Make Me a Bookworm!

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.” (John 14:21 ESV)

C. H. Spurgeon found an old Bible one day with a small hole in it. It seems that a worm had eaten its way through the Bible from cover to cover. Considering this, Spurgeon suddenly exclaimed, “Lord, make me a bookworm like that!”

We all need to pray like that too. This is because most of us are poor Bible students. We really do not want to know God too well, because we hold to the old saying that “Ignorance is bliss.” To be a Christian, requires us to be willing to seek to know God with all our hearts and minds. Do you know the difference between milk and meat? Most Christians only seem to want a small dose of God-lite. They are afraid to get too close to God because it might require too much of them.

However, relationships require perseverance. The author of Hebrews puts it this way: “. . . we have much to say, and it is hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing. For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the basic principles of the oracles of God. You need milk, not solid food, for everyone who lives on milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, since he is a child. But solid food is for the mature, for those who have their powers of discernment trained by constant practice to distinguish good from evil.” (Hebrews 5:11-14, ESV)

The Christian must realize that reading and studying the Bible – along with other Christian books, commentaries, etc. – and spending time on our knees before God should always be our “constant practice.” We must read and study until we come to a true understanding of the Scriptures. This is the way to learn more about God.

In Luke 24:45, there is a phrase at the beginning of the verse that I love. It reads, “Then he opened their minds to understand the Scriptures. . .” Jesus opened the minds of His disciples so that they could understand the Word of God. James, the half-brother of Jesus wrote, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.” (James 1:5, ESV)

Don’t allow words such as “theology” and “doctrine” intimidate you. “Theology” is simply the study of the nature of God and religious truth. It helps us to answer questions about God. “Doctrine” is a body of teachings and principles. They help us to be consistent and logical in our understanding of God. John Owens reminds us, “The foundation of true holiness and true worship is the doctrine of the gospel, what we are to believe. So when Christian doctrine is neglected, forsaken, or corrupted, true holiness and worship will also be neglected, forsaken, and corrupted.” Such an abomination occurs because we have failed to seek to understand the God of the Bible.

The Two Dimensions of the Christian Life

Martin Luther:

You have often heard me say that the Christian life has two dimensions: the first is faith, and the second is good works. A believer should live a devout life and always do what is right. But the first dimension of the Christian life—faith—is more essential. The second dimension—good works—is never as valuable as faith. People of the world, however, adore good works. They regard them to be far higher than faith.

Good works have always been valued more highly than faith. Of course, it’s true that we should do good works and respect the importance of them. But we should be careful that we don’t elevate good works to such an extent that faith and Christ become secondary. If we esteem them too highly, good works can become the greatest idolatry. This has occurred both inside and outside of Christianity. Some people value good works so much that they overlook faith in Christ. They preach about and praise their own works instead of God’s works.

Faith should be first. After faith is preached, then we should teach good works. It is faith—without good works and prior to good works—that takes us to heaven. We come to God through faith alone.

The Bible is to be Understood

Daniel Webster:

“I believe that the Bible is to be understood and received in the plain and obvious meaning of its passages; for I cannot persuade myself that a book intended for the instruction and conversion of the whole world should cover its true meaning in any such mystery and doubt that none but critics and philosophers can discover it.”

“Education is useless without the Bible.”

Salvation and the Covenant

Salvation is offered to all men on the condition of faith in Christ. Therefore, in this sense, the covenant of grace is made with all men. The supreme sin of those who hear the gospel is that they refuse to accept this covenant, and therefore place themselves outside it. Charles Hodge writes:

In virtue of what the Son of God covenanted to perform and what in the fullness of time He actually accomplished, agreeably to the stipulations of the compact with the Father, two things follow. First, salvation is offered to all men on the condition of faith in Christ. Our Lord commanded his disciples to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. The gospel, however, is the offer of salvation upon the conditions of the covenant of grace. In this sense, the covenant of grace is formed with all mankind. And, therefore, the Westminster Confession says, ‘Man, by his fall, having made himself incapable of life by that covenant [namely, by the covenant of works], the Lord was pleased to make a second, commonly called the covenant of grace: wherein He freely offereth unto sinners [and all sinners] life and salvation by Jesus Christ, requiring of them faith in Him, that they may be saved, and promising to give unto all those that are ordained unto life, his Holy Spirit, to make them able and willing to believe.’ If this, therefore, were all that is meant by those who make the parties to the covenant of grace, God and mankind in general and all mankind equally, there would be no objection to the doctrine. For it is undoubtedly true that God offers to all and every man eternal life on condition of faith in Jesus Christ. But as it is no less true that the whole scheme of redemption has special reference to those given by the Father to the Son, and of whom our Lord says, ‘All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out’ (John 6.37), … To them God has promised to give his Spirit in order that they may believe; and to them alone all the promises made to believers belong. (“The Covenant”)

The Coronation of the King

R. C. Sproul:

Imagine an earthly situation where the heir-apparent to the throne meets with his closest friends on the eve of his own coronation. The new king’s friends would hardly desire that the king skip his own coronation. There is no greater benefit to the new king’s friends than that he ascends to the throne.

