There is often too much self in our zeal, and too much of the fear of man in our prudence.
John Newton
There is often too much self in our zeal, and too much of the fear of man in our prudence.
John Newton
Assurance of salvation is founded on:
“For as through the one man’s disobedience the many were constituted sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be constituted righteous.”
Repentance is a soul-medicine that only Christ can mix and administer. If sorrow for sin be of our own or another's brewing, or if it is trusted in in place of His blood and merits, it is a toxic counterfeit, and not true repentance.
The bronze serpent was not intended for the Canaanites or the Egyptians, who lived and died in unbelief. Rather, it was exclusively for God's people, who looked and lived. So it is with the death of Christ. He died for His people, for all who would put their trust in Him. (Dr. Steven Lawson's "Foundations of Grace" page 93).
"As God at first gives faith through the Word, so He also exercises, increases, confirms and perfects it through the Word." - Martin Luther
"Faith is sustained by looking at Christ, crucified and risen, not by turning from Christ to analyze your faith… Paradoxically, if we would experience the joy of faith, we must not focus much on it. We must focus on the greatness of our Savior." - John Piper Faith is not built by preaching introspectively (constantly challenging people to question whether they have faith); faith is not built by preaching moralistically (which has exactly the opposite effect of focusing attention on the self rather than on...... Christ, in whom our faith is placed); Faith is built by careful, thorough exposition of the person, character, and work of Christ.- T. David Gordon; I cannot go anywhere without Christ; I cannot perform the least duty without him here to help me; without Christ in anything, I produce nothing but stenching smoke; I cannot take my next breath without Christ by my side or his permitting me to, and neither would I want to go anywhere or do anything without him. The loveliness of Christ shines through into the darkest of dungeons or prisons, and turns them into palaces. I would be mad to wish a second to be without Christ. (Covenanted Reformation) "Nevertheless, let me tell you, that trust, confidence, reliance, and dependence, for salvation, are all acts and very solemn ones too, of divine worship: and upon whatsoever you depend, whether in whole or in part, for your acceptance with God,and for your justification in His sight, whatsoever, you rely upon, and trust in, for the attainment of grace or glory; if it be any thing short of God in Christ, you are an idolater to all intents and purposes." - Augustus Toplady“When you begin to pray always get into this position, leaning on His bosom. Don’t pray to some one far off. Don’t pray even to some one in the same room.” - Andrew Bonar
The truths that I know best I have learned on my knees. I never know a thing well, till it is burned into my heart by prayer.
John BunyanI pray because I can't help myself. I pray because I'm helpless. I pray because the need flows out of me all the time, waking and sleeping. It doesn't change God, it changes me. -CS Lewis
That is, contentment is not mainly negative, but there is a strong positive focus. It is not achieved by a mere denial of desires, which leaves one empty. Rather, it entails a deliberate focus on the immeasurable treasures that we already possess in Christ. It is not produced by an exercise of willpower, but it is a natural outcome of knowledge.
God hath abundantly revealed to us, in His word, that 𝘏𝘪𝘴 𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘥 in bringing men from sin to holiness of life, is, first to make them know that He loveth them, and that their sins are blotted out.
—Puritan Stephen Marshall (Gospel Mystery of Sanctification, Pg. 19)[Some not-so-well-known verses]
Remember, you that are cast down, under the sense of sin, that Jesus, your friend, in the court above, "is able to save to the uttermost.”
—Puritan John Flavel, Works 1.178John Flavel – ‘...there is more efficacy in the blood of Christ (to forgive sins, than there is reason in the heinousness of sin to condemn the sinner). There is power enough in that blood, not only to pardon (your) sins, but the sins of the whole world, were it actually applied. There is not only sufficiency, but also a redundancy of merit in that precious blood.’ - (Works, vol.1, p.375)
GREAT AWAKENING.
Jonathan Edwards, who was one of America's greatest theologians, was a New England pastor of the 1700s. Edwards was brilliant. At age 6 he studied Latin. He entered Yale when not quite 13 and graduated when barely 15. He was ordained at 19, taught at Yale by 20 and later became president of Princeton. Harvard granted him both a bachelor's and a master's degree on the same day.
"If God did not want to answer you, He would not have you pray." ~Martin Luther
"God is the God of the humble, the miserable, the afflicted, the oppressed, the desperate, and those who have been brought to nothing. ~Martin Luther
"The spiritual life which I have is not my own. I did not induce it, and I cannot maintain it. It is only and solely the work of Christ. It is not I who live, but Christ lives in me. My whole life is His alone."