you are a stranger to the greatest test source of power known to human beings. If we cared for our physical life in the same lackadaisical way that we care for our spiritual, we would be as weak physically as we are spiritually. You go week in and week out without prayer. I want to be a giant for God. You don't even sing; you let the choir do it. You go to prayer meetings and offer no testimony.
You are a stranger to the great privilege that is offered to human beings. Some of the greatest blessings that people enjoy come from prayer. In earnest prayer you think as the Lord directs, and lose yourself in Him.
Some people say: "It's no use to pray. The Lord knows everything anyway." That's true. He does. He is not limited, as I am limited. He knows everything and has known it since before the world was. We don't know everybody who is going to be converted at this revival, but that doesn't relieve us of our duty. We don't know, and we must do the work He has commanded us to do.
Others say: "But I don't get what I pray for." Well, there's a cause for everything. Get at the cause and you'll be all right. If you are sick and send for the doctor, he pays no attention to the disease, but looks at what produced it. If you have a headache, don't rub your forehead. In Matthew it is written, "Ask and it shall be given you; seek and ye shall find; knock and it shall be opened unto you." If your prayers are not answered you are not right with God. If you have no faith, if your motive is wrong, then your prayers will be in vain. Many times when people pray they are selfish. They are not gripping the word. I believe that when many a wife prays for the conversion of her husband, it isn't because she really desires the salvation of his soul, but because she thinks if he were converted things would be easier for her personally. Pray for your neighbors as well as your own family. The pastor of one church does not pray for the congregation of another denomination. I'm not saying anything against denominations. I believe in them. I believe they are of God. Denominations represent different temperaments. A man with warm emotions would not make a good Episcopalian, but he would make a crackerjack Methodist. Oh, the curse of selfishness! The Church is dying for religion, for religion pure and undefiled. Pure religion and undefiled is visiting the widow and the fatherless (James 1:27) and doing the will of God without so much thought of yourself! I tell you, a lot of people are going to be fooled the Day of Judgment.
Isaiah says the hand of God is not shortened and His ear is not deaf (59:1). No, his hand is not shortened so that it cannot save. He has provided agencies by which we can be saved. If He had made no provision for your salvation, then the trouble would be with God, but He has, so if you go to hell the trouble will be with you!
In Ezekiel we read that men have taken idols into their hearts and put stumbling-blocks before their faces (14:3). God is not going to hear you if you place clothes, money, pride of relationship before Him. You know there is sin in your life. Many people know there is sin in their lives, yet ask God to bless them. They ought to get down on their knees and pray, "God be merciful to me a sinner" (Luke 18:13).
Some people are too contemptibly stingy for God to hear them. God won't hear you if you stop your ears to the cries of the poor. You drag along here for three weeks and raise a paltry sum that a circus would take out of town in two hours. When they give things to the poor they rip off the buttons and the fine braid. Some people pick out old clothes that the moths have made into sieves and give them to the poor and think they are charitable. That isn't charity, no sir, it's charity when you'll give something you'll miss. It's charity when you feel it to give.
And when you stand praying, forgive if you have aught (anything) against anyone. It's no use to pray if you have a mean, miserable disposition, if you are grouchy, if you quarrel in your home or with your neighbors.
It's no use to pray for a blessing when you have a fuss on with your neighbors. It doesn't do any good. You go to a sewing society meeting to make mosquito netting for the Eskimo and blankets for the Hottentots, and instead you sit and chew the rag and rip some woman up the back. The spirit of God flees from strife and discord.
People say: "She is a good woman, but a worldly Christian." What? Might as well speak of a heavenly devil! Might as well expect a mummy to speak and bear children as that kind to move the world God-ward. Prayer draws you nearer to God.