When Jesus left this world, He was not departing in exile. He was leaving for His coronation. He was passing from humiliation to exaltation. The extraordinary benefit in this for every Christian is that he can live in the full assurance that at this very moment the highest political office in the universe is being held by King Jesus. His term of office is forever. No revolution, no rebellion, no bloody coup can wrest Him from the throne. The Lord Christ omnipotent reigns.

The “where” partially explains the “why.” There is more to be added, though. The king serves in a dual capacity. He is not an ordinary monarch. At the same time He reigns as King, He serves His subjects as their Great High Priest. The King kneels before His own throne in supplication for His people. In addition to the session there is also intercession. Jesus’ throne is linked to the heavenly Holy of Holies. Daily, He makes intercession for you.

Read more by R. C. Sproul here. . . .

Accepting Our Helper

R.C. Sproul:

It was 3 a.m., Amsterdam, 1965. I couldn’t sleep. I was pacing the floor of our apartment like a caged lion. My body was more than ready for sleep, but my mind refused to shut down.

I had spent that day studying the doctrine of the ascension of Christ, the climactic moment of His departure from this world. One statement of Jesus gripped my mind in a vise. The statement was part of Jesus’ farewell discourse to His disciples in the upper room. He said: “Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you” (John 16:7).

I paced the floor mulling over this astonishing statement. How could it possibly be better for the church to experience an absentee Lord? Parting with loved ones is not a “sweet sorrow.” One would think that to part with the incarnate Jesus would be an utterly bitter sorrow, a total dissolution to the soul.

Yet Jesus spoke of a certain “expediency” of His departure. The word translated “advantage” or “expedient” in John 16 is the word sumpherei, the same word employed by Caiaphas in his ironic prophecy (John 18:14).

The advantage of Jesus’ departure from earth is found partially in answer to Peter’s earlier question: “Lord, where are you going?” (Quo vadis?). We might say that the entire farewell discourse of John 14 was given in answer to that question. But equally important is that Jesus answered Peter by telling him not only where He was going but why He was going.

When Jesus left this world, He went to the Father. His ascension was to a certain place for a particular reason. To ascend did not mean merely “to go up.” He was being elevated to the right hand of the Father. The seat He occupies since His departure is the royal throne of cosmic authority. It is the office of the King of kings and the Lord of lords.

Visit R.C. Sproul’s ministry here. . . .

Do not take for Granted God’s good Gifts

Samson, like many men and women of today, did not always use the graces bestowed upon him in a righteous manner. T. DeWitt Talmage reminds such men and women to not take for granted God’s good gifts:

Samson went down to Timnah, and at Timnah he saw one of the daughters of the Philistines. (Judges 14:1 ESV)

You who are seated in your Christian homes; compassed by moral and religious restraints, do not realize the gulf of iniquity that bounds you on the north and the south and the east and the west. While I speak there are tens of thousands of men and women going over the awful plunge of an impure life; and while I cry to God for mercy upon their souls, I call upon you to marshal in the defense of your homes, your Church and your nation. There is a banqueting hall that you have never heard described. You know all about the feast of Ahasuerus, where a thousand lords sat. You know all about Belshazzar’s carousal, where the blood of the murdered king spurted into the faces of the banqueters. You may know of the scene of riot and wassail, when there was set before Esopus one dish of food that cost $400,000. But I speak now of a different banqueting hall. Its roof is fretted with fire. Its floor is tessellated with fire. Its chalices are chased with fire. Its song is a song of fire. Its walls are buttresses of fire. Solomon refers to it when he says: “Her guests are in the depths of hell.”

Our American communities are suffering from the gospel of Free Loveism, which, fifteen or twenty years ago, was preached on the platform and in some of the churches of this country. I charge upon Free Loveism that it has blighted innumerable homes, and that it has sent innumerable souls to ruin. Free Loveism is bestial; it is worse—it is infernal! … As far as I can understand the doctrine of Free Loveism it is this: That every man ought to have somebody else’s wife and every wife somebody else’s husband. … Never until society goes back to the old Bible, and hears its eulogy of purity and its anathema of uncleanness—never until then will this evil be extirpated. . . .

