This Heavenly Light of Truth

Thanks to Grace Gems for the following from John Angell James:

"All Scripture is inspired by God, and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." 2 Timothy 3:16-17

The doctrines of Scripture are facts, which involve

corresponding emotions and principles of action,

and must, from their very nature, if believed, be

operative upon the heart and the life.

If the doctrines of Scripture . . .

exert no godly influence,

carry with them no practical weight,

exert no moral power,

they are not truly believed.

The doctrines of Scripture are at once . . .

the source of consolation, and

the means of sanctification.

The doctrines of Scripture . . .

come into the mind as knowledge,

produce peace and love in the heart,

and spread the beauties of holiness

over the character and conduct.

The doctrines of Scripture are light; and like the

rays of the sun, they sustain life at the root of

the vine, and produce fruit on its branches.

This heavenly light of truth gives . . .

spiritual vitality to the soul,

and holy conduct to the life.

"For our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction." 1 Thes. 1:5

"Sanctify them by the truth; Your Word is truth." John 17:17

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How to Spell Relief -- C O M F O R T E R

I recommend the following two ways: 1) as a means unto an end, that is, to encourage you to bookmark the site from which this came (HERE), and 2) for the matter of which these words speak, namely the wonderful ministry of the Holy Spirit of God. Too often we pine away in our trials when the solution to our troubles abides very near at hand. Oh, Father, ever give us eyes of faith to see, yes, to apprehend the treasures which rest under our noses! This selection comes from one, Octavius Winslow. But be sure to check out the site, Grace Gems for much more treasure from the Puritans and others.

What is the life of the child of God but a continuous experience of the truth of His Word, and the veracity of His promises? You have, perhaps, been placed in trying circumstances; resources have lessened and demands have increased; your faith has been sharply tried; your spirits depressed; the sky has lowered and the waters have risen; but lo! the Spirit, the Comforter, has guided you to some precious promise which has just met your case. It has touched your heart, moistened your eye, uplifted the pressure, and your whole soul has been, as it were, absorbed in God. And now the harp that hung sad and mute upon the willow is taken down, and thrills with a new song of praise and thanksgiving to the faithfulness of God in the fulfillment of His Word.

The Centrality of Scripture

Preaching the Word imparts a certain passion to those consumed by it. John Piper has often felt this and passed it on in his messages. The following quotation comes from his sermon, "Building Our Lives On The Bible." You may want to check it out in its entirety. We have always needed the Scripture. Jesus affirmed in three locations that while heaven and earth will pass away [that which we know and unfortunately too much depend upon], his Word would NOT pass away (Matt. 24:35; Mark 13:31; Luke 21:33). And twice we read in the closing words of Luke that Jesus emphatically taught that the Scripture MUST be fulfilled. It is not optional. It is not dated. And it cannot be thwarted! When we read and quote and teach and preach the Bible, we are not drifting into irrational flights of fancy; we are delving into foundational, rock-solid truth! WE MUST SEE THIS TODAY! Every revival reignited a passion in God's people for the Holy Book, God's Word. The protestant reformation recaptured the Scriptures from the Roman Catholic church, who'd taken the people hostage, disallowing them from reading and interpreting the Scriptures themselves. Today, protestants seem quite willing to surrender the centrality of Scripture themselves without any outside devilish machinations! Oh, we must not do this! Hear what Piper says:

We are a people of the Book. We know God through the Book. We meet Christ in the Book. We see the cross in the Book. Our faith and love are kindled by the glorious truths of the Book. We have tasted the divine majesty of the Word and are persuaded that the Book is God's inspired and infallible written revelation. Therefore, what the Book teaches matters…

There is no salvation from sin and guilt and condemnation and hell apart from faith in Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12; Romans 10:13-17; 1 John 5:12). And there is no other authority besides the Scriptures to show you who Christ is and to give you his Word. So don't leave the Bible, children. Don't leave the Bible, young people. Don't neglect the Bible, dads and moms. Don't ignore the Bible, single people. Under God, the "sacred writings," the Scriptures, are the greatest treasure in the world. They alone make us wise unto salvation through Christ. O don't neglect this Book!

I close with this reminder from Paul to the Thessalonian Christians, commending them for HOW they took the Scriptures:

And we also thank God constantly for this, that when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as the word of men but as what it really is, the word of God, which is at work in you believers. (1 Thess. 2:13)

Go, and do likewise.

Calm in Dreadful Times

Proverbs 1:33, Whoever listens to me will dwell secure and will be at ease, without dread of disaster.

We certainly have no lack of doomsday predictions today. With the Mayan calendar predicting the end of days in 2012, sunspot activity seemingly supporting such a date, and the preponderance of movies on "end of the world destruction," it's hard to miss the focus. Coupled with the increase of sin all around us, non-fiction seems to be edging dangerously close to fiction. The last thing we Christians want to do is to give in to the terrors of the heart, as if God's plan had been high-jacked and he were not in control of all things. Although he thought so, Elijah was not the only prophet in Israel. God had providentially provided for hundreds of other prophets as they were holed up in a cave, even feeding them from Ahab's table! Spurgeon encourages us:

Let us from this draw the inference, that come what may, God’s people are safe. Let convulsions shake the solid earth, let the skies themselves be rent in twain, yet amid the wreck of worlds the believer shall be as secure as in the calmest hour of rest. If God cannot save his people under heaven, he will save them in heaven. If the world becomes too hot to hold them, then heaven shall be the place of their reception and their safety. Be ye then confident, when ye hear of wars, and rumours of wars. Let no agitation distress you, but be quiet from fear of evil. Whatsoever cometh upon the earth, you, beneath the broad wings of Jehovah, shall be secure. Stay yourself upon his promise; rest in his faithfulness, and bid defiance to the blackest future, for there is nothing in it direful for you. Your sole concern should be to show forth to the world the blessedness of hearkening to the voice of wisdom. 

