Puritan Nuggets of Gold # 5

Assurance of Eternal Life (continued)

Assurance is not of the essence of a Christian. It is required to the bene esse (the well-being), to the comfortable and joyful being of a Christian; but it is not required to the esse, to the being of a Christian. A man may be a true believer, and yet would give all the world, were it in his power, to know that he is a believer. To have grace, and to be sure that we have grace, is glory upon the throne, it is heaven on this side of heaven. (Thomas Brooks)

None have assurance at all times. As in a walk that is shaded with trees and checkered with light and shadow, some tracks and paths in it are dark and others are sunshine. Such is usually the life of the most assured Christian. (Ezekiel Hopkins)

Does assurance remain when comforts are gone?

Take heed thou thinkest not grace decays because thy comfort withdraws. Did ever faith triumph more in our Saviour crying "My God, my God!" Here faith was at its meridian when it was midnight in respect of joy. (William Gurnall)

A man's assurance may be as good, as true, when he lies on the earth with a sense of sin, as when he is carried up to heaven with a sense of love and foretaste of glory. (John Owen)

Sense of sin may often be great, and more felt than grace; yet not be more than grace. A man feels the ache of his finger more sensibly that the health of his whole body; yet he knows that the ache of a finger is nothing so much as the health of the whole body. (Thomas Adams)

God dwells as glorious in a saint when he is in the dark, as when he is in the light, for darkness is His secret place, and His pavilion round about Him are dark waters. (William Erbery)

Great comforts do, indeed, bear witness to the truth of thy grace, but not to the degree of it; the weak child is oftener in the lap than the strong one. (William Gurnall)

It is natural to the soul to rest upon everything below Christ; to rest upon creatures, to rest upon graces, to rest upon duties, to rest upon divine manifestations, to rest upon celestial consolations, to rest upon gracious evidences, and to rest upon sweet assurances. Now the Lord, to cure His people of this weakness, and to bring them to live wholly and solely upon Jesus Christ, denies comfort, and denies assurance, etc., and for a time leaves His children of light to walk in darkness. Christians, this you are always to remember, that though the enjoyment of assurance makes most for your consolation, yet the living purely upon Christ in the absence of assurance, makes most for Christ's exaltation. He is happy that believes upon seeing, upon feeling, but thrice happy are those souls that believe when they do not see; that love when they do not know that they are beloved; and that in the want of all comfort and assurance, can live upon Christ as their only all. He that hath learned this holy art, cannot be miserable; he that is ignorant of this art cannot be happy. (Thomas Brooks)

The Christian must trust in a withdrawing God. (William Gurnall)

He that wants assurance of the truth of his grace, and the comfort of assurance, must not stand still and say, "I am so doubtful and uncomfortable that I have no mind to duty," but ply his duty, and exercise his grace, till he find his doubts and discomforts to vanish. (Richard Baxter)

Jesus Christ the Sin Bearer

Matthew 26:26-27

The cross is so common in our culture that most people don’t think twice when they see one on a church. But unfortunately, familiarity with the symbol can actually get in the way of understanding what it truly means. So let’s stop to consider how Jesus became the bearer of sin.

We begin with Scripture written long before Jesus was born. Genesis, the first book of the Bible, explains how man chose to disobey God. Because Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit, their descendants are all born under the curse of death, having inherited a sinful “flesh” nature.

In Leviticus, God’s laws for the Jewish nation included observance of Yom Kippur, the day each year when the Israelites fasted, prayed, and sacrificed an animal to atone for sin. In essence, the goat would bear the wrongs done by the people and suffer the penalty that divine justice required.

Centuries later, Isaiah prophesied that a Savior would atone for transgression once and for all (Isa. 53:5, 8; Heb. 7:27). After another 700 years, John the Baptist identified Jesus as the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). The Messiah had come, though He was totally different from what the people expected—so much so, in fact, that they rejected Him and requested His crucifixion.

