Solus Christus Reformed Baptist Church

O study thy misery till thy heart cry out for Christ as earnestly as ever a drowning man did for a boat, or the wounded for a surgeon. Men must come to see the danger and feel the smart of their deadly sores and sickness, or Christ will be to them a physician of no value. The manslayer hastens to the city of refuge, when pursued by the avenger of blood; but men must be even forced and driven out of themselves, or they will not come to Christ.

To say, "I have faithfully declared all the counsel of God and now I must leave results with him," sounds very pious, but it leaves the way open for several serious questions. It is perfectly true that "results" rest entirely with God, for he alone "giveth the increase" (1 Cor. 3:7). But, have we declared all the counsel of God when we have fully expounded the "five points" of Calvinism? We think not.

CHR. Here is a poor burdened sinner. I come from the City of Destruction, but am going to Mount Zion, that I may be delivered from the wrath to come. I would therefore, Sir, since I am informed that by this gate is the way thither, know if you are willing to let me in? GOOD-WILL. I am willing with all my heart, said he; and with that he opened the gate.

There is a kind of love or affection towards persons or things, which does properly arise from self-love. A preconceived relation to himself, or some respect already manifested by another to him, or some benefit already received or depended on, is truly the first foundation of his love; what precedes any relish of, or delight in, the nature and qualities inherent in the being beloved, as beautiful and amiable.

Our inquiry, then, is, Whether men do receive this revelation as unto these ends, and use it for these purposes, and these only? I might evince the contrary, by passing through the general abuses of the doctrine of grace which are mentioned in the Scripture and common in the world; but it will not be needful. Instead of believing, the most of men seem to put a studied despite on the gospel. They either proclaim it to be an unholy and polluted way, by turning its grace into lasciviousness, or a weak and insufficient way, by striving to twist it in with their own righteousness; both which are an abomination unto the Lord.

'How now, good fellow * Whither away after this burdened manner? What a contrast those two men were to one another in the midst of that plain that day! Our pilgrim was full of the most laborious going; sighs and groans rose out of his heart at every step; and then his burden on his back, and his filthy, slimy rags all made him a picture such that it was to any man's credit and praise that he should stop to speak to him. And then, when our pilgrim looked up, he saw a gentleman standing beside him to whom he was ashamed to speak. Whyte, Alexander. Bunyan Characters in the Pilgrim's Progress

True Christianity is a fight! True Christianity! Let us mind that word "true." There is a vast quantity of religion current in the world, which is not true, genuine Christianity. It passes muster, it satisfies sleepy consciences; but it is not good money. It is not the authentic reality that called itself Christianity in the beginning. .

The Pilgrim's Progress (In Modern English) Chapter 1 For Monergism "I saw also, that he looked this way and that way—as if he wanted to run. Yet he stood still, because, as I perceived, he could not tell which way to go. I looked then, and saw a man named Evangelist coming towards him, who asked, "Why are you crying out?" He answered, "Sir, I realize, by the Book in my hand—that I am condemned to die, and after that to come to judgment. and I find that I am not willing to do the first—nor able to do the second.

The Pilgrim's Progress (In Modern English) Recorded for the new Monergism APP

Christian was left in the Swamp of Despond alone; but he still struggled toward that side of the swamp which was furthest from his own house, and closest to the narrow-gate. But he could not get out, because of the heavy burden which was upon his back. I then beheld in my dream, that a man came to him, whose name was Help, and asked him what he was doing there.

Then Interpreter took him by the hand, and led him into a very large parlor which was full of dust, because it was never swept. After Christian had contemplated this scene for a little while, the Interpreter called for a man to sweep the room. When he began to sweep, the dust began to so thickly swirl around the room—that Christian began to be choked by it! Then Interpreter said to a maiden who stood nearby, "Bring some water, and sprinkle the room!" After she had done this—the parlor was then swept and cleansed with ease. "What does this mean?" Christian inquired.

I saw in my dream, that just as Christian came up to the Cross—his burden fell off his shoulders and back, and began to tumble, until it came to the mouth of the sepulcher, where it fell in, and I saw it no more! Then Christian was glad and joyful, and said with a merry heart, "Jesus has given me rest by His sorrow, and life by His death!" So he stood still awhile to ponder and wonder; for it was very surprising to him, that the sight of the Cross should thus ease him of his burden. He looked, therefore, and looked again—until tears flowed down his cheeks!

Both in the continuation and removal of comfort the Spirit acts arbitrarily. No man can say how long he shall walk in this pleasant light, Psalm. 30:7. "By thy favor thou hast made my mountain stand strong, thou hidest thy face, and I was troubled." And when in darkness, none can say how long it will be ere that sweet light break forth again. God can scatter the cloud unexpectedly in a moment, Cant. 3:4. "It was but a little that I passed from them, but I found him whom my soul loveth." There is such an observable difference in David's spirit in some Psalms, as if one man had written the beginning and another the end of them.

