ABC's Father Heart of God "H" Heart Healer

Have you "known" God, our Abba as the healer of your heart? Have you seen shattered, wounded places restored?
When we have a wounded place, a hurting place, we want to feel better. Generally we want to feel better RIGHT NOW or yesterday would be good too.
So often, we turn to BEEPS. I love the term BEEPS, its from James Wilder's Life Model Resources.  His heart is for healing of addictions and trauma.  BEEPS is an acronym, “an attachment to a Behavior, Event, Experience, Person or Substance (BEEPS) that is used to regulate emotion, increase pleasure or decrease pain.” BEEPS is a very useful concept, because it describes the neurochemical process of attachment that is at the root of all addictions. They have brain data, research to document it and are Christian/ Christ centered in all their teaching.

http://www.lifemodel.org/download/AddictionAttachmentThriving.pdf

This goes well with the CR definition of Hurt, Habit, Hang-up
What is a Hurt, Habit or Hang-up?
• Hurt: a reaction to another’s behavior or a situation (e.g. abuse, abandonment, co-dependence, divorce, etc.)
•
• Habit: addiction or compulsive use of someone or something (e.g. alcohol, drugs, food, porn, gambling, etc.)
•
• Hang-up: negative mental attitudes regarding others or adversity (e.g. anger, fear, bitterness, anxiety, controlling, etc.)
 God is the one who is the PERFECT "BEEPS" and the healer for the root cause of every hurt, habit an hang-up.
Tonight we are going to study The ABCs of the Father Heart of GOD, "H". God is our heart-healer.

We are looking at verses and sharing what we notice about God or how we are to respond to the verse...Please use either mic or type to respond and the (!) so everyone can share. Your thoughts are important.
So glad you are here.
Lets pray.. would anyone like to open us in prayer?

Have you ever had a broken heart?

Has your heart ever been broken over sin? Your own sin that sometimes you think you simply will never stop either doing or wanting to do?

Or perhaps your heart was broken as a small child by someone else’s sin. Maybe someone who you trusted. A parent, a relative, a neighbor or a stranger.

Is your heart broken right now?
Over a relationship that ended by death, divorce or some other way? By desperate loneliness? Fear? Shame? Loss of health? A medical diagnosis? Financial loss?

There is no way we can go through life without experiencing a broken heart. In the bible we are told, When (not if, when) your heart is overwhelmed, come to the Rock. Psalm 61:2 From the end of the earth I will cry to You, When my heart is overwhelmed; Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.

We are told that Jesus came to bind the broken hearted. Psalm 147:3 He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.We would not have been told such things unless God in his awesome goodness knew that at times our hearts would be broken.

Since God knows what life is like and since God loves us, cares for us intimately, He HAS prepared in advance the care, nurture and provision we will need WHEN we go through a time of being heart broken or heart sick.

When a sudden heart shattering event occurs, AND we suddenly realize life will never be the same again, or when we are in healing for an older one (event) which is so far not yet healed, we need to know that God is there for us. So today, we are going to explore what God’s Word has to say about when our hearts are broken.

I am going to read you a writing first that I wrote when my own heart was shattered into tiny pieces and I thought I would surely die. It had been broken at other times, during other seasons for different reasons. But at this time something happened so suddenly and with no warning at all. The Lord spoke this writing into my heart.

Shattered Hearts
Beloved, yes there are shattered places in your heart.
Indeed there are shattered places in every heart.
I am the restorer of your heart.

When you come to me,
Each time you come to Me,
Lifting up your heart to Me,
No matter how you are feeling,
I will reach over and take your heart,
Tenderly into My love.

I will simply breathe onto and into,
The shattered places (and),
They will be restored.

Beloved, I know that there are broken places,
In the hearts of My people.
That is why I send forth the invitation,
Time and time again, to come to Me,
To rest in My love,
To rest in My embrace,
To lean on Me.
For that is the place/position,
From which restoration comes.

Psalm 34:18
The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, And saves such as have a contrite spirit.

In this verse we see both sorts of broken heart...by our own sin, which would cause us to be broken in sorrow or contrite and those who have a broken heart.. I think also by the actions of another or an event of catastrophic nature.

Would anyone like to share?

Lets look at Isa...where Isa is telling us about the Savior, Jesus, who is to come:
Isaiah 61:1-3 NKJ "The Spirit of the Lord GOD [is] upon Me, Because the LORD has anointed Me To preach good tidings to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives, And the opening of the prison to [those who are] bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, And the day of vengeance of our God; To comfort all who mourn, To console those who mourn in Zion, To give them beauty for ashes, The oil of joy for mourning, The garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; That they may be called trees of righteousness, The planting of the LORD, that He may be glorified."

The Greek words for “broken heart” used here (in BOTH passages) are shabar leb. Quoting John Elderidge: The Hebrew is leb shabar (leb for "heart," shabar for "broken"). Isaiah uses the word shabar to describe a bush whose "twigs are dry, they are broken off " (27:11); to describe the idols of Babylon lying "shattered on the ground" (21:9), as a statue shatters into a thousand pieces when you knock it off the table; or to describe a broken bone (38:13). God is speaking literally here. He says, "Your heart is now in many pieces. I want to heal it."

Anyone like to comment?

Let’s look at one more verse:
psalm 147:3 AMP
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds [curing their pains and their sorrows].
NKJV
Psa 147:3 (NKJV) — He heals the brokenhearted And binds up their wounds.
The same Greek words, Shabar leb are used here.

So we have proof that God does heal our broken, shattered hearts. How does that happen?
Any ideas? Has God been healing your broken shattered places? How has he done that?

****PAUSE******

If our heart is broken over our own sin..things we have done or we do even now that we know grieve the heart of God and hence grieve us too. We know that the steps are Admit (own up to it), Repent, Ask for and receive forgiveness and then Go forth and sin no more. In CR, we learn (or will if you are not on that step yet) that sometimes we will need to offer amends to those our sin has wounded. Often God will simply remove a sin, but just as often, it is a process of going again and again to God for healing of the hurt that led to the sin. So Admit, Repent, Ask, Receive, Forgive, Go forth.

When the heart wounds are the result of either “life” or sin done to us by another, the process of having our heart healed is slightly different.
First we have to admit the pain, sorrow of grief. I saw a really neat quote in an article I was reading. This was written by Janet Treadway and I loved it:

Understand that it is OK to hurt. We try to push the hurt away, but we can’t. The hurt isn’t outside of us—it’s inside. So, in our attempt to push the hurt away, we actually push the hurt deeper inside. We then can spend the rest of our life running from this suppressed hurt.

I think we can all identify with that. Much of the reason we came to need CR was due to an attempt to suppress the hurts of our past. We found that does not work so well.
We have shown that the Heart of our Father God, our Abba who loves us is to HEAL our broken heart places. So how does he do that?
I am quoting bits from an article which I will post in the forum. It is from a book by Steve and Sarah Berger, called HAVE HEART which they wrote following the sudden accidental death of their son, Josiah.

GOD’S TRUTH IS THE FOUNDATION
God is there waiting for you. He’s there to start the heal-
ing process. He’s waiting for you with comfort and truth in
the Person of the Holy Spirit. John 16:7, 13 says, “Nevertheless-
less I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away;
for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but
if I depart, I will send Him to you. However, when He, the
Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth.”
God has given His children a Comforter who guides us
into His truth. If you feel disconnected from God’s comfort
and truth, the Holy Spirit may be the missing link for you.
We would encourage you to ask the Holy Spirit to come in
and fill you with God’s truth. The Comforter will serve and
soothe you as Jesus picks up the bits of your heart and carries
you through the healing process.

King David wrote in Psalm 34:18, “The Lord is near to
those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a con-
trite spirit.” When our hearts are broken and we feel that God
isn’t near, the truth tells us He is. When we feel like God’s forsaken us, the truth tells us He’s nearer than at any other time
in our lives. This is the truth we need to meditate on, claim,
speak, and thank God for.

Note in the verse that “Lord” is spelled in small caps.
This has a purpose. Bible translators use caps and small caps
to identify where the covenant name of God (or YHWH,
phonetically pronounced “Yahweh”) appears in the text. The
Bible describes Yahweh as the one true God who met Moses
at the burning bush, delivered Israel from Egypt, and gave
Moses the Ten Commandments. In this psalm, David was
talking about “the great I AM” (Exodus 3:14), the Creator
God who is self-sufficient, all-powerful, and self-existent. He
is the First and the Last, the Alpha and the Omega.
In writing this psalm, David could have chosen other names
for God. For example, he could have chosen “Adonai” (mean-
ing “my Lord”), but he didn’t. He could have used “Elohim”
(meaning “He is the power over powers”), but he did not. He
said, “Lord,” the great “I AM.” He used the name of God
that is too big for words, and beloved, that is the God who is
near to the brokenhearted. That’s a promise we need to hold
on to when we are brokenhearted, and it’s a promise we need
to share with those who are hurting around us.
Paul wrote in Romans 8:38, 39, “For I am persuaded that
neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor pow-
ers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor
depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate
us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

He is saying that the love of God hasn’t stopped. It didn’t stop
when Jesus was on the Cross, it didn’t stop when Paul had his
head pressed against a stone table before he was beheaded,
and it didn’t stop when Peter was hanging upside down to
be crucified. The love of God never, ever stops in the midst
of our brokenheartedness, and regardless of what we feel, we
must hold on to this—nothing can separate us from God’s incredible, unbelievable love for us.

You might say, “God, if you loved me this would not have
happened,” and you would be mistaken. If you question God’s
never-ending love and allow yourself to dwell on that thought,
you are going to sink. God’s love never stops. His love is near,
because He is near and He is faithful. Believing this fact and
letting it constantly bubble up will strengthen and encourage
and comfort you.

This is the truth, and the truth you know
will set you free—and keep you free (John 8:32). When you
are brokenhearted, every bit of truth you think you know will
be challenged, and you must hold on to the truth of God’s love
like nothing you’ve ever held on to in your entire life. Nothing
separates us from God’s love.

Paul said in Ephesians 3:20 that God is “able to do exceed-
ingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to
the power that works in us.” If you feel, even for one second,that you might never recover from your brokenheartedness,
remember that God is able to do way more than you can ever
imagine. “

The “HOW” process will vary for all of us. But the first step is believing that GOD wants to heal our hearts. It is simply part of who He is.
Then admitting to God, exactly how we are feeling. We see David doing that often in Psalms, we see Jesus doing that in the Garden, we see many men of the bible doing that. God already knows every thought, our deepest heart feelings. But we have to be willing to sit with God, hearts wide open, admitting our need in order to receive the healing Jesus died to give us.
I thought that they worded all that far better than I could.