Learning From Jesus
"Teach us to pray," implies that I want to be taught. It's a great privilege to be taught by Jesus. A friend of mine was preaching out in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and had to go to a hospital in Chicago for an operation, and I was asked to go and preach in his place. Alexander was leading the singing, and one night Charles (Butler) called a little girl out of the audience to sing. She didn't look over four or five years of age, though she might have been a little older. I thought, "What's the use? His little voice can never be heard over this crowd." But Charles stood her up in a chair by the pulpit and she threw back her head and out rolled some of the sweetest music I have ever heard. It was wonderful. I sat there and the tears streamed down my cheeks. That little girl was the daughter of a Northwestern engineer and he took her to Chicago when her mother was away. It was a great privilege that little girl had, but it's a greater privilege to learn from Jesus Christ how to pray.
~Billy Sunday~
(continued with # 2)
Saturday, April 6, 2019
Classic Quotes from Classic Ministers
Classic Quotes from Classic Ministers
This God is our God forever and ever!
("Every Day!" Author unknown)
"This God is our God forever and ever! He will be our Guide even unto death!" Psalm 48:14
Those who have fled for refuge to the hope set before them in the gospel, all who are living a life of faith--are privileged to say of the Lord, "This God is our God forever and ever!"
Believers are privileged to say that the God who has all power in Heaven and earth, whose understanding is infinite, who is good, and who does good continually: "This God is our God forever and ever!"
Believers are privileged to say the God of holiness, righteousness, and justice; the God of mercy, truth, and grace; the "just God and the Savior": "This God is our God forever and ever!"
Believers are privileged to say the God whose name and whose nature is love, and who has manifested His love toward us in sending His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him: "This God is our God forever and ever!"
Believers are privileged to say the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort; the Refuge of the oppressed, the Helper of the helpless, the Hope of the hopeless, and the Savior of the lost: "This God is our God forever and ever!"
Believers are privileged to say the Source of every good and perfect gift; the promise-keeping God: "This God is our God"--and always will be; for He never leaves nor forsakes His redeemed people. "He will be our Guide even unto death," and our portion forever and ever!
"This God is the God we adore;
Our faithful, unchangeable Friend;
Whose love is as great as His power.
And knows neither measure nor end!"
1 Corinthians 15:1-8
(1) Moreover, brethren, I declare to you the gospel which I preached to you, which also you received and in which you stand, (2) by which also you are saved, if you hold fast that word which I preached to you—unless you believed in vain. (3) For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, (4) and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures, (5) and that He was seen by Cephas, then by the twelve. (6) After that He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once, of whom the greater part remain to the present, but some have fallen asleep. (7) After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles. (8) Then last of all He was seen by me also, as by one born out of due time.
New King James Version
New King James Version
As he opens this chapter, Paul's clear purpose is to show that the hope God has placed before us is not based on men's guesses or possibilities, but on the testimony of many eyewitnesses then yet living when he wrote this in the AD 50s. Paul adds that he did not make up the gospel, but it was what he received from Christ, and what he received was exactly the same as what he had later been told by the apostles when he met with them in Jerusalem. Paul is presenting the resurrection of Christ as a historical fact.
We also have available to us the witness of the apostles' lives following the resurrection. Now, people just do not do the things the apostles did without believing what they saw with their own eyes with all their heart. Thus, in the first eight verses Paul reinforces what Peter says in II Peter 1:16-21, that there is plenty of strong evidence of the proof of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. This is not a figment of these men's imaginations. It really did occur, and God did not provide a mere two or three witnesses, but hundreds of them to the fact of the resurrection of the dead.
Paul establishes that our hope is resurrection into the Kingdom of God. However, we must take this hope one step farther if we want to make it a motivating force. The resurrection is, in one sense, merely a promised event given at a point in time. It does not occur merely because we believe it, or even because it has been promised. It occurs because of Who promised it. It occurs because there is a powerful Being of utmost integrity, who cannot lie and who will make it occur. This is where our hope must be, not in what He has promised, but rather Who has promised it. Is our faithin God? So must our hope be in God.
~John W. Ritenbaugh~
__________________________
This God is our God forever and ever!
("Every Day!" Author unknown)
"This God is our God forever and ever! He will be our Guide even unto death!" Psalm 48:14
Those who have fled for refuge to the hope set before them in the gospel, all who are living a life of faith--are privileged to say of the Lord, "This God is our God forever and ever!"