The Samson of the text long ago went away. He fought the lion. He fought the Philistines. He could fight anything, but death was too much for him. He may have required a longer grave and a broader grave; but the tomb nevertheless was his terminus. . . .

Oh, men of the strong arm and the stout heart, what use are you making of your physical forces? Will you be able to stand the test of that day when we must answer for the use of every talent, whether it were a physical energy, or a mental acumen, or a spiritual power? (“Brawn and Muscle”)

A Proper Fear of God

Sinclair B. Ferguson:

A proper fear of God is that indefinable mixture of reverence and pleasure, joy and awe which fills our hearts when we realize who God is and what He has done for us. It is a love for God which is so great that we would be ashamed to do anything which would displease or grieve Him, and makes us happiest when we are doing what pleases Him. (Grow in Grace)

Largest Protestant Denominations

Listed below are the current 12 largest Protestant Denominations in the US:

1. Southern Baptist Convention: 16.2 million members

2. The United Methodist Church: 7.8 million members

3. The Church of God in Christ: 5.5 million members

4. National Baptist Convention: 5.0 million members

5. Evangelical Lutheran Church, U.S.A.: 4.5 million members

6. National Baptist Convention of America: 3.5 million members

7. Assemblies of God: 2.9 million members

8. Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.): 2.8 million members

9. African Methodist Episcopal Church: 2.5 million members

10. National Missionary Baptist Convention of America: 2.5 million members

11. The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod (LCMS): 2.3 million members

12. The Episcopal Church: 2.0 million members

If Others have found Peace, Why not You?

Many have come to Jesus and at this moment, they can tell you that they are satisfied in Him. If other people have found such peace, why can’t you? It is the honor and glory of Jesus Christ to receive those who humbly rest in His sacrifice. What is holding you back? Charles H. Spurgeon writes:

Does the Spirit of God within you … make you say, “I will arise, and go to my Father?” Oh, if there is such a thought trembling in your soul, do not quench it, obey it, arise and go, and may your Father’s arms be wrapped around your neck before today’s sun goes down. Meanwhile, permit me to say, what a hardening process is insensibly going on within! … Why, those promises that cheered you … now yield no comfort! Those threats, which once startled, now cause you no alarm! Will you dawdle any longer? You have waited to be better, and you are growing worse and worse. You have said, “I will come at a more convenient season,” and every season is more inconvenient than the one that came before it. You doubted then – you are the victim of deeper and more dastardly doubts today. Oh, that you could believe in him who must be true! Oh, that you could trust in him who ought to be trusted, for he can never deceive! I pray the day may come, even this very moment, when you will shake yourself from the dust, arise and put on your beautiful garments, for every hour you sit on the dunghill of your soul-destroying doubts you are being fastened by strong bands of iron to the seat of despair. Your eye is growing dimmer, your hand more palsied; and the poison in your veins is raging more furiously. Yonder is the Savior’s cross, and there is efficacy in his blood for you. Trust Jesus now, and this moment you will enter into peace. The gate of mercy swings readily on its hinge and opens wide to every soul, which casts itself upon the bosom of the Savior. Oh, why are you waiting? Mischief will befall you. The sun is going down; hurry, traveler, in case you are overtaken with everlasting night. (Advice for Seekers)

Don’t Waste Your Life

John Piper:

“My joy grows with every soul that seeks the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Remember, you have one life. That’s all. You were made for God. Don’t waste it.”

“I will not waste my life! I will finish my course and finish it well. I will display the Gospel of the grace of God in all I do. I will run my race to the end.” (Don’t Waste Your Life)

Faith in Christ

Philip Schaff:

“To give up faith in Christ is to give up faith in humanity; to believe in Christ is to believe in the redemption and final glorification of men; and this faith is the best inspiration to a holy and useful life for the good of our race of the glory of God.”

The Pure in Heart

The pure in heart are continually endeavoring to cleanse themselves from sin. The new nature of a Christian, even though there are pockets of sin remaining, is so contrary to the old man that it desires to be wholly sanctified. According to Jonathan Edwards:

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” (Matthew 5:8)

It is the heart that God looks at. However fair and pure an outside there may be, that may be very pleasing to men, yet if there be not purity of heart, the man is not at all the more acceptable to God. 1 Sam. 16:7, “But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart.” If men outwardly behave well and speak well, yet it is not accepted without trying and weighing the heart. Pro. 16:2, “All the ways of man are clean in his own eyes, but the Lord weigheth the spirits.” It is the spirit which is the subject of this blessedness of seeing God, and therefore the qualities of the spirit, and not so much those of the outward man, are regarded.