Another universal step is forgiveness. Of our self, of others, sometimes of God himself. Not that God does anything wrong but sometimes we do blame God.

Then we simply keep coming to God over and over..Psalm 62:8
Trust in, lean on, rely on, and have confidence in Him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts before Him. God is a refuge for us (a fortress and a high tower). Selah [pause, and calmly think of that]!
And we learn how to lean on HIM in every time of life. During every circumstance of life.
We learn to know him more and more until we can say like David did:
Psalm 28:7
The Lord is my Strength and my [impenetrable] Shield; my heart trusts in, relies on, and confidently leans on Him, and I am helped; therefore my heart greatly rejoices, and with my song will I praise Him.

Sometimes, (during times of wonderful healing) we feel all alone, lost and in a desert.. but even there God is meeting us.
Hosea 2:14
Therefore, behold, I will allure her [Israel] and bring her into the wilderness, and I will speak tenderly and to her heart.

Paul repeats this phrase over and over in his letters...Philippians 1:2
Grace (favor and blessing) to you and [heart] peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah).
That is a blessing taken from way back in the OT:
Numbers 6:26
The Lord lift up His [approving] countenance upon you and give you peace (tranquility of heart and life continually).

Lord God thank you that you ARE the healer of our hearts..when our hearts are broken by sin, that of ourselves or others done unto you, you come, you stand and your offer healing... forgiveness..restoring our hearts... drawing us close to you... making us into your image..OH God we cry out to you for healing... for salvation... for revival..revive our own dry and hurting places... help us to grieve over sin and then linger with you, in your Word and in your Presence until we are ready to go forth to tell the world around us, near and far of Who You Are and what YOU have done... we love you Lord... we thank you... we come now to linger a while with you...amen

The Unity of the Spirit

(Ephesians 4:1-6)
by
J. Hampton Keathley III
hamptonk3@bible.org
Introduction
1 I, therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, entreat you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing forbearance to one another in love, 3 being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. 4 There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; 5 one Lord, one faith, one baptism, 6 one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.
These first verses of chapter four, first of all provide an environment that is crucial for the equipping of all saints that Paul will discuss below.  "It is not so much a program that is needed but an environment (an atmosphere).  What does this mean?  An environment is the some total of the social, spiritual, and relational attitudes and factors in a group that influences what the individual thinks of him or herself and what he or she does." (R. Paul Stevens, Lib-erating the Laity, p.26).
Sin is a disruptive force, it always divides, separates, and splinters.  It divides a man within and against him-self.  It has produced the constant fight and struggle which we are all aware of in our own lives and in the life of the church. Consequently, the central object of salvation, in a sense, is to re-unite, to bring together again, to reconcile, to restore the unity that God created before sin and the fall produced this terrible havoc between God and man, be-tween men, and within man himself.
So the unity that we have in Christ is part of the grand design.  Thus, one of the peculiar marks of the Chris-tian calling is to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
The Character and Nature of Unity
A Definition
Unity is not a general spirit of friendliness or camaraderie. Nor is unity some common aim or series of aims.
Unity is a Product
It is the result of all that Paul has been saying in chapters 1-3.  It is the product of the cross and God's work in Christ.  There can be no Christian unity unless it is based on the teaching of chapters 1-3.  Since Christian unity is a result of God's work in Christ, it is not something that we are to aim at for the sake of unity.
Unity is “of the Spirit"
Spirit is capitalized.  It refers to the unity provided by the Holy Spirit.  It is a unity which we can never pro-duce.  We are not even asked to do so.  Because this is true, the following deductions are true:
Unity is Organic
Unity is living and vital.  It is not mechanical.  It is not a coalition or an amalgamation.  Such consist of a number of miscellane¬ous units coming together for a given purpose.  But Christian unity, the unity of the Spirit, is a unity which starts within and works outward through organic life like we see in a flower or in the human body.
The unity of the church is organic in character.  She is not a collection of parts.  She is a new creation,  a spiritual body created by God in Christ.  The old has been done away in the this body.  There are no longer the dis-tinctions of man.  There is no longer Jew and Gentile . . .
The analogy of the human body explains the nature of this unity.
(1) The human body is first, an organic unity. It consists of many parts: toes, fingers, hands, feet, legs, eyes, ears, etc.  But it is not a collection of parts put together as in an automobile or as in a house.  It begins from one cell which begins to develop and to grow and shoots off little buds that eventually make up the variegated parts.  This is an organic and a living unity by creation.  So is the church, spiritually speaking.
True, when a person believes in Christ, he is joined into union with Christ by Spirit baptism and becomes a member of the body, but by the regenerative power of the Holy Spirit, he is not merely and add on.  He miraculously and spiritually becomes an organic part of the body of Christ.
Unity is Diversity
There is diversity in unity, not a uniformity. The parts do not look alike, they do not function alike, yet, they are all important, needed, interdependent, and all work toward the same end, the purposes for which each member was designed in the function of the body as directed by the head and in accord with the creative purpose of God.
Some of the parts are covered, others are within the body and are unseen, but nevertheless, very important.  Some gifts are more in the fore front, they are more obvious and others less so, but all are essential to the effective work of the body.
Practical Outworkings of Unity
A Unity of Calling
All believers are the called of God.  Our calling is our responsibility to respond to what we have become in Christ.  Every believer has been called to be Jesus' disciple and to serve in the body of Christ.
All are called of God.  The "secret call" of the preacher or pastor does not make him or her more called than the carpenter . . .
Thematically, Ephesians 4 moves from one's calling to unity to one's calling to ministry (all are called to ministry = part of the one hope of your calling).  Christ has given many gifts of grace for ministry (diversity) which come together in one common goal of maturity in Christ.
A Unity of Common Life and Source
The unity of the Spirit is created through our union in Christ Jesus.  The word "together" appears so fre-quently and in such innovative ways in this letter that it deserves special mention.  The prefix, "with" or "together" is joined to a number of key words to express our joint life and the impossibility of life outside of this unity (cf. 2:5,6,19,21,22; 3:6; & 4:16).  This stands against the spirit of individuality so common in our country today.  You know, "do your own thing, go your own way."
A Unity of Ministry
Our unity is a unity or oneness that exist not in spite of diversity, but because of it.  It is the wonderful dif-ferences themselves which, when properly equipped, contribute to the function of the body and out of this function, attain an even deeper unity of maturity.  Only as each part does its work can the body grow.
A Unity of Purpose
The purpose is maturity in Christ, being conformed to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ.  The ultimate goal is Christ-likeness, or spiritual maturity according to the standard of Christ.  This is the primary goal of the equipping and the unity desired.  The more we possess His character and mind, the more we will experi-ence the unity of the Spirit.
Equipping--A Pastoral Task
The passage before us is not actually about equipping.  The subject of the passage is unity.  Equipping is not a thing to be valued in itself.  It is simply an instrument of God's grand plan for his people, especially that they may be one, that they may function as the one body they have become in Christ.
Equipping is, in the final analysis, a pastoral task.
The verb form of the Greek word here, katartizo, is used in Luke 6:40 of training or instructing a disciple.  There, as the context shows, it includes the idea of modeling, being an example.  As the text says, "he will become like his teacher."
The noun form of the word, "equipping," katartismos, is used as a noun only once in the NT, here in Ephe-sians 4:12.  But the word has an interesting medical history in classical Greek.  To equip often meant to put a bone or a part of the human body into right relationship with the other parts of the body so that every part fits thoroughly.  It means to realign a dislocated limb." (op cit, p. 25).
As the context of Ephesians 4 makes clear, the equipping there is much more than simply giving people skills for teaching, evangelism, or other ministries in the local church.  It is primarily concerned with character for-mation, with Christ-likeness.
W.E. Vine points that the Greek verb for equipping, katartizo, "points out the path of progress."  As the word was used of fitting out ships for a long journey, the whole process of equipping implies a journey toward a dis-tant destination.  Character is not developed quickly.  It requires time and lots of it.  This is our destination.
"Since the laity spends an enormous amount of time working inside or outside the home, their "church time" must be only a fraction of their life for God.  Unless we equip the laity to live all of life for God, Christianity will degenerate into mere religion." (Liberating the Laity, p. 24).  This is one of the subtle snares of the devil.
"Joints of supply." The word comes from apto, "o touch."  It refers to "a point of contact," or to " a joint" which provides a point of contact between limbs and members of the body as well as a means of banding together and thus, unity.  In the light of its medical usage in ancient times regarding joints and ligaments, Paul's usage in Col. 2:19 (note the one article), and its use here and in Col. 2:19 with the word "supply," seems to point to two ideas:
(1) The point of contact and union:  This point of contact with members of the body of Christ provides the means of supply from the rest of the body as it receives directions from the brain, and blood and oxygen for its growth and health.  There is also the element of the mutual sympathy and influence of the parts in contact. = the communication of life and energy.
(2) The point of order and unity.  Order and unity are the conditions of growth on which the Apostle is in-sisting.
Every believer is a joint of supply, a point of contact and a source of supply through the head, Christ.
The root meaning of the word suggests "touch" or "contact."  "Paul is saying that every member in his or her contact with other members supplies something the body needs" (p. 31, Paul Stephens, LL).  Barth translates this verse: "He [Christ] provides sustenance to it through every contact" (Barth, Ephesians, p, 449).  This would suggest that the local church should be structured to provide an environment rich in relationships of ministry with each per-son contributing to the body.
"Paul indicates that the body is constantly supplied (note the present participles) with energy and nourish-ment by the head, and is held together as a unity by that head alone (at Eph 4:16 the emphasis is on the vital cohesion and union of the parts with each other, here [in Col. 2:19] it focuses on the continuous dependence on the head).
"Supply" = as Robinson, "furnished," or "equipped," or as O'Brien, Word, "provided," or "supplied."


J. Hampton Keathley III, Th.M. is a 1966 graduate of Dallas Theological Seminary and a former pastor of 28 years.  Hampton currently writes for the Biblical Studies Foundation and on occasion teaches New Testament Greek at Moody Northwest (an extension of Moody Bible Institute) in Spokane, Washington.