Believers are privileged to say that the God who has all power in Heaven and earth, whose understanding is infinite, who is good, and who does good continually: "This God is our God forever and ever!"
Believers are privileged to say the God of holiness, righteousness, and justice; the God of mercy, truth, and grace; the "just God and the Savior": "This God is our God forever and ever!"
Believers are privileged to say the God whose name and whose nature is love, and who has manifested His love toward us in sending His only begotten Son into the world that we might live through Him: "This God is our God forever and ever!"
Believers are privileged to say the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ; the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort; the Refuge of the oppressed, the Helper of the helpless, the Hope of the hopeless, and the Savior of the lost: "This God is our God forever and ever!"
Believers are privileged to say the Source of every good and perfect gift; the promise-keeping God: "This God is our God"--and always will be; for He never leaves nor forsakes His redeemed people. "He will be our Guide even unto death," and our portion forever and ever!
"This God is the God we adore;
Our faithful, unchangeable Friend;
Whose love is as great as His power.
And knows neither measure nor end!"
Sin: Introductory Bible Lesson
Sin: Introductory Bible Lesson
The facts of sin are greatly misunderstood. In the minds of many grosser sins only are in view. But the Scriptures show that sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of the laws of God. Sin is any failure to attain God's will and purpose in our lives. Sin is sinful because it is different from what God is, and God is holy because holiness is infinitely desirable. Sin is always against God, therefore to sin is to be unlike God and to displease Him.
It is generally thought that sin originated in the Garden of Eden. However, the Scriptures indicate that it began in the rebellion of satan long before the advent of man (Isiah 14: 12:-17; Ezek. 28:12-19).
But, sin entered the human race in the one terrible sin of Adam when he chose to believe the serpent's lie in opposition to the truth of God (Gen. 3). The only remedy is God's provision in the sacrificial work of Christ on the Cross (Rom. 3:23; 6:23; Ezek. 18:4).
The scriptural view of sin is a threefold division. There is first which is imputed or reckoned over to man. It is taught that the entire human race is sinful because Adam, acting as the federal or representative head of the race, sinned in the beginning. The effect is death, not only to Adam, but to every member of the race (Romans 5:12-21).
There is also the nature which is sinful. As Adam fell and became a sinful being, so his posterity were begotten in this manner. Therefore every child of Adam is born with an Adamic nature and always prone to sin (Gal. 5:16-17; Gen. 4:8).
In addition there are personal sins. As the sin nature is the root, so anything which fails to conform to the character of God is the fruit. These are seen to be not only transgressions against God's will and the rights of fellow men, but a failure to do and be that which He rightfully expects of us. The New Testament lists well over a hundred different individual sins, but also sets forth the principles: transgression of God's purposes and failure to meet His expectations (Gal. 5:17-21; James 4:17; 1 Cor. 10:32; Romans 14:23).
Sin is universal. The Bible emphatically declares that no one is righteous (Rom. 3:10-12). With one grand exception (1 Peter 2:21-22) the entire human race stands guilty before God and helpless in their sin (Eph. 2:1).
Before the Cross the divine method of dealing with sin was to be by atonement or covering. Under the law the guilty sinner brought a sacrifice and blood was shed. This indicated an acknowledgement on the part of the offerer of the guilt and just penalty of death (Lev. 1:4).
However, it is clearly stated that the blood of animals could in no way take away sin (Heb. 10:4). But by symbolizing the shed blood of the Son of God who was to come, the sacrifices served to temporarily cover the transgressions until it should be fully paid at the Cross (Romans 3:25).
Since the death of Christ, the divine method of dealing with sin has been simply to look back to the Cross of Christ where His precious, efficacious blood was shed. God is therefore declared to be both just, and the Justifier of all those who believe wholeheartedly in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:26).
The complete forgiveness of the sinner is accomplished the instant a sinner trusts the Saviour. This is an important part of his salvation. His sins are said to be remembered no more, and are placed as far away from him as east is removed from west (Psalm 103:12; Jeremiah 31:34; Isaiah 38:17).
