Month: October 2020

Almost everyone wants to keep something which he prizes very much. Here are four “keeps” which are jewels from a treasure chest:

1. Keep the Lord’s commands. “For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments … ” (1 John 5:3).

2. Keep the love of God. “Keep yourselves in the love of God … ” (Jude 1:21).

3. Keep thy lips. “Keep thy tongue from evil, and thy lips from speaking guile” (Psalm 34: 13).

4. Keep yourself from evil. “I have refrained my feet from every evil way, that I might keep thy word” (Psalm 119:101).

A Man and His Soul

“I will make a man more precious than fine gold; even a man than the golden wedge of Ophir” (Isaiah 13: 12).

“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mark 8:36). The

Redeeming Blood of Christ

“Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Peter 1: 18-19).

The Inspired Word of God

” … the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb” (Psalm 19:9-10).

Wisdom and Understanding

“Happy is the man that findeth wisdom, and the man that getteth understanding. For the merchandise of it is better than the merchandise of silver, and the gain thereof than fine gold” (Proverbs 3:13-14).

The Knowledge of God

“Receive my instruction, and not silver; and knowledge rather than choice gold” (Proverbs 8: 1 0).

A Good Name

“A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold” (Proverbs 22: 1).

The Trial of Your Faith

” … ye greatly rejoice … That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1 :6-7).

In his epistle to the Colossians, Paul cautions them against philosophy. He says, “Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ” (Colossians 2:8).

Philosophy is love of wisdom. There are two types of wisdom: the wisdom of this world which ” … is foolishness with God … ” (1 Corinthians 3:19); and the wisdom of God which is “after Christ.” The latter is the gift of God and not the result of human attainment.

Some Christian magazines are so filled with human philosophy that there is little room left for the true wisdom of God. Only articles written by men who have some educational degree and letters after their names are admitted. These often philosophize on things which can be argued about with little or no reference to the Word of God. Whole chapters are sometimes devoted to discussion on what some Christian celebrity has taught, giving long quotations from other writers about such men, often without any finality or any real profit to the reader. And all this tends to squeeze out profitable exposition of the Word of God.

The Scribes and Pharisees of our Lord’s day were, in their own view, learned men, being exceedingly zealous of the traditions of their fathers. When the disciples, Peter and John, fearlessly and equally lucidly, proclaimed before them the exclusive Gospel of Jesus Christ, their judges ” … perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men … “, and” … they marvelled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus” (Acts 4:13). That is where true wisdom is found.

To sit at Jesus’ feet while, in fulfilment of His promises, the Holy Ghost guides into truth, is better than all the degrees or the seminaries. We do not despise the teaching of the colleges as an adjunct to the teaching of the Spirit, but it can never be more than an adjunct, for without the teaching of the Word by the Spirit in fellowship with the Lord Jesus there can be no true wisdom at all. The best thing Luke could say of Apollos was that he was” … mighty in the scriptures … ” (Acts 18:24). It is the Scriptures that ” … are able to make thee wise unto salvation … ” (2 Timothy 3:15), and it is the same Scriptures by which the man of God ” … may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:17).

Paul’s exhortation to Timothy was to “Preach the word … ” (2 Timothy 4:2), and in doing so we are to use ” … wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. .. ” (1 Timothy 6:3). The discourse given by our Lord to His disciples, and His following prayer in John 14-17, are couched in simple language. The great majority of the words used are of one or two syllables. Even a small child can understand the words used, and yet the truths conveyed are too deep for angelic minds to fathom. This proves that profound truths can be conveyed in simple language. Paul exhorts Titus to use “Sound speech, that cannot be condemned … ” (Titus 2:8).

A chaplain to Queen Victoria was once asked whether he felt nervous in preaching before the Queen. His reply was to the effect that when the Queen attended divine services, all her domestic staff were also present, right down to the scullery maid; and he said, “I preach to the scullery maid.” Paul tells the Corinthians that he came to them ” … not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of God” (I Corinthians 2:1). He said he was sent” … to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect” (I Corinthians 1:17). O ye philosophers, leave your high-falutin language sometimes and come down to the scullery maids! Do not spoil your hearers through philosophy but “Preach the word … ” (2 Timothy 4:2) in language “easy to be understood.”

TO PURGE. “Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Hebrews 1 :3).

TO PUT AWAY. “For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26).

TO REMEMBER NO MORE. “And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more” (Hebrews 10: 17).

TO CLEANSE. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin” (1 John 1 :7).

TO WASH. “And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen” (Revelation 1 :5-6).

TO COVER. “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered” (Psalm 32:1).

TO REMOVE FROM “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

TO CAST BEHIND HIS BACK. “Behold, for peace I had great bitterness: but thou hast in love to my soul delivered it from the pit of corruption: for thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back” (Isaiah 38:17).

TO BLOT OUT. “I, even I, am he that blotteth out my transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins” (Isaiah 43 :25).

TO CAST INTO THE SEA. “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea” (Micah 7:19).

” … be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:58).

1. A Christian should be fervent in the faith. ” … it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ” (Jude 1 :3-4).

When the faith is under attack, it needs to be defended. (Read Titus 2:1 ;Acts 20:29-31; 1 Corinthians 16: 13; 2 Timothy 4:7.)

2. A Christian should be fervent in brotherly love. “Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently” (1 Peter 1 :22).

A mark of true discipleship to be seen by all men. (Read John 13:34-35; 1 John 4:20; Romans 12: 10.)

3. A Christian should be fervent in prayer. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much” (James 5: 16)

If it is the prayer of faith, we may expect that it will be fervent. (Read Ephesians 6: 18; Acts 12:5; Matthew 6:5-8.)

4. A Christian should be fervent in worship. “And his disciples remembered that it was written, the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up” (John 2:17).

The early church is our example in worship. (Read Acts 2:42- 47; Acts 20:7; Hebrews 10:25.)

5. A Christian should be fervent in mind. “And not by his coming only, but by the consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, your fervent mind toward me; so that I rejoiced the more” (2 Corinthians 7:7).

The effect of wrong thinking; you are what you think. (Read Proverbs 23:7; Philippians 4:8.)

6. A Christian should be fervent in good works. “Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works” (Titus 2:14).

The life that we live; the Gospel puts emphasis on the life. (Read Titus 2:7; Titus 3:8; Hebrews 10:24.)

7. A Christian should be fervent in spiritual gifts. “Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church” (I Corinthians 14:12.)

These gifts edify and build up the believer and give him strength. (Read 1 Corinthians 12.)