Holiness

Holiness
A Sermon by J.C. Ryle
____________
Bath Road Baptist Church
________________________________________
To: Spurgeon's Sermons - This File Text Version
________________________________________
"Holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord."
- Hebrews 12:14
__________
THE text which heads this page opens up a subject of deep importance. That subject is practical holiness. It suggests a question which demands the attention of all professing Christians-Are we holy? Shall we see the Lord?
That question can never be out of season. The wise man tells us, "There is a time to weep, and a time to laugh-a time to keep silence, and a time to speak" (Eccles. 3:4, 7); but there is no time, no, not a day, in which a man ought not to be holy. Are we?
That question concerns all ranks and conditions of men. Some are rich and some are poor-some learned and some unlearned-some masters, and some servants; but there is no rank or condition in life in which a man ought not to be holy. Are we?
I ask to be heard today about this question. How stands the account between our souls and God? In this hurrying, bustling world, let us stand still for a few minutes and consider the matter of holiness. I believe I might have chosen a subject more popular and pleasant. I am sure I might have found one more easy to handle. But I feel deeply I could not have chosen one more seasonable and more profitable to our souls. It is a solemn thing to hear the Word of God saying, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14).
I shall endeavour, by God's help, to examine what true holiness is, and the reason why it is so needful. In conclusion, I shall try to point out the only way in which holiness can be attained. I have already, in the second paper in this volume, approached this subject from a doctrinal side. Let me now try to present it to my readers in a more plain and practical point of view.
I. First, then, let me try to show what true practical holiness is-what sort of persons are those whom God calls holy.
A man may go great lengths, and yet never reach true holiness. It is not knowledge-Balaam had that: nor great profession-Judas Iscariot had that: nor doing many things-Herod had that: nor zeal for certain matters in religion-Jehu had that: nor morality and outward respectability of conduct-the young ruler had that: nor taking pleasure in hearing preachers-the Jews in Ezekiel's time had that: nor keeping company with godly people-Joab and Gehazi and Demas had that. Yet none of these was holy! These things alone are not holiness. A man may have any one of them, and yet never see the Lord.
What then is true practical holiness? It is a hard question to answer. I do not mean that there is any want of Scriptural matter on the subject. But I fear lest I should give a defective view of holiness, and not say all that ought to be said; or lest I should say things about it that ought not to be said, and so do harm. Let me, however, try to draw a picture of holiness, that we may see it clearly before the eyes of our minds. Only let it never be forgotten, when I have said all, that my account is but a poor imperfect outline at the best.
a) Holiness is the habit of being of one mind with God, according as we find His mind described in Scripture. It is the habit of agreeing in God's judgement-hating what He hates-loving what He loves-and measuring everything in this world by the standard of His Word. He who most entirely agrees with God, he is the most holy man.
b) A holy man will endeavour to shun every known sin, and to keep every known commandment. He will have a decided bent of mind toward God, a hearty desire to do His will-a greater fear of displeasing Him than of displeasing the world, and a love to all His ways. He will feel what Paul felt when he said, "I delight in the law of God after the inward man" (Rom. 7:22), and what David felt when he said, "I esteem all Thy precepts concerning all things to be right, and I hate every false way" (Psalm 119:128).
c) A holy man will strive to be like our Lord Jesus Christ. He will not only live the life of faith in Him, and draw from Him all his daily peace and strength, but he will also labour to have the mind that was in Him, and to be "conformed to His image" (Rom. 8:29). It will be his aim to bear with and forgive others, even as Christ forgave us-to be unselfish, even as Christ pleased not Himself-to walk in love, even as Christ loved us-to be lowly-minded and humble, even as Christ made Himself of no reputation and humbled Himself. He will remember that Christ was a faithful witness for the truth-that He came not to do His own will-that it was His meat and drink to do His Father's will-that He would continually deny Himself in order to minister to others-that He was meek and patient under undeserved insults-that He thought more of godly poor men than of kings-that He was full of love and compassion to sinners-that He was bold and uncompromising in denouncing sin-that He sought not the praise of men, when He might have had it-that He went about doing good-that He was separate from worldly people-that He continued instant in prayer-that He would not let even His nearest relations stand in His way when God's work was to be done. These things a holy man will try to remember. By them he will endeavour to shape his course in life. He will lay to heart the saying of John, "He that saith he abideth in Christ ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked" (1 John 2:6); and the saying of Peter, that "Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example that ye should follow His steps" (1 Peter 2:21). Happy is he who has learned to make Christ his "all", both for salvation and example! Much time would be saved, and much sin prevented, if men would oftener ask themselves the question, "What would Christ have said and done, if He were in my place?"
d) A holy man will follow after meekness, long-suffering, gentleness, patience, kind tempers, government of his tongue. He will bear much, forbear much, overlook much, and be slow to talk of standing on his rights. We see a bright example of this in the behaviour of David when Shimei cursed him-and of Moses when Aaron and Miriam spake against him (2 Sam. 16:10; Num. 12:3).
e) A holy man will follow after temperance and self-denial. He will labour to mortify the desires of his body-to crucify his flesh with his affections and lusts-to curb his passions-to restrain his carnal inclinations, lest at any time they break loose. Oh, what a word is that of the Lord Jesus to the Apostles, "Take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and cares of this life" (Luke 21:34); and that of the Apostle Paul, "I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway" (1 Cor. 9:27).
f) A holy man will follow after charity and brotherly kindness. He will endeavour to observe the golden rule of doing as he would have men do to him, and speaking as he would have men speak to him. He will be full of affection towards his brethren-towards their bodies, their property, their characters, their feelings, their souls. "He that loveth another," says Paul, "hath fulfilled the law" (Rom. 13:8). He will abhor all lying, slandering, backbiting, cheating, dishonesty, and unfair dealing, even in the least things. The shekel and cubit of the sanctuary were larger than those in common use. He will strive to adorn his religion by all his outward demeanour, and to make it lovely and beautiful in the eyes of all around him. Alas, what condemning words are the 13th chapter of 1 Corinthians, and the Sermon on the Mount, when laid alongside the conduct of many professing Christians!
g) A holy man will follow after a spirit of mercy and benevolence towards others. He will not stand all the day idle. He will not be content with doing no harm-he will try to do good. He will strive to be useful in his day and generation, and to lessen the spiritual wants and misery around him, as far as he can. Such was Dorcas, "full of good works and almsdeeds, which she did,"-not merely purposed and talked about, but did. Such an one was Paul: "I will very gladly spend and be spent for you," he says, "though the more abundantly I love you the less I be loved" (Acts 9:36; 2 Cor. 12:15).
h) A holy man will follow after purity of heart. He will dread all filthiness and uncleanness of spirit, and seek to avoid all things that might draw him into it. He knows his own heart is like tinder, and will diligently keep clear of the sparks of temptation. Who shall dare to talk of strength when David can fall? There is many a hint to be gleaned from the ceremonial law. Under it the man who only touched a bone, or a dead body, or a grave, or a diseased person, became at once unclean in the sight of God. And these things were emblems and figures. Few Christians are ever too watchful and too particular about this point.
i) A holy man will follow after the fear of God. I do not mean the fear of a slave, who only works because he is afraid of punishment, and would be idle if he did not dread discovery. I mean rather the fear of a child, who wishes to live and move as if he was always before his father's face, because he loves him. What a noble example Nehemiah gives us of this! When he became Governor at Jerusalem he might have been chargeable to the Jews and required of them money for his support. The former Governors had done so. There was none to blame him if he did. But he says, "So did not I, because of the fear of God" (Neh. 5:15).
j) A holy man will follow after humility. He will desire, in lowliness of mind, to esteem all others better than himself. He will see more evil in his own heart than in any other in the world. He will understand something of Abraham's feeling, when he says, "I am dust and ashes;"-and Jacob's, when he says, "I am less than the least of all Thy mercies;"-and Job's, when he says, "I am vile;"-and Paul's, when he says, "I am chief of sinners." Holy Bradford, that faithful martyr of Christ, would sometimes finish his letters with these words, "A most miserable sinner, John Bradford." Good old Mr. Grimshaw's last words, when he lay on his death-bed, were these, "Here goes an unprofitable servant."
k) A holy man will follow after faithfulness in all the duties and relations in life. He will try, not merely to fill his place as well as others who take no thought for their souls, but even better, because he has higher motives, and more help than they. Those words of Paul should never be forgotten, "Whatever ye do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord,"-"Not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord" (Col. 3:23; Rom. 12:11). Holy persons should aim at doing everything well, and should be ashamed of allowing themselves to do anything ill if they can help it. Like Daniel, they should seek to give no "occasion" against themselves, except "concerning the law of their God" (Dan. 6:5). They should strive to be good husbands and good wives, good neighbours, good friends, good subjects, good in private and good in public, good in the place of business and good by their firesides. Holiness is worth little indeed, if it does not bear this kind of fruit. The Lord Jesus puts a searching question to His people, when He says, "What do ye more than others?" (Mt. 5:47).
l) Last, but not least, a holy man will follow after spiritual mindedness. He will endeavour to set his affections entirely on things above, and to hold things on earth with a very loose hand. He will not neglect the business of the life that now is; but the first place in his mind and thoughts will be given to the life to come. He will aim to live like one whose treasure is in heaven, and to pass through this world like a stranger and pilgrim travelling to his home. To commune with God in prayer, in the Bible, and in the assembly of His people-these things will be the holy man's chiefest enjoyments. He will value every thing and place and company, just in proportion as it draws him nearer to God. He will enter into something of David's feeling, when he says, "My soul followeth hard after Thee." "Thou art my portion" (Psalm 63:8; 119:57).
Such is the outline of holiness which I venture to sketch out. Such is the character which those who are called "holy" follow after. Such are the main features of a holy man.
But here let me say, I trust no man will misunderstand me. I am not without fear that my meaning will be mistaken, and the description I have given of holiness will discourage some tender conscience. I would not willingly make one righteous heart sad, or throw a stumbling-block in any believer's way.
I do not say for a moment that holiness shuts out the presence of indwelling sin. No: far from it. It is the greatest mystery of a holy man that he carries about with him a "body of death;"-that often when he would do good "evil is present with him"; that the old man is clogging all his movements, and, as it were, trying to draw him back at every step he takes (Rom. 7:21). But it is the excellence of a holy man that he is not at peace with indwelling sin, as others are. He hates it, mourns over it, and longs to be free from its company. The work of sanctification within him is like the wall of Jerusalem-the building goes forward "even in troublous times" (Dan. 9:25).
Neither do I say that holiness comes to ripeness and perfection all at once, or that these graces I have touched on must be found in full bloom and vigour before you can call a man holy. No: far from it. Sanctification is always a progressive work. Some men's graces are in the blade, some in the ear, and some are like full corn in the ear. All must have a beginning. We must never despise "the day of small things". And sanctification in the very best is an imperfect work. The history of the brightest saints that ever lived will contain many a "but", and "howbeit" and "notwithstanding", before you reach the end. The gold will never be without some dross-the light will never shine without some clouds, until we reach the heavenly Jerusalem. The sun himself has spots upon his face. The holiest men have many a blemish and defect when weighed in the balance of the sanctuary. Their life is a continual warfare with sin, the world, and the devil; and sometimes you will see them not overcoming, but overcome. The flesh is ever lusting against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh, and "in many things they offend all" (Gal. 5:17; James 3:2).
But still, for all this, I am sure that to have such a character as I have faintly drawn, is the heart's desire and prayer of all true Christians. They press towards it, if they do not reach it. They may not attain to it, but they always aim at it. It is what they strive and labour to be, if it is not what they are.
And this I do boldly and confidently say, that true holiness is a great reality. It is something in a man that can be seen, and known, and marked, and felt by all around him. It is light: if it exists, it will show itself. It is salt: if it exists, its savour will be perceived. It is a precious ointment: if it exists, its presence cannot be hid.