Sin is always sin whether committed by the sinner or saint. But while the while the sinner's sin brings death, the sins of the believer in Christ have all been atoned for. It is clearly stated that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
Yet while the Christian cannot lose his perfect standing in Christ he can and does lose both peace and happiness if he allows sin to hold sway in his life. The divine remedy is that the believer shall "confess" his sin in the ears of his heavenly Father and know the joy of pardon and cleansing (1 John 1:9).
If the Christian fails to do this, he must come under the chastening rod of a faithful Father in order to bring him to confession (1 Cor. 11:31-32).
~William W. Orr~
(The End)
The facts of sin are greatly misunderstood. In the minds of many grosser sins only are in view. But the Scriptures show that sin is any want of conformity unto, or transgression of the laws of God. Sin is any failure to attain God's will and purpose in our lives. Sin is sinful because it is different from what God is, and God is holy because holiness is infinitely desirable. Sin is always against God, therefore to sin is to be unlike God and to displease Him.
It is generally thought that sin originated in the Garden of Eden. However, the Scriptures indicate that it began in the rebellion of satan long before the advent of man (Isiah 14: 12:-17; Ezek. 28:12-19).
But, sin entered the human race in the one terrible sin of Adam when he chose to believe the serpent's lie in opposition to the truth of God (Gen. 3). The only remedy is God's provision in the sacrificial work of Christ on the Cross (Rom. 3:23; 6:23; Ezek. 18:4).
The scriptural view of sin is a threefold division. There is first which is imputed or reckoned over to man. It is taught that the entire human race is sinful because Adam, acting as the federal or representative head of the race, sinned in the beginning. The effect is death, not only to Adam, but to every member of the race (Romans 5:12-21).
There is also the nature which is sinful. As Adam fell and became a sinful being, so his posterity were begotten in this manner. Therefore every child of Adam is born with an Adamic nature and always prone to sin (Gal. 5:16-17; Gen. 4:8).
In addition there are personal sins. As the sin nature is the root, so anything which fails to conform to the character of God is the fruit. These are seen to be not only transgressions against God's will and the rights of fellow men, but a failure to do and be that which He rightfully expects of us. The New Testament lists well over a hundred different individual sins, but also sets forth the principles: transgression of God's purposes and failure to meet His expectations (Gal. 5:17-21; James 4:17; 1 Cor. 10:32; Romans 14:23).
Sin is universal. The Bible emphatically declares that no one is righteous (Rom. 3:10-12). With one grand exception (1 Peter 2:21-22) the entire human race stands guilty before God and helpless in their sin (Eph. 2:1).
Before the Cross the divine method of dealing with sin was to be by atonement or covering. Under the law the guilty sinner brought a sacrifice and blood was shed. This indicated an acknowledgement on the part of the offerer of the guilt and just penalty of death (Lev. 1:4).
However, it is clearly stated that the blood of animals could in no way take away sin (Heb. 10:4). But by symbolizing the shed blood of the Son of God who was to come, the sacrifices served to temporarily cover the transgressions until it should be fully paid at the Cross (Romans 3:25).
Since the death of Christ, the divine method of dealing with sin has been simply to look back to the Cross of Christ where His precious, efficacious blood was shed. God is therefore declared to be both just, and the Justifier of all those who believe wholeheartedly in Christ Jesus (Romans 3:26).
The complete forgiveness of the sinner is accomplished the instant a sinner trusts the Saviour. This is an important part of his salvation. His sins are said to be remembered no more, and are placed as far away from him as east is removed from west (Psalm 103:12; Jeremiah 31:34; Isaiah 38:17).
Sin is always sin whether committed by the sinner or saint. But while the while the sinner's sin brings death, the sins of the believer in Christ have all been atoned for. It is clearly stated that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1).
Yet while the Christian cannot lose his perfect standing in Christ he can and does lose both peace and happiness if he allows sin to hold sway in his life. The divine remedy is that the believer shall "confess" his sin in the ears of his heavenly Father and know the joy of pardon and cleansing (1 John 1:9).
If the Christian fails to do this, he must come under the chastening rod of a faithful Father in order to bring him to confession (1 Cor. 11:31-32).
~William W. Orr~
(The End)
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