The heart is said to be pure with respect to the filthiness from which it is pure. Sin is the greatest filthiness. There is nothing that can so defile and render so abominable. It is that which has an infinite abominableness in it. And indeed it is the only spiritual defilement. There is nothing else that can defile the soul. Now there are none in this life who are pure from sin in such a sense that there is no remainder, no mixture of sin. Pro. 20:9, “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?” So that if this were the requisite qualification, none of the children of men would ever come to see God. . . .

But the purity of heart with respect to sin, that may be obtained in this life, consists in the following:

It implies that the soul sees the filthiness that there is in sin, and accordingly abhors it. Sin, that is so filthy in itself, is become so sensibly to the man whose heart is pure. He sees its odiousness and deformity, and it is become nauseous to him. . . .

[H]e who has become pure in heart hates sin. He has antipathy to it. He does not love to be near it. If he sees any of it hanging about him, he abhors himself for it. He seems filthy to himself. He is a burden to himself. He abhors the very sight of it, and shuns the appearance of it. If he sees sin in others, it is a very unpleasant sight to him. As sin, and as committed against God, it is grievous and uncomfortable to him wherever he discovers it. It is because his heart is changed, and God has given him a pure nature.

It implies godly sorrow for sin. … By godly sorrow, the heart exerts itself against the filthiness of past sins, and does, as it were, endeavor to cast it off, and purge itself from it.

It implies that sin is mortified in the heart, so that it is free from the reigning power and dominion of it. Though the heart is not perfectly free from all sin, yet a freedom is begun. Before, spiritual filth had the possession of the heart, corruption had the entire government of the soul, every faculty was so wholly defiled by it, that all its acts were filthy, and only filthy, the heart was entirely enslaved to sin.

But now the power of sin is broken, the strong bands by which it was tied and fastened to the heart are in a great measure loosed, so that corruption has no longer the possession and government of the heart as before. (“The Pure in Heart Blessed”)

The Problem with Trust

Do you have difficulty with trusting people? Sometimes I do. Do you trust God in every circumstance of your life? If I look deep into my heart, I find that sometimes the answer is “No!”

You may define “trust” as a “firm reliance on the integrity, ability, or character of a person or thing.” Are you trustworthy person?

I have always tried to be a trustworthy person who keeps his word to others. However, there have been times in my life when I failed in this regard. I don’t know about you, but I hate being fallible when it comes to promises. I know I cannot control every circumstance or the actions of other people. My will can be thwarted by nature, by other human beings, and by my own weaknesses – even when a promise is made with the best of intentions. A person may have character and ability and try to live a life of integrity, but promises should be made sparingly and vows to God even more so.

Conversely, we may be certain that God will keep His promises. The psalmist declares, “In God I have put my trust: I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?” (56:11) “Trust in Him at all times; you people, pour out your heart before Him: God is a refuge for us.” (62:8) We may know people who put little trust in God, but how many people do you know who trust Him in excess? D. L. Moody wrote, “Trust in yourself and you are doomed to disappointment; trust in your friends and they will die and leave you; trust in money and you may have it taken from you; trust in reputation and some slanderous tongue may blast it; but trust in God, and you are never to be confounded in time or eternity.”

If you are really going to trust in God, you must be able to answer one question in the affirmative. “Do I believe that God is absolutely in control of the universe down to the smallest detail?” If you do not believe this, you can never trust Him. If you really believe in God’s sovereignty, then you can rest in His providential care. “In God I have put my trust: I will not be afraid.” (Psalm 56:11) “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation.” (Isaiah 12:2) Despite all circumstances, we may confidently place our trust in God. Only He knows what is best for us. Only He knows our deepest needs.

Be like Christ at all Times

Charles Spurgeon:

My brethren, let me say, be like Christ at all times. Imitate him in “public.” Most of us live in some sort of public capacity—many of us are called to work before our fellow men every day. We are watched; our words are caught; our lives are examined — taken to pieces. The eagle-eyed, argus-eyed world observes everything we do, and sharp critics are upon us. Let us live the life of Christ in public. Let us take care that we exhibit our Master and not ourselves — so that we can say, “It is no longer I that live, but Christ that lives in me.”