The power that is in the word of God consists in its efficacy to communicate the grace of God unto the souls of men. In and by it they "taste that the Lord is gracious;" that is its efficacy unto its proper ends. These are salvation, with all things requisite thereunto; such as the illumination of our minds, the renovation of our natures, the justification of our persons, the life of God in holy worship and obedience,—all leading unto our eternal enjoyment of him. These are the ends whereunto the gospel is designed in the wisdom of God, whereunto its efficacy is confined.

the religion of the Catholic Church, at this day, is nothing but a dead image of the gospel, erected in the loss of an experience of its spiritual power, overthrowing its use, with all its ends, being suited to the taste of men, carnal, ignorant, and superstitious.

Nature and Causes of Apostasy - 6 Most of their disputes were such as had never had foundation nor occasion in the world, if Aristotle had not invented some odd terms and distinctions, remote from the common understanding and reason of men wiser than himself. To inquire into divine revelation with a holy, humble frame of heart, waiting and praying for divine teaching and illumination of mind, that themselves might be made wise in the knowledge of the mysteries of the gospel, and able to instruct others in the knowledge and fear of God, it never came into their minds; but being furnished and puffed up with a conceit of their own sagacity, philosophical ability etc.

Christ will judge the world in righteousness, particularly as he will give to everyone a due proportion either of reward or punishment, according to the various characters of those who shall be judged.

Both the misery of the wicked and the happiness of the saints will be increased beyond what shall be before the judgment. The misery of the wicked will be increased, as they will be tormented not only in their souls, but also in their bodies, which will be prepared both to receive and administer torment to their souls.

Our second use of this subject shall be to apply it to the awakening of sinners. You that have not the fear of God before your eyes, that are not afraid to sin against him, consider seriously what you have heard concerning the day of judgment. Although these things be now future and unseen, yet they are real and certain. If you now be left to yourselves, if God keep silence, and judgment be not speedily executed, it is not because God is regardless how you live, and how you behave yourselves. Now indeed God is invisible to you, and his wrath is invisible. But at the day of judgment, you yourselves shall see him with your bodily eyes. You shall not then be able to keep out of his sight, or to avoid seeing him.

In this world we must have tribulation, and we must have much of it too, for it is through much tribulation we inherit the kingdom. What God does for His people is this: He keeps them in tribulation, preserves them in temptation, and brings them joy-fully out of all their trials.

May I hope He will at last listen to me? Then I may well continue my prayers." And recollect it is your only hope: there is no other Savior. This or none—Christ's blood or else eternal wrath. And to whom shall you go, if you turn away from Him? None ever yet perished pleading for mercy; therefore keep on.

The sentence will be pronounced. Christ will say to the wicked on the left hand, "Depart, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." How dreadful will these words of the judge be to the poor, miserable, despairing wretches on the left hand! How amazing will every syllable of them be! How will they pierce them to the soul! These words show the greatest wrath and abhorrence. Christ will bid them depart. He will send them away from his presence, will remove them forever far out of his sight, into an everlasting separation from God, as being most loathsome, and unfit to dwell in his presence, and enjoy communion with him. Christ will call them cursed. Depart, ye cursed, to whom everlasting wrath and ruin belong, who are by your own wickedness prepared for nothing else, but to be firebrands of hell, who are the fit objects and vessels of the vengeance and fury of the Almighty. Into fire. He will not send them away merely into a loathsome prison, the receptacle of the filth and rubbish of the universe. But into a furnace of fire.

He hath said," is refreshing food for every grace, and a decisive death-blow for every sin. Here you have nourishment for that which is good, and poison for that which is evil. Search, then, the Scriptures, for so shall you grow healthy, strong, and vigorous in the divine life.

That this duty is the outlet of troubles, and the best way the poor Christian hath to ease his heart when surcharged with sorrow. Griefs are eased by groans. Such evaporations disburden and cool the heart, as the opening of a vein in some cases doth. Oh the sensible ease that comes in this way! When grief in the mind, like vapors in the air, are condensed into black clouds that overspread the soul, and darken that beautiful light that once shone there, then prayer, like the sun dispels and scatters them, 1 Sam. 1:18.

Thoughts on recent interactions with family. A History and bibliography from over the years of studying Christian Experience writings.

Concerning the words of the text, we may observe, that in them the apostle speaks of the general judgment: He will judge the WORLD. — The time when this shall be, on the appointed day: He hath appointed a day. — How the world is to be judged: In righteousness. — The man by whom it is to be judged: Christ Jesus whom God raised from the dead.

God is, with respect to this sort of government, by right the sovereign ruler of the world. He is possessed of this right by reason of his infinite greatness and excellency, by which he merits, and is perfectly and solely fit for, the office of supreme ruler. He that is so excellent as to be infinitely worthy of the highest respect of the creature, has thereby a right to that respect. He deserves it by a merit of condignity, so that it is injustice to deny it to him. And he that is perfectly wise and true, and is only so regarded, has a right in everything to be regarded, and to have his determinations attended to and obeyed.

