The Peril of Unbelief

Hebrews 3:12-19 “See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness.  We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end.  As has just been said:

“Today, if you hear his voice,

    do not harden your hearts

    as you did in the rebellion.

 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness?  And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed?  So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.”

 These verses mentioned above are about the peril of unbelief. Unbelief and doubt lead the way when we refuse to be persuaded, we refuse to comply with and we withhold belief. We wilfully reject Him and His Word because we lack confidence in Him. We live with unbelief in our hearts more than we think. Yet, most of us are not wiser about something so important in our walk with God, and it can rob us of this life in Him. When we live with unbelief in our hearts, it is like having a silent cancer ravaging your body, yet you are completely unaware of it all. And yes, this is a strong comparison but, sadly it is a reality. This week-end I had an unexpected visit of a Protestant lady whom I met about thirty five years ago. When I met her, I was a teenager and she was presented to me by my friend as the lady he was going to marry. I remember I did not like this woman just because she was a protestant and to me protestant meant “bible thumping”. We kept contact mainly over the phone because each one of us lives in a different Province. So, since I became a Christian about 15 years ago, I never had the opportunity to sit down with her and talk about our faith.

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It was so sad and disappointing to talk to her this week-end. This lady is plagued by unbelief right up to her eyeballs. Yet, in her ignorance and spiritual darkness, she has learned the Bible by heart and she actually remembered verses that I could never remember. Sadly, she is pleased with herself and her progress with God. In the meantime when I looked at her all I could see was spiritual darkness and sin. ( I will not take the time here to explain why what I said about her spiritual darkness and sin is simply what God calls righteous judgement).  Spiritual darkness plagues us when there is unbelief in the heart. It is the direct result of knowing what must be done, but we choose to be disobedient because it suits us. In this lady’s case she simply does not believe in the need to go further with God as long as one said the sinner’s prayer and keep up with your church attendance and some dead works. That’s her definition of Salvation.

 A few years ago, when the Holy Spirit wanted to teach me what the Scriptures means in Hebrews 3:14 “For we have become partakers of Christ, IF we hold fast the beginning of your assurance firm until the end” It was hard for me to see that through my own free will, I could choose to live in my unbelief. I could choose to sin and disobey God and step out of His divine nature. Unless the Spirit shows us the devastating effect this has on us spiritually, we have no idea how unbelief and its effects affect profoundly our walk with Him.

When we are plagued by unbelief and we are not even aware of it because we have done such a great job at forgetting why we did not want to follow Him to begin with, we take God and His Salvation for granted.  Yet, with our selective memory and selective amnesia, we are under the impression that all is well. I will never forget this vision as long as God grants me to keep it in my repertoire. When God showed me how easy it is for us to step out of His divine nature, He also showed me how important it is to make things right with Him right away, so that we can reattach ourselves to Him, spiritually speaking. The difference is like breathing pure oxygen and breathing polluted air. I was intrigued to see how easy we get used to breathing polluted air without thinking about it twice. After a while it becomes normal to us. But spiritually speaking, what seems normal to us in the flesh is pure suicide to our spirit.

I already talked about this vision with God in one of my previous posts where I explained as we stop being partakers of His divine nature, we exchange a mansion for a house made of cardboard on the streets. Often times we are told after a sin, all we have to do is to ask for forgiveness and all is well. While it is true when we sin God has made provision for us to simply ask for forgiveness as many times as we want and as long as we are living on this earth, we will be washed in His blood and reunited with Him again. But, on the other hands He has given us many verses in the Bible that give us the other side of the coin. We cannot remain in known sins and expect God to close His eyes just because we ask for forgiveness. This lady I mentioned above is a perfect example. After so many years of Christianity, she has rationalized why she does not need to go further with God. That is a known sin, unbelief and disobedience to God’s word. If God was alright with it like she thinks, then all would be well the Holy Spirit would have bypassed all her sins and resistance, and make sure she grew spiritually. When you look at it this way, you can see it for yourself that we cannot fool God.

