The Wrath Of God # 1

 The Wrath Of God # 1

It is sad indeed to find so many professing Christians who appear to regard the wrath of God as something for which they need to make an apology, or who at least wish there were no such thing. While some who would not go so far as to openly admit that they consider it a blemish on the divine character - yet they are far from regarding it with delight; they do not like to think about it, and they rarely hear it mentioned without a secret resentment rising up in their hearts against it. Even with those who are more sober in their judgment, not a few seem to imagine that there is a severity about the divine wrath that makes it harbor the delusion that God's wrath is not consistent with His goodness, and so seek to banish it from their thoughts.

Yes, many there are who turn away from a vision of God's wrath as though they were  called to look upon some blotch in the divine character or some blot upon the divine government. But what says the Scriptures? As we turn to them, we find that God has made no attempt to conceal the facts concerning His wrath. He is not ashamed to make it known that vengeance and fury belong unto Him. His own challenge is: "See now that I myself am He! There is no God besides Me. I put to death and I bring to life, I have wounded and I will heal, and no one can deliver out of My hand. I lift my hand to Heaven and declare: As surely as I live forever, when I sharpen My flashing sword and My hand grasps it in judgment, I will take vengeance on My adversaries and repay those who hate Me" (Deuteronomy 32:39-41).

A study of the concordance will show that there are more references in Scripture to the anger, fury, and wrath of God -than there are to His love and tenderness. Because God is holy, He hates all sin; and because He hates all sin, His anger burns against the sinner. "God is angry with the wicked every day" (Psalm 7:11).

The wrath of God is as much a divine perfection as is His faithfulness, power, or mercy. It must be so, for there is no blemish whatever, not the slightest defect in the character of God; yet there would be if "wrath" were absent from Him! Indifference to sin is a moral blemish, and he who does not hate it is a moral leper. How could He who is infinitely holy, disregard sin, and refuse to manifest His "severity" (Romans 11:22) toward it? How could He who delights only in that which is pure and lovely, not loathe and hate that which is impure and vile? The very nature of God makes hell as real a necessity, as imperatively and eternally requisite, as Heaven is. Not only is there no imperfection in God, but there is no perfection in Him that is less perfect than another.

The wrath of God is His eternal detestation of all unrighteousness. It is the displeasure and indignation of divine equity against evil. It is the holiness of God stirred into activity against sin. It is the moving cause of that just sentence which He passes upon evildoers. God is angry against sin because it is a rebelling against His authority - a wrong done to His inviolable sovereignty. Insurrectionists against God's government shall be made to know that God is the Lord They shall be made to feel how great that Majesty is which they despise, and how dreadful is that threatened wrath which they so little regarded.

Not that God's anger is a malignant and malicious retaliation, inflicting injury for the sake of it, or in return for injury received. No, though God will vindicate His dominion as the Governor of the universe, He will not be vindictive.

That divine wrath is one of the perfections of God, is not only evident from the considerations presented above, but is also clearly established by the express declarations of His own Word. "For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven" (Romans 1:18).

Robert Haldane comments on this verse as follows: "It was revealed when the sentence of death was first pronounced, the earth cursed, and man driven out of the earthly paradise; and afterwardes by such examples of punishment as those of the Deluge, and the destruction of the Cities of the Plain by fire from Heaven; but especially by the reign of death throughout the world. It was proclaimed in the curse of the law on every transgression, and was intimated in the institution of sacrifice, and in all the services of the Mosaic dispensation. In the eighth chapter of this epistle, the Apostle calls the attention of believers to the fact that the whole creation has become subject to vanity, and groans and travails together in pain. The same creation which declares that there is a God, and publishes His glory - also proves that He is the Enemy of sin and the Avenger of the crimes of men. But above all, the wrath of God was revealed from Heaven when the Son of God came down to manifest the divine character, and when that wrath was displayed in His sufferings and death, in a manner more awful than by all the tokens God had before given of His displeasure against sin. Besides this, the future and eternal punishment of the wicked is now declared in terms more solemn and explicit than formerly. Under the new dispensation, there are two revelations given from Heaven - one of wrath, the other of grace."

~A. W. Pink~

(continued with # 2)

The Immutability Of God # 2

 The Immutability Of God # 2

"Change and decay in all around we see,

May He who changes not abide with thee."

God's purpose never alters. One of two things causes a man to change his mind and reverse his plans: lack of foresight to anticipate everything, or lack of power to execute them.

But as God is both omniscient and omnipotent there is never any need for Him to revise His decrees. No, "the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of His heart through all generations" (Psalm 33:11). Therefore do we read of "His unchangeable purpose" (Hebrews 6:17).