In all, God gave 613 laws through Moses. But none of us can perfectly follow even the Ten Commandments. In fact, one reason He gave us these rules is to show us our need for a Savior (Ps. 19:7; Gal. 3:24). Meditate on those commands (Ex. 20:1-17), asking God to speak to your heart.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

Puritan Nuggets of Gold # 4

Anger

It is the great duty of all Christians to put off anger. It unfits for duty. A man cannot wrestle with God and wrangle with is neighbor at the same time. Short sins often cost us long and sad sorrows. (Philip Henry)

The angry man, like the two hot disciples that called fire from heaven, ordains himself the judge, and would have God turn his executioner. (Thomas Adams)

Plato said to his servant, "I would have killed thee, but that I am angry. (John King)

He that will be angry, and not sin, must not be angry but for sin. (John Trapp)

Be soonest angry with thyself. (Thomas Fuller)

Apostasy

Apostasy is a perversion to evil after a seeming conversion from it. (Timothy Cruso)

Indifference in religion, is the first step to apostasy from religion. (William Secker)

None sink so far into hell as those that come nearest heaven, because they fall from the greatest height. (William Gurnall)

It were far easier to write a book of apostates in his age than a book of martyrs. (John Trapp)

Assurance of Life Eternal

What is assurance?

It is a new conversion; it will make a man differ from himself in what he was before in that manner almost as conversion doth before he was converted. There is a new edition of all man's graces. (Thomas Goodwin)

Assurance is the fruit that grows out of the root of faith. (Stephen Charnock)

Assurance is glory in the bud, it is the suburbs of paradise. (Christopher Nesse)

I am wholly His; I am peculiarly His; I am universally His; I am eternally His. (Thomas Brooks)

Can I have eternal life and not know it?

A child of God may have the Kingdom of grace in his heart, yet not know it. The cup was in Benjamin's sack, though he did not know it was there. (Thomas Watson)

Assurance is a fruit that grows out of the root of faith; the fruits in winter appear not upon the tree. Because I see not a flourishing top, shall I deny the existence and sappiness of the root? Mary, when she wept at Christ's feet, had no assurance of His love, yet Christ sends her away with the encomium of her faith, acted before the comfort dropped from His lips. (Stephen Charnock)

Let Us Be Kind

Put on as the elect of God, kindness (Col. 3:12).

There is a story of an old man who carried a little can of oil with him everywhere he went, and if he passed through a door that squeaked, he poured a little oil on the hinges. If a gate was hard to open, he oiled the latch. And thus he passed through life lubricating all hard places and making it easier for those who came after him. People called him eccentric, queer, and cranky; but the old man went steadily on refilling his can of oil when it became empty, and oiled the hard places he found.

There are many lives that creak and grate harshly as they live day by day. Nothing goes right with them. They need lubricating with the oil of gladness, gentleness, or thoughtfulness.

Have you your own can of oil with you? Be ready with your oil of helpfulness in the early morning to the one nearest you. It may lubricate the whole day for him. The oil, of good cheer to the downhearted one--Oh, how much it may mean! The word of courage to the despairing. Speak it. Our lives touch others but once, perhaps, on the road of life; and then, mayhap, our ways diverge, never to meet again.

The oil of kindness has worn the sharp, hard edges off of many a sin-hardened life and left it soft and pliable and ready for the redeeming grace of the Saviour. A word spoken pleasantly is a large spot of sunshine on a sad heart. Therefore, "Give others the sunshine, tell Jesus the rest."

We cannot know the grief
That men may borrow;
We cannot see the souls
Storm-swept by sorrow;
But love can shine upon the way
Today, tomorrow;
Let us be kind.
Upon the wheel of pain so many weary lives are broken,
We live in vain who give no tender token.
Let us be kind.

"Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love" (Rom.12:10).

~L. B. Cowman~

Puritan Nuggets of Gold 3

Affliction (continued)

The thorn is one of the most cursed and angry and crabbed weeds that the earth yields, and yet out of it springs the rose, one of the sweetest smelled flowers, and most delightful to the eye. (Samuel Rutherford)

As the wicked are hurt by the best things, so the godly are bettered by the worst. (William Jenkyn)

Poverty and affliction take away the fuel that feeds pride. (Richard Sibbes)

He gives gifts that we may love Him, and stripes that we may fear Him. Yes, oftentimes He mixes frowns with His favors. (George Downame)

When I am in the cellar of affliction, I look for the Lord's choicest wines. (Samuel Rutherford)

An obedient child doth not only kiss the hand which giveth, but the rod which beateth. (Henry Smith)

If in our affliction we would pour forth to God such acceptable prayers as may obtain comfort in our crosses and deliverance from our calamities, we must confess our sins, and humbly acknowledge that we have not deserved God's smallest benefits, but are worthy to be overwhelmed with much more heavy plagues and punishments. And so the Lord will excuse us, when we accuse ourselves. (George Downame)

When you meet with crosses and calamities, say, "Now I see God's justice and God's truth; now I see the hatefulness and hurtfulness of sin; and therefore now I will mourn, not because I am crossed, but because I have deserved this cross, and a worse one too." (William Whately)

He that rides to be crowned, will not thing much of a rainy day. (John Trapp)

The Uniqueness of Christ

Matthew 16

When Jesus asked His disciples, “Who do people say that the Son of Man is?” they replied, “Some say John the Baptist; and others, Elijah; but still others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” But Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matt. 16:13-16).

