Personal Holiness
"Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14).
"That opinion that personal holiness is unnecessary to final glorification, is in direct opposition to every dictate of reason; and to every declaration of Scripture" (Augustus Toplady)
By our fall in Adam we not only lost the favor of God - but also the purity of our nature, and therefore we need to be both reconciled to God and renewed in our inner man, for without personal holiness "no man shall see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14). "As He who called you is holy - so be holy in all you do; for it is written - "Be holy, because I am holy" (1 Peter 1:15, 16). God's nature is such that unless we are sanctified, there can be no communion between Him and us.
But can people be sinful and holy at one and the same time? Genuine Christians discover so much carnality, filth, and vileness in themselves, that they find it almost impossible to be assured they are holy. Nor is this difficulty solved, as in justification, by recognizing that though completely unholy in ourselves - we are holy in Christ; for Scripture teaches that those who are sanctified by God are holy in themselves, though the evil nature has not been removed from them.
None but "the pure in heart" will ever "see God" (Matt. 5:8). There must be that renovation of soul whereby our minds, affections and wills are brought into harmony with God. There must be that impartial compliance with the revealed will of God, and abstinence from evil - which issues from faith and love. There must be that directing of all our actions to the glory of God, by Jesus Christ, according to the Gospel. There must be a spirit of holiness working within the believer's heart - so as to sanctify his outward actions - if they are be acceptable unto Him in whom "there is no darkness."
True, there is perfect holiness in Christ for the believer - but there must also be a holy nature received from Him. There are some who appear to delight in the imputed obedience of Christ - who make little or no concern about personal holiness. They have much to say about being arrayed in "the garments of salvation and covered with the robe of righteousness" (Isaiah 61:10), who give no evidence that they are "clothed with humility" (1 Peter 5:5) or that they have any interest in obeying this command of God, "Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you" (Colossians 3:12, 13).
How many there are today who suppose that if they have trusted in Christ, all is sure to be well with them at the last - even though they are not personally holy. Under the pretense of honoring faith, satan as an angel of light, has deceived and is now deceiving multitudes of souls! When their "faith" is examined and tested, what is it worth? Nothing at all - so far as insuring an entrance into heaven is concerned: it is a powerless, lifeless, fruitless thing. The faith of God's elect, is unto "the knowledge of the truth that leads to godliness" (Titus 1:1). It is a faith which purifies the heart (Acts 15:9), and it grieves over all impurity. It is a faith which produces an unquestioning obedience (Heb. 11:8). They therefore do but delude themselves, who suppose they are daily drawing nearer to heaven - while they are following those courses which lead only to hell. He who thinks to come to the enjoyment of God without being personally holy, makes Him out to be an unholy God, and puts the highest indignity upon Him. The genuineness of saving faith is only proved as it bears the blossoms of experimental godliness and the fruits of true piety.
In Christ, God has set before His people that standard of moral excellence - which He requires them to aim and strive after. In his life - we behold a glorious representation in our own nature, of the walk of obedience which He demands of us. Christ conformed Himself to us by His abasing incarnation; how reasonable therefore it is that we should conform ourselves to Him in the way of obedience and sanctification. "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 2:5). He came as near to us as was possible for Him to do; how reasonable then is it that we should endeavor to come as near as it is possible for us to do. "Take My yoke upon you and learn of Me" (Matt. 11:29). If "even Christ pleased not Himself" (Romans 15:3), how reasonable is it, that we should be required to deny ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him (Matt. 16:24), for without so doing we cannot be His disciples (Luke 14:27). If we are to be conformed to Christ in glory, how necessary that we first be conformed to Him in holiness: "He who says he abides in Him - ought himself so to walk even as He walked" (1 John 2:6). "Let everyone who names the name of Christ depart from iniquity" (2 Tim. 2:19). Let him either put on the life of Christ - or drop the name of Christ!
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
Saturday, August 10, 2019
Saturday, August 3, 2019
Trials # 7
Trials # 7
The Value of Trials
Peter tells us that the trial of our faith is "much more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire" (1 Peter 1:7). The question which now confronts us is whether we place such a value as that upon our trials.
What will men undergo to get gold? They will scale lofty mountains and wade through deep snows. They will face piercing winds and all sorts of perils, if they may but have the hope of getting gold.
Our trials are still more precious than gold, and it seems that we ought to be willing to bear them when we view them from that standpoint. However, there are a great many Christians who shrink from trials. Why do they? if they believe that trials are so valuable - then why do they shrink from them? Ah, that is the trouble - they do not believe what Peter said. They can see no gold in their trials. They see no value in them whatever. They are something to be gotten away from.
The trouble is that we often look at the wrong thing. If a man goes after gold and looks at the hardships instead of the gold - then he will not get any gold. But the gold-hunter does not look at the things that lie between him and the precious metal. He looks at the gold. He keeps his mind and his heart upon that. He presses forward through everything to gain that gold. There is gold for the believer in every trial. The trial lies between us and the gold.
If we look at the trial, we may forget the gold, and that is just what is the trouble with so many. They can see nothing but the trials. Beyond these lies the gold, yes, something far more precious than gold. Get your eyes off the trial. Look beyond it to the gold. Keep your mind and your heart set upon the gold, and you will find that you can face the trial a great deal easier than if you saw nothing beyond it. The gold of Christian character comes only through stress and storm. Fair-weather Christians never amount to much - nor do they develop stellar Christian character. They are always contented with little fruit.
