Monthly Archives: November 2012
“But speaking the truth (being sincere) in love” (Ephesians 4:15) Sincerity lies at the root of all gracious profession. If a man cannot be sincere he is nothing. God makes a man sincere by planting His truth in his heart; and whenever God does make a man sincere, the truth which he has implanted will grow. Truth does not lie in a man’s soul dead and motionless, like a stone in the… Read More
Delivered in Grove Chapel, Camberwell, 1851 – By Joseph Irons. ——————– “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) ——————– What an exchange! What a voluntary act of substitution! How marvellous! Yonder debtor visited by his chief creditor, who condescends to become a prisoner, and renders Himself liable to all his demands,… Read More
A young man named George Gorton, who lived at Stow-on-the-Wold, had been in great spiritual distress. Happening to come across William Gadsby’s The Perfect Law of Liberty, under God’s blessing he found the relief he sought in reading it. It was no preaching or sermon he heard, but the reading of this book. His soul was set at liberty, and after this glorious deliverance he was baptized along with his friend Robert… Read More
“So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.” (Romans 8:8-9) ——————– What Child of promise is there, one truly born from above, that has not the desire to please the God Who… Read More
“Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.” (Matthew 5:4) ——————– Not all kinds of mourners are here intended; for there is the sorrow of the world, which worketh death and produces nothing but sin, misery and rebellion against God. Some mourn because they cannot increase in riches, honours and pleasures; but there is no blessing promised to them. The mourners which God has pronounced blessed are such as mourn… Read More
“God is love.” (I John 4:8) ——————– He defines love. He is the source of all true love. Any ‘love’ that is inconsistent with His love is no love at all. So, where did man get the notion of “unconditional love”? Well, obviously from his perverted view of God. For the God that is, knows nothing of unconditional love. Our God loves righteousness and hates iniquity, Hebrews 1:9. The Lord loves The… Read More
Fashionable as the doctrine of legal, conditional justification is, we may say to every individual who embraces it, “There is one that accuseth (condemns) you, even Moses, in whom you trust,” and that very law on which you rest (John 5:45): for its language is, “He that breaketh me only in one point is guilty of all:” (James 2:10), and, “Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are… Read More
“For he that is dead is freed from sin.” (Romans 6:7) ——————– The elect of God, as well as all others, are by nature dead; they are dead in sin, living without any spiritual life;, and to be carnally minded is death: they are without any affection for God, motion towards Him, delight in Him or in His service; and they are dead in law, being condemned in Adam, for judgment by… Read More
This is an audio sermon by Don Bell titled: “Do You Need Forgiveness?” The scripture text that brother Don is preaching from is Philemon, and the audio is 47 minutes long.
The sovereignty of God. What do we mean by this expression? We mean the supremacy of God, the kingship of God, the godhood of God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that God is God. To say that God is sovereign is to declare that “He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or… Read More
“But if the unbelieving depart, let him depart. A brother or a sister is not under bondage in such cases: but God hath called us to peace.” (1 Corinthians 7:15) that is, to follow him and, press to live with him if he have deserted her. But does he say anything about or sanction her marrying again? Where does he say that desertion dissolves the marriage tie? On the contrary, in the… Read More
“Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.” (Matthew 11:29) ——————– The salvation of a sinner required that the most High Himself (Christ) be brought to the point of being the most low. From the height of all glory, the precious Son became a man. What an act of condescension was displayed in the Word… Read More
“For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.” (1st Thessalonians 5:2) ——————– A true believer does not desire to know more than God Almighty wants him to know. While others expend countless hours studying world events, trying to somehow connect them to the return of Christ (some to the point of naming the exact date), and then making those events to be… Read More
“That, according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:31) ——————– Who deserves the glory in the redemption of sinners? The world believes that man has the right to choose or reject God’s plan for every single individual, and if a man by his own free will chooses to receive Christ as his personal saviour, and becomes a Christian, Jesus should get the glory… Read More
“He hath not beheld iniquity in Jacob.” (Numbers 23:21) ——————– To say that Almighty God does not behold iniquity in the sense of His omniscience would be a slight against His character. For of a truth, He does see the falling short even of those for whom Christ has shed His precious blood. What a just God does not see (in His people) is their sin under His justice and law. Christ,… Read More
“For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” (Hebrews 4:3) ——————– The apostle asserts that “we which have believed do enter into rest.” It is a rest that was pictured and typified by several things in the Old Testament. ——————– THE ENTRANCE OF… Read More
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.” (Hebrews 4:9-11) ——————– The word “rest”, which is used over and over and over in Hebrews 3 and 4, means to ‘repose… Read More
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17) __________________________________________ All those legal, ceremonial sabbaths of the Old Testament, all those sabbaths required by the law of God in the days of carnal, ceremonial worship, were designed to… Read More