I am sure we should all be ready to make allowance for such backsliding, for much occasional deadness in professing Christians. I know a road may lead from one point to another, and yet have many a winding and turn; and a man may be truly holy, and yet be drawn aside by many an infirmity. Gold is not the less gold because mingled with alloy, nor light the less light because faint and dim, nor grace the less grace because young and weak. But after every allowance, I cannot see how any man deserves to be called "holy", who wilfully allows himself in sins, and is not humbled and ashamed because of them. I dare not call anyone "holy" who makes a habit of wilfully neglecting known duties, and wilfully doing what he knows God has commanded him not to do. Well says Owen, "I do not understand how a man can be a true believer unto whom sin is not the greatest burden, sorrow, and trouble."
Such are the leading characteristics of practical holiness. Let us examine ourselves and see whether we are acquainted with it. Let us prove our own selves.
II. Let me try, in the next place, to show some reasons why practical holiness is so important.
Can holiness save us? Can holiness put away sin-cover iniquities-make satisfaction for transgressions-pay our debt to God? No: not a whit. God forbid that I should ever say so. Holiness can do none of these things. The brightest saints are all "unprofitable servants". Our purest works are no better than filthy rags, when tried by the light of God's holy law. The white robe which Jesus offers, and faith puts on, must be our only righteousness-the name of Christ our only confidence-the Lamb's book of life our only title to heaven. With all our holiness we are no better than sinners. Our best things are stained and tainted with imperfection. They are all more or less incomplete, wrong in the motive or defective in the performance. By the deeds of the law shall no child of Adam ever be justified. "By grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8, 9).
Why then is holiness so important? Why does the Apostle say, "Without it no man shall see the Lord"? Let me set out in order a few reasons.
a) For one thing, we must be holy, because the voice of God in Scripture plainly commands it. The Lord Jesus says to His people, "Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven" (Mt. 5:20). "Be ye perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect" (Mt. 5:48). Paul tells the Thessalonians, "This is the will of God, even your sanctification" (1 Thess. 4:3). And Peter says, "As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, 'Be ye holy, for I am holy'" (1 Pe. 1:15, 16). "In this," says Leighton, "law and Gospel agree."
b) We must be holy, because this is one grand end and purpose for which Christ came into the world. Paul writes to the Corinthians, "He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them and rose again" (2 Cor. 5:15). And to the Ephesians, "Christ loved the Church, and gave Himself for it, that He might sanctify and cleanse it" (Eph. 5:25, 26). And to Titus, "He gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works" (Titus 2:14). In short, to talk of men being saved from the guilt of sin, without being at the same time saved from its dominion in their hearts, is to contradict the witness of all Scripture. Are believers said to be elect?-it is "through sanctification of the Spirit." Are they predestinated?-it is "to be conformed to the image of God's Son". Are they chosen?-it is "that they may be holy". Are they called?-it is "with a holy calling." Are they afflicted?-it is that they may be "partakers of holiness". Jesus is a complete Saviour. He does not merely take away the guilt of a believer's sin, He does more-He breaks the power (1 Pe. 1:2; Rom. 8:29; Eph. 1:4; Heb. 12:10).
c) We must be holy, because this is the only sound evidence that we have a saving faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. The Twelfth Article of our Church says truly, that "Although good works cannot put away our sins, and endure the severity of God's judgement, yet are they pleasing and acceptable to God in Christ, and do spring out necessarily of a true and lively faith; insomuch that by them a lively faith may be as evidently known as a tree discerned by its fruits." James warns us there is such a thing as a dead faith-a faith which goes no further than the profession of the lips, and has no influence on a man's character (James 2:17). True saving faith is a very different kind of thing. True faith will always show itself by its fruits-it will sanctify, it will work by love, it will overcome the world, it will purify the heart. I know that people are fond of talking about death-bed evidences. They will rest on words spoken in the hours of fear, and pain, and weakness, as if they might take comfort in them about the friends they lose. But I am afraid in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred such evidences are not to be depended on. I suspect that, with rare exceptions, men die just as they have lived. The only safe evidence that we are one with Christ, and Christ in us, is holy life. They that live unto the Lord are generally the only people who die in the Lord. If we would die the death of the righteous, let us not rest in slothful desires only; let us seek to live His life. It is a true saying of Traill's, "That man's state is naught, and his faith unsound, that find not his hopes of glory purifying to his heart and life."
d) We must be holy, because this is the only proof that we love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. This is a point on which He has spoken most plainly, in the fourteenth and fifteenth chapters of John. "If ye love Me, keep my commandments."-"He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me."-"If a man love Me he will keep my words."-"Ye are my friends if ye do whatsoever I command you" (John 14:15, 21, 23; 15:14).-Plainer words than these it would be difficult to find, and woe to those who neglect them! Surely that man must be in an unhealthy state of soul who can think of all that Jesus suffered, and yet cling to those sins for which that suffering was undergone. It was sin that wove the crown of thorns-it was sin that pierced our Lord's hands, and feet, and side-it was sin that brought Him to Gethsemane and Calvary, to the cross and to the grave. Cold must our hearts be if we do not hate sin and labour to get rid of it, though we may have to cut off the right hand and pluck out the right eye in doing it.
e) We must be holy, because this is the only sound evidence that we are true children of God. Children in this world are generally like their parents. Some, doubtless, are more so, and some less-but it is seldom indeed that you cannot trace a kind of family likeness. And it is much the same with the children of God. The Lord Jesus says, "If ye were Abraham's children ye would do the works of Abraham."-"If God were your Father ye would love Me" (John 8:39, 42). If men have no likeness to the Father in heaven, it is vain to talk of their being His "sons". If we know nothing of holiness we may flatter ourselves as we please, but we have not got the Holy Spirit dwelling in us: we are dead, and must be brought to life again-we are lost, and must be found. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they," and they only, "are the sons of God" (Rom 8:14). We must show by our lives the family we belong to. We must let men see by our good conversation that we are indeed the children of the Holy One, or our son-ship is but an empty name. "Say not," says Gurnall, "that thou hast royal blood in thy veins, and art born of God, except thou canst prove thy pedigree by daring to be holy."
f) We must be holy, because this is the most likely way to do good to others. We cannot live to ourselves only in this world. Our lives will always be doing either good or harm to those who see them. They are a silent sermon which all can read. It is sad indeed when they are a sermon for the devil's cause, and not for God's. I believe that far more is done for Christ's kingdom by the holy living of believers than we are at all aware of. There is a reality about such living which makes men feel, and obliges them to think. It carries a weight and influence with it which nothing else can give. It makes religion beautiful, and draws men to consider it, like a lighthouse seen afar off. The day of judgement will prove that many besides husbands have been won "without the word" by a holy life (1 Pe. 3:1). You may talk to persons about the doctrines of the Gospels, and few will listen, and still fewer understand. But your life is an argument that none can escape. There is a meaning about holiness which not even the most unlearned can help taking in. They may not understand justification, but they can understand charity.
I believe there is far more harm done by unholy and inconsistent Christians than we are aware of. Such men are among Satan's best allies. They pull down by their lives what ministers build with their lips. They cause the chariot wheels of the Gospel to drive heavily. They supply the children of this world with a never ending excuse for remaining as they are. "I cannot see the use of so much religion," said an irreligious tradesman not long ago; "I observe that some of my customers are always talking about the Gospel, and faith, and election, and the blessed promises, and so forth; and yet these very people think nothing of cheating me of pence and half-pence, when they have an opportunity. Now, if religious persons can do such things, I do not see what good there is in religion." I grieve to be obliged to write such things, but I fear that Christ's name is too often blasphemed because of the lives of Christians. Let us take heed lest the blood of souls should be required at our hands. From murder of souls by inconsistency and loose walking, good Lord, deliver us! Oh, for the sake of others, if for no other reason, let us strive to be holy!
g) We must be holy, because our present comfort depends much upon it. We cannot be too often reminded of this. We are sadly apt to forget that there is a close connection between sin and sorrow, holiness and happiness, sanctification and consolation. God has so wisely ordered it, that our well-being and our well-doing are linked together. He has mercifully provided that even in this world it shall be man's interest to be holy. Our justification is not by works-our calling and election are not according to our works-but it is vain for anyone to suppose that he will have a lively sense of his justification, or an assurance of his calling, so long as he neglects good works, or does not strive to live a holy life. "Hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments." "Hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts" (1 John 2:3; 3:19). A believer may as soon expect to feel the sun's rays upon a dark and cloudy day, as to feel strong consolation in Christ while he does not follow Him fully. When the disciples forsook the Lord and fled, they escaped danger, but they were miserable and sad. When, shortly after, they confessed Him boldly before men, they were cast into prison and beaten; but we are told "they rejoiced that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name" (Ac. 5:41). Oh, for our own sakes, if there were no other reason, let us strive to be holy! He that follows Jesus most fully will always follow Him most comfortably.
h) Lastly, we must be holy, because without holiness on earth we shall never be prepared to enjoy heaven. Heaven is a holy place. The Lord of heaven is a holy Being. The angels are holy creatures. Holiness is written on everything in heaven. The book of Revelation says expressly, "There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie" (Rev. 21:27).
I appeal solemnly to everyone who reads these pages, How shall we ever be at home and happy in heaven, if we die unholy? Death works no change. The grave makes no alteration. Each will rise again with the same character in which he breathed his last. Where will our place be if we are strangers to holiness now?
Suppose for a moment that you were allowed to enter heaven without holiness. What would you do? What possible enjoyment could you feel there? To which of all the saints would you join yourself, and by whose side would you sit down? Their pleasures are not your pleasures, their tastes not your tastes, their character not your character. How could you possibly be happy, if you had not been holy on earth?
Now perhaps you love the company of the light and the careless, the worldly-minded and the covetous, the reveller and the pleasure-seeker, the ungodly and the profane. There will be none such in heaven.
Now perhaps you think the saints of God too strict and particular, and serious. You rather avoid them. You have no delight in their society. There will be no other company in heaven.
Now perhaps you think praying, and Scripture-reading, and hymn singing, dull and melancholy, and stupid work-a thing to be tolerated now and then, but not enjoyed. You reckon the Sabbath a burden and a weariness; you could not possibly spend more than a small part of it in worshipping God. But remember, heaven is a never-ending Sabbath. The inhabitants thereof rest not day or night, saying, "Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty," and singing the praise of the Lamb. How could an unholy man find pleasure in occupation such as this?
Think you that such an one would delight to meet David, and Paul, and John, after a life spent in doing the very things they spoke against? Would he take sweet counsel with them, and find that he and they had much in common?-Think you, above all, that he would rejoice to meet Jesus, the Crucified One, face to face, after cleaving to the sins for which He died, after loving His enemies and despising His friends? Would he stand before Him with confidence, and join in the cry, "This is our God; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation"? (Is. 25:9). Think you not rather that the tongue of an unholy man would cleave to the roof of his mouth with shame, and his only desire would be to be cast out! He would feel a stranger in a land he knew not, a black sheep amidst Christ's holy flock. The voice of Cherubim and Seraphim, the song of Angels and Archangels and all the company of heaven, would be a language he could not understand. The very air would seem an air he could not breathe.
I know not what others may think, but to me it does seem clear that heaven would be a miserable place to an unholy man. It cannot be otherwise. People may say, in a vague way, "they hope to go to heaven;" but they do not consider what they say. There must be a certain "meetness for the inheritance of the saints in light." Our hearts must be somewhat in tune. To reach the holiday of glory, we must pass through the training school of grace. We must be heavenly-minded, and have heavenly tastes, in the life that now is, or else we shall never find ourselves in heaven, in the life to come.