Results of Trials
God always works out something worth while from our trials, if we are true in them. He does not try us, merely to be trying us. He has a definite purpose to accomplish. Of Israel He said, "He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you" (Deut. 8:16). The humbling and the proving were only that He might do them good at the latter end. So it is with us: God humbles us and tries us just to do us good later.
God's purpose is also made very plain in the parable of the figs in the twenty-fourth chapter of Jeremiah: "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Like the good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart." (Jere. 24:5-7).
God did not permit them to be carried into captivity simply as a punishment. It was that, to be sure; but His purpose was greater and more kindly than that. It was that He might do them good - that they should turn to Him with their whole heart, and that He should bring them back to their own land and make them a holier and more trusting people than before.
Job knew the good that was going to come out of his trial, and he said, "He knows the way that I take - and when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold!" (Job 23:10).
The Psalmist learned this same lesson. He says: "Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of His praise be heard; He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance" (Psalm 66:8-12).
This is the way the Bible speaks throughout when it speaks of trials well borne. Affliction may be laid upon us; men may ride over our heads; we may go through fire and through water; but the outcome of it will be that we shall come out into a place of abundance. And then, like the Psalmist, we can say, "Oh, bless our God!" Take your Bible and read also James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:7; and 4:12-13).
There is another text that we shall do well to study over and over: "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." (Romans 5:3-5). "Suffering produces perseverance." Is not perseverance that which we desire? Let us, then, bear suffering. Perseverance brings character. Character in turn brings hope. Suffering well borne, therefore, works out in all these things.
~Charles Naylor~
(The End)
The Value of Trials
Peter tells us that the trial of our faith is "much more precious than gold that perishes, though it be tried with fire" (1 Peter 1:7). The question which now confronts us is whether we place such a value as that upon our trials.
What will men undergo to get gold? They will scale lofty mountains and wade through deep snows. They will face piercing winds and all sorts of perils, if they may but have the hope of getting gold.
Our trials are still more precious than gold, and it seems that we ought to be willing to bear them when we view them from that standpoint. However, there are a great many Christians who shrink from trials. Why do they? if they believe that trials are so valuable - then why do they shrink from them? Ah, that is the trouble - they do not believe what Peter said. They can see no gold in their trials. They see no value in them whatever. They are something to be gotten away from.
The trouble is that we often look at the wrong thing. If a man goes after gold and looks at the hardships instead of the gold - then he will not get any gold. But the gold-hunter does not look at the things that lie between him and the precious metal. He looks at the gold. He keeps his mind and his heart upon that. He presses forward through everything to gain that gold. There is gold for the believer in every trial. The trial lies between us and the gold.
If we look at the trial, we may forget the gold, and that is just what is the trouble with so many. They can see nothing but the trials. Beyond these lies the gold, yes, something far more precious than gold. Get your eyes off the trial. Look beyond it to the gold. Keep your mind and your heart set upon the gold, and you will find that you can face the trial a great deal easier than if you saw nothing beyond it. The gold of Christian character comes only through stress and storm. Fair-weather Christians never amount to much - nor do they develop stellar Christian character. They are always contented with little fruit.
Results of Trials
God always works out something worth while from our trials, if we are true in them. He does not try us, merely to be trying us. He has a definite purpose to accomplish. Of Israel He said, "He gave you manna to eat in the desert, something your fathers had never known, to humble and to test you so that in the end it might go well with you" (Deut. 8:16). The humbling and the proving were only that He might do them good at the latter end. So it is with us: God humbles us and tries us just to do us good later.
God's purpose is also made very plain in the parable of the figs in the twenty-fourth chapter of Jeremiah: "This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: Like the good figs, I regard as good the exiles from Judah, whom I sent away from this place to the land of the Babylonians. My eyes will watch over them for their good, and I will bring them back to this land. I will build them up and not tear them down; I will plant them and not uproot them. I will give them a heart to know me, that I am the Lord. They will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with all their heart." (Jere. 24:5-7).
God did not permit them to be carried into captivity simply as a punishment. It was that, to be sure; but His purpose was greater and more kindly than that. It was that He might do them good - that they should turn to Him with their whole heart, and that He should bring them back to their own land and make them a holier and more trusting people than before.
Job knew the good that was going to come out of his trial, and he said, "He knows the way that I take - and when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold!" (Job 23:10).
The Psalmist learned this same lesson. He says: "Praise our God, O peoples, let the sound of His praise be heard; He has preserved our lives and kept our feet from slipping. For you, O God, tested us; You refined us like silver. You brought us into prison and laid burdens on our backs. You let men ride over our heads; we went through fire and water, but you brought us to a place of abundance" (Psalm 66:8-12).
This is the way the Bible speaks throughout when it speaks of trials well borne. Affliction may be laid upon us; men may ride over our heads; we may go through fire and through water; but the outcome of it will be that we shall come out into a place of abundance. And then, like the Psalmist, we can say, "Oh, bless our God!" Take your Bible and read also James 1:12; 1 Peter 1:7; and 4:12-13).
There is another text that we shall do well to study over and over: "Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us." (Romans 5:3-5). "Suffering produces perseverance." Is not perseverance that which we desire? Let us, then, bear suffering. Perseverance brings character. Character in turn brings hope. Suffering well borne, therefore, works out in all these things.
~Charles Naylor~
(The End)
Trials # 6
Trials # 6
Different Kinds of Trials
Some trials test us in one way and some in another.
Some test our COURAGE. satan sometimes tries to frighten us by making a great show of threatening. Sometimes he makes things look very dark. He whispers to us that we shall surely be overwhelmed. If we but have courage to meet these - then we shall be able to overcome them. Often we have but to face them boldly, in order to chase them off the ground and to stand victorious on the field of battle.