Exodus 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: Exodus 20:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: Exodus 20:11 For in six… Read More
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9), but it is not found in a 24 hour day, on each Friday evening to Saturday evening at sundown, nor is it on Constantine’s legal day, beginning Sunday A.M. at 00:01 to Sunday evening 11:59 P.M. I have never met a man that I could say was able to keep a “sabbath” day AS IT WAS COMMANDED. Most will travel… Read More
“For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.” (Hebrews 4:3) ——————– “There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.” (Hebrews… Read More
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17) ——————– What is wrong with setting aside the first day of the week and requiring God’s saints to keep it as a sabbath to the Lord? We do not,… Read More
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” (Colossians 2:16-17) ——————– Here are six statements that need to be thoughtfully and prayerfully considered. Do not embrace them and do not reject them until you have at least thoughtfully considered… Read More
A Sabbatarian is a person who insists that one day of each week is to be reserved for religious observance as prescribed in the fourth commandment of the Decalogue, or Ten Commandments, as follows: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you,… Read More
“There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God” (Hebrews 4:9), but it is not found in a 24 hour day, on each Friday evening to Saturday evening at sundown, nor is it on Constantine’s legal day, beginning Sunday A.M. at 12:01 to Sunday evening 11:59 P.M. I have never met a man that I could say was able to keep a “sabbath” day AS IT WAS COMMANDED. Most will travel… Read More
The birth of the Lord Jesus Christ is concerning the incarnation of God. It is concerning the ANCIENT OF DAYS becoming flesh. It is not concerning a sweet little baby Jesus rag doll lying in a manger. The incarnation of Christ is God the Father sending His Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem His elect. The coming of our Lord and Redeemer into this world is about… Read More
“We which have believed do enter into rest.” (Hebrews 4:3) ——————– Sabbath keeping is not a matter of indifference. It is not one of those areas about which the Scriptures give no specific instructions. In fact, the instructions given in the Word of God about sabbath keeping are very specific and clear. ——————– – Like circumcision, the passover, and all other aspects of legal, ceremonial worship during the Old Testament, the legal… Read More
Statement from the Committee of the Gospel Standard Societies. “We affirm that the marriage bond is only broken in God’s sight by death, and that any other dissolution of the tie is unscriptural and is not countenanced by God.” “We further affirm that to admit to the ordinances of God’s house those who are living in an unscriptural relationship is to act contrary to God’s revealed will and should not be allowed… Read More
“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) ——————– Men by nature possess endless desires. Our desire for emotional stimulation causes us to lust with our eyes, our flesh, and for the pride of life. However, though men have many desires, their needs can only be met in Christ, for without Christ: 1) We have no sin-bearer. 2) We have no… Read More
“Can two walk together, except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3) ——————– There was a time, child of God, when the world held in your heart the chief place. It was not so in God’s heart. You and he were therefore at variance. But now, through grace, you are brought to make eternity your chief concern. You and God are agreed there; for in the mind of God eternity as much outweighs time… Read More
“Blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.” (Matthew 6:6) ——————– What is the feeling of your heart toward Jesus? What is the solemn desire of your soul? That He would come and make your heart His abode? That He would visit your soul with the light of His countenance? That He would sprinkle His blood upon your conscience? That He would make Himself very near, very dear, and very… Read More
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength.” (Isaiah 40:31) ——————– How different the religion of a living soul is from the religion of a dead professor! The religion of a dead professor begins in self, and ends in self; begins in his own wisdom, and ends in his own folly; begins in his own strength, and ends in his own weakness; begins in his own righteousness, and ends… Read More
“I was alive without the law once: but when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died.” (Romans 7:9) ——————– The Apostle describes in his own case how men are affected toward the law before it enters as a condemning sentence into their heart. “I was alive without the law once.” The law was hanging over him as a condemning sentence, as a minister of death, as a messenger of wrath, as… Read More
“A Psalm. O sing unto the LORD a new song; for he hath done marvellous things: his right hand, and his holy arm, hath gotten him the victory.” (Psalm 98:1) ——————– To sing a new song of the marvelous things that Almighty God has done requires a new heart. The old heart of rebellion sees no beauty in the everlasting covenant, ordered in all things and sure (2 Samuel 23:5), but David… Read More
“We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren.” (I John 3:14) ——————– The Lord’s people in their early days have a measure of heavenly love. Love [is] manifested in them [for] God’s word, God’s people, God’s servants, and God’s truth. There is in them, in their weakest and tenderest days, a separation from the world, a casting-in of their lot amongst the people of God,… Read More
“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.” (Luke 14:26-27) ——————– There is no middle path to heaven — there is no intermediate state between hell and heaven; no purgatory for that numerous… Read More
