For to receive the grace of God in Jesus Christ means not
only that my sins are forgiven because of His death for me on the cross on
Calvary’s hill, but also that I have been given a new life and a new nature. It means
that Christ is being formed in me, that I have become a partaker of the divine
nature, that old things have passed away and all things have become new. It
means that Christ is dwelling in me, and that the Spirit of God is in me. The
man who has been born again, and who has the divine nature within him, is a
man who is righteous and his righteousness does exceed that of the scribes and
Pharisees. He is no longer living for self and his own attainments, he is no
longer self-righteous and self-satisfied. He has become poor in spirit, meek, and
merciful; he hungers and thirsts after righteousness; he has become a peacemaker.
His heart is being purified. He loves God, yes unworthily, alas, but he
loves Him and longs for His honour and glory. His desire is to love God and
to keep and honour and fulfil His law. The commandments of God to such a
man ‘are not grievous’. He wants to keep them, for He loves them. He is no longer
at enmity against God; but he now sees the holiness of the law and nothing
so appeals to him as the living of this law and the exemplifying of it in his daily
life. It is a righteousness that far exceeds the righteousness of the scribes and
Pharisees.
Some of the most vital questions that can be asked, then, are these. Do you
know God? Do you love God? Can you honestly say that the biggest and the
first thing in your life is to glorify Him and that you so want to do this that you
do not care what it may cost you in any sense? Do you feel that this must come
first, not that you may be better than somebody else, but that you may honour
and glorify and love that God who, though you have sinned against Him grievously,
has sent His only begotten Son to the cross on Calvary’s hill to die for
you, that you might be forgiven and that He might restore you unto Himself?
Let every man examine himself.
-D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, page 182-183
Tag: bible
Violently does the ocean Foam, Alone does the herald Stand
So today I have just begun reading the Gospel of John – a truly glorious book, divinely inspired and penned as it was! And while I could spend hours pondering and thinking and writing on the beauties contained in only the first chapter of John, I’d like to focus on a few words. Let me set the scene – John the Baptist has been talking about the One whose sandals he is not worthy to untie. The One upon whom the Spirit descended like a dove. The One who existed before John – although John was born first. The very Son of God. And as John proclaims in his preaching – “the Lamb of God!”
Some of John’s disciples are naturally curious and so they decide to follow Jesus. Jesus sees them following and turns to them and what does He say? “What do you seek?” These are the words I want to hone in on. Apart from them being the very first words Jesus speaks in the Gospel of John, these are the words Jesus speaks to those who would “follow Him”. So to those of you who would desire to follow Jesus(or at least curious to know more about him?), that is the question that needs to be answered. What do you seek? Notice – Jesus doesn’t say “who” – He says “what”. We desire many things on this earth, most of them unhelpful and even dangerous for us – body and soul. Jesus – as very God – understands that our minds are warped and corrupted and He knows that apart from the grace of God our desires will be foolish and our seekings ill-conceived. So – what do you seek? Do you seek fame and fortune? Do you seek pleasure and gain? Do you seek comfort and self-gratification? Do you seek companionship and emotional fulfillment? Do you seek intellectual fulfillment? Do you seek a sense of identity or belonging that you think comes with “religion”? Do you seek moral stature and a cleansing of the conscience? Do you seek love? What do you seek?
I would say that to desire to be a follower of Christ…that question must be answered. Consider in your own life what it is you truly desire and long for. And then consider who Christ is. Think – these men following after Jesus didn’t know who He was at this point. They understood John had been making grand proclamations about Him. But they did not truly know Him. They wished to know Him more. But what did they seek? This was the question Jesus asked them. And how did these men answer Him? They didn’t answer him directly – maybe because they did not know what to say – but they asked where he was staying and Christ answered – “Come, and you will see.” That is the invitation Christ gives to all people – “Come, and you will see.” These men went to the house of Jesus and spent the day with Him and…began to understand who He truly is.
And who is Jesus? The Lamb of God. Indeed, as John had earlier said – “The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.” And now we finally come to the crux of the matter – because this is who Jesus is – the One who takes away the sin of the world. The One who saves. So what do you seek? Do you seek salvation? If so, this is what Christ offers. He offers freedom from sin. He offers life from death. He offers salvation from this hopeless life that without Him is empty and vain. What do you seek? The Lamb of God – the Savior – is at hand. And as you wonder if Jesus is truly all that…He says, “Come, and you will see.” Come in your darkness and in your shame. Come in all your dirt and filth. Come in your hopelessness. Come. Behold – the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.
and Thus
To hunger and thirst after righteousness is nothing but the longing to be positively holy.