And now, before I go any further, let me say a few words by way of application.
1) For one thing, let me ask everyone who may read these pages, Are you holy? Listen, I pray you, to the question I put to you this day. Do you know anything of the holiness of which I have been speaking?
I do not ask whether you attend you church regularly-whether you have been baptized, and received the Lord's Supper-whether you have the name of Christian-I ask something more than all this: Are you holy, or are you not?
I do not ask whether you approve of holiness in others-whether you like to read the lives of holy people, and to talk of holy things, and to have on your table holy books-whether you mean to be holy, and hope you will be holy some day-I ask something further: Are you yourself holy this very day, or are you not?
And why do I ask so straitly, and press the question so strongly? I do it because the Scripture says, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." It is written, it is not my fancy-it is the Bible, not my private opinion-it is the word of God, not of man-"Without holiness no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14).
Alas, what searching, sifting words are these! What thoughts come across my mind, as I write them down! I look at the world, and see the greater part of it lying in wickedness. I look at professing Christians, and see the vast majority having nothing of Christianity but the name. I turn to the Bible, and I hear the Spirit saying, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord."
Surely it is a text that ought to make us consider our ways, and search our hearts. Surely it should raise within us solemn thoughts, and send us to prayer.
You may try to put me off by saying "you feel much, and think much about these things: far more than many suppose." I answer, "This is not the point. The poor lost souls in hell do as much as this. The great question is not what you think, and what you feel, but what you DO."
You may say, "It was never meant that all Christians should be holy, and that holiness, such as I have described, is only for great saints, and people of uncommon gifts." I answer, "I cannot see that in Scripture. I read that every man who hath hope in Christ purifieth himself" (1 John 3:3)-"Without holiness no man shall see the Lord."
You may say, "It is impossible to be so holy and to do our duty in this life at the same time: the thing cannot be done." I answer, "You are mistaken. It can be done. With Christ on your side nothing is impossible. It has been done by many. David, and Obadiah, and Daniel, and the servants of Nero's household, are all examples that go to prove it."
You may say, "If I were so holy I would be unlike other people." I answer, "I know it well. It is just what you ought to be. Christ's true servants always were unlike the world around them-a separate nation, a peculiar people;-and you must be so too, if you would be saved!"
You may say, "At this rate very few will be saved." I answer, "I know it. It is precisely what we are told in the Sermon on the Mount." The Lord Jesus said so 1,900 years ago. "Strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, that leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it" (Matt. 7:14). Few will be saved, because few will take the trouble to seek salvation. Men will not deny themselves the pleasures of sin and their own way for a little season. They turn their backs on an "inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away." "Ye will not come unto Me," says Jesus, "that ye might have life" (John 5:40).
You may say, "These are hard sayings: the way is very narrow." I answer, "I know it. So says the Sermon on the Mount." The Lord Jesus said so 1,900 years ago. He always said that men must take up the cross daily, and that they must be ready to cut off hand or foot, if they would be His disciples. It is in religion as it is in other things, "there are no gains without pains." That which costs nothing is worth nothing.
Whatever we may think fit to say, we must be holy, if we would see the Lord. Where is our Christianity if we are not? We must not merely have a Christian name, and Christian knowledge, we must have a Christian character also. We must be saints on earth, if ever we mean to be saints in heaven. God has said it, and He will not go back: "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord." "The Pope's calendar," says Jenkyn, "only makes saints of the dead, but Scripture requires sanctity in the living." "Let not men deceive themselves," says Owen; "sanctification is a qualification indispensably necessary unto those who will be under the conduct of the Lord Christ unto salvation. He leads none to heaven but whom He sanctifies on the earth. This living Head will not admit of dead members."
Surely we need not wonder that Scripture says "Ye must be born again" (John 3:7). Surely it is clear as noon-day that many professing Christians need a complete change-new hearts, new natures-if ever they are to be saved. Old things must pass away-they must become new creatures. "Without holiness no man," be he who he may, "shall see the Lord."
2) Let me, for another thing, speak a little to believers. I ask you this question, "Do you think you feel the importance of holiness as much as you should?"
I own I fear the temper of the times about this subject. I doubt exceedingly whether it holds that place which it deserves in the thoughts and attention of some of the Lord's people. I would humbly suggest that we are apt to overlook the doctrine of growth in grace, and that we do not sufficiently consider how very far a person may go in a profession of religion, and yet have no grace, and be dead in God's sight after all. I believe that Judas Iscariot seemed very like the other Apostles. When the Lord warned them that one would betray Him, no one said, "Is it Judas?" We had better think more about the Churches of Sardis and Laodicea than we do.
I have no desire to make an idol of holiness. I do not wish to dethrone Christ, and put holiness in His place. But I must candidly say, I wish sanctification was more thought of in this day than it seems to be, and I therefore take occasion to press the subject on all believers into whose hands these pages may fall. I fear it is sometimes forgotten that God has married together justification and sanctification. They are distinct and different things, beyond question, but one is never found without the other. All justified people are sanctified, and all sanctified are justified. What God has joined together let no man dare to put asunder. Tell me not of your justification, unless you have also some marks of sanctification. Boast not of Christ's work for you, unless you can show us the Spirit's work in you. Think not that Christ and the Spirit can ever be divided. I doubt not that many believers know these things, but I think it good for us to be put in remembrance of them. Let us prove that we know them by our lives. Let us try to keep in view this text more continually: "Follow holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord."
I must frankly say I wish there was not such an excessive sensitiveness on the subject of holiness as I sometimes perceive in the minds of believers. A man might really think it was a dangerous subject to handle, so cautiously is it touched! Yet surely when we have exalted Christ as "the way, the truth, and the life," we cannot err in speaking strongly about what should be the character of His people. Well says Rutherford, "The way that crieth down duties and sanctification, is not the way of grace. Believing and doing are blood-friends."
I would say it with all reverence, but say it I must-I sometimes fear if Christ were on earth now, there are not a few who would think His preaching legal; and if Paul were writing his Epistles, there are those who would think he had better not write the latter part of most of them as he did. But let us remember that the Lord Jesus did speak the Sermon on the Mount, and that the Epistle to the Ephesians contains six chapters and not four. I grieve to feel obliged to speak in this way, but I am sure there is a cause.
That great divine, John Owen, the Dean of Christ Church, used to say, more than two hundred years ago, that there were people whose whole religion seemed to consist in going about complaining of their own corruptions, and telling everyone that they could do nothing of themselves. I am afraid that after two centuries the same thing might be said with truth of some of Christ's professing people in this day. I know there are texts in Scripture which warrant such complaints. I do not object to them when they come from men who walk in the steps of the Apostle Paul, and fight a good fight, as he did, against sin, the devil, and the world. But I never like such complaints when I see ground for suspecting, as I often do, that they are only a cloak to cover spiritual laziness, and an excuse for spiritual sloth. If we say with Paul, "O wretched man that I am," let us also be able to say with him, "I press toward the mark." Let us not quote his example in one thing, while we do not follow him in another" (Rom. 7:24; Phl. 3:14).
I do not set up myself to be better than other people, and if anyone asks, "What are you, that you write in this way?" I answer, "I am a very poor creature indeed." But I say that I cannot read the Bible without desiring to see many believers more spiritual, more holy, more single-eyed, more heavenly-minded, more whole-hearted than they are in the nineteenth century. I want to see among believers more of a pilgrim spirit, a more decided separation from the world, a conversation more evidently in heaven, a closer walk with God-and therefore I have written as I have.
Is it not true that we need a higher standard of personal holiness in this day? Where is our patience? Where is our zeal? Where is our love? Where are our works? Where is the power of religion to be seen, as it was in times gone by? Where is that unmistakable tone which used to distinguish the saints of old, and shake the world? Verily our silver has become dross, our wine mixed with water, and our salt has very little savour. We are all more than half asleep. The night is far spent, and the day is at hand. Let us awake, and sleep no more. Let us open our eyes more widely than we have done hitherto. "Let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us."-"Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of flesh and spirit, and perfect holiness in the fear of God" (Heb. 12:1; 2 Cor. 7:1). "Did Christ die," says Owen, "and shall sin live? Was He crucified in the world, and shall our affections to the world be quick and lively? Oh, where is the spirit of him, who by the cross of Christ was crucified to the world, and the world to him!"
III. Let me, in the last place, offer a word of advice to all who desire to be holy.
Would you be holy? Would you become a new creature? Then you must begin with Christ. You will do just nothing at all, and make no progress till you feel your sin and weakness, and flee to Him. He is the root and beginning of all holiness, and the way to be holy is to come to Him by faith and be joined to Him. Christ is not wisdom and righteousness only to His people, but sanctification also. Men sometimes try to make themselves holy first of all, and sad work they make of it. They toil and labour, and turn over new leaves, and make many changes; and yet, like the woman with the issue of blood, before she came to Christ, they feel "nothing bettered, but rather worse" (Mark 5:26). They run in vain, and labour in vain; and little wonder, for they are beginning at the wrong end. They are building up a wall of sand; their work runs down as fast as they throw it up. They are baling water out of a leaky vessel: the leak gains on them, not they on the leak. Other foundation of "holiness" can no man lay than that which Paul laid, even Christ Jesus. "Without Christ we can do nothing" (John 15:5). It is a strong but true saying of Traill's, "Wisdom out of Christ is damning folly-righteousness out of Christ is guilt and condemnation-sanctification out of Christ is filth and sin-redemption out of Christ is bondage and slavery."
Do you want to attain holiness? Do you feel this day a real hearty desire to be holy? Would you be a partaker of the divine nature? Then go to Christ. Wait for nothing. Wait for nobody. Linger not. Think not to make yourself ready. Go and say to Him, in the words of that beautiful hymn-
"Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy cross I cling;
Naked, flee to Thee for dress;
Helpless, look to Thee for grace."
There is not a brick nor a stone laid in the work of our sanctification till we go to Christ. Holiness is His special gift to His believing people. Holiness is the work He carries on in their hearts, by the Spirit whom He puts within them. He is appointed a "Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance" as well as remission of sins.-"To as many as receive Him, He gives power to become sons of God" (Acts 5:31; John 1:12, 13). Holiness comes not of blood-parents cannot give it to their children: nor yet of the will of man-ministers cannot give it you by baptism. Holiness comes from Christ. It is the result of vital union with Him. It is the fruit of being a living branch of the True Vine. Go then to Christ and say, "Lord, not only save me from the guilt of sin, but send the Spirit, whom Thou didst promise, and save me from its power. Make me holy. Teach me to do Thy will."
Would you continue holy? Then abide in Christ. He says Himself, "Abide in Me and I in you,-he that abideth in Me and I in him, the same beareth much fruit" (John 15:4, 5). It pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness dwell-a full supply for all a believer's wants. He is the Physician to whom you must daily go, if you would keep well. He is the Manna which you must daily eat, and the Rock of which you must daily drink. His arm is the arm on which you must daily lean, as you come up out of the wilderness of this world. You must not only be rooted, you must also be built up in Him. Paul was a man of God indeed-a holy man-a growing, thriving Christian-and what was the secret of it all? He was one to whom Christ was "all in all". He was ever "looking unto Jesus". "I can do all things," he says, "through Christ which strengtheneth me." "I live, yet not I, but Christ liveth in me. The life that I now live, I live by the faith of the Son of God". Let us go and do likewise (Heb. 12:2; Phl. 4:13; Gal. 2:20).
May all who read these pages know these things by experience, and not by hearsay only. May we all feel the importance of holiness, far more than we have ever done yet! May our years be holy years with our souls, and then they will be happy ones! Whether we live, may we live unto the Lord; or whether we die, may we die unto the Lord; or if He comes for us, may we be found in peace, without spot, and blameless!

