Monthly Archives: February 2023
Welwyn. December 1938.To Mr. J.H. Gosden. My dear Mr. Gosden,There has been an unaccountable constraint upon my mind for several days to write to you, but I have resisted this, knowing the pressure of duties upon your strength and time, and being unwilling to add by needlessly occupying any of that time. But this evening my mind is continually turned toward you, with I trust a prayerful desire on your behalf. I… Read More
“And the ransomed of the LORD shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.” (Isaiah 35:10) I hope the reader will indulge me with one short observation on the subject of Jesus giving Himself a ransom for His people. Never in all the annals of mankind was there ever heard of such unparalleled… Read More
Preached by brother William Gadsby, November 1st, 1840, in Manchester, England. “I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving.” (Psalm 116:17) Under the Jewish dispensation, God had appointed a variety of offerings and sacrifices for the Jews, under certain circumstances, to be attended to; and in Leviticus 7 you will find that the offering of the sacrifice of thanksgiving was to be accompanied with unleavened bread, mingled with oil, with wafers… Read More
“Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth.” (Romans 8:33) He against whom sin is committed, the lawgiver, and the righteous Judge, justifies them from every charge; not by teaching them the way of justification, nor by infusing righteousness into them, or on account of any works of righteousness done by them, but by pronouncing them righteous through the imputation of the righteousness of His… Read More
Preachers in this generation are running all around the country telling sinners that “Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” (Romans 10:13), which is very true; but they are not preaching Christ, telling sinners who He is and what He accomplished for His people. Then HOW can anyone call upon Him? (Romans 10:14). Sinners MUST call upon the Lord “in truth” (Psalm 145:18) – who He is, as He… Read More
“Whosover is born of God, doth not commit sin.”(1st John 3:9) What is here said of the seed of CHRIST, and their inability to commit sin, is wholly in reference to their spiritual nature. For thus the words express it. “Whosoever is born of GOD, doth not commit sin.” The new-birth, or the being born of GOD, which is the same thing, is wholly spiritual. For the body of flesh remains the same… Read More
“Knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God.” (1st Thessalonians 1:4) Recently a young mother I know made this comment. She said, “The one thing about the election of God, that concerns me the most is the fact that my children may not be the elect of God.” So many people think and believe that “the election of God” shuts sinners out of salvation and redemption. It does no such thing! It actually makes salvation… Read More
“It Is Finished!” (John 19:30) Jesus, when He had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. There is something very striking in this loud voice of Jesus. Not like one exhausted; not as one dispirited; but as a conqueror in the field of battle, retreating with His spoils. Jesus cried aloud, that all on earth, and all in heaven, and all in hell, might hear, “It is finished!” What is finished?… Read More
Believer how much time and energy do we put into thinking about tomorrow? How much confusion, fear and doubt is caused by our taking thought of what we are going to do, where we are going to be and how we are going to get there? Our Lord Jesus said we cannot add cubit to our statue by thinking about it! Then why do we not believe our Lord who told us… Read More
Every child of God is very interested in forgiveness. We should be very interested in forgiveness because we are great sinners. Believers love to hear the gospel cry that there is forgiveness of sin in the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 1:7). Those who are forgiven must also be interested in being forgiving. From time to time a brother or sister will offend us. What should we do in that situation? Forgive… Read More
A friend, calling on Ebenezer Erskine during his last illness, said to him, “Sir, you have preached to others all these years; what are you now doing with your own soul?” “I am doing with it,” he replied, “what I did forty years ago; I am resting on God’s Word, which says, ‘I am the Lord thy God’; and, on this, I mean to die.” To another he said, “The covenant of… Read More
“I depend wholly and alone upon the free, sovereign, eternal, unchangeable love of God; the firm and everlasting covenant of grace; and my interest in the persons of the Trinity for my whole salvation; and not upon any righteousness of my own, nor on anything in me, or done by me under the influence of the Holy Spirit; nor upon any service of mine, which I have been assisted to perform for… Read More
“My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” (1st John 3:18) The thing that troubles me most about the validity of our profession of Christ is that we talk, preach, and sing of love, mercy, and forgiveness. But then, when the opportunity comes for us to love the unlovely, forgive the offender, and bind up the wounded heart, we join the circle of… Read More
One of the principal designs of our gracious heavenly Father in the ordering of our path, in the appointing of our testings and trials, in the discipline of His love, is to bring us to the end of ourselves, to show us our own powerlessness, to teach us to have no confidence in the flesh, that His strength may be made perfect in our conscious and realized weakness. Arthur Pink
“I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.” (Hosea 2:23) Declarations of grace depend not on the will of the flesh for their accomplishment. Sovereign power brings sovereign purposes to effect. Human will can neither forward… Read More