I cannot think of a better way of defining it. The man who hungers and thirsts after
righteousness is the man who wants to exemplify the Beatitudes in his daily life. He is a man
who wants to show the fruit of the Spirit in his every action and in the whole of his life
and activity. To hunger and thirst after righteousness is to long to be like the New Testament
man, the new man in Christ Jesus. That is what it means, that the whole of my being and the
whole of my life shall be like that. Let me go further. It means that one’s supreme desire
in life is to know God and to be in fellowship with Him, to walk with God the Father, the Son
and the Holy Spirit int he light. ‘Our fellowship’, says John, ‘is with the Father, and with
His Son Jesus Christ.’ He also says, ‘God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.’ To be
in fellowship with God means to be walking with God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit in the light,
in that blessed purity and holiness. The man who hungers and thirsts after righteousness is the man
who longs for that above everything else. And in the ends that is nothing but a longing to be like
the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. Look at Him; look at His portrait in these Gospels; look at Him
when He was here on earth in His incarnate state; look at Him in His positive obedience to God’s
holy law; look at Him in His reaction to other people, His kindness, His compassion, His sensitive
nature; look at Him in His reaction to His enemies and all that they did to Him. There is the portrait,
and you and I, according to the New Testament doctrine, have been born again and have been fashioned anew
after that pattern and image. The man, therefore, who hungers and thirsts after righteousness, is the
man who wants to be like that. His supreme desire is to be like Christ.
-D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, pp 66-67
Amen and Amen.
Day of Days
Hello friends! It’s Sunday evening here and I’m enjoying my chamomile tea and a little MLJ reading and really should get ready for bed momentarily. Quickly then…just know that today was a simply wonderful day. From being at church with my brothers and sisters and worshiping God together…to having some wonderful chats with friends old and new…and then getting home today and realizing after I finished my workout that I simply could not stay indoors as it’s been gorgeous all day!! After lying by the pool and finishing Steelheart(Brandon Sanderson) – I went for a walk…then thought how nice it would be to read outside at EQ. So walked back to the flat, picked up Lord of the Rings and walked back to EQ and sat on the porch with the sun warming my face…truly, this has to be one of my favorite days of the year. Blissful. I got many chapters of LotR read(from Bree to Rivendell!) and then finally walked back home to make my salad for dinner. Now…I prepare for the upcoming week. Knowing that God is good and has set my path in front of me, I cannot wait to walk in it. Give me the strength, Lord. Give me the strength. Sometimes I feel I know not why I take the steps I do…nonetheless, I trust my God. May this week be blessed of the Lord – only for His glory. Always. Now, I take my leave. Before I do…might as well write out a few of my favorite words from my latest chapter of MLJ:
What hope is there for the world? There is none. There is no comfort for the world now. But for the Christian man
who mourns because of sin and because of the state of the world, there is this comfort – the comfort of the blessed hope,
the glory that yet remains. So that even here, though he is groaning, he is happy at the same time because of the hope
that is set before him. There is this ultimate hope in eternity. In that eternal state we shall be wholly and entirely
blessed, there will be nothing to mar life, nothing to detract from it, nothing to spoil it. Sorrow and sighing shall
be no more; all tears shall be wiped away; and we shall bask for ever and ever in the eternal sunshine, and experience
joy and bliss and glory unmixed and unspoiled. ‘Happy are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.’ How true it is.
Unless we know that, we are not Christian. If we are Christian, we do know it, this joy of sins forgiven and the knowledge
of it; the joy of reconciliation; the joy of knowing that God takes us back when we have fallen away from Him; the joy
and contemplation of the glory that is set before us; the joy that comes from anticipation of the eternal state.
-Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, page 50
Thus sings my soul.
Dawn, it Comes
But You, O LORD, be not far off; O You my help, hasten to my assistance.
Deliver my soul from the sword, my only life from the power of the dog.
Save me from the lion’s mouth; from the horns of the wild oxen You answer me.
I will tell of Your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise You.
You who fear the LORD, praise Him; all you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him,
And stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.
For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted;
Nor has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him for help,
He heard.