we Say BUT God Says part 2 (stronghold removal)

We have been in a series about strongholds. God is our stronghold, our refuge, our healer.

God is ALL we need. But we don't know that when we are children and often we forget even as adults. When life becomes "too much" we tend to revert back to our "stinking thinking" other wise know as false beliefs that feel like truth but are NOT true because they do not line up with what GOD says.
Last week we looked at some "I say (think) but GOD says". This week we are going to look at a few more.
If God impresses you to share your story or a comment please make a ! if its an extended one or just post it if its short. We learn from one another, so what you have to share may be JUST what someone else NEEDS to hear.
Let's pray:

You say: " I can't forgive myself!"
This is a huge one for many people. We think we are so bad, have done such bad things that no one including ourselves should/could/would EVER forgive us. Ahhhhh but GOD does not agree!!!!

God says: "I forgive you."
1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from ALL unrighteousness.
Romans 1:18 There is therefore now NO condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.


You say: : I can't go on!"
I wail at times, "This is too hard. Too hard for me! I can't life this life anymore." :)
Anyone else?

God says: "My Grace is sufficient." 2 Cor 12:9 And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.
Psalm 91:15 He shall call upon Me, and I WILL answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will deliver him and honor him.


You say: "I can't manage!"
Do you also live in a seemingly unchangeable situation? A draining situation? A hurtful situation? Do people often wound you? Not meet your needs? Not understand you? Is life unmanageable? That is a CR step too isn't it? To recognize and admit that our lives ARE unmanageable?

God says: " I will supply ALL your needs."
Phil 4:19 And my GOD shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

You say: " I feel all alone!"
Aloneness is a universal heart cry. There is an aloneness we all have deep deep down. We often tend to feel no one understands us at ALL. And no one ever will. God does. (smile). How alone did Jesus feel when on the cross he cried "My God, my GOD why hadst thou forsaken me?"

God says:" I will never leave your or forsake you."
Heb 13:5 Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He himself has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

The reason GOD will NEVER forsake us or abandon us is because JESUS bore that aloneness upon his own heart for us on the cross.

You say: " I wish I could just die!
Hmmmmm. Been there before too many years ago. And as believers we sometimes long for heaven.

God says: "Get up and EAT."
1 Kings 19:7 And angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, " arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you."
To be continued next week.

same source as last week.

We Say BUT God Says part 1 (stronghold removal)

We have been discussing stronghold thinking, or stinking thinking.
We saw that God wants to be our stronghold, our refuge, our hiding place and our safety. God has promised to be our shelter and defense in time of need. Psalm 46:1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Also Psalm 9:9 Because of his strength I will watch for You, For God is my stronghold. (NASB) and KJV  Because of your strength will I wait upon you: for God is my defense.

He has also assigned a part for each of us to play in 2 Cor 10 For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does. 4The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. 5We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ

Today we are going to look at some common stinking thinking people have. Often the devil whispers lies into our minds. He knows our weak places and unhealed places. Sometimes he uses what "feels" like or "sounds" like our own thoughts. That is really tricky. So how are we to know whose "voice" we are listening to? The devil, old ones from our past, our own or God's?
One way is to fill our minds with the Word and the truth about GOD. The Word says, "My sheep know my voice." The only way I know to become familiar with and "know" (as in perceive and recognized) God's voice is to listen to it. The way we do that is by reading the Word. Outloud if necessary.
John 10:27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.


Study online at quizlet.com/_2ywf1
As we go through these PLEASE comment if God shows you something or you have an example of a time God showed you truth in this area. Remember "mind renewal" is a process.
Romans 12:2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.


You say, " I'm not smart enough!"
Does anyone think they are not smart enough or too dumb? Does anyone have random thoughts of I'm so stupid or even say that out loud at time?

God says: " I give your wisdom."
1 Cor 1:30 But of Him you are in Christ Jesus, who became for us wisdom from God….and righteousness and sanctification and redemption.


You say: " I am thirsty!"
Or another way to say this is, " I have so many NEEDS that will never be met."

God says: "Drink my water and never thirst again."
John 1:14 but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."

You say: " I can't do it!" (poster)

This is a big one of mine, I often go to God and cry out "I CANT DO THIS ANYMORE!" Yes, I shout it out. LOL. Because in truth I really CANT in that moment bear what life is dealing me or has dealt me one more second. But as soon as I get with God, his invariable reply is "good, now you can stop trying to do it (or fix it) yourself and lean on me. Anyone identify?

God says" You can do all things."
Philippians 4:19 And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus."
Psalm 55:22 Cast your cares on the LORD and he will sustain you; he will never let the righteous be shaken.

You say: " I can't figure things out!"
Another huge one for me personally. I try so hard, or used to even more, but still do..to figure it out, to "get it right". I can't. Anyone care to share?

God says: " I will direct your steps."
Proverbs 3:5-6 Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
And lean not on your own understanding.
In all your ways acknowledge Him,
and He shall direct your paths.

Turn your heart to Christ (now)

Galatians 4:12–20
Brethren, I beseech you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are. You did me no wrong; you know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first: and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What has become of the satisfaction you felt? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth? They make much of you, but for no good purpose; they want to shut you out, that you may make much of them. For a good purpose it is always good to be made much of, and not only when I am present with you. My little children, with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you! I could wish to be present with you now and to change my tone, for I am perplexed about you.
I think the basic reason why Christian faith meets with opposition in the world and even finds resistance in our own hearts is that true saving faith always brings with it the reshaping of our heart and mind so that it is no longer we who live but Christ in us. There is in every human heart an intense and powerful love for the praise of men. Just as naturally as apples fall downward, human beings gravitate toward ideas and actions which make them look great, and resist ideas and actions which make them look small. Therefore, apart from the powerful grace of God overcoming our natural disposition to pride, we would always resist the coming of faith into our lives, because by faith Christ takes such dominant control of our lives and reshapes us so much into his image that we can no longer boast in anything good that we do. It does not appeal to the natural mind to be so transformed by Christ that we must give him credit for all the good we do.

Catering to Pride
This is the fundamental stumbling block to Christian faith—which is what Jesus meant when he said in John 5:44, "How can you believe, who receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God"? Our love for the praise of men hinders us from trusting Christ because the purpose of Christ is to remove every ground of boasting in us and put it all in God (1 Corinthians 1:29–31; Ephesians 2:8–9; Galatians 6:14). He did this once by accomplishing our redemption on the cross without our help; and he continues to do it by applying that redemption to our hearts without our help. By his sovereign grace Christ paid our debt to God, and by his sovereign grace he is putting his own form upon our lives so that we will say with the psalmist (115:1), "Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory." Saving faith is a resting in that sovereign work of Christ, past, present, and future, which gives all glory to God (1 Peter 4:10, 11). Therefore, in one sense saving faith is the easiest thing in the world—as easy as being clay in the potter's hands. But in another sense it is the hardest thing in the world, because human clay hates being shaped and formed by Christ so that he gets all the glory for what we become.