Herein we may perceive the infinite distance which separates the highest creature from the Creator. Creaturehood and mutability are correlative terms. If the creature was not mutable by nature it would not be a creature; it would be God. By nature we tend toward nothingness, since we came from nothing. Nothing stops our annihilation but the will and sustaining power of God. None can sustain himself a single moment. We are entirely dependent on the Creator for every breath we draw. We gladly own with the Psalmist, You "hold our soul in life" (Psalm 66:9). The realization of this ought to make us lie down under a sense of our own nothingness in the presence of Him in Whom "we live, and move, and have our being" (Acts 17:28).

As fallen creatures we are not only mutable, but everything in us is opposed to God. As such we are "wandering stars" (Jude 13), out of our proper orbit. "The wicked are like the troubled sea, when it cannot rest" (Isaiah 57:20). Fallen man is inconstant. The words of Jacob concerning Reuben apply with full force to all of Adam's descendants: "unstable as water" (Genesis 49:4). Thus it is not only a mark of piety, but also the part of wisdom to heed that injunction, "cease from man" (Isaiah 2:22). No human being is to be depended on. "Do not put your trust in princes, in mortal men, who cannot save" (Psalm 146:3). If I disobey God, then I deserve to be deceived and disappointed by my fellows. People who like you today, may hate you tomorrow. The multitude who cried, "Hosanna to the Son of David!" speedily changed to "Away with Him! Crucify Him!"

Herein is solid comfort. Human nature cannot be relied upon; but God can! However unstable I may be, however fickle my friends may prove, God changes not. If He varied as we do; if He willed one thing today and another tomorrow; if He were controlled by caprice - who could confide in Him? But, all praise to His glorious name, He is ever the same. His purpose is fixed; His will is stable; His Word is sure.

Here then is a Rock on which we may fix our feet, while the mighty torrent is sweeping away everything around us. The permanence of God's character guarantees the fulfillment of His promises: "For the mountains shall depart, and the hills be removed; but My kindness shall not depart from you, neither shall the covenant of My peace be removed, says the Lord who has mercy on you" (Isaiah 54:10).

Herein is encouragement to prayer. "What comfort would it be to pray to a God that, like the chameleon, changed color every moment? Who would put up a petition to an earthly prince that was so mutable as to grant a petition one day, and deny it another?" 

Should someone ask, But what is the use of praying to One whose will is already fixed? We answer, Because He so requires it. What blessings has God promised without our seeking them?" "If we ask anything according to His will, He hears us" (1 John 5:14), and He has willed everything that is for His child's good. To ask anything contrary to His will is not prayer, but rank rebellion.

Herein is terror for the wicked. Those who defy Him, who break His laws, who have no concern for His glory, but who live their lives as though He existed not, must not suppose that, when at the last they shall cry to Him for mercy, He will alter His will, revoke His Word, and rescind His solemn threatenings. God will not deny Himself to gratify their lusts. God is holy, unchangingly so. Therefore God hates sin, eternally hates it. Hence the eternality of the punishment of all who die in their sins.

"The divine immutability, like the cloud which interposed between the Israelites and the Egyptian army, has a dark as well as a light side. It insures the execution of His threatenings, as well as the performance of His promises; and destroys the hope which the guilty fondly cherish, that He will be all lenity to His frail and erring creatures, and that they will be much more lightly dealt with than the declarations of His own Word would lead us to expect. We oppose to these deceitful and presumptuous speculations the solemn truth - that God is unchanging in veracity and purpose, in faithfulness and justice.

~A. W. Pink~

(The End)

The Immutability Of God # 1

 The Immutability Of God # 1

Immutability is one of the divine perfections which is not sufficiently pondered. It is one of the excellencies of the Creator which distinguishes Him from all His creatures. God is perpetually the same: subject to no change in His being, attributes, or determinations. Therefore God is compared to a "Rock" (Deut. 32:4) which remains immovable, when the entire ocean surrounding it is continually in a fluctuating state; even so, though all creatures are subject to change, God is immutable. Because God has no beginning and no ending, He can know no change. He is everlastingly "the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning." (James 1:17).

First, God is immutable in His essence. His nature and being are infinite, and so He is subject to no mutations. There never was a time when He was not; there never will come a time when He shall cease to be. God has neither evolved, grown, no improved. All that He is today, He has ever been, and ever will be. "I am the Lord, I do not change." (Malachi 3:6) is His own unqualified affirmation. He cannot change for the better, for He is already perfect; and being perfect, He cannot change for the worse. Altogether unaffected by anything outside Himself, improvement or deterioration is impossible. He is perpetually the same. He only can say, "I AM THAT I AM!" (Exodus 3:14). He is altogether uninfluenced by the flight of time. There is no wrinkle upon the brow of eternity. Therefore His power can never diminish nor His glory ever fade!