From You comes my praise in the great assembly;
I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
The afflicted will eat and be satisfied;
Those who seek Him will praise the LORD.
Let your heart live forever!
All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD,
And all the families of the nations will worship before You.
For the kingdom is the LORD’s
And He rules over the nations.
All the prosperous of the earth
will eat and worship,
All those who go down to the
dust will bow before Him,
Even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
Posterity will serve Him;
It will be told of the Lord
to the coming generation.
They will come and will declare
His righteousness
To a people who will be born,
That He has performed it.
-Psalm 22:19-31
Not So Trivial
From my latest book that I have just(very eager and most excited am I!!!) begun…Studies in the Sermon on the Mount by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones…
There was a time when the designation applied to the Christian was that he was a ‘God-fearing’ man. I do not think you can ever improve on that – a ‘God-fearing’ man. It does not mean craven fear, it does not mean ‘the fear that hath torment’, but it is a wonderful description of the true Christian. He is of necessity, as we are reminded very forcibly in the seventh chapter of this Gospel, a man who lives in the fear of God. We can say of our blessed Lord Himself that His life was a God-fearing life. You see how important that view of the Christian is. So often, as I have been pointing out, modern Christians, who may be able to give very bright and apparently thrilling testimonies of some experience they have had, do not suggest they are God-fearing people, but give the impression of being men of the world, both in dress and appearance, and in a kind of boisterousness and easy confidence.
So we must not only take the injunctions of the Sermon seriously. We must also check our particular interpretation in the light of the principles I have given. Beware of the spirit of arguing against them; beware of making them ridiculous; and beware of so interpreting them as to regard any one of them as impossible. Here is the life to which we were called, and I maintain again that if only every Christian in the Church today were living the Sermon on the Mount, the great revival for which we are praying and longing would already have started. Amazing and astounding things would happen; the world would be shocked, and men and women would be drawn and attracted to our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
May God give us grace to consider this Sermon on the Mount and to remember that we are not to sit in judgment on it, but that we ourselves are under judgment, and that the building we are erecting in this world and in this life will have to face His final test and the ultimate scrutiny of the eye of the Lamb of God that once was slain.
-D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, page 23
May I be known as a God-fearing man. This is my prayer this night. All glory to God – the Author of my salvation and the Lord of my life. My song rises to the heavens – sing ye to the Lord, all ye His saints!
Eschatos
Hello all!! I have a few spare moments…as I sit here in the family room at home in Tampa! I just finished laying mulch on the rose bushes out back and now before I shower figured…might as well update briefly! Am nearing the tail end(oh no…) of a simply wonderful mini-vacation here with the fam. I may write in more detail at a later date, but for now, suffice it to say I am much blessed and I am ever so relaxed right now! Being at home is always encouraging, but I feel like this time has been even more so. Hanging out with Dad and Mom and Laura…so many good times at the church(Prophecy Conference at our church – with Alan Kurschner and Marv Rosenthal and Dad speaking…wonderful, beautiful biblical truth being taught and gorgeous, enlivening worship songs being sung and oh such encouraging fellowship with my fellow brethren, reminding me of the day we shall all one day be in the presence of God Himself, worshiping Him forever and ever – “Worthy is the Lamb that was slain!”)
And…I did say I wouldn’t get into the details, but let this just be a reminder to you all(and myself) of how much God blesses us. As much pain and sorrow is on this earth – and yes, we are a party to so much of it! – God grants us such peace and grace as we abide in Him and seek His face and cry out to Him, resting in the comfort of His Spirit and the joy of being redeemed through Christ Himself – oh glory to His Name! So that grace and peace is filling my heart and I know not why the struggles and cares of this world should give me any pause at all.
May your souls be warmed by the grace and knowledge of Jesus Christ our Lord. He who died for us will surely continue to work in us until we are fully sanctified and consequently wondrously glorified at the day of Christ Jesus. Peace and love, dear friends.
Redeemed
Just thought I’d share some of my notes from my recently completed study on 1 Peter 1:17-21. Some gorgeous verses…and I’m obviously not doing them justice. But…God has encouraged my soul this afternoon and I can’t help but share. Be blessed, dear friends.