It's not surprising, then, that the Judaizers should find a foothold for their false teaching in the hearts of the recent Galatian converts, just like all kinds of cults and ego-centric fads are able to gain a foothold in the church today. The teaching of the Judaizers did not oppose the pride left in the Galatian believers. It catered to that pride. They said, move on from faith to works; move on from the booster rocket of the Holy Spirit and kick in with the efforts of your flesh (Galatians 3:1–5). They offered the law as a means of enjoying one's pride in a morally acceptable way. And so their teaching was not as radical and humbling as Paul's was. It was very appealing to people who wanted to be religious and moral but did not want to become putty in the hands of God.

Not Us but Christ

In Galatians 4:12–21 Paul continues his effort to rescue the Galatians from the false gospel of the Judaizers. The main point of the paragraph is found in vv. 12 and 19. Verse 12 says. "Brethren, I beseech you, become as I am, for I also have become as you are." It was a terrible irony to Paul that he, a Jew, had become a Gentile, as it were, to win the Galatian Gentiles (1 Corinthians 9:21). But they were now trying to become Jews in order to win God's favor. Paul reminds the Galatians in verse 12 that the very fact that he did not depend on his Jewish distinctives should make them forsake the Judaizers and become as he is—free in Christ. That's the main point: become free like me.

But verse 19 puts it in a way that shows why freedom from the law does not result in self-glorifying lawlessness. "My little children with whom I am again in travail until Christ be formed in you!" When Paul says in verse 12, "Become as I am," he means, "Let Christ be formed in you." My evidence for this is Galatians 2:20 where Paul tells us how he understands his own life: "I have been crucified with Christ, it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me; and the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me." What is clear from this verse is that when Paul says, "Become like me," he means, "Die like I have died and live by faith in the Son of God so that it is his life in you that shapes and forms who you are." Paul's whole ministry was like a mother in labor pains—he travailed to give birth to people who had Christ taking shape in their lives. "My little children, with whom I am in travail again until Christ be formed in you." That's the main point of the paragraph. "Become as I am: have Christ formed in you."

This message was diametrically opposed to the teaching of the Judaizers. We can see this by contrasting verses 17 and 19. In verse 17 Paul uncovers a motive in the Judaizers which is not surprising in view of their theology of works. "They make much of you, for no good purpose; they want to shut you out, that you may make much of them." Paul says that at root the Judaizers are motivated by the love for human praise. They want to be made much of, to be sought out, to be depended on. And to get this kind of ego-building attention they tell the Galatians they will be shut out from God's final blessing if they don't accept their teaching of works.

So every Galatian Gentile who capitulates and gets circumcised in hope of making points with God is another notch in the Judaizer's pistol of pride. That's what Galatians 6:13 means when it says, "For even those who receive circumcision do not themselves keep the law, but they desire to have you circumcised that they may glory in your flesh." The very theology they propagate is rooted in pride, since it urges people to depend partly on God and partly on themselves; and therefore it is inevitable that this motive for propagating that theology would also be rooted in pride, namely, the desire to be made much of. A theology which boosts the human ego and, therefore, caters to our desire for praise will surely be propagated out of that same motive; and that's the point of verse 17.

But contrast this with the heart of Paul's message in verse 19—his longing is not that he be made much of, but that Christ be made much of. O, that Christ would be formed in you (cf. 1:10). What is this experience Paul is talking about here? There is a lot of talk today, especially on seminary campuses, about "spiritual formation." I want to say a hearty yes to this concern, provided that it means the formation of Christ in the believer. O, that Christ would be formed in you! The biblical quest for spiritual formation is a quest to be so shaped from within by the presence of the living Christ that we are no longer "conformed to this age but are transformed by the renewal of our mind" (Romans 12:1, 2): to be so shaped by our union with him that "the life of Jesus may be manifested in our bodies" (2 Corinthians 4:10); to be so formed and dominated by Christ that we must say with Paul after a life of labor, "It was not I but the grace of God which is with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10). "It is no longer I who live but Christ who lives in me" (Galatians 2:20). "I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has wrought through me" (Romans 15:18).

It doesn't take a genius to see that, when Christ shapes and forms our inner life after his own image, our freedom from the law will hardly result in a lawless, self-glorifying license. On the contrary, it is the power of Christ living and reigning and forming himself within us that frees us to delight in God's will. We are freed from the burden of the law when we are given the power to fulfill it from within. And that happens when Christ is formed in us.

How Christ Is Formed in Us

How does that happen? Under what conditions does it come about? The answer is made plain by linking three verses. First, link 4:19 to 4:6. Verse 19 says Christ should be formed in us. Verse 6 says that the way Christ comes to us is by his Spirit: God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts. Then, link 4:6 to 3:5. There Paul says that "the one who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you does so not by works of law but by hearing with faith." In other words, the ongoing supply of the Spirit of Christ and his miraculous work happens through faith. So the answer to the question, How is Christ formed in your life? is: by your faith.

It's really quite simple: the Son of God comes and shapes us from within if we rely on him to come and shape us. The Son takes shape in those who abandon themselves to him. Christ forms himself in the lives of those who will let go of all the forms of life in which they have shaped on their own. Christ takes shape in a life that is willing to become putty in God's hands. Christ presses the shape of his own face into the clay of our soul when we cease to be hard and resistant, and when we take our own amateur hands off and admit that we are not such good artists as he is.

Here we can see clearly what faith is. Faith is the assurance that what God will make of you, as Christ is formed in your life, is vastly to be preferred over what you can make of yourself. Faith is the confidence that the demonstration of Christ's work in your life is more wonderful than all the praise you could get for yourself by being a self-made man—or woman. Faith is a happy resting in the all-sufficiency of what Christ did on the cross, what he is doing now in our heart, and what he promises to do for us for ever.

So it's clear how Paul's message and the Judaizers' message are opposed to each other. Their message caters to our natural pride—our desire to be "self-made" people who get glory for ourselves. Paul's message robs us of all such pride by saying we should be "Christ-made" people who get glory for God by trusting him to shape us every day. God is not glorified by the self-wrought moral, aesthetic, or technical achievements of human life. He is glorified when we turn from ourselves and trust him like little children to enable us to do his bidding. This is the best news in the world, because it opens up the way of salvation to the simplest and weakest of us all.

The Gospel at the Beginning

In trying to persuade the Galatians that it is indeed good news and that they should not forsake it to follow the Judaizers, Paul reminds them of how valuable the gospel was to them back at the beginning. Look at verses 12b–16: "You did me no wrong; you know it was because of a bodily ailment that I preached the gospel to you at first; and though my condition was a trial to you, you did not scorn or despise me, but received me as an angel of God, as Christ Jesus. What has become of the satisfaction you felt? For I bear you witness that, if possible, you would have plucked out your eyes and given them to me. Have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?"

To all his biblical and theological arguments in chapter 3 for why the Galatians should not follow the Judaizers but keep faith in the gospel, Paul now adds an argument from experience. He says in effect: Do you recall how my plans to move on were interrupted because of that terrible attack in my eyes—how they were red and infected and filled up with puss? You had every reason to switch channels and watch a more attractive preacher. My disease was a trial to you. My message did not come well-packaged. But you did me no wrong; you didn't despise me; you received me like an angel; you saw Christ in me; you would have plucked out your own eyes and given them to me. Why? Because you saw the beauty and truth of the gospel! It persuaded you. It satisfied you. It was so valuable that you would have given up your eyes to keep the message going —your eyes! Your eyes! Is the message of the Judaizers really more valuable, really more valid?

I think Paul must have believed that if he could just bring to their memory how powerful and beautiful the gospel was at the beginning, they would stop being attracted by the false gospel of the Judaizers. And perhaps that's the way I should close today.

For some of you these are the very days in which for the first time the beauty of the gospel of grace is beginning to shine on the horizon of your soul. But others of you look back months or years or decades, to a golden era of faith when Christ was powerfully taking shape in your life. But something has changed. There has been a kind of settling into the world, and the vibrant sense of being an alien and an exile in the world has faded. And the powerful shaping forces in your life are not coming from Christ within but from the world without.

The word of encouragement and admonition to us all this morning is this: the Spirit of the living Christ can be poured into us afresh today. Paul would not have written this letter if there were no hope for the Galatians. Therefore, I urge you, take your amateur hands off the clay of your life and yield yourselves into the sovereign hands of God. Disavow the praise of men and all your efforts to achieve it. Turn your hearts to Christ and say: I am not my own; you have bought me; forgive me; be formed within me. Not to me, O Lord, not to me, but to your name give glory (Psalm 115:1). Amen.

©2013 Desiring God Foundation.  Website: desiringGod.org

Understanding God's Salvation Plan

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:10.
"For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God." Romans 3:23.
"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12.
"But God commandeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us." Romans 5:8
"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." Romans 6:23.
"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Romans 10:9-10.
"For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved." Romans 10:13.
Only God knows how many dear souls have been led to the Lord Jesus Christ by the above verses of Scripture. These verses, commonly referred to as the "Roman's Road," are used worldwide by Christian workers in an effort to present God's Salvation Plan to the lost in a step by step fashion. The Roman's Road is wonderful for getting straight to the point and dealing with the primary issues of sin and salvation. Millions have come to know Christ after reading these verses
But there is a problem. Because of the habitual use of such quick and easy portions of Scripture, more and more Christians are developing a very shallow concept of New Testament Salvation. Time and time again I find myself speaking with people who profess to be saved, and yet they aren't sure about their eternal destiny. Many of these people can tell of a specific time in their life when they prayed and asked the Lord to come into their heart and save them, but still today they live in a state of uncertainty. This should not be happening.
Then there are others who have never been saved and really do not understand the need to be saved. Someone says, "Well, they probably just don't care." Yes, that's often the case, but not always. I believe there are many people who would like to have a better understanding of Jesus Christ and the Salvation that He offers, and I believe that many such people WILL receive Christ once they truly understand their need for Him.
If you fit into one of these categories, this tract is for you. This tract has been written for the sole purpose of helping people UNDERSTAND New Testament Salvation. Whether you're saved or lost, this tract can help you . So why not set aside a little time and read the following pages, prayerfully and carefully. You will not be disappointed (Lk. 11:9-10).

God's Personality

There are many things that can be said about God in this study, but the one thing that must be said is that God is a RIGHTEOUS and HOLY God. So often we hear of God's love for US, and we very seldom think of God standing alone without man in the picture. Let's first consider God Himself, without even thinking of mankind. Let's take a look at the personality of God Almighty.

Exodus 15:11 says, "Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" The seraphims of Isaiah 6 praised God, crying "Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth is full of his glory." If something is holy, then it is whole or complete. God is holy. He lacks nothing, for he is complete. God simply cannot be improved upon.