“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.” (Ephesians 5:1-2) ——————– How blessed is the assembly of believers that yearns to follow after God Almighty. Imparted faith, which gives sight to formerly spiritually blind eyes, causes God’s dear children to view Him with just… Read More
“Then Agrippa said unto Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” (Acts 26:28) ——————– “Almost persuaded” … what a pitifully revealing thought. Man, who by nature resides in a dungheap of rebellion, foolishly contemplates that he has almost decided to grasp hold of life. For a man to think that he has almost been persuaded to be a Christian exposes the blindness of an unregenerate heart. A Christian’s eyes have… Read More
“Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1) ——————– Brethren dwelling in unity with brethren is a good and pleasant thing. Believers ought to behold and consider the marvel of that oneness. The goodness of that binding finds its source in God Almighty Who is good. How pleasant to a renewed mind when observing the grace of God that has granted a peace… Read More
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:6) ——————– It is gloriously honoring to the Triune God for His people to be sanctified (set apart unto holiness) through the truth concerning Christ (Who is truth Himself — John 14:6). The Father, Who sanctified a people in eternal election (Jude 1), the Son, Who sanctified the elect with His own blood (Hebrews 13:12), and the Spirit Who sanctifies the redeemed… Read More
“Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood…” (Romans 3:25) ——————– Men have always tried to earn peace. Pagan belief was that the gods must be appeased before peace and prosperity would again reign in the land. If human or animal sacrifice had to be made, this was but a small price to pay for the desired calm. Someone was offended and someone had done the… Read More
“This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.” (1 John 1:5) ——————– Without question, there is no proclamation from God Almighty to sinful man that declares anything apart form Christ and Him crucified. Christ who alone pleases the Father is Light. He is essentially the Light, robed in wisdom, understanding and honour. In… Read More
The natural mind assumes that every professor of religion is a true believer. While men may exercise amiable traits that lend themselves to kindness, sincerity, honesty, and spirituality, there is one mark that is indisputable — love for the brethren. Men may love others for various reasons, but it takes a new heart to love another believer simply because of the other believer’s love for Christ. Every false religious reason for loving… Read More
“Thus saith the Lord, Learn not the way of the heathen…for the customs of the people are vain.” (Jeremiah 10:1-3) ——————– Christmas is coming! Quite so; but what is “Christmas”? Does not the very term itself denote its source — “Christ-mass”? Thus it is of Roman origin, brought over from paganism. But, says someone, Christmas is the time when we commemorate the Saviour’s birth. It is? And who authorized such commemoration? Certainly… Read More
“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtlety, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3) ——————- The basis of all security in salvation is found in the person of Christ Jesus. Any thought or motive apart from Him and His finished work (by His fulfillment of God’s eternal covenant) is to depart from the hope of… Read More
“As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep. And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.” (John 10:15-16) ——————– The heart of the glorious gospel of Christ is His blessed substitution for His sheep. Christ, the Lamb… Read More
“Jesus answered, Are there not twelve hours in the day? If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not, because he seeth the light of this world.” (John 11:9) ——————- Divine proclamation established the day and the night and their purpose. Twelve hours of light were allotted for the work of day, and twelve dark hours of night were allotted for rest and reflection on the events of the day. In… Read More
Matthew 27:15 Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. Matthew 27:16 And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. Matthew 27:17 Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? Matthew 27:18 For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. Matthew 27:19… Read More
“Remember me, O Lord, with the favour that thou bearest unto thy people: O visit me with thy salvation.” (Psalm 106:4) ——————– How is a man brought and taught to want to be “visited with” God’s salvation? He must know something first of condemnation. Salvation only suits the condemned. “The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost;” (Matthew 18:11) and therefore salvation only suits the lost…. Read More
The religious professor receives doctrines because he sees them in the Bible. The believer not only sees them in the Book, but he feels them in his heart, put there by the Holy Spirit. The believer gets at truth through trouble. He arrives at the banquet of mercy through sharp pangs of hunger. He lays hold of the robe of righteousness, chilled by nakedness. He comes to the cross because he is… Read More
“The desire of our soul is to thy Name, and to the remembrance of thee.” (Isaiah 26:8) ——————– How sweet and expressive is the phrase, “The desire of our soul”! How it seems to carry our feelings with it! How it seems to describe the longings and utterings of a soul into which God has breathed the spirit of grace and mercy! “The desire of our soul” – the breathing of our… Read More
A believer knows one truth that gives him great comfort and freedom — that truth is Christ (John 14:6). Everything, when compared to Him, is obscure and false. Men may vainly proclaim great “truths,” but when these truths are viewed in the perfect light of the person of Christ, they are shown to be mere lies! Do we want to pay heed to the fabricated truths of man wherein no spiritual security… Read More