Secondly, God is immutable in His attributes. Whatever the attributes of God were before the universe was called into existence, they ae precisely the same now, and will remain so forever. Necessarily so, for they are the very perfections, the essential qualities of His being. Semper diem (always the same) is written across everyone of them.

His power is unabated, His wisdom is undiminished, and His holiness is unsullied.

The attributes of God can no more change than Deity can cease to be.

His veracity is immutable, for His Word is "forever settled in Heaven" (Psalm 119:89).

His love is eternal: "I have loved you with an everlasting love" (Jeremiah 31:3) and "Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them unto the end" (John 13:1).

His mercy never ceases not, for it is everlasting" (Psalm 100:5).

Thirdly, God is immutable in His counsel. His will never varies. Perhaps some are ready to object that we ought to read the following: "And it repented the Lord that He had made man" (Genesis 6:6). Our first reply is, Then do the Scriptures contradict themselves? NO, that cannot be! Numbers 23:19 is plain enough: "God is not a man, that He should lie, neither the son of man, that He should repent."

So also in 1 Samuel 15:29, "The Strength of Israel will not lie nor repent, for He is not a man, that He should repent."

The explanation is very simple. When speaking of Himself, God frequently accommodates His language to our limited capacities. He describes Himself as clothed with bodily members, as eyes, ears, hands, etc. He speaks of Himself as "waking", as "rising up early"; yet He neither slumbers nor sleeps. When He institutes a change in His dealings with men, He describes His course of conduct as "repenting."

Yes, God is immutable in His counsel. "The gifts and calling of God are irrevocable (Romans 11:29). It must be so, for "He is of one mind, and who can turn Him? What His soul desires, even that He does" (Job 23:13).

~A. W. Pink~

(continued with # 2)

Oil In The Vessel # 3

 Oil In The Vessel # 3

Some of our readers may be total strangers to all such distressing experiences, and wonder why any real Christian should call into question the exact character of his or her illumination, troubling themselves not at all whether their enlightenment is natural or supernatural. Poor souls, it is greatly to be feared that a crude awakening is awaiting them from their satan-induced sleep. But what shall we say to those who are awake and deeply concerned about their eternal interests? How are such to determine the matter? We answer, test the point.

Was thee not a time when you "saw no beauty in Christ that you should desire Him?" Is it so with you now? Or has He become in your eyes, the "altogether lovely" One? You may be afraid to call Him yours, yet if your heart truly yearns for Him, then you must have been spiritually enlightened, the "oil" is in your vessel!

Second, oil softens. Oil was much used by the ancients for medicinal purposes, and we moderns might well take a leaf out of their books. It will melt caked wax in the ear; it will make tender a calloused bunion. It is very useful for tumors - repeated applications softening, then causing to burst, and then healing. Thus it is in the operation of the Holy Spirit. He finds the elect hard and obdurate by nature, and swollen with pride and self-conceit; but Divine grace softens them, melting their flinty hearts, bursting the tumors of self-righteousness, and imparting a contrite spirit. "A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you - and I will give you an heart of flesh" (Exe. 36:26).

When Divine grace has been imparted - the heart is supernaturally softened. But right here the sincere soul experiences still greater difficulty, and is ready to exclaim emphatically, "Then I must still be in an unregenerate state, for my heart is as hard as the neither millstone!" Wait a moment, dear friend, and test the matter. What are the marks of a "hard heart" as given in Scripture? Are they not a total absence of a feeling sense of the exceeding sinfulness of sin, an utter unconcern whether God be pleased or displeased with my conduct, no mourning in secret when Christ has been dishonored by me? Is that true of you, who are so ready to conclude that you are still in a state of nature? If it is not, if sin is your burden and your soul grieves over your lack of conformity to Christ, then your heart must have been spiritually softened - the "oil" is in your vessel!

Third, oil heals. Hence we find the great Physician, under the figure of the good Samaritan, having compassion on the assaulted traveler, binding up his wounds and "pouring oil and wine" (Luke 10:34); and He is still caring thus for His people through the gracious ministry of the Holy Spirit. How often the blessed Comforter applies "the balm of Gilead" to the sin afflicted people of God. What horrible bruises and putrefying sores - do sin and satan inflict upon the souls of the saints - yet how frequently and tenderly does the Spirit mollify and relieve them. First, He works repentance in the heart, which is a purging grace, carrying away the foul and poisonous love of sin. Then He strengthens hope, which is a comforting grace so that the joy of the Lord once more becomes his strength. Divine grace removes the load of guilt from the conscience, applies the cordial of the promises, and gives the weary pilgrim a lift by the way - "Then he put the man on his own donkey, took him to an inn and took care of him" (Luke 10:34).