We cannot act like the ostrich, stick our head in the sands and think that all is well because God is good and God is love. Even when we have managed to grieve the Holy Spirit and we lost all communication with Him, in our dull consciences and hard hearts we still know there is something wrong. God has given us numerous Bible verses that if we do not ignore them, we will know that all is not well. Why do you think God provides verses like Hebrews 3:12-19? Why are we told to live diligently? Why are we told to examine ourselves? Why are we warned not to grieve the Spirit?  And if you still do not believe, then you need to read the book of revelation and read the warning to the Churches. God was not talking to the buildings or just the leaders but to all of us who make up the Church.

Another thing I want to mention about living in our unbelief is that it eats away our spiritual life. As Christians, we need to understand how important repentance is in our lives. We are not allowed to keep going on while being ignorant of something that makes the difference between life and death. This lady that I talked about earlier, while she has been eating the bread of Christ, reading her bible and worshiping to the best of her ability but the proof is in the pudding. Why is it she has not grown spiritually and she is as blind as someone who is still living in the kingdom of darkness?

I recalled God showing me when we are separated from Him, at the beginning, it feels like our spirit is dying for pure air. It does not take long to feel like we can do without that precious air and suddenly we are back to the life in the flesh and loving it in our ignorance. In fact, slowly we forget how precious this life in Him used to be as we settle for the natural life. So, how do I translate this vision into a practical life? I live this life while putting into practice those warnings. I am always examining myself to make sure that I am not fighting God to have my ways. I am constantly examining myself in light of God’s Word I am always mindful of the life I live while making sure I live it to glorify Him. I am also mindful of how I live each moment for Him and in accordance with the Holy Spirit’s leading.

I am mindful of how surrendered I am to Him on a daily basis. Etc. But, one very important step that I practice religiously and I refuse to get by without, is to examine myself when I ask God for forgiveness.  I need to examine my heart to see if I am just taking Him for granted while there are things in my life that I do not want to do. While I know God loves me immensely, I know He showered me with His grace, I know I am saved, and I know God is good but, none of these things have ever been a reason for me not to heed to the numerous warnings found in the Bible. In fact, I am able to give heed to those warnings because He is in my life, because He is good, because He is just, gracious and love me, etc.

  

While we cannot see the new birth, but being able to heed to His word, obey and walk with Him, these things are proof that we have indeed been born again. So,  brothers and sisters give heed to the word of God (all of it)  and learn from the Israelites. We were given their examples because God does not want us to repeat the same mistakes. The peril of unbelief we find in Hebrews 3:12-19 was not written for unbelievers but for us believers. Take your head out of the sands, it never worked with God and He is not going to start with you.

Hebrews 4:1-2 “Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it. ² For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed”

How to Live a Holy Life - Part 1

Charles Ebert Orr 

(1844-1913)

Man was created for a purpose, and that purpose was to glorify his Creator (Isaiah 43:7). But man sinned and came short of the glory of God. The Lord, that he may yet be glorified in the man, provides a way of redemption. Through the redemption we have in Christ, we can live to the glory of God. This is God's purpose. The whole of life should be such as will glorify the Creator - and all that we do should be done with that end in view. Living for God, honoring his Word, magnifying his name - this is the duty of man. Solemn responsibility! Oh, what carefulness it should work in us. What vehement desire! What earnest seeking after God! O that we may live such a life.

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Jesus was here in the world, and was the light of the world. He had a human body, and in that body lived a life that glorified God. That was an exemplary life. Such a life, and such a life only - is to the glory of God. We must fashion our life after his - if we would spend life as we should. To know how Jesus lived - is to know how we should live. Every life that is in the likeness of Christ's life, is accepted of God. No other life can be. While Christ was here in the body, he was in the express image of the Father. The true, holy character of God was revealed through Jesus' human life to a lost and sinning world.

God had done all he could to reveal his true character to man by laws, ceremonies, and ordinances; but these were only the shadow of the true life which was to be the light of the world. Christ was both God and man. Having a physical form, which is visible, he could set the holiness of God in plain view before the world. If you would know the true life - look to Jesus.

But his life could be perfect - only as it was given in sacrifice for man. His life was holy - because it was a life sacrificed to God. No life can be possessed by God and used to his glory, which is not sacrificed to him. Jesus gave himself as an offering and sacrifice to God for us (Ephesians 5:2). He no longer is on earth, to demonstrate moral principle to the world. But now comes the command to man, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service." Romans 12:1.

