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| The sins of man, the wickedness of our race, the crimes of nations, the iniquities of kings, the cruelties of wars, the terrific scourge of pestilence—all these things in some mysterious way are working the will of God! We must not look at it; we cannot look at it. I cannot explain it. I cannot tell you where human will and free agency unite with God's sovereignty and with his unfailing decrees. This has been the place where intellectual gladiators have fought with each other ever since the time of Adam. Some have said, Man does as he likes; and others have said, God does as he pleases. In one sense, they are both true; but there is no man that has brains or understanding enough to show where they meet. . . He that believes in a God must believe this truth. There is no standing-point between this and atheism. There is no half way between a mighty God that worketh all things by the sovereign counsel of his will and no God at all. A God that cannot do as he pleases—a God whose will is frustrated, is not a God, and cannot be a God. I could not believe in such a God as that. - Spurgeon | | |
| The emperor had ordered them to subdue the new bishop through a combination of promises and threats. But Basil was not easy to subdue. Finally, in a heated encounter, the praetoriean prefect lost his patience and threatened Basil with confiscating his goods, with exile, torture, and even death. Basil responded, "All that I have that you can confiscate are these rags and a few books.
Nor can you exile me, for wherever you send me,
I shall be God's guest.
As to tortures
you should know that my body is already dead in Christ.
And death would be a great boon to me,
leading me sooner to God." Taken aback, the prefect said that no one had ever spoken to him thus. Basil answered, "Perhaps that is because you have never met a true bishop." - From The Story of Christianity vol. 1 The apostle mentions several foundation-principles, which must be well laid at first, and then built upon; neither his time nor theirs must be spent in laying these foundations over and over again. These foundations are six:— 1. Repentance from dead works,
that is, conversion and regeneration, repentance from a spiritually dead state and course; as if he had said, "Beware of destroying the life of grace in your souls; your minds were changed by conversion, and so were your lives. Take care that you return not to sin again, for then you must have the foundation to lay again; there must be a second conversion a repenting not only of, but from, dead works.’’ Observe here,
(1.) The sins of persons unconverted are dead works; they proceed from persons spiritually dead, and they tend to death eternal.
(2.) Repentance for dead works, if it be right, is repentance from dead works, a universal change of heart and life. (3.) Repentance for and from dead works is a foundation-principle, which must not be laid again, though we must renew our repentance daily. 2. Faith towards God,
a firm belief of the existence of God, of his nature, attributes, and perfections, the trinity of persons in the unity of essence, the whole mind and will of God as revealed in his word, particularly what relates to the Lord Jesus Christ. We must by faith acquaint ourselves with these things; we must assent to them, we must approve of them, and apply all to ourselves with suitable affections and actions. Observe,
(1.) Repentance from dead works, and faith towards God, are connected, and always go together; they are inseparable twins, the one cannot live without the other.
(2.) Both of these are foundation-principles, which should be once well laid, but never pulled up, so as to need to be laid over again; we must not relapse into infidelity. 3. The doctrine of baptisms,
that is, of being baptized by a minister of Christ with water, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, as the initiating sign or seal of the covenant of grace, strongly engaging the person so baptized to get acquainted with the new covenant, to adhere to it, and prepare to renew it at the table of the Lord and sincerely to regulate himself according to it, relying upon the truth and faithfulness of God for the blessings contained in it. And the doctrine of an inward baptism, that of the Spirit sprinkling the blood of Christ upon the soul, for justification, and the graces of the Spirit for sanctification. This ordinance of baptism is a foundation to be rightly laid, and daily remembered, but not repeated. 4. Laying on of hands,
on persons passing solemnly from their initiated state by baptism to the confirmed state, by returning the answer of a good conscience towards God, and sitting down at the Lord’s table. This passing from incomplete to complete church membership was performed by laying on of hands, which was extraordinary conveyance of the gift of the Holy Ghost continued. This, once done, all are obliged to abide by, and not to need another solemn admission, as at first, but to go on, and grow up, in Christ. Or by this may be meant ordination of persons to the ministerial office, who are duly qualified for it and inclined to it; and this by fasting and prayer, with laying on of the hands of the presbytery: and this is to be done but once. 5. The resurrection of the dead,
that is, of dead bodies; and their re-union with their souls, to be eternal companions together in weal or woe, according as their state was towards God when they died, and the course of life they led in this world. 6. Eternal judgment,
determining the soul of every one, when it leaves the body at death, and both soul and body at the last day, to their eternal state, every one to his proper society and employment to which they were entitled and fitted here on earth; the wicked to everlasting punishment, the righteous to life eternal. These are the great foundation-principles which ministers should clearly and convincingly unfold, and closely apply. In these the people should be well instructed and established, and from these they must never depart; without these, the other parts of religion have no foundation to support them. - Matthew Henry commentary on Heb. 6 | | |