Other trials test our FAITH. When sickness or disease take hold of us - it is then that faith is tested. When the adversary tries to bring doubts in our minds about God's faithfulness or the truth of His Word, and the faithfulness of His people - then faith is the weapon that we need to use to overcome him.
There are trials that test our LOYALTY. We are brought face to face with the question whether we will be loyal to God and His truth - or whether we will take some seemingly easier way and compromise His truth for the sake of getting off easier ourselves. We are often put in a position where our loyalty is tested, where we have to stand by the truth without deviating from it in the slightest degree, no matter what comes.
Sometimes we must make a choice between Christ and our friends. The question is then one of loyalty. To whom we be true - Christ or our friends? To whom shall we submit ourselves, and whom shall we obey? He has said, "Be faithful unto death." Shall we do it? Shall we do it, no matter what it means nor how long a struggle it means? The battle is half won, when we fully decided to stand loyal whatever comes.
Battles of this sort may be decided before we enter into them, and then we have only the fighting to do. The result is certain. The old saying, "Well begun, is half done," is certainly true in the Christian life, especially when it comes to the matter of being decided to do the right and stand loyally by the truth whatever comes.
There are things that test our HUMILITY. There are plenty of people who for their own purposes, will flatter us and try to make us think that we are great people, or that we have done some great thing. They will praise us and flatter us for some selfish purpose. If we need what they say - then we may become puffed up over it, and come to esteem ourselves more highly than we ought.
If we do something that is praise-worthy - we very often find within ourselves a feeling of having done so well, that we become elated over it. This also is a test of our humility. Let us keep our heart humble, no matter how much God blesses us. No matter how much praise comes to us, no matter how many things are said in our favor - let us keep balanced, and let not our humility be turned into pride.
There are things that test our LOVE. Can we love God just as much after He has let us pass through a hard trial, as we did before? If our brethren do something to wound us - can we still love them? If people misunderstand us and attribute wrong motives to us - can we still love them? These are the test that count. These are the tests that test love. These are the things that prove whether it is genuine or not. If we are despised and persecuted, misrepresented and abused - can we still love? If people are our enemies, can we still love them?
There are trials that test our STEADFASTNESS - whether or not we will be patient and endure until God sees that it is enough, and takes us out of the fire. Other things test our patience. These are often very small things, and the smaller they are, the more they test our patience. Sometimes we need to keep a good hold upon ourselves and "let patience have her perfect work," that we may be "perfect and entire, lacking nothing." No matter in what way we are tested, if we have a will to be true, God will see to it that we have grace to trust Him, so that we may overcome and be " more than conquerors through Him that loved us" (Romans 8:37).
~Charles Naylor~
(continued with # 7)
Different Kinds of Trials
Some trials test us in one way and some in another.
Some test our COURAGE. satan sometimes tries to frighten us by making a great show of threatening. Sometimes he makes things look very dark. He whispers to us that we shall surely be overwhelmed. If we but have courage to meet these - then we shall be able to overcome them. Often we have but to face them boldly, in order to chase them off the ground and to stand victorious on the field of battle.
Other trials test our FAITH. When sickness or disease take hold of us - it is then that faith is tested. When the adversary tries to bring doubts in our minds about God's faithfulness or the truth of His Word, and the faithfulness of His people - then faith is the weapon that we need to use to overcome him.
There are trials that test our LOYALTY. We are brought face to face with the question whether we will be loyal to God and His truth - or whether we will take some seemingly easier way and compromise His truth for the sake of getting off easier ourselves. We are often put in a position where our loyalty is tested, where we have to stand by the truth without deviating from it in the slightest degree, no matter what comes.
Sometimes we must make a choice between Christ and our friends. The question is then one of loyalty. To whom we be true - Christ or our friends? To whom shall we submit ourselves, and whom shall we obey? He has said, "Be faithful unto death." Shall we do it? Shall we do it, no matter what it means nor how long a struggle it means? The battle is half won, when we fully decided to stand loyal whatever comes.
Battles of this sort may be decided before we enter into them, and then we have only the fighting to do. The result is certain. The old saying, "Well begun, is half done," is certainly true in the Christian life, especially when it comes to the matter of being decided to do the right and stand loyally by the truth whatever comes.
There are things that test our HUMILITY. There are plenty of people who for their own purposes, will flatter us and try to make us think that we are great people, or that we have done some great thing. They will praise us and flatter us for some selfish purpose. If we need what they say - then we may become puffed up over it, and come to esteem ourselves more highly than we ought.
If we do something that is praise-worthy - we very often find within ourselves a feeling of having done so well, that we become elated over it. This also is a test of our humility. Let us keep our heart humble, no matter how much God blesses us. No matter how much praise comes to us, no matter how many things are said in our favor - let us keep balanced, and let not our humility be turned into pride.
There are things that test our LOVE. Can we love God just as much after He has let us pass through a hard trial, as we did before? If our brethren do something to wound us - can we still love them? If people misunderstand us and attribute wrong motives to us - can we still love them? These are the test that count. These are the tests that test love. These are the things that prove whether it is genuine or not. If we are despised and persecuted, misrepresented and abused - can we still love? If people are our enemies, can we still love them?
There are trials that test our STEADFASTNESS - whether or not we will be patient and endure until God sees that it is enough, and takes us out of the fire. Other things test our patience. These are often very small things, and the smaller they are, the more they test our patience. Sometimes we need to keep a good hold upon ourselves and "let patience have her perfect work," that we may be "perfect and entire, lacking nothing." No matter in what way we are tested, if we have a will to be true, God will see to it that we have grace to trust Him, so that we may overcome and be " more than conquerors through Him that loved us" (Romans 8:37).