“I would seek unto God, and unto God would I commit my cause.” (Job 5:8) ——————– Eliphaz (unbeknownst to him, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit) had spoken of committing a cause unto God. Committing our cause to Christ requires a Spirit-given knowledge and rest in certain truths: First, God Almighty “doeth great and unsearchable things” (Job 5:9). These things, concerning the creative, providential, and redemptive work of a holy God… Read More
Of all utterances made concerning sinful man, there is one that stands alone in the security of a sinner’s hope … He “whose heart the Lord opened.” This heart, which is a cesspool of iniquity, will hear and generally acknowledge the message of the Gospel, but not until God Almighty in power through the preaching of Christ opens (lays bare) that heart to hear spiritually, will that sinner attend (embrace) the message… Read More
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17) ——————– Paul the apostle declares (by divine revelation) that he is not ashamed of the… Read More
Satan’s master plan is to get man religious without Christ. He would rather you be WHITEWASHED than WASHED WHITE in the blood of the Lamb. White washing will not save! I must be washed white in the BLOOD OF CHRIST (Revelation 7:14). [Don Bell]
“…I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.” (Psalm 40:1) ——————– Without Christ, true Godly patience is incomprehensible. When by grace the sinner is shown by the Spirit his utter dependence on the all-sufficient Christ, he begins to understand the inadequacy of his patience. He knows that he will never attain a patience wrought by an unwavering faith and an absolute trust in God’s good… Read More
Both the enemies of Christ such as the Pharisees and some who would be His friends have referred to Christ as a “sinner,” even the “greatest sinner.” We know that the scriptures teach that Christ as our Surety assumed the full responsibility of the sins of His people before the world began. Isaiah says, “The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6) But all that had to… Read More
“That which is highly esteemed (elevated) among men IS abomination in the sight of God.” (Luke 16:15) ——————– Abomination – Greek: bdelugma – a detestation; idolatry; a stinking unacceptable sacrifice; abhor; unholy ——————– “The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Corinthians 2:14) ——————– Natural – Greek: psuchikos – sensitive; animate;… Read More
“Deliver me from all my transgressions…” (Psalm 39:8) ——————– For an enlightened son of Adam, the longing of his renewed heart is for deliverance from that which is his nature — SIN! He longs not only for deliverance from daily temptation, but also from that final curse which will usher in everlasting damnation to those without Christ as their Substitute. This is a paradox, for with his mind he longs for deliverance… Read More
“…neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.” (Acts 2:27) ——————– If He had not been God, He certainly would have seen corruption, as well as other creatures have done; and that He was raised from the dead is not owing to His being man, but to His being God – “…being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:8). His flesh was raised… Read More
When reading Paul’s First Epistle to the Corinthians, it is important to observe: to whom the Epistle was written — to those at Corinth “with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours”; by whom it was written— the Apostle Paul and “Sosthenes our brother.” The Epistle was a reply to one already received — “now concerning the things whereof ye wrote… Read More
“When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled…” (John 11:33) Unbelievers, both during His presence on earth and today, usually perceive Christ as a man, or maybe a god-man, whose whole purpose was to offer sympathy to frail sinners. He is seen as one Who, although gravely concerned with man’s sin, was unable to feel the sting… Read More
Matthew 2:1-11 — “Jesus was born in Bethlehem” — “there came wise men from the east – saying, where is he that is born king of the Jews?” — “Herod gathered the chief priests and scribes” — “he demanded of them where Christ should be born” — “Herod enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared” — “the star…came and stood over where the young child was” – “when they were… Read More
My dear friend, Thomas Godwin, Mrs. S. gave a sweet and blessed testimony before the Church. I never heard a sweeter account of the love of God shed abroad in a poor sinner’s heart. But it was fresh and warm in her soul, and therefore came forth sweet and savoury. I understand she has been much tried about it since. I am (D.V.) to baptize three candidates tomorrow, and hope we may… Read More
My dear friend, Thomas Godwin, I had a hard day’s work yesterday, and having a bad cold, was almost unable to finish. The baptistry here is most inconvenient, being so long; and the women were all much agitated, and I had almost to carry them through the water, after I had baptized them, to the further side, and the lattice under my feet quite slippery. I hope however we had, on the… Read More
My Dear Friend, Mr. Grace I am much pleased with Miss H___’s letters. There is a freshness, a simplicity, and a naivete about them which, with their slightly foreign English, are very characteristic. I like the absence in them of that almost conventional language which has become almost the common epistolary style of gracious people. I shall better, perhaps, convey my meaning by quoting the remark of a friend, that “nearly all… Read More
My dear Friend, Mr. Grace I am much obliged to you for your kind and acceptable present, which came safely to hand. I much like what I have read of Huntington’s ‘Letters’. They give us himself not as the controversialist, though in that a good soldier of Jesus Christ—but as he was in his secret chamber. There is an infinity of admirable touches whereby the secret work of the Spirit on the… Read More
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