Someone has said, "God without man is God, but man without God is nothing." How true these words are! One who wishes to know God must IGNORE himself. It was God who created man. God existed first, without man in the picture. So, in order to really understand New Testament Salvation, we must first focus totally upon the eternal God of Glory. We must know something of God's personality.

We must realize that God never has and never will do anything wrong for any reason. God has always been holy, and He always will be. He says in Malachi 3:6, "For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed." God never has and never will make one single adjustment within His person. His state of sinless perfection is eternal. If the entire universe were to turn against God, including all the hosts of Heaven, it would not change God. He would still be the eternal God of Glory.
God in Relation to Man

Genesis chapter one gives to us the account of the creation, including the creation of man. We read in Genesis 1:27, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them." Man was created in the image of God. That image, as we have already seen, was an image of RIGHTEOUSNESS. It's an image of absolute holiness. God did not create man in a sinful condition. It would have been foolish to do so! God created a sinless man in HIS OWN IMAGE. Luke 3:38 tells us that this first man, Adam, was actually "the son of God." No other man after Adam is called a son of God. But Adam was called this, because he was made in GOD'S IMAGE.

Being absolutely sinless, Adam was now ready to carry out God's plan. God is a SPIRIT (John 4:24), but He created a PHYSICAL earth. So He needed a physical being to rule over the earth. Genesis 1:28 tells us that God gave Adam DOMINION over the earth and over all of its inhabitants. "Why?" you may ask. Couldn't God manage to run things for Himself? Sure He could, but He wanted something more. God had a very special reason for creating man. Notice how clearly the reason is given in Isaiah 43:7: "Even every one that is called by my name: for I have created him for my glory, I have formed him; yea, I have made him." Why did God create man? He did it to bring GLORY to Himself! All through the Bible we find that God wants to be GLORIFIED (Psa. 22:23; 50:15; Mt. 5:16; John 12:28; Rom. 15:6; I Cor. 6:20; etc.), and the beginning was certainly no exception. God wanted to form a living being out of the ground and have that being live in close fellowship with Him. God wanted His human creation to live in RIGHTEOUSNESS. God wanted to see His children prosper! He didn't want them to fail; He wanted them to prosper. This would bring honor and glory to His name. Just as any respectable father delights in watching his own children live right and succeed in life, God wanted the same for His children! Like any responsible father, God knew what was best, and He had a wonderful plan for His children.

So God created man and placed him in a perfect environment. Would man be obedient and fulfill God's will, or would he become disobedient? God had to put man to the test. He had to give man a choice. God could have FORCED Adam and Eve to always obey Him, but that would be against His nature. God wanted man to LOVE Him and ENJOY serving Him, so a choice was given.

Rather than populate the entire universe at once with newly created humans, God, in His infinite wisdom, placed one man and his wife in a garden and gave them a choice. You know the story. Adam and Eve chose to disobey God by eating of the forbidden fruit (Gen. 3:1-6). Satan's way seemed more pleasant at the moment, so man fell into sin by disobeying God.

Worst of all, man LOST the IMAGE OF GOD. God was still holy, but man was now UNHOLY. Man was now a transgressor against God. Man had failed the test. In his sinful condition, Adam could not carry out God's divine plan. He was no longer qualified, for he was now a sinner.

At this point, God could have chosen to destroy His creation and start with a new one, or He could REDEEM the fallen creation. He chose to redeem fallen man. He chose to set forth a master plan that would allow man to become RIGHTEOUS once again. Being the merciful God that He is, God chose to work out a wonderful redemption plan for fallen man.

But wait! This will be no easy plan, because Adam and his wife aren't the only sinners. Every child born after Genesis chapter three has been born in Adam's SINFUL image (Gen. 5:3). All men are natural sinners upon being born into the world:

"Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned." Romans 5:12.

"Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me." Psalm 51:5.

"As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." Romans 3:10.
In addition to this, we must also realize that we cannot rid ourselves of this corrupt sin nature. We are "stuck" with a fallen image of unrighteousness. Unless God works a miracle in our lives, we are absolutely hopeless--forever doomed to the eternal fires of Hell. We cannot earn our Salvation by performing righteous works, because our righteousness is no good. Isaiah 64:6 tells us that our righteousness is like "filthy rags!" Instead of being clean in the eyes of God, men are FILTHY, because of the sin nature in us all. God is holy, but we are unholy. He is Godly, but we are ungodly. He is righteous, but we are unrighteous. Our sin nature stands like a brick wall between us and God, separating us from His dear fellowship.

God's Plan of Redemption
There once was a king who had a very strong reputation for enforcing the law in his kingdom. He never compromised for anyone. If someone broke the law a penalty was always required.

Then one day this king sat upon his throne hearing case after case, when suddenly a very shocking thing happened. A young man was brought in for judgment. He had been caught red-handed in theft. The whole kingdom stood in silence to hear the king's judgment. You see, this was no ordinary case: the young man was the king's son!

Being as broken hearted as he was, the king knew that he still must give judgment. Justice must be done. One hand would have to severed. Then suddenly the king surprised everyone by ordering HIS OWN HAND to be cut off. He chose to pay the penalty himself!

This is precisely what God did for you and me. Notice these important words from Isaiah 53:5-6:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16.

"Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree." Galatians 3:13.

"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." II Corinthians 5:21.

All men are born under "the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2). We are under a curse. But the Lord Jesus Christ came to our rescue by dying and paying for our sins. Hebrews 10:14 says, "For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified." It took only one offering to pay for our sins. Now that the payment has been made, all men can be "perfected" through Jesus Christ! Through Christ we can be set FREE from the law of sin and death! Through Christ, and Him alone, we can escape the curse! Through Christ, we can be saved!
After Jesus pays for the sins of the world and returns to Heaven, a very special Gospel (Good News) message is preached by the Apostles and early Christians:

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house." Acts 16:31.

"That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth, the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Romans 10:9.

"For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast." Ephesians 2:8-9.

As lost and doomed sinners, we must take God at His word and believe that Jesus Christ is our only hope for Salvation. We must trust that His payment for our sins is sufficient. We must STOP trying to "do good" that we might go to Heaven. Our good works cannot save us, as the above verses reveal. Only the good work of the Lord Jesus can save us. We are hopeless without Him. As a criminal sits upon death row awaiting the electric chair, we sit upon the death row of eternity awaiting Hell Fire.

God's Imputed Righteousness

While sitting upon the "death row" of eternity, our only hope is for God to MAKE US RIGHTEOUS, for we cannot establish righteousness for ourselves (Rom. 10:3). We read in Romans 4:5 the following words:

"But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness."

God's desire is to MAKE us righteous by GIVING us HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS! This portion of Scripture goes on to say:

". . . .Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin." Romans 4:7-8.

God has a way of cleansing us from our sins and giving to us HIS righteousness so that we may have Eternal Life. Referring to the Lord Jesus Christ, Colossians 1:14 says, "In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins. . ." The "blood" spoken of here is God's Blood (Acts 20:28). The blood of the Lord Jesus was not natural human blood; it was PURE blood from the Father above. Remember, Mary was a Virgin; so the blood of Jesus Christ came from His heavenly Father. This blood was shed at Calvary to be an ATONEMENT for our sins. The atonement can make us "at one" with God, just as Adam was in the very beginning. Through the Blood Atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ, we can have our sins washed away (Rev. 1:5), thus being placed back into God's righteous image.
All throughout the Old Testament, God required a blood sacrifice from His people. This blood was obtained from various animals such as bulls, goats, and lambs. Sacrifices were made daily, because people would sin daily. By offering to God a sacrifice--something of value to them--men were showing God that they were aware of their sin nature and desired forgiveness. Upon seeing this, God would then accept their sacrifice and forgive their sins. This is called remission. Hebrews 9:22 says, ". . . .without shedding of blood there is no remission." These many animal sacrifices served as a foreshadow or a type of the blood of the Lord Jesus that would eventually be shed at Calvary.

However, FORGIVENESS of sin isn't enough. A penalty still must be paid. The law must be fulfilled. The record must be cleared. God could cleanse His people TEMPORARILY from their sins with animal sacrifices, but only the precious blood of the Lord Jesus Christ could CLEAR their sin record forever. The Old Testament sacrifices were for forgiveness, but not for making a person CLEAR from sin (Ex. 34:6-7). This is why Jesus had to come and CLEAR the record forever. He came to wipe the slate clean for all Eternity. When you receive Christ as Lord and Savior, you receive a CLEAN RECORD! You receive HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS, and since you are trusting Him alone for your Salvation, God will not impute sin to you!

Suppose you receive Him as your Savior. What then? Then you become a "son of God. " John 1:12 says, "But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." You RECEIVE Christ by BELIEVING on Christ. You can be "born again" SPIRITUALLY (John 3:3) by receiving the Lord Jesus Christ as your Savior. Once you truly turn to Christ alone, asking Him to wash away your sins, you are FORGIVEN and your sin record is CLEARED forever. Your soul has been made RIGHTEOUS through the Blood of Jesus Christ. That's precisely why He came and died. Once you have been born again you will be in God's family for the first time in your life! God's human creation was lost in Genesis chapter three, but you, a part of that growing creation, can be FOUND and REDEEMED to God this very moment!

There once was a little boy who made for himself a toy sailboat. While playing in the stream one day, the boat drifted away. A few days later another boy found the boat. The first boy said, "Hey! That's my boat! I made it myself, and I want it back!" The second boy would not hand over the boat, but instead he offered to SELL it to the boy. So the original owner and maker of the toy boat reached into his pocket and gave all his money to pay for the boat. As he walked away, he held the boat to his chest and said, "You're mine! You're mine! You're mine TWICE! I MADE you, and then I BOUGHT you: YOU'RE MINE!"

Upon receiving Christ as Lord and Savior, you will become God's property (I Cor. 6:19-20). You will become His child, His responsibility. You will become the property of God, for he BOUGHT you with his own blood (Acts 20:28). Nothing can ever change that.

Friend, if you've never really been born again, please repent of your sins right now and place your total trust in Jesus Christ to save you. Tell Him that you're sorry for your sins and that you want to live for Him. Tell Him that you want to have a new life in Christ (II Cor. 5:17). Aren't you tired of sin? Do you not want to please God? Repent of your sins right now and ask the Lord to save you. He said that He would save you, if you will call upon Him (Rom. 10:13). Why not call upon Him right now!

If you have been saved, then the next section of this tract is very important for you. Please read it immediately.

If you have not been saved, the next section is NOT for you. You will not understand it, and you will not believe it (I Cor. 2:14). Our prayer is that you will meditate upon the things you've already read and ask the Lord to show you the truth. May you find peace with God today.