~Charles Naylor~
(continued with # 7)
Saturday, July 27, 2019
Trials # 5
Trials # 5
But if we try to get out of the trial without passing through it - then we are sure to miss the blessing in the end. It is the blessing that God wants us to have, and that is what we need. If you struggle out of the trial without getting the lesson and the blessing- then God may bring it again. He may let it be repeated again and again - until you submit to His will and have wrought in you the thing that is needful.
Do not meet your trials with fear. Meet them courageously. Do not dread them. Keep confident in God. Do not rebel against them. Submit yourself to the Lord. He will make all things work together for good to you.
How Faith Sustains in Trial
We are told that we stand by faith. Faith is the one thing that can sustain us through every peril and through every difficulty.
I once stood upon the shore when the waves were dashing wildly against the rocks. A considerable distance from the shore I saw two objects rising and falling upon the waves, but as I kept gazing at them, I observed a difference in their behavior. I soon saw that, while both were being tossed by the waves, one was coming nearer to me. It was being driven in toward land, while the other remained in its position. One was a floating log; the other was a buoy. Every wave drove the log nearer the shore, and I watched it until it was dashed against the rocks. The buoy still held its position.
What was the difference between the two? The buoy was anchored; the log was not. The iron cable of the buoy took fast hold upon the bottom and held, no matter how the storm raged; but the unanchored log was at the mercy of every wind and every wave.
Which object represents us depends upon our faith. If our faith is anchored in God, we are like the buoy which, though tossed by the waves, though beaten by the storms, yet holds its position and cannot be moved away. If we are not anchored by faith in God - then we are like the log, and it will be no wonder if we are dashed upon the rocks.
The seaweed floats up on the surface of the water. It too is beaten by the storm and tossed by the waves, but it keeps its place; for down beneath the waves it has a sure grounding - by strong roots anchored to a rock. The storms may beat, the winds may blow, the waves may roll - but it holds fast, because it is fastened upon the rock.
In the same way, God would have us rooted in Him through faith. This faith will sustain us and hold us in our place in the wildest storms or the bitterest trial.
Balance the trial by trust. As the trial increases - increase trust. The harder the trial comes upon us - the harder we should lean upon the Lord. He will sustain you, if you trust and lean on Him.
We are not likely to be tried as hard as Job was. In fact, if we will compare our trials with his - we shall often feel ashamed to call them trials! Though Job was tempted to the limit and tried to the utmost - he was fully determined that his conduct should be righteous, and that not simply for a little while. Through all his trials and afflictions - he stood steadfast and unmovable, glorifying God even when he could not pierce the darkness ahead of him. Even when he could not understand the present, and when the past was unexplained and unexplainable; even when his wife despaired, and his friends united to condemning him - still he held fast his integrity. His decision was not simply to hold on a little while and see if things would change. No, he intended to go through to the end, no matter what came. His decision was to be steadfast as long as he lived. He might suffer, but he would not rebel. If he could not understand God's ways, he could understand his duty; and he would do his duty; regardless of what happened.
What a lesson of faithfulness and steadfastness! We ought to be ashamed to let the few little trials that we have, weaken our decision to serve the Lord and be true at any cost. What have we to endure compared with what he had? Let us be steadfast, therefore, and keep right on, knowing that our God is our helper and that He will never fail us.
~Charles Naylor~
(continued with # 6)
But if we try to get out of the trial without passing through it - then we are sure to miss the blessing in the end. It is the blessing that God wants us to have, and that is what we need. If you struggle out of the trial without getting the lesson and the blessing- then God may bring it again. He may let it be repeated again and again - until you submit to His will and have wrought in you the thing that is needful.
Do not meet your trials with fear. Meet them courageously. Do not dread them. Keep confident in God. Do not rebel against them. Submit yourself to the Lord. He will make all things work together for good to you.
How Faith Sustains in Trial
We are told that we stand by faith. Faith is the one thing that can sustain us through every peril and through every difficulty.
I once stood upon the shore when the waves were dashing wildly against the rocks. A considerable distance from the shore I saw two objects rising and falling upon the waves, but as I kept gazing at them, I observed a difference in their behavior. I soon saw that, while both were being tossed by the waves, one was coming nearer to me. It was being driven in toward land, while the other remained in its position. One was a floating log; the other was a buoy. Every wave drove the log nearer the shore, and I watched it until it was dashed against the rocks. The buoy still held its position.
What was the difference between the two? The buoy was anchored; the log was not. The iron cable of the buoy took fast hold upon the bottom and held, no matter how the storm raged; but the unanchored log was at the mercy of every wind and every wave.
Which object represents us depends upon our faith. If our faith is anchored in God, we are like the buoy which, though tossed by the waves, though beaten by the storms, yet holds its position and cannot be moved away. If we are not anchored by faith in God - then we are like the log, and it will be no wonder if we are dashed upon the rocks.
The seaweed floats up on the surface of the water. It too is beaten by the storm and tossed by the waves, but it keeps its place; for down beneath the waves it has a sure grounding - by strong roots anchored to a rock. The storms may beat, the winds may blow, the waves may roll - but it holds fast, because it is fastened upon the rock.
In the same way, God would have us rooted in Him through faith. This faith will sustain us and hold us in our place in the wildest storms or the bitterest trial.