What set Jesus apart as the Messiah?

• His birth: He was conceived by the Holy Spirit and born, as prophesied, in Bethlehem to a virgin. Though angels announced His arrival and He reigns over all creation, Jesus entered our world in a lowly manner so He could be identified with the meek and the poor.
• His wisdom: At age 12, He spent three days with rabbis, asking questions that showed his uncommon understanding.
• His baptism: Though He didn’t need cleansing, Jesus asked John to baptize Him so He could identify with sinners and demonstrate His love to them.
• His temptation: Satan tempted Him relentlessly for 40 days, yet He did not sin.
• His ministry: He challenged man-made religious traditions. And by healing people—regardless of nationality—raising the dead, and forgiving sins, He revealed that God wants to be involved personally in our lives. Leading Pharisees wanted Him dead, but the Father protected His life until the crucifixion.

Many people deny Christ’s deity, calling Him simply a “prophet” or “good teacher.” But Jesus was never merely human. As complex as it is for us to comprehend, He was fully God and fully man. This is the unique way in which our heavenly Father chose to demonstrate His eternal love for us.

~Dr. Charles F. Stanley~

Puritan Nuggets of Gold # 2

Affliction (continued)


The whole creation groans,and God's children bear a part in this concert. They have their share in the world's miseries; and domestical crosses are common to them with other men in the world; yea, their condition is worse than others'. Chaff and corn are threshed in the same floor, but the corn is ground in the mill and baked in the oven. Jeremiah was  in the dungeon when the city was besieged. The world hates them more than others, and God loves them more than others. The world hates them because they are so good, and God corrects them because they are no better. (Thomas Manton)

Do not even such things as are most bitter to the flesh, tend to awaken Christians to faith and prayer, to a sight of the emptiness of this world, and the fadingness of the best it yield? Doth not God by these things (ofttimes) call our sins to remembrance, and provoke us to amendment of life? How then can we be offended by things by which we reap so much good? Therefore if mine enemy hunger, let me feed him; if he thirst, let me give him drink. Now in order to do this, we must see good in that, in which other men can see none. We must pass by those injuries that other men would revenge. We must show we have grace, and that we are made to bear what other men are not acquainted with. Many of our graces are kept alive, by those very things that are the death of other men's souls. The devil (they say) is good when he is pleased; but Christ and His saints, when displeased. (John Bunyan)

(Some say) "I am grieved that I am thus dealt with because I never deserved it; had I done anything worthy of punishment it would not have grieved me ..." Thou speakest like a foolish man. Whether is it better to suffer, when thy conscience is free and suffereth not, or when with thy outward affliction thou art afflicted also of thine own heart? And is it not a glorious thing to suffer for well doing when in thy cause of grief is the less? For if the cause of affliction rather than affliction itself should grieve thee, then affliction without cause of affliction - being for God, His cause - should rather comfort thee. (Richard Greenham)

The vessels of mercy are first seasons with affliction, and then the wine of glory is poured in. Thus we see afflictions are not prejudicial, but beneficial, to the saints. (Thomas Watson)

A sanctified person, like a silver bell, the harder he is smitten, the better he sounds. (George Swinnock)

We often learn more of God under the rod that strikes us, than under the staff that comforts us. (Stephen Charnock)

God's house of correction is His school of instruction. (Thomas Brooks)

God does by affliction magnify us three ways. 1. In that He will condescend so low as to take notice of us. It is a magnifying of us, that God thinks us worthy to be smitten. God's not striking is a slighting: "Why should ye be stricken any more?" (Isaiah 1:5). 2. Afflictions also magnify us, as they are ensigns of glory, signs of sonship. "If you endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons." (Hebrews 12"7). Every print of the rod is a badge of honor. 3. Afflictions tend to the magnifying of the saints, as they make them renowned in the world. Soldiers have never been so admired for their victories, as the saints have been for their sufferings. (Thomas Watson)