Here, then, is another property and effect of Divine grace - it heals the soul. We can well imagine some fearful reader exclaiming, Alas, that cuts off my hope, for there is no soundness in me! Listen, dear friend, no Christian is completely and perfectly healed from the disease of sin in this life - but he is delivered from the most fearful and fatal effects of it; and it is at this point you are to examine yourself. What are the worst things which the Fall has produced in man? Test yourself by these things. Do you still hate God? If so, would you repine because you love Him so feebly? Are you still in love with sin? If so, why do you grieve over its workings! Is self now your idol? If so, why do you, at times, loath yourself! Sin has not been eradicated - but its wounds are being healed - the "oil" is in your vessel.

Oil makes the joints flexible and nimble; so grace enables the Christian to serve in newness of spirit (Romans 7:6).

Oil sweetens our persons, so that we are unto God a "sweet savor of Christ, whereas the wicked are a "smoke in His nostrils" (Isaiah 65:5).

Oil gladdens. Oil quiets troubled waters, so grace often subdues the turbulent workings of sin.

It is not the absense of sin, nor the decreasing of its power within, which evidences regeneration - but the presence of a contrary and holy principle, which is known by its spiritual longings and efforts!

~A. W. Pink~

(The End)

Oil In The Vessel # 2

 Oil In The Vessel # 2

This parable of the "virgins" is indeed a searching and solemn one. It has deeply exercised many a sincere soul. It has caused not a few genuine saints to wonder it, after all, the root of the matter were in them. It has given real point to that exhortation "Examine yourselves whether you are in the faith; prove your own selves" (2 Corinthians 13:5). On the other hand, vast numbers of professing Christians are quite unmoved by its pointed message, complacently assuming that they are numbered among the "wise" virgins, and taking no trouble to seek proof that the oil is in their vessels. Strangest of all, perhaps, some of the Lord's own people scarcely know how to set about the task of ascertaining their state, and are so suspicious of themselves, that they readily conclude that their vessels are devoid of the vital oil.

The key passage for the significance of this Scriptural figure is, "Your God has anointed you with the oil of gladness above your fellows" (Psalm 45:7), where the reference is to the Mediator, for God "gives not the Spirit by measure unto Him" (John 3:34); in consequence thereof, He is "fairer than the children of men - grace is poured into Your lips" (Psalm 45:2). The holy "oil" was first poured upon the antitypical Aaron, and then it runs down to all the "skirts of His garments" (Psalm 133:2), that is, to the lowest and feeblest Christians. Just as the little finger or toe is animated by the same life and vitality as actuates the head and heart of a person - so very Christian is vitalized by the same Spirit as was given to Christ, the Head. As the Spirit sanctified the human nature of Christ by fitting and enriching it will all grace, so His grace is communicated to all His members.

The "oil" then, in the vessels of the wise virgins - refers to the life of the Spirit in the soul of a Christian. It is the presence of Divine grace in the heart - in contrast from knowledge in the head, or correctness of outward deportment; which distinguishes the actual possessor from the empty professor. How important then is it that we spare no efforts to ascertain whether or not that Divine grace resides in us! Yet at this very point Christians encounter a real difficulty - as they honestly and diligently look within, they perceive such a sea of corruption, ever casting up mire and dirt, they are greatly distressed, and ready to conclude that Divine grace surely cannot be present in such evil hearts as theirs. But this is a serious mistake; as genuine oil is distinguishable from counterfeits by its properties, so grace in the soul may be known by its characteristics and effects.

But the exercised soul should begin his search for indwelling grace with it definitely settled in his mind, that, in every heart where grace resides there is also an ocean of sin; and just as oil and water will not mix - but continue to preserve their distinct properties even when placed together in the same vessel, so the flesh and spirit will not combine in the Christian - but remain in opposition to each other unto the end. Admitting, then, a sea of depravity within, my object is to find out if there is any "oil" at all which the surgings of sin are unable to destroy.l When I see smoke, I must infer fire (however flickering), and if I can discern in my heart any Spiritual grace (however feeble) I must infer the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Be not unduly discouraged, then, dear Christian friend, because you discover so much filthy water in your "vessels" (the writer does the same) - but rather confine your attention unto searching for the "oil" within you, and remember that the presence of the same is to be determined by its properties and effects. Let us name a few of these:

First, oil illumines, therefore are the blinded Laodiceans bidden to go to Christ for eye-slave (anointing oil) that they may see (Revelation 3:18). Now where Divine grace has been bestowed, that soul is enlightened. True, says a serious reader - but the point which exercises me so much is - "Is my enlightenment a spiritual and supernatural one, or merely a natural and intellectual one, acquired by the mind being instructed through sitting under sound teaching?" Those mentioned in Hebrews 6:4 were "once enlightened," yet no saving work of grace had been wrought in them!