Balance the trial by trust. As the trial increases - increase trust. The harder the trial comes upon us - the harder we should lean upon the Lord. He will sustain you, if you trust and lean on Him.
We are not likely to be tried as hard as Job was. In fact, if we will compare our trials with his - we shall often feel ashamed to call them trials! Though Job was tempted to the limit and tried to the utmost - he was fully determined that his conduct should be righteous, and that not simply for a little while. Through all his trials and afflictions - he stood steadfast and unmovable, glorifying God even when he could not pierce the darkness ahead of him. Even when he could not understand the present, and when the past was unexplained and unexplainable; even when his wife despaired, and his friends united to condemning him - still he held fast his integrity. His decision was not simply to hold on a little while and see if things would change. No, he intended to go through to the end, no matter what came. His decision was to be steadfast as long as he lived. He might suffer, but he would not rebel. If he could not understand God's ways, he could understand his duty; and he would do his duty; regardless of what happened.
What a lesson of faithfulness and steadfastness! We ought to be ashamed to let the few little trials that we have, weaken our decision to serve the Lord and be true at any cost. What have we to endure compared with what he had? Let us be steadfast, therefore, and keep right on, knowing that our God is our helper and that He will never fail us.
~Charles Naylor~
(continued with # 6)
Trials # 4
Trials # 4
"We count them happy who endure" (James 5:11). But the class of people I am describing, cannot look upon endurance in this light. There is no happiness in it to them. There is no pleasantness to them. No matter what good comes to them through trials - they want it some other way. But trials will come anyway. They cannot escape them. The only thing by rebelling, will be to increase their suffering in the trials and prevent themselves from getting the blessedness out of them. We ought to be willing to suffer when it is God's will for us to suffer, or when He sees it is necessary for us to suffer. Our Master drank the cup of suffering even though it was bitter. Are we better than He? Shall we refuse to go by the path that led Him to glory?
Another thing that makes trials hard to bear, is fear of being overcome by them. When trials come to some, the first thing they think of is, "Shall I be able to endure them? Shall I overcome in it? They are all the time fearing and worrying, lest they should not be able to go through it. This fear itself is a source of weakness. It also increases the suffering that results from trials. When you add fear to your trials - then you double their size and weight. Why should you fear? Is not God upon His throne? Is He not watching over your life? Does He not know just how much you can endure? Will He let the fire be too hot? Will He let distress be too great? Will He fail you in anything? He says, "Fear not, for I am with you."
If you are disposed to fear your trials, a good thing to do is to collect a large number of the promises of God's help from the Bible. Write them down on a piece of paper, and keep them handy, and when you see a trial coming or realize that it is already upon you, and your fears begin to arise - then get your list of promises and begin reading them over. Read them carefully and thoughtfully. Read them as being true. Remember that God stands in back of each of them, and stands in back of it to make it true for you.
The trouble is that when people get to viewing their trials - they keep looking at their trials and not looking to God. They do not look at the promises. They forget all about them. And so the more they fear - the more troubled they become. There are a thousand promises that apply to your case. There are a thousand promises that meet your daily need - and not one of all those promises will fail.
Another thing that makes trials hard to bear, is unbelief. God's promises will amount to nothing for us, unless we believe them and appropriate them unto ourselves. They are true for us whether we believe them or not - but they do not become effective for us, until we believe them. If you do not believe that God will help bear your trials - then you must take the whole weight of them upon yourself. If you do not believe that He will give you victory in them, then you must fight through to victory in your own strength. If you do not believe that victory is to be the outcome for you - then your belief will be a source of weakness to you, so that you will not have the confidence that you need to carry you through.
Unbelief is your greatest enemy. Unbelief will cloud your whole sky, and shut out the sunlight, and will close the channel of God's grace - so that it cannot be supplied to meet your needs. Unbelief will darken your mind and your heart. It will whisper in your ears that the situation is hopeless, that it is of no use to try.
Unbelief is satan's strongest ally. Shut your heart to it, and believe with all your strength that God is true and that God is true to you. This is only asserting the truth; there is no make-believe about it. His trueness is just as real as your existence. You may have His help if you will believe, but if you will still abide in unbelief - then you must fight your battles and get out the best way you can. And that best way will often be a hard one. How much better to believe God, and take His way and His help!
Another thing that makes our trials hard to bear is struggling to escape from them. The question with so many when they are in trial is: "How can I get out of this? How can I get to the end of it?" They will take almost any way out of it, just so that they get out quick. The easiest way out, is not always the best way out. Trying to get out in what seems to be the easiest way - often gets us in the deeper, and makes the trial the more bitter.
The only safe way is to submit to God and let Him bring us through in the way that He sees fit. He knows the best way. He knows just what we can endure. He knows just what is needed. He sees the end from the beginning. He knows how we are going to get through it. He knows what the outcome will be and what a blessing He has in store for us at the end of the trial.
~Charles Naylor~
(continued with # 5)
"We count them happy who endure" (James 5:11). But the class of people I am describing, cannot look upon endurance in this light. There is no happiness in it to them. There is no pleasantness to them. No matter what good comes to them through trials - they want it some other way. But trials will come anyway. They cannot escape them. The only thing by rebelling, will be to increase their suffering in the trials and prevent themselves from getting the blessedness out of them. We ought to be willing to suffer when it is God's will for us to suffer, or when He sees it is necessary for us to suffer. Our Master drank the cup of suffering even though it was bitter. Are we better than He? Shall we refuse to go by the path that led Him to glory?