God would have this human life of ours, to be offered up in sacrifice, so that we are no more ours but his. When we do so, there will be a change, a great and wonderful change. That life will no longer be worldly, or in the course of ordinary earthly-minded men. It will be a transformed life, a life in which God can live and do his will. Through the sacrifice of Christ, God will take the sacrificed life of man and possess it by his Spirit - and again demonstrate moral principle to the world. O man, that is your calling in life. You are the vehicle to convey the perfections of God to an unbelieving world. You are to be an empty vessel for God to fill with himself, and use to his glory.

O man, consider yourself, and know yourself, the purpose for which you were created, and the place which you do occupy in creation. You are no base creature. You are highest of all. God condescends to walk and talk with you. He upholds you in his hand. Angels minister to you. When you pass through the deep waters - God himself will be with you so that they shall not overflow you; and when you walk through the fire - he will walk with you so that the flame shall not kindle upon you; because you are precious in his sight and honorable, and he has set his love upon you. You are so precious to him - that he gave his only begotten Son to die to ransom you from sin and Hell!

In the vast created universe, what place does man occupy? He stands out as a creature that bears the stamp of the divine image, a creature that is endowed with eternity. The heavens shall pass away - but man shall be forever. He was made capable of holding communion with the Creator. He occupies the relationship with God - as child with parent. Being made in the likeness of God, he steps out upon the stage of the mighty universe - to play the highest and noblest part in the entire drama of created existences. The songs of the morning stars as they sing together, pouring their anthems into the ears of God, are not such sweet music as is the voice of praise and adoration from the holy soul of man.

Man was created for the very highest purpose in the mind of God. He is chosen to represent the divine character. On the stage, men and women represent certain characters. Man upon the great stage of life is selected to represent the holy character of God. Oh, that he might play his part well! He who occupies the highest and most responsible part in this wonderful play of the universe - will sink to the lowest shame and disgrace if he fails. The eyes of earth, Heaven, and Hell were turned upon man, as he stepped out to play his part. A garden eastward in Eden was selected as the ground of exhibition. It was whispered throughout the corridors of the universe, "Will he succeed? Will he play his part well?" Ah, the sad story! He failed and he fell, bringing a world into shame and disgrace, causing angels to weep and God to repent that he had ever 

Eternal Punishment - Part 2

.......It is because of these convictions, that by pen as well as by voice, we are seeking to raise the alarm. It may be thought that what we have said in the above paragraph stands in need of qualification. We can imagine some of our readers saying, Such truths as these may be needed by the lost-but surely you do not wish to be understood as saying that these subjects ought to be pressed upon the Lord's people! But that is exactly what we do mean and do say. Re-read the Epistles, dear friends, and note what place each of these subjects has in them! It is just because these truths have been withheld so much from public ministry to the saints, that we now find so many backboneless, sentimental, lop-sided Christians in our assemblies. 

A clearer vision of the awe-inspiring attributes of God-would banish much of our levity and irreverence. A better understanding of our depravity by nature-would humble us, and make us see our deep need of using the appointed means of grace. A facing of the alarming danger of the lost sinner-would cause us to "consider our ways" and make us more diligent to make our "calling and election sure." A realization of the unspeakable misery which awaits the lost (and which each of us fully merited) would immeasurably deepen our gratitude, and bring us to thank God more fervently-that we have been snatched as brands from the burning and delivered from the wrath to come! It would also make us far more earnest in our prayers as we supplicate God on behalf of the unsaved.

Moreover, scriptural and searching addresses along these lines would, in some cases at least, lay hold of those who have a form of godliness but who deny the power thereof. They would have some effect on that vast company of professors who are "at ease in Zion." They would, if God were depended upon, arouse the indifferent, and cause some who are now careless and unconcerned to cry, "What must I do to be saved?" Remember that the ground must be plowed-before it is ready to be sowed: and the truths mentioned above are needed to prepare the way for the Gospel.

Concerning the eternal punishment of the wicked there are few, it seems, who realize the vital importance of a ringing testimony to this truth-and fewer still who apprehend the deep seriousness of what is involved in a denial of it. The importance of a clear witness to this doctrine may be seen by noting what a prominent place it holds in the Scriptures; and contrariwise, the seriousness of denying it is evidenced by the fact that such denial is a rejection of God's truth.