So to wrap up – anything that can sum all this up? Namely – the gospel is glorious. We have a Father who loves us, who planned before the foundation of the world this grand redemptive work – the death of Christ and His resurrection from the dead – which is the price by which our lives are bought. So no longer are our lives meaningless – no longer are we lost, sheep that have gone astray. We now worship God, acting with awe and respect towards our Father, worshiping His name, full of faith in this present life and full of hope for the life to come. If you can think of anything this week to dwell on – think on the fact that we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ.
One more thing I’d like to bring up. This redemptive work that Christ did – is not something He was forced into. He did it for us, out of love and care and deepest passion. For us. In John 18:4, we see some glorious words which I’ll just read briefly. Right before this verse, the mob comes to arrest Jesus. And in verse 4, “So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him, went forth and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” Do you see that? Jesus knew all that was coming. He knew of His impending suffering, of the wrath that was about to be poured upon Him. He knew He was about to fulfill the prophecy of John the Baptist – “The Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world”. He knew He was about to be forsaken by His Father. He knew He was about to be smitten of God, afflicted, pierced through, crushed. He knew the iniquities of us all were about to fall on Him. He knew all these things. And what did He do? Did He shy away or decide it wasn’t quite worth it. That we weren’t quite worth it? No. “So Jesus, knowing all the things that were coming upon Him…went forth.” He did this – for us. The precious blood of Christ – the Lamb that was slain. Our only response should be to fall on our faces before God and worship. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing! Amen. Amen. Amen.
A White Horse on Field of Green
Well, it is a Monday morning and it is beautiful. You ever have one of those mornings where you feel supremely encouraged and oh so aware of the love of God? That is today for me and oh is it wonderful!! Firstly, I resolve to go to bed earlier from now on…as a full night’s sleep is just fantastic. Right!? I was in bed before 9 last night(albeit…reading for a while after that, but still!) So when my alarm went off this morning at 3:45…I somehow was almost instantly awake and alert, which is most abnormal. I did the decent thing and didn’t actually rise until about 4…but that set the tone for my whole morning. I had loads of time to do all my normal morning tasks…and then almost 45 minutes for a leisurely reading and coffee time. Oh bliss. And so I read Psalms 97 & 98 and Proverbs 6 and Jeremiah 38-41 and Acts 6-7…and I had time to meditate and pray on these words of Scripture. I was particularly struck by the end of Acts 7 – on Stephen’s powerful testimony and subsequent vision of Jesus standing at the right hand of God. Oh might I be full of the Holy Spirit to such an extent as Stephen was – oh that I might behold a glimpse of the glory of God! And so pondering these words, I finally left for work…where I was able to listen to my favorite Lord of the Rings Symphony, enjoying the gorgeous music contained therein. And as I stopped by Starbucks for my Monday peppermint mocha…for some reason their machine wasn’t working, so I received my drink complimentary. And I just thought to myself, “Lord – why have you granted me so many little blessings this morn?” And so I thank my God this day for how He has granted me these gifts. Now of course – I set course for a day full of work and likely stresses and annoyances. But I shall not fret nor complain. It is well with my soul.
For A Little While
Been studying 1 Peter 1:3-9 today…can’t help but share my concluding notes I just now wrote. A bit overwrought perhaps? I care not – thus is my heart.
I think it’s important to recognize the existence and necessity and beneficial nature of trials in our lives. But should our lives be characterized by sadness or depression because of these trials? No it should not!! Because we should understand the truth of the glorious gospel and the work of God in our lives, through the power of the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead – this is the foundation of our faith! And this foundation leads us to have a sure and firm belief in our inheritance and future hope – knowing that God has protected and made sure our salvation and consequent rewards and benefits thereof. And so we rejoice and even though we have never seen the Lord Christ with our own eyes, we believe in Him(through the faith granted by God!) and we love Him(through the love of God poured out in our hearts through the workings of the Holy Spirit!) and we understand that our souls are saved – we have been born again to a hope eternal and to a life ne’er ending. These trials and sufferings we experience are for our good and make clear to us the genuine faith we possess. And so understanding all this, why should we not rejoice!? Our joy should be such that we can’t even express it and almost dare not try. But we cannot help it and simply must offer praise and glory to our Lord Jesus Christ, offering Him the offering of our souls and the highest song of our lips. God has made us His children. We share in the inheritance of the Eternal God Almighty with our Lord Jesus Christ. We, as God’s children, are much beloved by Him. How should our hearts burn within us, in awe and wonder and love everlasting. See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God. And such we are.