Another thing that makes trials hard to bear, is fear of being overcome by them. When trials come to some, the first thing they think of is, "Shall I be able to endure them? Shall I overcome in it? They are all the time fearing and worrying, lest they should not be able to go through it. This fear itself is a source of weakness. It also increases the suffering that results from trials. When you add fear to your trials - then you double their size and weight. Why should you fear? Is not God upon His throne? Is He not watching over your life? Does He not know just how much you can endure? Will He let the fire be too hot? Will He let distress be too great? Will He fail you in anything? He says, "Fear not, for I am with you."
If you are disposed to fear your trials, a good thing to do is to collect a large number of the promises of God's help from the Bible. Write them down on a piece of paper, and keep them handy, and when you see a trial coming or realize that it is already upon you, and your fears begin to arise - then get your list of promises and begin reading them over. Read them carefully and thoughtfully. Read them as being true. Remember that God stands in back of each of them, and stands in back of it to make it true for you.
The trouble is that when people get to viewing their trials - they keep looking at their trials and not looking to God. They do not look at the promises. They forget all about them. And so the more they fear - the more troubled they become. There are a thousand promises that apply to your case. There are a thousand promises that meet your daily need - and not one of all those promises will fail.
Another thing that makes trials hard to bear, is unbelief. God's promises will amount to nothing for us, unless we believe them and appropriate them unto ourselves. They are true for us whether we believe them or not - but they do not become effective for us, until we believe them. If you do not believe that God will help bear your trials - then you must take the whole weight of them upon yourself. If you do not believe that He will give you victory in them, then you must fight through to victory in your own strength. If you do not believe that victory is to be the outcome for you - then your belief will be a source of weakness to you, so that you will not have the confidence that you need to carry you through.
Unbelief is your greatest enemy. Unbelief will cloud your whole sky, and shut out the sunlight, and will close the channel of God's grace - so that it cannot be supplied to meet your needs. Unbelief will darken your mind and your heart. It will whisper in your ears that the situation is hopeless, that it is of no use to try.
Unbelief is satan's strongest ally. Shut your heart to it, and believe with all your strength that God is true and that God is true to you. This is only asserting the truth; there is no make-believe about it. His trueness is just as real as your existence. You may have His help if you will believe, but if you will still abide in unbelief - then you must fight your battles and get out the best way you can. And that best way will often be a hard one. How much better to believe God, and take His way and His help!
Another thing that makes our trials hard to bear is struggling to escape from them. The question with so many when they are in trial is: "How can I get out of this? How can I get to the end of it?" They will take almost any way out of it, just so that they get out quick. The easiest way out, is not always the best way out. Trying to get out in what seems to be the easiest way - often gets us in the deeper, and makes the trial the more bitter.
The only safe way is to submit to God and let Him bring us through in the way that He sees fit. He knows the best way. He knows just what we can endure. He knows just what is needed. He sees the end from the beginning. He knows how we are going to get through it. He knows what the outcome will be and what a blessing He has in store for us at the end of the trial.
~Charles Naylor~
(continued with # 5)
Saturday, July 20, 2019
Trials # 3
Trials # 3
But the trials that are hardest to bear, are the ones we bring upon ourselves. Many people suffer as a result of their own indiscretion. They act unwisely or unfittingly, and are buffeted for their faults. They are ridiculed or condemned; their names are on the tongue of the gossip, and they have no one to blame but themselves. If we do not act wisely or worthily - then we need not expect to have the confidence and esteem of others. If we are buffeted for our faults, the only Christian thing to do is to endure with meekness and patience, and try to do better next time. This is one kind of trial that is always bitter medicine. It brings no joy. The best thing we can do is to take our bitter medicine and make no wry faces about it.
We sometimes do things or say things that bring heaviness upon us. We heap blame and condemnation upon ourselves. We feel regret and sorrow, and are continually chiding ourselves. How many of these self-made trials could be avoided, if we would be careful to think of the outcome before we speak. We not let yourself brood over it. Resolve to do better next time, and ask God to help you.
Effects on the Sensibilities
The effect of trials on our sensibilities is often very great. Our feelings become deeply involved, and this is what makes trials hard to bear. Some let their feelings have full freedom of action at such a time, and therefore the trial affects them powerfully.
No matter how beautiful may be the scenery around you - you can hold a small, ugly object before your eyes and hide all the beauty, and see nothing but the object at which you gaze. So it is with our trials. If we let them hold our attention, if we look at them all the time - then they will shut out all the beauties of life about us, and will come to be the greatest things in our lives, even though in reality they may be very small and insignificant things.
There are people who allow their minds to be taken up largely by their trials. They are continually thinking over them and worrying over them. In such cases, the person is making his own hard paths.
Trials need not be allowed to take the sweetness out of life; they need not be allowed to shut out all the light and beauty of life. God does not intend that they shall.
Paul speaks of being "exceedingly joyful" in all his tribulations. He had plenty of tribulations, but he met them like a man, and instead of letting them get him down, he put his feet upon them and mastered them.
The first step in mastering a trial - is to master yourself. Gain control of your feelings. Do not waste time pitying yourself. Act as if you had some courage and fortitude. Face the situation manfully. You can do it if you will. Stand your ground against these things. Look to God and expect His help.
What Makes Trials Hard to Bear
Giving way to our feelings and letting them have their way, is not the only thing that makes trials hard to bear. It is one of the chief things, but there are other things that add to the hardness of bearing trials.
First, there is love of ease, and unwillingness to suffer. The flesh naturally loves an easy time. It seeks pleasure and self-gratification. Anything that goes contrary to such, is unpleasant to it - and it is likely to rebel against it. If we give the flesh its way - then trials will be very hard for us. No matter what trials may come, it will make us shrink from them and rebel against them.