The need of giving this solemn subject a prominent place in our witness is apparent, for it is our bounden duty to warn sinners of their fearful peril-and bid them flee from the wrath to come! To remain silent is criminal; to substitute anything for it-is to set before the wicked a false hope. The great importance of expounding this doctrine, freely and frequently, also appears in that, excepting the Cross of Christ, nothing else so manifests the heinousness of sin, whereas every modification of eternal punishment, only serves to minimize the evil of sin.

The final portion of the wicked will be beyond the creature's power of resistance. "Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder!" (Matthew 21:44). There are many who now say, "If at the end I find myself in Hell, I will bear it as well as I can;" as if by strength of will and firmness of mind they shall, in measure at least, be able to support themselves. But alas! Their resolutions will count for nothing.

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It is common with men in this world to shun calamities-but if they find this is impossible, they set themselves to bear it: they fortify their spirits and resolve to support themselves under it as well as they can. They muster up all their courage and resolution in the determination to keep their hearts from sinking. But it will be utterly vain for sinners to do this in the Lake of Fire. What would it help a worm which was about to be crushed by some great rock, to collect its strength and endeavor to set itself to bear up against its weight, and so seek to prevent itself from being crushed? Much less will a poor damned soul be able to support itself under the weight of the wrath of Almighty God! No matter how much the sinner may now harden himself, in order to endure the pains of Hell, the first moment he shall feel the flames, his heart will melt like wax before the furnace, "Can your heart endure-or can your hands be strong, in the days that I shall deal with you? I the Lord have spoken it, and will do it" (Ezekiel 22:14)......

Eternal Punishment - Part 1

Excerpt from the book "Fire & Brimstone in Hell"

We take up our pen to write on one of the most solemn truths taught in the Word of God. And before we began, we turned to the Lord and earnestly sought that wisdom and grace which we are conscious we sorely need; making request that we might be preserved from all error in what we shall write, and that nothing may find a place in these pages which shall be displeasing to that Holy One, "whose we are-and whom we serve." O that we may write in the spirit of One who said, "Who can comprehend the power of Your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear You deserve!" (Psalm 90:11).

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The subject before us is one that needs stressing in these days. The great majority of our pulpits are silent upon it, and the fact that it has so little place in modern preaching is one of the signs of the times, one of the many evidences that the Apostasy must be near at hand. It is true that there are not a few who are praying for a world-wide Revival-but it appears to the writer, that it would be more timely, and more scriptural, for prayer to be made to the Lord of the harvest-that He would raise up and thrust forth laborers who would fearlessly and faithfully preach those truths which are calculated to bring about a revival.

While it is true that all genuine revivals come from God-yet He is not capricious in the sending of them. We are sure that God never relinquishes His sovereign rights to own and to bless-where and as He pleases. But we also believe that here, as everywhere, there is a direct connection between cause and effect-and a revival is the effect of a previous cause. A revival, like a genuine conversion, is wrought by God by means of the Word-the Word applied by the Holy Spirit, of course. Therefore, there is something more needed (on our part) than prayer-the Word of God must have a place, a prominent place, the prominent place. Without the Word and prayer-there will be no Revival, whatever excitement and activities of the emotions there may be.

It is the deepening conviction ofthe writer, that what is most needed today, is a wide proclamation of those truths which are the least acceptable to the flesh.

What is needed today, is a scriptural setting forth of the character of God-

His absolute sovereignty,

His ineffable holiness,

His inflexible justice,

His unchanging veracity.

What is needed today, is a scriptural setting forth of the condition of the natural man-

his total depravity,

his spiritual insensibility,

his inveterate hostility to God,

the fact that he is "condemned already"

and that the wrath of a sin-hating God

is even now abiding upon him!

What is needed today, is a scriptural setting forth of the alarming danger which sinners are in-the indescribably awful doom which awaits them, the fact that if they follow only a little further their present course, they shall most certainly suffer the due penalty of their iniquities!

What is needed today, is a scriptural setting forth of the nature of that dreadful punishment which awaits the lost-

the awfulness of it,

the hopelessness of it,

the unendurableness of it,

the endlessness of it!

Soul's Killing

Satan hides the hook!

"Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we
 are not ignorant of his devices." 2 Corinthians 2:11 

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Satan has his several devices to deceive, entangle, 
and undo the souls of men. Satan has . . . 
  snares for the wise, and snares for the simple;
  snares for hypocrites, and snares for the upright;
  snares for brave, and snares for the timorous;
  snares for the rich, and snares for the poor;
  snares for the aged, and snares for youth. 
Happy are those souls which are not captured
and held in the snares that he has laid!

Satan's first device to draw the soul into sin is, 
  to present the bait-and hide the hook; 
  to present the golden cup-and hide the poison; 
  to present the sweet, the pleasure, and the profit 
that may flow in upon the soul by yielding to sin-
and to hide from the soul the wrath and misery 
that will certainly follow the committing of sin!

By this device he deceived our first parents, "And the 
serpent said unto the woman, You shall not surely die
-for God knows, that in the day you eat thereof, then 
your eyes shall be opened; and you shall be as gods."
Your eyes shall he opened, and you shall be as gods! 
Here is the bait, the sweet, the pleasure, the profit. 
Oh-but he hides the hook-the shame, the wrath, 
and the loss that would certainly follow! So Satan
cheats them-giving them an apple in exchange for 
a paradise!

Satan with ease pawns falsehoods upon us, by his 
golden baits, and then he leads us and leaves us 
in a fool's paradise. He promises the soul honor, 
pleasure, profit-but pays the soul with the greatest 
contempt, shame, and loss that can be!

Alas! Many have fallen forever by this vile strumpet, 
the world, who, by showing forth her two fair breasts 
of PROFIT and PLEASURE, has wounded their souls, 
and cast them down into utter perdition! She has, 
by the glistening of her pomp and preferment, 
slain millions! 

A cooler Hell

This is an excerpt from the book " 

"Fire & Brimstone in Hell! - Don't Kid Yourself, Hell Is Real "

(Thomas Brooks, "The Crown and Glory of Christianity,
 or, HOLINESS, the Only Way to Happiness", 1662)

"God, I thank You that I'm not like other people-greedy, 
 unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 
 I fast twice a week; I give a tenth of everything I get." 
 Luke 18:11-12

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Many please and satisfy themselves with mere civility and common morality. They bless themselves that they are not swearers, nor drunkards, nor extortioners, nor adulterers, 
etc. Their behavior is civil, sincere, harmless, and blameless.

But civility is not sanctity. Civility rested in-is but a beautiful abomination-a smooth way to hell and destruction.
Civility is very often . . .
  the nurse of impiety,
  the mother of flattery, and
  an enemy to real sanctity. 
There are those who are so blinded with the fair shows of civility-that they can neither see the necessity nor beauty of sanctity. There are those who now bless themselves in their common morality, whom at last God will scorn and cast off for lack of real holiness and purity.


A moral man may be an utter stranger . . .

•   to God,
•   to Christ,
•   to Scripture,
•   to the filthiness of sin,
•   to the depths and devices of Satan,
•   to their own hearts,
•   to the new birth,
•   to the great concerns of eternity, 
•   to communion with Christ, 
•   to the secret and inward ways and workings of the Spirit.

Well, sirs, remember this-though the moral man is good for 
many things-yet he is not good enough to go to heaven! He 
who rises to no higher pitch than civility and morality-shall 
never have communion with God in glory. The most moral 
man in the world, may be both Christless and graceless.

Morality is not sufficient to keep a man out of eternal misery. 
All morality can do, is to help a man to one of the best rooms 
and easiest beds which hell affords! For, as the moral man's 
sins are not so great as others-so his punishments shall not 
be so great as others. This is all the comfort that can be given 
to a moral man-that he shall have a cooler hell than 
others have. But this is but cold comfort.

Morality without piety is as a body without a soul. Will
God ever accept of such a stinking sacrifice? Surely not!

The Soul After Conversion - Part 1

This is an excerpt from the book: Are You Sure You Are Born Again!

That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. John 3:6

Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. John 3:6

Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives new life from heaven. John 3:6

No truth shines with clearer luster in the Divine word than that salvation, from first to last, is of God. It is convincingly and beautifully shown to be the work of the glorious Trinity in unity: each person of the Godhead occupying a distinct and peculiar office, and yet all engaged upon, and, as it were coalescing in this mighty undertaking. The Father is represented as giving His elect in covenant engagement to His Son, John 17. 2. The Son is represented as assuming in eternity the office of Surety, and in the "fulness of time" appearing in human form, and suffering for their sins upon the cross, Rom. 8. 3. The Holy Spirit is represented as convincing of sin, working faith in the heart, and leading to the atoning blood, John 16. 8. Thus is salvation shown to be the entire work of the Triune God, distinct in office, yet one in purpose. We have now more immediately to do with that department in the stupendous plan which is ascribed especially and peculiarly to God the eternal Spirit. 