~A. W. Pink~

(continued with # 3)

Oil In The Vessel # 1

 Oil In The Vessel # 1

Recently a brother in the Lord wrote calling our attention to the comparisons and contrasts between the wise and foolish virgins of Matthew 25. The substance of his remarks was as follows.

They have seven things in common.

First, all the virgins were in "the kingdom of heaven" - by which we understand, the sphere of Christian profession.

Second, they were all of them "virgins" - not five virgins and five harlots - by which we understand, they all claimed to belong unto Christ.

Third, they all "went forth to meet the Bridegroom" - they were one in purpose, having a single end in view.

Fourth, they all had "lamps," the same sort of lamps.

Fifth, they all "slumbered and slept."

Sixth, they all heard the cry "Behold, the Bridegroom comes."

Seventh, they all "arose and trimmed their lamps."

There are six points of difference between them.

First, five of them were "wise" and five of them were "foolish."

Second, the wise "took oil in their vessels with their lamps" - but the foolish ones did not do so.

Third, at the crucial moment the foolish virgins had to acknowledge "our lamps are (slowly but surely) gone out."

Fourth, the foolish virgins "went to buy" oil, the wise ones had no need to do so.

Fifth, the wise were shut in with the Bridegroom - but the foolish were shut out.

Sixth, the foolish virgins were disowned by the Lord.

Commenting upon the above our friend pointed out that, "There is a certain class today who differe not from the children of God as to their testimony - its purity, its orthodoxy, its sincerity. There are not Spiritists, Russellites, or the daughters of Mother of Harlots - but "virgins." Doctrinally they are pure. They are pictured as going forth to meet the, not one to desert and another to thee secret chambers (Matthew 24:26), seeking a false Christ. The Object of their service was the same Person which the wise virgins were occupied with.

The vital point in their "foolishness" was not that they slumbered and slept but that they had no oil in their vessels. Their was oil in their lamps - their testimony or doctrine - but none in their vessels or souls.

The above has deeply impressed the editor once more with the great importance of making sure individually whether there be oil in my vessel - the "vessel" is the soul, the "oil" is Divine grace in it. Whatever may be the precise signification of behold the Bridegroom comes - whether it refers to the hour of death, the premillennial return of Christ, or the Day of Judgment - one thing is clear - it points to thecrucial testing time.

As our friend further points out - Balaam had oil in his lamp, as also had Judas when Christ sent him forth with the other Apostles to preach (Matthew 10:5-7) - yet their hearts were destitute of the saving grace of God! What a terrible discovery for the foolish virgins to make, "our lamps are gone out" - a discovery made too late to do them any good!

~A. W. Pink~

(continued with # 2)

Contentment # 2

 Contentment # 2

"Godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Timothy 6:6). Negatively, it delivers from worry and fretfulness, from avarice and selfishness. Positively, it leaves us free to enjoy what God has given us. What a contrast is found in the word which follows, "But those who want to be rich fall into temptation, a trap, and many foolish and harmful desires, which plunge people into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and by craving it, some have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many pains" (1 Timothy 6:9, 10). May the Lord in His grace deliver us from the spirit of this world, and make us to be "content" with such things as we have."

Contentment, then, is the product of a heart resting in God. It is the soul's enjoyment of that peace which passes all understanding. It is the outcome of my will being brought into subjection to the Divine will. It is the blessed assurance that God does all things well, and is, even now, making all things work together for my ultimate good. This experience has to be "learned" by proving what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:2). 

Contentment is possible only as we cultivate and maintain that attitude of accepting everything which enters our lives, as coming from the hand of Him who is too wise to err, and too loving to cause one of His children a needless tear.

Let our final word be this: real contentment is only possible by being much in the presence of the Lord Jesus. This comes out clearly in the verses which follow our opening text: "I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content - whether well-fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who strengthens me" (Phil. 4:12, 13). It is only by cultivating intimacy with that One who was never discontent, that we shall be delivered from the sin of complaining. It is only by daily fellowship with Him who ever delighted in the Father's will, that we shall learn the secret of contentment. May both writer and reader so behold in the mirror of the Word, the glory of the Lord Jesus, that we shall be "changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Corinthians 3:18).

~A. W. Pink~