Oh, let us hear this sure voice of assurance. Our God slumbers not nor sleeps (Psalm 121:4)!

Spies or Evangelists?

The way Jericho's walls fell miraculously often gets our greatest attention. But we may have overlooked the faith-filled interaction between the "spies" and Rahab.

First, note that these weren't really spying. They weren't examining the lay of the land, determining the relative strength of these people. When they left Rahab, the two men urged her to drop the scarlet cord out of the window of her house on the wall. Anyone of her family who remained with her in the house would be saved, anyone who ventured outside that abode, well . . . their blood would be upon their own heads (Joshua 2:19). That they would be safe within the house portends the manner in which the city was to be taken, even if those two men did not yet know the details.

It would seem then, that the "spies" were really sent not to look over the lay of the land but to find that one who had faith to trust in God. Rahab (& family) was, as it were, one of the ninety and nine. Oh, of course it's true that she had not yet been part of God's family, but she was to so become. The spies went on this mission to secure her, the elect of God. 

Second, don't miss her faith. In other words, don't miss what she said about Israel and their mission. Beginning in verse 9, Rahab describes what God is doing in an amazing display of knowledge which could only have been imparted by God himself. "I know that the LORD has given you the land, and that the fear of you has fallen upon us . . ." She then recounts the miraculous deliverance through the Red Sea and their unbelievable victories over two great kings, Og and Sihon. But, and here's the key, it is how she views these events that makes the difference between mere knowledge and true faith. What do I mean?

Mere knowledge says, we know these things but it does not change the way we live or our allegiance to God. Rahab had said that all Jericho knew these things, yet only she wanted to be saved! All Jericho's hearts were "melting with fear" but only Rahab wanted deliverance. That's the amazing part of faith isn't it? I cannot explain it. I doubt you can either. Why is it that when many see the same cataclysmic events, some are moved but most are not? Rahab had a sense of what all this meant. God must've revealed it to her. Truly, what Jesus was to say much later was true here, "No man can come unto me unless the Father who sent me draws him" (John 6:44). But praise God, HE DOES DRAW US! Right?!! Don't resist God's drawing power. If it weren't for that none would be gathered unto the gates of heaven!

Bow before the wisdom and love of God to secure even just one for his own name's sake. What are you doing in light of the great providential acts of God all around us today? Don't let them be reduced to simple sound bytes without any other consideration. Be, as the Scottish preacher, Thomas Boston said, "wise observers of the providence of God." Rahab certainly was . . . by God's grace . . . she is now eternally saved. 

Truly Righteous Though Sadly Sinful

One of the most difficult concepts for the Christian to grasp is that of his being viewed as righteous despite the fact that he knows he sins. We would not make light of this fact, that is, that we sin. All sin is an affront to the holiness of God. But neither would we demean the effectiveness of the atonement in bringing us to glory perfect in Christ! We should, yea, must mourn for our sinfulness (Mt. 5:4). But we must not so mourn as to mentally negate the effect of the cross. We do agree with Paul, that when we would do good, evil is present with us (Rom. 7:21). Read theologian, Alister McGrath's take on this. Maybe you'll have to read it twice. But it's worth it! 

We are justified propter Christum per fidem - that is, on account of Christ, through faith. The basis of God's decision to place us in right relationship with Him lies in Christ Himself. We are justified on account of His obedience during His lifetime and His death upon the cross. It is because of Him, and not because of anything we have done or will do, that we are made right with God. But the means by which we are justified is faith. Faith is like a channel through which the benefits of Christ flow to us...both the external foundation and the internal means of appropriation of justification are God-given. Faith is not something we can achieve; it is something achieved within us by God.   

Fear of Man Sets a Trap for Us

The fear of man lays a snare, but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe. Proverbs 29:25

Outside of a fundamental trust in God himself, any hope in man automatically sets a trap for our own feet! Men may mean well. Or, they may not. But the kind of trust elicited here demands that one be in control of all things, which, clearly no man can be. Logic, therefore, dictates that we place our life hope in the hands of the One who controls all of life. 

On the practical side of this, we must consider how much effort goes into our gaining the approval of others? We must ask how much we are offended when others speak less well of us than we think we deserve? Also, do we put confidence in others to solve our emotional or personal dilemmas? Do we tend to place overmuch confidence in our jobs instead of in the God who provides all our needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus? (Phil. 4:19) 

Decidedly, we should encourage one another. And holy deference demands that we think little enough about ourselves that, as Lloyd-Jones proffers in the Sermon on the Mount, we are surprised when anyone thinks well of us. And this is not due to our putting ourselves down. It is more out of a complete disregard to ourselves at all. We simply cease to be a blip on the radar of our own estimation. 

Trusting in the LORD frees us from the stifling choke-hold that self-absorption produces in us. No longer are we waylaid by a worry that we will not be perceived in the best light. Our eyes will look only to Christ. And you ask, "Come on, is that actually possible, that we would not think about ourselves?" Yes. "Fixing your eyes upon Jesus" (Heb. 12:2) suggests such a preoccupation, doesn't it? And what a blessed occupation. They will hardly find Christ so satisfying who busy themselves trying to look away from themselves. They delight in God most who focus intently on Him for so long that after a while, they find they haven't even thought about themselves. In fact, this becomes their habit, a blessed and safe one at that.

"Whoever trusts in the LORD is safe." Amen!