Life has both its bitter and its sweet. We should not always expect to have the sweet alone. We cannot have the capacity to enjoy, without also having the capacity to suffer. Suffering is just as needful in our lives as enjoyment, and sometimes serves an even better purpose. If we are unwilling to suffer and in consequence begin to kick against the goads - then we shall soon find ourselves wounded, and our sufferings increased. This unwillingness to suffer, keeps many people out of the pleasure which God would give them. But they draw back. They are not willing to suffer, When trials come, they rebel against them.
~Charles Naylor~
(continued with # 4)
But the trials that are hardest to bear, are the ones we bring upon ourselves. Many people suffer as a result of their own indiscretion. They act unwisely or unfittingly, and are buffeted for their faults. They are ridiculed or condemned; their names are on the tongue of the gossip, and they have no one to blame but themselves. If we do not act wisely or worthily - then we need not expect to have the confidence and esteem of others. If we are buffeted for our faults, the only Christian thing to do is to endure with meekness and patience, and try to do better next time. This is one kind of trial that is always bitter medicine. It brings no joy. The best thing we can do is to take our bitter medicine and make no wry faces about it.
We sometimes do things or say things that bring heaviness upon us. We heap blame and condemnation upon ourselves. We feel regret and sorrow, and are continually chiding ourselves. How many of these self-made trials could be avoided, if we would be careful to think of the outcome before we speak. We not let yourself brood over it. Resolve to do better next time, and ask God to help you.
Effects on the Sensibilities
The effect of trials on our sensibilities is often very great. Our feelings become deeply involved, and this is what makes trials hard to bear. Some let their feelings have full freedom of action at such a time, and therefore the trial affects them powerfully.
No matter how beautiful may be the scenery around you - you can hold a small, ugly object before your eyes and hide all the beauty, and see nothing but the object at which you gaze. So it is with our trials. If we let them hold our attention, if we look at them all the time - then they will shut out all the beauties of life about us, and will come to be the greatest things in our lives, even though in reality they may be very small and insignificant things.
There are people who allow their minds to be taken up largely by their trials. They are continually thinking over them and worrying over them. In such cases, the person is making his own hard paths.
Trials need not be allowed to take the sweetness out of life; they need not be allowed to shut out all the light and beauty of life. God does not intend that they shall.
Paul speaks of being "exceedingly joyful" in all his tribulations. He had plenty of tribulations, but he met them like a man, and instead of letting them get him down, he put his feet upon them and mastered them.
The first step in mastering a trial - is to master yourself. Gain control of your feelings. Do not waste time pitying yourself. Act as if you had some courage and fortitude. Face the situation manfully. You can do it if you will. Stand your ground against these things. Look to God and expect His help.
What Makes Trials Hard to Bear
Giving way to our feelings and letting them have their way, is not the only thing that makes trials hard to bear. It is one of the chief things, but there are other things that add to the hardness of bearing trials.
First, there is love of ease, and unwillingness to suffer. The flesh naturally loves an easy time. It seeks pleasure and self-gratification. Anything that goes contrary to such, is unpleasant to it - and it is likely to rebel against it. If we give the flesh its way - then trials will be very hard for us. No matter what trials may come, it will make us shrink from them and rebel against them.
Life has both its bitter and its sweet. We should not always expect to have the sweet alone. We cannot have the capacity to enjoy, without also having the capacity to suffer. Suffering is just as needful in our lives as enjoyment, and sometimes serves an even better purpose. If we are unwilling to suffer and in consequence begin to kick against the goads - then we shall soon find ourselves wounded, and our sufferings increased. This unwillingness to suffer, keeps many people out of the pleasure which God would give them. But they draw back. They are not willing to suffer, When trials come, they rebel against them.
~Charles Naylor~
(continued with # 4)
Vile! # 3 (and others)
Vile! # 3 (and others)
Ah, my stricken brother, if you are groaning over the ocean of corruption within, and feel utterly unworthy to take the sacred name of Christ upon your polluted lips, then you should be unfeignedly thankful that you belong not to that great multitude of self-complacent and self-righteous religionists of whom it is written, "They were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down" (Jere. 9:12). Much cause have you to praise the God of all grace that He anointed your sin-blinded eyes, and that now, in His sight, you are able to see a little of your hideous deformities, and cry "I am black!" (Song 1:5).
2. You have abundant cause to walk before God. Must not the realization of our vileness truly humble us before Him, make us smite upon our bosom, and cry "God be merciful to me, a sinner!" Yes, such a prayer is as suited to the maturest saint as it was when first convicted of his lost estate, for he is to continue as he began: Colossians 2:6, Revelation 2:5. But alas, how quickly does the apprehension of our vileness leave us! How frequently does pride again dominate us. For this reason we are bidden to "Look unto the rock whence you are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence you are dug" (Isaiah 51:1). Beg God to daily show you your vileness that you may walk humbly before Him.
3. You have abundant cause to marvel at the surpassing love of the Triune God toward you. That the Eternal Three should have set their heart upon such a wretch is indeed the wonder of all wonders. That God the Father should foreknow and foresee every sin of which you would be guilty in thought and word and deed, and yet have loved you "with an everlasting love" must indeed fill you with astonishment. That God the Son should have laid aside the robes of His glory and be made in the likeness of sin's flesh, in order to redeem one so foul and filthy as I, was truly a love "that passes knowledge!" That God the Holy Spirit should take up His resistence and dwell in the heart of one so vile, only proves that where sin abounded grace did much more abound. "Unto Him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen!" (Revelation 1:5, 6).