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We have already viewed the sinner in the various phases of his unconverted state. How awful did that state appear! The understanding, the will, the affections were all dark, perverted and alienated from God, with enmity and death marking every unconverted man. We have seen this state reversed; the temple restored, and God dwelling again with men; the heart brought back to its lawful Sovereign, and clinging to Him with all the grasp of its renewed affections; darkness succeeded by light, enmity by love, ingratitude by praise- and the whole soul turning with the rapidity and certainty of the magnetic needle to God, the center of its high and holy attraction. To whose power are we to attribute this marvellous change? To the sinner himself? That cannot be; for the very principle that led to the first step in departure from God, and which still urges him on in every successive one, supplies him with no adequate power or motive to return. To the mere exercise of some other human agency? 

That is equally impossible; for in the whole empire of created intelligence God has nowhere delegated such power and authority to a single individual. We must look for the secret of this spiritual change outside of the creature, away from men and angels, and seek it in God the eternal Spirit. God looks within Himself for the power, and He finds it there, even in His own omnipotent Spirit. This is the great and spiritual truth we are now to consider: regeneration, the sole and special work of the Holy Spirit. The doctrine that assigns to human power an efficient part in the new birth is based upon the supposition that there is in man an inherent principle, the natural bias of which is to holiness; and that, because God has created him a rational being, endowed with a will, understanding, conscience, affections and other intellectual and moral properties, therefore the simple, unaided, voluntary exercise of these powers- a simple choosing of that which the conscience and the understanding point out to be good in view of certain motives presented to the mind- is all that is required to bring the soul into the possession of the Divine nature. With all meekness and affection, yet uncompromising regard for the glory of God, would we expose, on scriptural grounds alone, the fallacy and the dangerous tendency of this hypothesis. 

Begging the reader to bear in mind that which in the previous chapter has been advanced touching the actual state of the natural man, we would earnestly call his attention to the following passages. John 3. 6: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh." It is, morally, nothing but flesh. It is carnal, corrupt, depraved, sinful and has no discernment or perception whatever of spiritual things. This is the sense in which the term flesh, as opposed to spirit, is to be interpreted in God's Word. It signifies the corruption of nature. Gal. 5. 17 "For the flesh lusts against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other." Again, Rom. 8. 5-8: "For those who are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh; but those who are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God." What further proof do we need of the natural sinfulness and impotence of man? And yet the powerful testimony borne to this by God's Word is by no means exhausted. 

Do we speak of his mind? Eph. 4. 18: "Having the understanding darkened." Of his knowledge? 1 Cor. 2. 14: "The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Of his heart? Eccles. 9. 3: "The heart of the sons of men is full of evil." Of his love to God? Rom. 8. 7: "Enmity." Of his ability to believe? John 12. 39: " They could not believe." Of his power to acknowledge Christ? I Cor. 12. 3: "No man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit." Thus minute, clear and solemn is the testimony of the Holy Spirit Himself, touching the real amount of human power brought to bear upon the production of spiritual life in the soul of man. 

So far from cooperating with the Spirit in the new creation, the natural man presents every resistance and opposition to it. There is not only a passive aversion but an active resistance to the work. The stream of man's natural inclinations, as we have fully proved from the Scriptures of truth, runs counter to all holiness. A strong and steady current has set in against God, and all that God loves. The pride of reason, the perverseness of the will, the enmity of the mind, the heart's love of sin, all are up in arms against the entrance of the Holy Spirit. Satan, the great enemy of God and man, has been too long in quiet and undisturbed possession of the soul to resign his dominion without a strong and a fearful struggle to maintain it. When the Spirit of God knocks at the door of the heart, every ally is summoned by the "strong man armed" to "resist" the Spirit, and bar and bolt each avenue to His entrance........

God's Patience

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August 17, 1767.