That there will be a time before the dissolution of the world, when the inhabitants of it shall stand before God and give an account of their conduct; and that God will in a public manner, by a general and just judgment, set all things to rights respecting their moral behavior, is a doctrine entirely agreeable to reason. Which I shall now endeavor to make appear. But I would premise that what we would inquire into is not whether all mankind shall be judged by God. For that is a thing that the light of nature clearly teaches, and we have already spoken something of it. But whether it be rational to think that there will be a public judgment of all mankind together. This I think will appear very rational from the following considerations.

It is needful that Christ should be the judge of the world, in order that he may finish the work of redemption. It is the will of God, that he who is the redeemer of the world should be a complete redeemer; and that therefore he should have the whole work of redemption left in his hands.

God gave unto man a law of obedience immediately upon his creation; yea, for the main of it, he implanted it in him by and in his creation. This law it was supposed that man might transgress. The very nature of a law prescribed unto free agents, attended with threatenings and promises of reward, requires that supposition. Now, there was not annexed unto this law, or revealed with it, the least intimation of pardon to be obtained if transgression should ensue.

The uninterrupted and uncommon prosperity which has hitherto attended you makes this stroke doubly distressing. From your youth you seem to have enjoyed the peculiar care of Providence. Though early deprived of the watchful care of an excellent father, you found friends who almost supplied the place of a father; who not only provided for you bodily needs—but took care of your education; and I do not know that your advantages could have been greater, had your good father continued to live. And since you have become a man, and entered into that course of life which you were permitted to choose for yourself, I know of no one, in the same line, who has been more successful in his pursuits, or who has been able to conciliate more effectually the public favor. Indeed, until this sad event in a moment dashed the cup of worldly prosperity, you might be said to have been like a favorite child, dandled on the knee, and exposed to no crude blasts of adversity.

God does not willingly afflict; He takes no pleasure in the sufferings of any of His creatures, much less in the sorrows of His children; but He chastises them for their real good. Why some are so much more afflicted than others, we do not know; but we do know, "that all things work together for good to those who love God"; (Rom 8:28) and that, although "no chastening for the present is joyous—but grievous, yet afterwards it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto those who are exercised thereby". (Heb 12:11) The afflicted mourner finds it hard to believe this promise, and cannot see how it is possible that such a calamity should be of any benefit. But God's Word is to be credited in opposition to our own feelings, and to all appearances. He has ways of working which we do not now understand—but shall know hereafter.

it. It may be observed, that the more excellent any thing is, the more will be the counterfeits of it. Thus there are many more counterfeits of silver and gold, than of iron and copper: there are many false diamonds and rubies, but who goes about to counterfeit common stones? Though the more excellent things are, the more difficult it is to make any thing like them, in their essential nature and internal virtue; yet the more manifold will the counterfeits be, and the more will art and subtlety be exercised and displayed, in an exact imitation of the outward appearance.

The Christian life begins with an act of self-renunciation, and is continued by self-mortification . The first question of Saul of Tarsus, when Christ apprehended him, was, "Lord, what wouldst Thou have me to do?" The Christian life is likened unto a "race," and the racer is called upon to "lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset" which "sin" is in the love of self, the desire and determination to have our "own way" The one great aim, end, task, set before the Christian is to follow Christ—to follow the example He has left us and He "pleased not Himself" And there are difficulties in the way, obstacles in the path, the chief of which is self.

(1) How the Ministry of John Macarthur affected me. (2) Observations from our recent Montana road trip.

Our good works spring from union with Christ. The more a man knows and feels himself to be one with Jesus, the more holy will he be. Why is a Christian's character like Christ's character? Only for this reason, that he is joined and united to the Lord Jesus. Why does the branch bring forth grapes? Simply because it has been engrafted into the vine, and therefore it partakes of the nature of the item. So, Christian, the only way whereby thou canst bring forth fruit to God is by being grafted into Christ and united with him.

though it be true, blessedly and gloriously true, that God's mercy "endureth for ever," yet we must observe carefully the objects to whom His "mercy" is shown. Even the casting of the reprobate into the Lake of Fire is an act of mercy. The punishment of the wicked is to be contemplated from a threefold viewpoint. From God's side, it is an act of justice, vindicating His honour. The mercy of God is never shown to the prejudice of His holiness and righteousness.

There are in Christ's family, babes, young men, strong men, and fathers. And as they grow and progress in all other matters, so they most certainly make advances here. Indeed, an increase of love, a more perfect apprehension of Christ's love, is one of the best and most infallible gauges whereby we may test ourselves whether we have grown in grace or not. If we have grown in grace, it is absolutely certain that we shall have advanced in our knowledge and reciprocation of the love of Christ.

Our winters shall not frown forever: summer shall soon smile. The tide shall not eternally ebb out: the floods must retrace their march. The night shall not hang its darkness forever over our souls: the sun shall yet arise with healing beneath his wings. "The Lord turned the captivity of Job." Thus, too, our sorrows shall have an end when God has gotten His end in them. The ends in the case of Job were these, that Satan might be defeated, foiled with his own weapons, blasted in his hopes when he had everything his own way.