Watering Down The Gospel

John Newton

Quoting Church of England Pastor, preacher and writer, former slave trader John Newton (1725-1807):

“The Bible is the grand repository … It is the complete system of divine truth, to which nothing can be added, and from which nothing can be taken, with impunity. Every attempt to disguise or soften any branch of this truth, in order to accommodate it to the prevailing taste around us, either to avoid the displeasure, or to court the favor of our fellow mortals, must be an affront to the majesty of God, and an act of treachery to men.” (The Works of John Newton)

Christ Will Be With You

Maurice Roberts

We are in a difficult position which requires help from someone else. Not just anyone can help us; it must be Jesus Christ. Reverend Maurice Roberts offers comfort to those Christians who feel they just can’t hold on any longer:

“And I will bring the blind by a way that they knew not; I will lead them in paths that they have not known: I will make darkness light before them, and crooked things straight. These things will I do unto them, and not forsake them.” (Isaiah 42:16)

God says when people come to Christ he will not forsake them. Do you see that at the end? “These things will I do unto them and not forsake them.” What does that mean? Well it means that God, when he saves you and brings you to Christ, he won’t let you go back again into the world. I know a young man who is a student, and he came to Christ as a student. And he went to his dear father who was a nice man but not a Christian, and this is what he said to his father: “Father,” he said, “I’ve become a real Christian; I believe in Jesus now.” And the father said, “Oh it’ll pass off son; these things come and go in our lives; it’s just a phase. Don’t take it too seriously.” But it didn’t pass off. And his father came to see the same thing, and his father was converted too. You see, once you’re saved, you’re saved forever. You can’t go back. And that’s not thanks to us; that’s thanks to God. He keeps us by his power. “I will not forsake them,” says God, “I will not leave them, I will not give them up, I will not give them over.”

[T]o those of you here tonight who have very little faith, maybe you feel you’re not very sure if you’re a Christian or not. Well, I say, if you have even a tiny little bit of faith, as small as a mustard seed, you will be saved. Jesus said the mustard seed is the smallest of all the seeds. . . . But, says Christ, when it grows it’s one of the biggest of all shrubs or plants or trees; so big that the birds of the air make nests in it. Now, it’s like that with faith. My dear friend, you may be a very weak Christian, and you may be so weak, as a Christian, that you can’t even say you’re a Christian. You may say, “Well I hope I’m a Christian but I’m not sure.” Or “I do hope I’m a believer but I’m not sure,” you say. Well, I want to say to you: God will not forsake you, no matter how weak your faith is. If you have even the grain of true faith in Jesus Christ you will certainly get to heaven just as much as the apostle Paul, or Calvin, or Luther, or these great men of old, or women of old. If you have faith, even the tiniest faith, you will be saved. So be comforted, my dear friend. If you lack much assurance, be comforted. Look at the promise: “I will not forsake them.” Because, you see, if you have faith in Christ it was him who gave it to you, so here’s the comfort. He will be with you always, until you get safe home to glory. Be your faith ever so small, if you have real faith you have true faith. (“God’s Grace to Blind Sinners”)