It is not a lawful use of the law to seek justification and acceptance with God by our obedience to it; because it is not appointed for this end, or capable of answering it in our circumstances. The very attempt is a daring impeachment of the wisdom and goodness of God – “For if righteousness could come by the law, then Christ has died in vain” (Galatians 2:21; Galatians 3:21). So that such… Read More
One who believes he cannot be saved due to the severity of his sins is hardly closer to the kingdom of God than the man who believes that his own righteousness and works shall save him. The first man may look like a truly repentant person, but he is not. The only difference is that the first man is waiting for some improvement in himself to make him worthy of salvation, while… Read More
Does Satan accuse you, that you are a sinner before God, and cursed by the law of God? The charge is just – OWN IT. Yet this need not destroy your peace of conscience. PUT ON CHRIST, your breast-plate of righteousness. For, He was made sin for us, that we sinners might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2nd Corinthians 5:21). “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law,… Read More
Why do they not teach the whole counsel of God? Why do they not teach about the great apostasy of our day? I will tell you why it is not preached today. Pastors are deadly afraid that the members of “their” congregations will discover these verses themselves, and then pastors are afraid they will lose their jobs, and lose their pensions, and lose their housing allowances, and lose their car allowances, and… Read More
I am convinced that one would have to approach the scriptures with a mindset of Sabbath-keeping in order to arrive at the conclusions and interpretations that are set forth in these studies. If a man was taught the gospel of free grace in JESUS CHRIST without the injection of the legalistic mindset of “reformation theology” he would never arrive at these conclusions. An honest and straightforward reading of the new testament without this preconceived… Read More
Why is sin suffered to dwell in us, make us groan and distress us? To make it more hateful to us, to put us out of conceit with ourselves and our own righteousness, and to endear Christ’s atonement and righteousness to our souls, that all our comfort should spring from Him. William Mason (1719-1791)
“Awake, ye drunkards, and weep; and howl, all ye drinkers of wine, because of the new wine; for it is cut off from your mouth.”(Joel 1:5) “Awake Ye Drunkards” Awake! Meaning to arise or watch. Psalms 35:23 – Stir up thyself, and awake to my judgment, even unto my cause, my God and my Lord. Psalm 17:15 – As for me, I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied, when I awake, with thy likeness. We wonder why… Read More
“For a nation is come up upon my land, strong, and without number, whose teeth are the teeth of a lion, and he hath the cheek teeth of a great lion.” (Joel 1:6) A Nation is Come Up Upon My Land Joel 1:1-5 In Review: 1 – ¶The word of the LORD that came to Joel the son of Pethuel. 2 – Hear this, ye old men, and give ear, all ye inhabitants of the land. Hath this been in your days, or even in… Read More
“Be ye ashamed, O ye husbandmen; howl, O ye vinedressers, for the wheat and for the barley; because the harvest of the field is perished.” (Joel 1:11) Here we are at verse eleven and God has re-emphasized over and over throughout this chapter in various ways; each a bit different statement but nonetheless teaching the same truth. When we search out other commentaries on the first chapter of Joel we find most prominently that they are teaching an historic event only; one that has long since… Read More
“The vine is dried up, and the fig tree languisheth; the pomegranate tree, the palm tree also, and the apple tree, even all the trees of the field, are withered: because joy is withered away from the sons of men.” (Joel 1:12) Verse twelve continues to give us the same story that the entire chapter is focused upon, and that is the Word of God being withdrawn from the human race. This verse begins by stating that the vine is dried up. The Vine is ultimately Jesus… Read More
“Behold, Your God.” (Isaiah 40:9) Get up on a high mountain, lift up your voice, be not afraid, and say to the people, “Behold your God.” That Divine person is come that was promised, prophesied, and expected – even EMMANUEL, God with us, God in our nature, God manifest in the flesh, God our Saviour; and who, being God, truly God, is able to save to the uttermost. Look to Him and be saved! Behold… Read More
There has never been a time when the eternal Jehovah did not look to Christ, the Lamb slain, as the ground of all His blessings to and the salvation of His elect. As He said of that earthly people that picture His redeemed, “When I see the blood I will pass over you.” (Exodus 12:13) It was not when they saw it but when He saw it! When did God “see” the blood of… Read More
Back in the early 1990s I was involved with a tiny congregation that was a part of a large national reformed “denomination”. We had some wonderful sermons and Bible studies and many times the “pastors” would seem to try and dig out spiritual truths from Scripture, which delighted many of us. However, it seemed rather strange to me that so many of the “pastors” from that “denomination” held a vast fascination to guns. After “Sunday… Read More
“Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24) To deny yourself is not refusing yourself something that you want, even if it is for the greater good. That is temperance or self control. Neither is the idea of giving up something you love as an effort to sacrifice for God, denying yourself. That… Read More
