Tag Archives: child of god

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Charles Spurgeon – Elijah’s appeal to the undecided

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“How long halt ye between two opinions? If the Lord be God, follow him: if Baal, then follow him.” 1 Kings 18:21

Suggested Further Reading: John 13:12-19

I insist that it is your bounden duty, if you believe in God, simply because he is God, to serve him and obey him. I do not tell you it is for your advantage—it may be, I believe it is—but that I put aside from the question; I demand of you that you follow God, if you believe him to be God. If you do not think he is God; if you really think that the devil is God, then follow him; his pretended godhead shall be your plea, and you shall be consistent; but if God be God, if he made you, I demand that you serve him; if it is he who puts the breath into your nostrils, I demand that you obey him. If God be really worthy of worship, and you really think so, I demand that you either follow him, or else deny that he is God at all. Now, professor, if thou sayest that Christ’s gospel is the only gospel, if thou believest in the divinity of the gospel, and puttest thy trust in Christ, I demand of thee to follow out the gospel, not merely because it will be to thy advantage, but because the gospel is divine. If thou makest a profession of being a child of God, if thou art a believer, and thinkest and believest religion is the best, the service of God most desirable, I do not come to plead with thee because of any advantage thou wouldst get by being holy; it is on this ground that I put it, that the Lord is God; and if he be God, it is thy business to serve him. If his gospel be true, and thou believest it to be true, it is thy duty to carry it out.

For meditation: Four things God will not accept—hypocrisy (Luke 6:46), half-heartedness (Luke 9:59-62), double-mindedness (James 1:6-8) and lukewarmness (Revelation 3:15,16).

Sermon no. 134

31 May (1857)

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Alistair Begg – Little Sins

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Catch the foxes for us, the little foxes that spoil the vineyards.  Song of Songs 2:15

A little thorn can cause much suffering. A small cloud may hide the sun. Tiny foxes spoil the vineyards; and little sins do mischief to the tender heart. These small sins burrow in the soul and fill it with what is hateful to Christ, and thus our comfortable fellowship and communion with Him is spoiled. A great sin cannot destroy a Christian, but a little sin can make him miserable.

Jesus will not walk with His people unless they drive out every known sin. He says, “If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”1 Some Christians rarely enjoy their Savior’s presence. How is this? Surely it must be an affliction for a tender child to be separated from his father. Are you a child of God, and yet satisfied to live without seeing your Father’s face?

What! You are the spouse of Christ, and yet content to be absent from His company! Surely, you have fallen into a sad state, for the pure spouse of Christ mourns like a dove without her mate when he has left her.

Here is the question: What has driven Christ from you? He hides His face behind the wall of your sins. That wall may be made up of little pebbles as easily as of great stones. The sea is made of drops; the rocks are made of grains: And the sea that divides you from Christ may be filled with the drops of your little sins; and the rock that almost wrecked the vessel of your life may have been made by the daily working of the coral insects of your little sins.

If you would live with Christ and walk with Christ and see Christ and have fellowship with Christ, pay attention to “the little foxes that spoil the vineyard, for our vineyards are in blossom.” Jesus invites you to go with Him against them. He will surely, like Samson, take the foxes at once and easily. Go with Him to the hunting.

1 – John 15:10

 

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Alistair Begg – Claiming God’s Promises

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Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope. – Psalm 119:45

Whatever your particular need may be, you will find some promise in the Bible related to it. Are you faint and feeble because your way is rough and you are weary? Here is the promise–“He gives power to the faint.” When you read such a promise, take it back to the great Promiser and ask Him to fulfill His own word. Are you seeking for Christ and thirsting for closer communion with Him? This promise shines like a star upon you–“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” Take that promise to the throne continually; do not plead anything else, but go to God over and over again with this–“Lord, You have said it; do as You have said.”

