Remember (Thomas Wilcox)

Remember your sin—Christ's pardon 

your deservings—Christ's merits 

your weakness—Christ's strength 

your pride—Christ's humility 

your infirmities—Christ's restorings 

your guilts—Christ's blood 

your failings—Christ's raisings up 

your vileness—Christ's righteousness. —Thomas Wilcox

"Let sin break your heart, but not your hope in the gospel." -Thomas Wilcox.

When you see sin, look at Christ's grace that did pardon it; and when you are proud, look at Christ's grace, that shall humble and strike you down in the dust. --Thomas Wilcox

The Supreme Art

"It's the supreme art of the devil that he can make the law out of gospel." Martin Luther

Proper Worship

I am not unaware how difficult it is to persuade the world that God rejects and even abominates everything relating to His worship that is devised by human reason. ~ John Calvin

Question for Non-Cals by CCP

Question for non-Cals: God knows if He takes one action ‘A’ the person will choose ‘X’. However, God knows if He takes another action ‘B’ the person will instead choose ‘Y’. How did God NOT “choose your choice” by choosing which action to take?

Faith is a Gift

Calvin on faith being a gift from God “Faith itself is a work of the Holy Spirit, who dwells in none but the children of God. So then, in various respects, faith is a part of our regeneration, and an entrance into the kingdom of God, that he may reckon us among his children. The illumination of our minds by the Holy Spirit belongs to our renewal, and thus faith flows from regeneration as from its source; but since it is by the same faith that we receive Christ, who sanctifies us by his Spirit, on that account it is said to be the beginning of our adoption.” -- John Calvin

ENJOY GOD'S GENEROSITY

Let’s get rid of the inhuman philosophy which only allows necessities. Not only does it wrongly deprive us of legitimate enjoyment of God’s generosity, but it cannot be effected without depriving man of all his senses, reducing him to a block. --John Calvin. We should therefore learn that the only good we have is what the Lord has given us gratuitously; that the only good we do is what He does in us; that it is not that we do nothing ourselves, but that we act only when we have been acted upon, in other words under the direction and influence of the Holy Spirit. Calvin’s New Testament Commentaries, The First Epistle of Paul to the Corinthians, Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1960, p. 317-318, www.eerdmans.com.

One Hundredth Part

 You are worse than you think you are, but also far more loved than you feel you are.

--Timothy Keller.

No one knows the one-hundredth part of the sin that clings to his soul.

--John Calvin

Spiritual Discovery

One man may give another an affecting view of divine things with but common assistance: but God alone can give a spiritual discovery of them. --Jonathan Edwards

SOLE SOUL MEDIATOR

 The doctrine of making angels and saints mediators and intercessors is condemned because it associates Christ with others in that significant role. Yet, when you join 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 and 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘦 with Christ's obedience, you do the same.

—Puritan Anthony Burgess

By Feelings

 “Salvation by feelings is no more possible than salvation by good works.”

— Charles Spurgeon

Clothed

 What didst Thou see in me that I, a poor, diseased, despised sinner, should be clothed in Thy bright glory? — The Valley of Vision, ‘Freedom’

CONSTANTLY HUMBLED

“Though God could have wholly delivered his people from the filth of sin, as well as from the guilt of it, and as well from lesser sins, as from great and scandalous; yet he hath left these infirmities and weaknesses in the hearts and lives of his people, that they may be constantly humbled in themselves, and prize Christ the more.” 

 —William Bridge, Works 4:230

Now in the covenant of works, the 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘵 sin breaks the covenant; but in the covenant of grace, the 𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘴𝘵 sin doth not break the covenant between God and the soul. 

 —Puritan William Bridge, Works 4:232

“I will not question my spiritual estate and condition for every sin; I will grieve for every sin of infirmity because it is a sin, but I will not question my condition, because it is but a sin of infirmity.” —Puritan William Bridge, Works 4:237

John Flavel Come Unto Jesus

“Lord, I am fully satisfied of the fulness of thy saving power, but greatly doubt whether ever I shall have the benefit thereof; “for I see so much sin and guilt in myself, so great vileness and utter unworthiness, that I am overweighed, and even sink under the burden of it: My soul is discouraged because of sin. “This objection is prevented in the words of my text, ‘Come unto me, all ye that labour, and are heavy laden.’ “Let not the sense of your sin and misery drive you from your only remedy: “Be your sins never so many, and the sense and burden of them never so heavy, yet, for all that, Come unto me: “You are the persons whom I invite and call. I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.”

 — John Flavel

 

Utterly False

 It is utterly false that it does not matter to what church we belong. It matters to every man who has a conscience and loves his God. I dare not associate in church fellowship with Ritualists and Rationalists; loyal subjects will not join the society of traitors.