| The book of Hebrews is an incredible New Testament thesis. Though there are many subjects to be taken from its content, I would like to focus my attention on the one subject that I have found to be most needed in conjunction with my current life experiences. At this time of uncertainty and expectation, it is faith, more than any other concept, that I must cling to tenaciously and water with the Word until I see its holy seed begin to grow up inside of me. I want to have a bold and confident faith based not only on expectation but on past experience. Without possessing this holy seed, it is impossible to please God, and I leave an open entry point for Satan's lies. In the first chapter of Hebrews Christ is exalted, and shown to be far more than simply a messenger or teacher of good news. In the second chapter it is shown how that those whom Christ has redeemed cannot neglect the salvation given. For in their salvation is the expectation of the complete subjection of all things. Obtaining this subjection however, is accomplished through suffering, Christ being our example in that through His suffering, death and the power of the Devil were made subject to Him. Already we are beginning to see faith emerge, in this case the faith to believe that one day all things will be made subject to those who are the sanctified brethren of our Lord Jesus Christ. Again in the third chapter we see Christ exalted and this time contrasted with Moses even as a son differs from a servant. We also see another allusion to faith in that we are exhorted to prove ourselves to be truly the house of God by a tight hold on our confidence and a boasting in our hope. In the second half of the third chapter the message of faith grows stronger as we are told that an unbelieving heart, is an evil heart. The illustration is given of the disobedient children of Israel who though they had received the promise of God did not continue in faith to claim that promise, but hardened their hearts through unbelief. The passage contrasts the deceitfulness of sin with faith in God and the fact that you must believe one or the other. Either you will believe the lies that your flesh, mind, and unsurrendered soul throw up in your face, or you will cling tenaciously to the faith found in the promises of God. In the fourth chapter the message of faith grows ever stronger as we are exhorted to receive the Word of God by faith, reminded that there is a place of rest to those who will cease from their striving and rest in faith, and told again to hold tight to our confession of faith seeking grace and mercy from the throne of God should we grow weak in our faith. As I read through chapter six, my mind was still fixated on the subject of faith. Suddenly chapter six opened up to me in way that I had never seen it before. I can see now that the "fallen away" ones that Paul refers to are those that have abandoned their tight hold on faith. They are contrasted by those in verse eleven who are encouraged to have a full assurance of hope until the end. Without faith and an expectation of supernatural power all that your teaching can produce is a dry belief full of thorns and thistles. Then I felt the Spirit of God speaking directly to me through verses nine to twelve. Though we speak in this way, yet in your case, beloved, we feel sure of better things—things that belong to salvation. For God is not unjust so as to overlook your work and the love that you have shown for his name in serving the saints, as you still do. And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. In my life, I have been given so many promises of the good things of God, and I have not yet experienced them to the full extent of the promise. Still this passage holds me to the fact that with faith and patience I will inherit all of the promise, not just a part. Through an earnest and full assurance of the hope that is my reality I can come to the end of my days and not be ashamed of the hope that I held to so tenaciously. I will not abandon it and I will not back down in my confident proclamations of it. God help me to be more confident and bold in sharing with others my hopes and expectations of good things to come. Under the control and leading of the Holy Spirit, may my consistent and persistent hope be a witness and testimony of God's goodness and provision. In the final part of the sixth chapter, another illustration is offered for the securing of our faith in God. Abraham, chosen by God and given a promise, held to the promise given, by faith. He waited with patience for the fulfillment of the promise and the promise was obtained. God confirmed with an oath his promise to Abraham, and in the same way He has sworn by Himself that He will fulfill His promises to those who believe. It is a sure and steadfast hope that is compared to an anchor and is secured through the blood brought into the Holy of Holies by our forerunner Jesus Christ. Our High Priest who has sanctified us in the sight of God the Father through His offering. It hearkens back to Eph. 1: 10-11: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: From the seventh to the ninth chapter the primary objective is to prove the sufficiency of Christ as both High Priest and sacrifice. In the tenth chapter though, the writer returns to the subject of enduring faith and encourages believers to draw near to God through faith, and hold to their confession without apology or doubt. The reason for such confidence is that the One who has given them the promises that define their confession is faithful. We need not doubt what we confess should our confession be based on the Word of God, and specifically on the promises of Christ. The final verses of chapter ten, that lead so beautifully into the "faith" chapter are as powerful as the words at the end of chapter six. These few verses are my declaration, my confession, and my hope. I know what I have and I do not shrink back from confessing, claiming, and receiving it as my own. . . . do not throw away your confidence, which has a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised. For,
"Yet a little while, and the coming one will come and will not delay;
but my righteous one shall live by faith, and if he shrinks back,
my soul has no pleasure in him."
But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls. I have as much confidence in my confessions of the promises in Christ's Word as I do in my confession of Christ being my all-sufficient Savior. I will not let doubt and unbelief define or rule my life any longer. I will confess and believe. I will experience the best that God has for me through confidence, patience, and endurance. | | |
| Are you tired of chasing pretty rainbows?
Are you tired of spinning round and round?
Wrap up all those shattered dreams of your life
And at the feet of Jesus, lay them down. Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus
Shattered dreams, wounded hearts, and broken toys.
Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus
And He will turn your sorrows into joy. He never said you only see sunshine,
He never said there would be no rain.
He only promised a heart full of singing
About the very thing that once brought pain. Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus
Shattered dreams, wounded hearts, and broken toys.
Give them all, give them all, give them all to Jesus
And He will turn your sorrows into joy. - Candy Hemphill Christmas | | |
| I found this tonight while I was reading through some old writing of mine. I thought it applicable to my current situation. There cannot be simply an enthusiasm for the things of God without any deep worn channels of discipline between ourselves and God. A lack of spiritual discipline also results in a lack of spiritual fruit. For though we have all been given access to spiritual gifts through salvation, they must be developed through spiritual discipline in order to produce spiritual fruit. | | |
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