The atonement for sin is made only by Christ, our Great High Priest. He, Himself, and no other, bore our sins; and He, Himself, purged them away. By His sacrifice alone He expiated our sins and accomplished our salvation, and of the people there were none to help nor assist Him. Moses wrote, “And there shall be no man in the tabernacle of the congregation when the high priest goes in to make… Read More
The Hebrews had one general name for treasure, and called it Ozer. The sweetest of all thoughts is that Jesus is the treasure of His people. JEHOVAH promised the church by Moses that he would command the blessing upon Israel in his storehouses, and in all that he would set his hand unto. And when the Holy Ghost explains this to the soul of the redeemed, and he sees that this is… Read More
When I shall be summoned to the great tribunal, what will be my plea, what my dependence? Nothing but Christ! Christ, I would say, has been wounded for my sins, therefore they will not be punished in me. Christ has fulfilled all righteousness in my stead, therefore I trust to be justified when I am judged. I am a poor unworthy sinner but worthy is the Lamb that was slain, worthy is… Read More
“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” (1st Timothy 2:5) Paul’s words to Timothy go out to all the world as an essential part of the Gospel. They are a declaration made to the “politically correct” and “all-inclusive” generation of which we are apart. It comes to modern man who demands open-mindedness, tolerance, religious diversity and all the other such notions that characterize… Read More
This topic is one of the most important doctrines in the Bible and a forgotten one at that. It is one of the hardest if not the hardest task a believer will ever have to undergo. The Bible commands us that we are to separate from unbelievers, but how do we go about it? Who is considered an unbeliever? And how do we go about separating from loved ones that don’t seem… Read More
“Hear me when I call, O God of my righteousness: Thou hast enlarged me when I was in distress; have mercy upon me, and hear my prayer … I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for Thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.” (Psalm 4:1; Psalm 4:8) Reader, let us never lose sight of the Lord Jesus while reading this Psalm. He is the LORD our righteousness. Therefore,… Read More
“Offer unto God thanksgiving; and pay thy vows unto the most High: And call upon Me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify Me.” (Psalm 50:14-15) This offering is the sacrifice of praise. This should be offered up for all mercies, temporal and spiritual, and unto God, because they all come from Him; and because such sacrifices are well pleasing to Him, and are no other… Read More
Our Surety is expressly said to have been made both sin and a curse for His redeemed, that they “might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2nd Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13). And what a blessedness is there contained in this one view of the completeness of the church in Jesus! So that, in the very moment that the child of God feels the workings of corruption within him, and is groaning… Read More
God is sovereign. He will choose whomsoever He will. He has chosen whomsoever He will. And that choice, having been made shall be confirmed and ratified in glory at last. Yes, so all that the Father gave by donation to his only beloved Son, Jesus Christ, shall be surely at the appointed time and in the appointed place and by the appointed manner, come to the Lord Jesus Christ and none shall… Read More
The decree of election stands upon an Unchangeable Foundation, to wit, that Rock of Ages, “Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8) As the first Adam was the foundation stone in the decree of creation, so the last Adam, even Jesus, is the Foundation Stone in the decree of election. God hath blessed us in Him, yea and we shall be blessed. He hath chosen us in Him, pardoned us in… Read More
“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.” (2nd Corinthians 5:21) O, what a remembrance was this! He was made sin for us, Who knew no sin that we might have a complete salvation: in Him, He makes us the righteousness of God: in Him. What a wonder of wonders! For if He had merely… Read More
God passed by His people, gathered all their sins together, their sins of omission and commission, against light and against knowledge, in principle and in practice and placed them all to the account of His Son. He drew His Divine Sword and demanded full satisfaction; if one iota had been left unanswered, justice must have damned the whole elect. But the blessed Redeemer fully canceled every demand. He bore the penal wrath,… Read More
In the resurrection of Christ, all the redeemed were declared justified. They died and rose in Him and none can now lay anything to their charge. If it be but a man’s covenant, yet if it be confirmed, no man disannulleth or addeth thereto. Now, to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. Was not, then, the veracity of God pledged for the fulfillment of the promises to all the seed?… Read More
“For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.” (Leviticus 16:30) My dear friend, read this verse of scripture and humble yourself before the LORD and believe it. Christ Jesus, the priest of God’s own choosing has already made atonement for you if you believe on him for it. Would you be clean from… Read More
“And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment: And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment? And he was speechless. Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth…. Read More