Charles Spurgeon

Over-whelmed

A young overwhelmed preacher complained to Luther that preaching was too heavy a burden for an inexperienced man like him and that he should have stayed in his former profession. Luther responded with words that, according to Roland Bainton, "Luther was constantly repeating to himself": "If Peter and Paul were here, they would scold you because you wish right off to be as accomplished as they. Crawling is something, even if one is unable to walk. Do your best. If you cannot preach an hour, then preach half an hour or a quarter of an hour. Do not try to imitate other people. Center on the shortest and simplest points, which are the very heart of the matter, and leave the rest to God. Look solely to his honor and not to applause. Pray that God will give you a mouth and to your audience ears. I can tell you preaching is not a work of man. Although I am old and experienced, I am afraid every time I have to preach. So pray to God and leave all the rest to him." Roland Bainton, Here I Stand, p. 361

 Jesus was born under the Law because He came to perfectly obey it in our place. He came to do what we, because of our sinful nature, could not do. It is this perfect obedience to the moral will of God that constitutes His active obedience.

 We are brought into God's Kingdom by grace; we are sanctified by grace; we are motivated to obedience by grace; we are called to serve and, finally, we are glorified by grace. The entire Christian life is lived under the reign of God's grace.

 “The Secret Rapture False Teaching”

By Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
“I have said that the teaching about the secret rapture did not appear before 1830. We have, in fact, an authoritative statement as to how it began.

There was a New Testament scholar called Tregelles, who belonged to the so-called Plymouth Brethren. In 1830 and subsequently he was present at the Powerscourt Conferences which were attended by J.N. Darby and B.W. Newton, and others belonging to that school.

This is what Tregelles says: 'I was not aware that there was any definite teaching that there should be a secret rapture of the Church at a secret coming until this was given forth as an utterance in Mr. Edward Irving's church, from what was then received as being the voice of the Spirit - it was from that supposed 'revelation' that the modern doctrine arose.'

The teaching of the secret rapture of the Church at the coming of our Lord was first taught as the result of a prophetic utterance in Edward Irving's church.
It originated as an Utterance in Tongues, interpreted by somebody, and, indeed, Tregelles emphasized this by saying that this teaching was a 'revelation'.

As I understand the New Testament, we should always be suspicious of a teaching that is based upon some supposed 'revelation'.

According to Tregelles, the teaching with regard to the preliminary rapture of the saints, which first came in as a prophetic utterance, was accepted by certain people present at the 1830 conference, including J.N. Darby.

But it was not accepted by B.W. Newton, nor by George Mueller, and there was a division even among that circle.

Only J.N Darby and certain of his followers accepted it.

D.L. Moody, the evangelist, adopted J.N. Darby's teaching and because Moody was such a well-known man as a result of his evangelistic campaigns, it was popularized immediately.

The formation of the Moody Bible Institute popularized it still more and the publication of the Scofield Bible was possibly most influential of all in spreading this 'new revelation' teaching.

That, then, is the teaching about this Preliminary Rapture and the friends who believe this claim that there are certain scriptures which prove it.

So let us look first at 2 Thessalonians 2:8: 'And then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the spirit of His mouth, and shall destroy with the brightness of His coming' - or, 'the epiphany of His parousia' or, 'the manifestation of His coming'. There is, it is claimed, a distinction between His 'coming' and the 'manifestation of His coming'.

But this is surely answered by 2 Thessalonians 1: 9-10 where the destruction of the sinners and the glorification of the saints occur together.

Furthermore, 2 Thessalonians 2:1 identifies the parousia with the coming of the Lord.
With regard to Matthew 24:40-41 which reads, 'Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left', the whole setting is that of judgment and in the context is comparable to the flood.

This verse therefore means that at the final judgment there will be a separation.
Finally, in John 5:28-29 our Lord says, 'Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which ALL that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation'; while in John 6:39-40 He refers to 'the last day'.

So, the clear teaching of Scripture is that there is Only One Coming, not two; nor are there two stages. There is NO 'Secret' Rapture, and No coming of our Lord at any moment. Certain things must happen first, as we have seen.

The Scripture declares plainly that the Lord Jesus will NOT come until the Apostacy shall have taken place, the Man of Sin, the son of perdition shall have been revealed as in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-5.

Many other portions also of the Word of God distinctly teach that certain events are to be fulfilled before the return of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because His appearing is our blessed hope to which we look forward, let us purify ourselves now, seeking to live as children of the light, and obviously different from the children of night and of darkness."
- “Great Doctrines of the Bible” by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

God incomparable

 If God be an incomparable God, then they are incomparably blessed who have him for their happiness - George Swinnock