It is indeed natural to us to wish and to plan, and it is merciful in the Lord to disappoint our plans, and to cross our wishes. For we cannot be safe, much less happy, but in proportion as we are weaned from our own wills, and made simply desirous of being directed by His guidance. This truth (when we are enlightened by His Word) is sufficiently familiar to the judgment; but we seldom learn to reduce it to practice, without being trained awhile in the school of disappointment. The schemes we form look so plausible and convenient, that when they are broken, we are ready to say, What a pity! 

We try again, and with no better success; we are grieved, and perhaps angry, and plan out another, and so on; at length, in a course of time, experience and observation begin to convince us, that we are not more able than we are worthy to choose aright for ourselves. Then the Lord's invitation to cast our cares upon Him, and His promise to take care of us, appear valuable; and when we have done planning, His plan in our favour gradually opens, and he does more and better for us than we either ask or think.I can hardly recollect a single plan of mine, of which I have not since seen reason to be satisfied, that had it taken place in season and circumstance just as I proposed, it would, humanly speaking, have proved my ruin; or at least it would have deprived me of the greater good the Lord had designed for me. 

We judge of things by their present appearances, but the Lord sees them in their consequences, if we could do so likewise we should be perfectly of His mind; but as we cannot, it is an unspeakable mercy that He will manage for us, whether we are pleased with His management or not; and it is spoken of as one of his heaviest judgments, when He gives any person or people up to the way of their own hearts, and to walk after their own counsels.Indeed we may admire His patience towards us. If we were blind, and reduced to desire a person to lead us, and should yet pretend to dispute with him, and direct him at every step, we should probably soon weary him, and provoke him to leave us to find the way by ourselves if we could. But our gracious Lord is long-suffering and full of compassion; He bears with our forwardness, yet He will take methods to both shame and to humble us, and to bring us to a confession that He is wiser than we.

 The great and unexpected benefits He intends us, by all the discipline we meet with, is to tread down our wills, and bring them into subjection to His. So far as we attain to this, we are out of the reach of disappointment; for when the will of God can please us, we shall be pleased every day, and from morning to night; I mean with respect to His dispensations. O the happiness of such a life! I have an idea of it; I hope I am aiming at it, but surely I have not attained it. Self is active in my heart, if it does not absolutely reign there. I profess to believe that one thing is needful and sufficient and yet my thoughts are prone to wander after a hundred more. 

If it be true that the light of His countenance is better than life, why am I solicitous about anything else? If He be all-sufficient, and gives me liberty to call Him mine, why do I go a-begging to creatures for help? If He be about my path and bed; if the smallest, as well as the greatest events in which I am concerned, are under His immediate direction; if the very hairs of my head are numbered then my care (any farther than a care to walk in the paths of His precepts, and to follow the openings of His providence) must be useless and needless, yea, indeed, sinful and heathenish, burdensome to myself, and dishonourable to my profession. Let us cast down the load we are unable to carry, and if the Lord be our Shepherd, refer all and trust all to Him.

 Let us endeavour to live to Him and for Him to-day, and be glad that to-morrow, with all that is behind it, is in His hands.It is storied of Pompey, that when his friends would have dissuaded him from putting to sea in a storm, he answered, It is necessary for me to sail, but it is not necessary for me to live. A pompous speech, in Pompey's sense! He was full of the idea of his own importance, and would rather have died than have taken a step beneath his supposed dignity. But it may be accommodated with propriety to a believer's case. 

It becomes us to say, It is not necessary for me to be rich, or what the world accounts wise; to be healthy, or admired by my fellow-worms; to pass through life in a state of prosperity and outward comfort,-these things may be, or they may be otherwise, as the Lord in His wisdom shall appoint;-but it is necessary for me to be humble and spiritual, to seek communion with God, to adorn my profession of the Gospel, and to yield submissively to His disposal, in whatever way, whether of service or suffering, He shall be pleased to call me to glorify Him in the world. It is not necessary for me to live long, but highly expedient that whilst I do live I should live to Him. Here, then, I would bound my desires; and here, having His word both for my rule and my warrant, I am secured from asking amiss. Let me have His presence and His Spirit, wisdom to know my calling, and opportunities and faithfulness to improve them; and as to the rest, Lord, help me to say, "What Thou wilt, when Thou wilt, and how Thou wilt."