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
_______________________
The Judgment
And is it certain that I must appear at the judgment? Yes! "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ." And must I there give an account of my actions? Undoubtedly! Everyone will be judged "according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad." And will my most secret iniquities be revealed in the light of that day? They will! "For God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
Must I render an account of my words as well as my actions? Assuredly! "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof, in the day of judgment." Will any account be taken of our thoughts and of the desires and imaginations of the heart, on that day. Most certainly! For the heart is the source of all wickedness, and God knows and remembers every evil thought which ever passed through the minds of men: these come under the class of "secret things;" and it is written, "God will judge the secrets of men," in that day, "by Jesus Christ." Perhaps this relates to secret actions. Not alone; for it is written, "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts."
Will all sinners fare alike on that day? All impenitent sinners will be condemned to everlasting misery; but there will be a wide difference between the punishment of those who sinned in ignorance, and those who sinned in the midst of light and against light. It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for Bethesda and Capernuaum. "That servant that knew his Master's will, and committed things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with many stripes; while he that knew not his Master's will, and committed things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes." Every man shall receive according to his work. "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men chose darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
Is the judgment day determined? Yes. "For He has appointed a day, in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He has ordained." Is there reason to think that that day is near at hand? It is nearer now than ever before. It comes on apace; but of that day and that hour knows no man, nor the angels in heaven.
Will any man be able to stand in the judgment? None but such as are clothed in the righteousness of Christ: these shall not only be acquitted, but their imperfect works of faith and labors of love shall be richly rewarded. All others shall be condemned. No man's morality or good works can stand the scrutiny of that day. All without saving faith in Christ will be cast into outer darkness; they will hear the Judge's sentence, "Depart, accursed, into everlasting fire!"
~Archibald Alexander~
(The End)
Ah, my stricken brother, if you are groaning over the ocean of corruption within, and feel utterly unworthy to take the sacred name of Christ upon your polluted lips, then you should be unfeignedly thankful that you belong not to that great multitude of self-complacent and self-righteous religionists of whom it is written, "They were not at all ashamed, neither could they blush: therefore shall they fall among them that fall: in the time of their visitation they shall be cast down" (Jere. 9:12). Much cause have you to praise the God of all grace that He anointed your sin-blinded eyes, and that now, in His sight, you are able to see a little of your hideous deformities, and cry "I am black!" (Song 1:5).
2. You have abundant cause to walk before God. Must not the realization of our vileness truly humble us before Him, make us smite upon our bosom, and cry "God be merciful to me, a sinner!" Yes, such a prayer is as suited to the maturest saint as it was when first convicted of his lost estate, for he is to continue as he began: Colossians 2:6, Revelation 2:5. But alas, how quickly does the apprehension of our vileness leave us! How frequently does pride again dominate us. For this reason we are bidden to "Look unto the rock whence you are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence you are dug" (Isaiah 51:1). Beg God to daily show you your vileness that you may walk humbly before Him.
3. You have abundant cause to marvel at the surpassing love of the Triune God toward you. That the Eternal Three should have set their heart upon such a wretch is indeed the wonder of all wonders. That God the Father should foreknow and foresee every sin of which you would be guilty in thought and word and deed, and yet have loved you "with an everlasting love" must indeed fill you with astonishment. That God the Son should have laid aside the robes of His glory and be made in the likeness of sin's flesh, in order to redeem one so foul and filthy as I, was truly a love "that passes knowledge!" That God the Holy Spirit should take up His resistence and dwell in the heart of one so vile, only proves that where sin abounded grace did much more abound. "Unto Him who loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and has made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen!" (Revelation 1:5, 6).
~A. W. Pink~
(The End)
_______________________
The Judgment
And is it certain that I must appear at the judgment? Yes! "We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ." And must I there give an account of my actions? Undoubtedly! Everyone will be judged "according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad." And will my most secret iniquities be revealed in the light of that day? They will! "For God will bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
Must I render an account of my words as well as my actions? Assuredly! "But I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof, in the day of judgment." Will any account be taken of our thoughts and of the desires and imaginations of the heart, on that day. Most certainly! For the heart is the source of all wickedness, and God knows and remembers every evil thought which ever passed through the minds of men: these come under the class of "secret things;" and it is written, "God will judge the secrets of men," in that day, "by Jesus Christ." Perhaps this relates to secret actions. Not alone; for it is written, "Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts."
Will all sinners fare alike on that day? All impenitent sinners will be condemned to everlasting misery; but there will be a wide difference between the punishment of those who sinned in ignorance, and those who sinned in the midst of light and against light. It will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah than for Bethesda and Capernuaum. "That servant that knew his Master's will, and committed things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with many stripes; while he that knew not his Master's will, and committed things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes." Every man shall receive according to his work. "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men chose darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
Is the judgment day determined? Yes. "For He has appointed a day, in which He will judge the world in righteousness by that Man whom He has ordained." Is there reason to think that that day is near at hand? It is nearer now than ever before. It comes on apace; but of that day and that hour knows no man, nor the angels in heaven.
Will any man be able to stand in the judgment? None but such as are clothed in the righteousness of Christ: these shall not only be acquitted, but their imperfect works of faith and labors of love shall be richly rewarded. All others shall be condemned. No man's morality or good works can stand the scrutiny of that day. All without saving faith in Christ will be cast into outer darkness; they will hear the Judge's sentence, "Depart, accursed, into everlasting fire!"
~Archibald Alexander~
(The End)
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