Are you distressed because of sin and burdened with the heavy load of your iniquities? Listen to these words–“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” You have no merit of your own to plead why He should pardon you, but plead His written promises and He will perform them. Are you afraid that you might not be able to hold on to the end and that after having thought yourself a child of God you should prove a castaway? If that is your condition, take this word of grace to the throne and plead it: “The mountains may depart and the hills be removed, but my steadfast love shall not depart from you.”

If you have lost the sweet sense of the Savior’s presence and are seeking Him with a sorrowful heart, remember the promises: “Return to me . . . and I will return to you.” “For a brief moment I deserted you, but with great compassion I will gather you.” Feast your faith upon God’s own Word, and whatever your fears or wants, take them to the Bank of Faith with your Father’s note, which reads, “Remember your word to your servant, in which you have made me hope.”

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Charles Stanley – Sanctification

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Romans 6:17-22

The Lord has a grand plan for the life of every person, and it can be summed up in a single word: sanctification. If you are scratching your head about what that terms means, you are not alone. Many people—even some longtime Christians—do not know its definition. However, believers should see to it that they acquire that knowledge because it’s an important word, and it defines them.

In its verb form—sanctify—the term means “to make holy” or “to separate.” So when something is sanctified, it is separated from a common use to a sacred one. In the Old Testament, we are told that the Lord sanctified a number of things: He made the seventh day holy, set aside the Levite tribe as priests, and even consecrated places like the Holy of Holies in the tabernacle (Gen. 2:3; Num. 3).

The Lord still sanctifies people today. Before a person receives salvation, he is spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1-3). What’s more, Romans 5:10 tells us that before we come to faith, we’re actually enemies of God. Yet the moment someone trusts in Jesus as his personal Savior, his sins are wiped away, and he is adopted into the Lord’s family. That individual is then set apart as a child of God for a sacred purpose. This means believers are not here simply to chase after personal gain. Rather, they are to serve God and bring Him honor and glory.

As members of God’s family who are called to reflect His glory, believers are referred to as “saints.” This word shares a root with sanctification. We are referred to this way, not because we live sinless lives but because we live a life consistent with the One we represent.

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Charles Stanley – Christ’s Blood: The Necessity

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Romans 3:21-26

Romans 3 communicates the very heart of Scripture. Apart from the cross of Christ and His atoning death, no one can be declared righteous.

In other words, there is only one way to become a child of God—through the blood of the Savior (John 14:6). Good works and right living will not earn the Lord’s favor, because every person inevitably sins, and a sinner cannot enter the presence of holy God. The shedding of Christ’s blood on the world’s behalf made it possible for anyone to be cleansed of sin and have a relationship with the Creator. The only requirement is trusting Jesus as Savior.

For God to be just, He must remain true to His own principles. His holiness dictated that “the soul who sins will die” (Ezek. 18:4). The penalty for sin—namely, death—had to be paid in a way that was acceptable to God. He explained through Moses why a blood sacrifice was required: “For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you on the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood by reason of the life that makes atonement” (Lev. 17:11). A life must be given for a life to be spared.

On that basis, the heavenly Father provided a perfectly sinless sacrifice for all mankind. The only way God’s justice could be satisfied and His holiness could be maintained was for Jesus Christ to take our guilt and sin upon Himself and die in our place.

When we say that there is only one way to the Father, we mean that a person must believe Jesus Christ died as a perfect sacrifice. To trust in anything else is to ignore God’s holiness and the admonition of His Word (Acts 4:12).

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Our Riches in Christ – Charles Stanley

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Philippians 4:19-20

As believers, we are truly wealthy because of the riches and grace that are ours in Christ. We have been chosen, redeemed, justified, united with God, and made citizens of heaven. But there is even more to include on our list.

Jesus told the disciples that His departure was necessary: it would actually benefit His followers, as He could then send the third member of the Trinity to indwell each believer (John 16:7). Upon salvation, we are given the Holy Spirit, who seals us as God’s children, comforts us in our pain, and teaches us how to live righteously.

Through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, we become more and more like Jesus, which is another blessing from the Lord. His Spirit transforms us from the inside out and produces godly fruit in our life (Gal. 5:22-23). He also empowers us to choose righteous living and break unholy habits.