“Let me not, I pray you, accept any man’s person, neither let me give flattering titles unto man. For I know not to give flattering titles; in so doing my maker would soon take me away.” (Job 32:21-22) Any letter written by an apostle to any congregation never once mentions a pastor, doesn’t that tell you something? They do not exist, at least…not in the way they are understood in modern times…. Read More
“He sent redemption unto His people: He hath commanded His covenant for ever: holy and reverend is His name.” (Psalm 111:9) Salvation is truly a glorious and marvelous thing. But its glory does not lie in our contributions and efforts. All glory resides in what God alone does for and gives to us by sovereign grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. Consider: God “sent redemption unto His people.” This is the GROUND of salvation… Read More
In removal of it, it is best to deal with God about it; for God is the great witness of our sincerity, as knowing all things; and so to be appealed to in the case. Again, God is the most powerful asserter of our innocency; He has the hearts and tongues of men in His own hands, and can either prevent the slanderer from uttering reproach, or the hearer from the entertainment… Read More
Paul, in the book of Romans, reminds us that “Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.” (Romans 11:1-6) A “remnant” is a part of a greater piece or body. It may be a small piece, but it is still a part of the whole. Paul makes reference to Elijah who sat down under a juniper tree in despair and discouragement and begged God… Read More
Paul wrote in Romans 1:16-17 – “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: … For therein is the righteousness of God revealed …” It must be then that where there is no preaching of the righteousness of God, there is neither preaching of the Gospel of Christ or believing it. What does Paul mean by “the righteousness of God”? Since the Gospel is the Gospel of salvation, it declares the God who… Read More
JEHOVAH SHAMMAH means “The LORD is there” (Ezekiel 48:35). Such is the name of the church in consequence of the presence of her glorious Husband. The prophet is speaking by the Spirit of prophecy and looking into the days of the Gospel; so that here is a mark to know the church by now, and which will be the character of Christ’s church forever. Without the LORD’s presence there is no church; unless… Read More
“But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.” (1st Corinthians 2:10) The Spirit of God in a man’s bosom searches the deep things of God, so as to lead him into a spiritual and experimental knowledge of them. What depths do we sometimes see in a single text of Scripture opened to the understanding, or applied to the… Read More
God teaches us humility, not only by hearing what wicked creatures we are; nor by merely looking into ourselves and seeing a whole swarm of evils there. We learn humility, not merely by a discovery of what we are as sinful and depraved, pitiful creatures, but also by a discovery of who and what the Lord Jesus Christ is to His people. We need a glimpse of Christ Jesus, of His love,… Read More
Concerning salvation, take into consideration the almighty and all-loving Author of it, and by Whom it was accomplished. What He is in Himself, in the glories of His person, His greatness, fitness, suitability, and all-sufficiency; what He is in His work, and what He hath done for His redeemed, the salvation He hath wrought beyond all conception of value in its completeness, and beyond all reach of extent in its efficacy, being… Read More
It is true that I have sin in me, but it is pardoned. God has forgiven me all trespasses. I stand before Him in my Redeemer, Who undertook for me, and I am perfect in Him. The Father chose me in His Son. He looks upon the face of His beloved, and sees me in Him. In Christ He is well pleased, so He is with me! As He loves Christ, He… Read More
“If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God-speed; for he that biddeth him God-speed is partaker of his evil deeds.” (2nd John 10-11) In these days of boasted liberality, it may appear critical and contentious to oppose with zeal the errors of men who have acquired a name in the Christian world. The mantle of charity, it will be said,… Read More
“And now, Father, glorify thou me with thine own self, with the glory which I had with thee before the world was.” (John 17:5) Was the petition granted? Answer, ye Roman sentinels, who watched His sepulcher! Answer, ye men of Galilee, who gazed upon His chariot as He ascended from the Mount of Olives! The glorification of the Son by the Father implies all the honours of His mediatorial office: all the crowns… Read More
When the Holy Spirit shows us the necessity, the beauty and the sufficiency of the death of Christ, we repent of our own foolish works of self-righteousness, we forsake every other way of seeking to please God, we look to Christ and His substitutionary death as the only ground of our acceptance with God and our conscience rests in the quiet assurance that Christ has satisfied God on our behalf and saved… Read More
Then learn one thing! Jesus Christ is ALL in our justification before God! Only through Christ can a sinner have peace with the Holy God. Only by Christ alone can a sinner be accepted and admitted into God’s presence. HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS is the only robe which will cover us. HIS BLOOD is the only mark that will save us from eternal death. HIS NAME is the only name by which we shall… Read More
Though God sees sin in His people with His eye of omniscience, yet not with His eye of revenging justice. Though He sees them, in respect of His providence, which reaches all things, yet not in respect of justification. Though He takes notice of His people’s sins so as to chastise them in a fatherly way, for their good; yet He does not see them, take notice of them, and observe them… Read More
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