Another amazing blessing for Christians is access to the throne of grace. At any time, we can enter into God’s presence through prayer and worship. And resurrection and glorification are also treasures for the child of God. Just as the Savior’s body was resurrected, our bodies will likewise be raised; in heaven, they will be made perfect, and we will be free from sin’s presence forever.

Our wealth in Christ surpasses anything this world offers. Don’t let yourself be seduced by earthly thinking, which values comfort and pleasure above all else. Instead, treasure who you are in Christ and what you have been given. When you do, peace and contentment will become yours.

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Charles Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening

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Morning  “Continue in prayer.” / Colossians 4:2

It is interesting to remark how large a portion of Sacred Writ is occupied

with the subject of prayer, either in furnishing examples, enforcing precepts,

or pronouncing promises. We scarcely open the Bible before we read, “Then

began men to call upon the name of the Lord;” and just as we are about to

close the volume, the “Amen” of an earnest supplication meets our ear.

Instances are plentiful. Here we find a wrestling Jacob–there a Daniel who

prayed three times a day–and a David who with all his heart called upon his

God. On the mountain we see Elias; in the dungeon Paul and Silas. We have

multitudes of commands, and myriads of promises. What does this teach us, but

the sacred importance and necessity of prayer? We may be certain that whatever

God has made prominent in his Word, he intended to be conspicuous in our

lives. If he has said much about prayer, it is because he knows we have much

need of it. So deep are our necessities, that until we are in heaven we must

not cease to pray. Dost thou want nothing? Then, I fear thou dost not know thy

poverty. Hast thou no mercy to ask of God? Then, may the Lord’s mercy show

thee thy misery! A prayerless soul is a Christless soul. Prayer is the lisping

of the believing infant, the shout of the fighting believer, the requiem of

the dying saint falling asleep in Jesus. It is the breath, the watchword, the

comfort, the strength, the honour of a Christian. If thou be a child of God,

thou wilt seek thy Father’s face, and live in thy Father’s love. Pray that

this year thou mayst be holy, humble, zealous, and patient; have closer

communion with Christ, and enter oftener into the banqueting-house of his

love. Pray that thou mayst be an example and a blessing unto others, and that

thou mayst live more to the glory of thy Master. The motto for this year must

be, “Continue in prayer.”

 

Evening  “Let the people renew their strength.” / Isaiah 41:1

All things on earth need to be renewed. No created thing continueth by itself.

“Thou renewest the face of the year,” was the Psalmist’s utterance. Even the

trees, which wear not themselves with care, nor shorten their lives with

labour, must drink of the rain of heaven and suck from the hidden treasures of

the soil. The cedars of Lebanon, which God has planted, only live because day

by day they are full of sap fresh drawn from the earth. Neither can man’s life

be sustained without renewal from God. As it is necessary to repair the waste

of the body by the frequent meal, so we must repair the waste of the soul by

feeding upon the Book of God, or by listening to the preached Word, or by the

soul-fattening table of the ordinances. How depressed are our graces when

means are neglected! What poor starvelings some saints are who live without

the diligent use of the Word of God and secret prayer! If our piety can live

without God it is not of divine creating; it is but a dream; for if God had

begotten it, it would wait upon him as the flowers wait upon the dew. Without

constant restoration we are not ready for the perpetual assaults of hell, or

the stern afflictions of heaven, or even for the strifes within. When the

whirlwind shall be loosed, woe to the tree that hath not sucked up fresh sap,

and grasped the rock with many intertwisted roots. When tempests arise, woe to

the mariners that have not strengthened their mast, nor cast their anchor, nor

sought the haven. If we suffer the good to grow weaker, the evil will surely

gather strength and struggle desperately for the mastery over us; and so,

perhaps, a painful desolation, and a lamentable disgrace may follow. Let us

draw near to the footstool of divine mercy in humble entreaty, and we shall

realize the fulfilment of the promise, “They that wait on the Lord shall renew

their strength.”