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Zingers Pastor Fortner addresses some subject or thought very briefly in each bulletin. Those which he authored are contained in the document below. While we believe them to be "quotable quotes" and worthy of posting to any refrigerator, some of us have given them another name. If you will allow, we call them "Zingers." May 25, 2008 Nothing is more painful to a
devoted father than the sense that he is not held in honor and esteem by his
family. — Let us ever ascribe the greatness of our God and hold our Father in
the highest honor and esteem as our God. May 18, 2008 Adversities introduce us to
ourselves. Usually, it is a very disappointing introduction. May 11, 2008 Where God rules there are no
accidents, preventable diseases, untimely deaths, stray bullets, or arrows
that miss their mark; and God rules everywhere. May 4, 2008 The “full assurance of faith” by which we draw near to God is not a feeling of
assurance, or assurance mustered from within. Our assurance of acceptance
with God in Christ is the Revelation of God in Holy Scripture. Believing the
Revelation of God, we draw near to him in confident faith through the
sacrifice of his dear Son. April 27, 2008 When God the Holy Spirit
regenerates the sinner, giving him faith in Christ, as that sinner looks to
Christ alone as his Savior, the blessed Spirit sprinkles the blood of Christ
upon the conscience and speaks like a bailiff reading the verdict in court –
“Justified!” (Romans 4:25-5:1) April 20, 2008 Our justification is not conditioned upon our faith in Christ. Our faith in Christ is the fruit of justification by which we experience the blessedness of it, receiving the atonement he accomplished for us in his death (Romans 5:11). April 13, 2008 I have observed that you can always count on do-nothings to criticize what others do; but you can never count on them for anything else. April 6, 2008 The gospel of the grace of God declares the Triune God in action, acting from eternity, for the salvation of his elect. Match 30, 2008 The basis of our hope is the finished work of Christ. The cause of our hope is the Word of God. That for which we hope is righteousness. — But that which is our hope is “Christ in you.” We have hope before God because we have been made partakers of the divine nature in the new birth, because Christ lives in us and we live in him. March 23, 2008 Though our salvation was finished in all its details from eternity, though our redemption was fully accomplished at Calvary, the Lord God continually performs it in us and continually assures us that he is doing so by using present tense verbs as simple statements of fact, declaring the reality of every believer’s experience of grace. — “Choosest” — “Redeemeth” — “Justifieth” — “Forgiveth” — “Cleanseth” — What sweet terms of grace these are to our souls! March 16, 2008 Mark this down as a matter of fact. Don’t ever forget it. That which God requires of his people, he always provides for his people. What he demands of us he performs for us. March 9, 2008 Our heavenly Father often sends his tender mercies on the black horse of trouble. February 24, 2008 Faith is not a leap in the dark, but the reasonable response of the regenerate heart to God’s Revelation. February 17, 2008 Self-righteousness is the root of all sin and the ruin of all that men call Christianity. February 10, 2008 Salvation is not something God offers; it is something he performs. January 27, 2008 Man’s inability is not his misfortune. It is his sin. Therefore it is written, “He that believeth not shall be damned!” January 20, 2008 God’s way always leads his chosen in this world through a dark, troubling wilderness; but God’s way is always “the right way.” January 13, 2008 Beware of any preacher who seeks to draw attention to and promote himself and what he is doing. Faithful men love, support, and promote other faithful men as they serve Christ and his kingdom. January 6, 2008 It is my earnest prayer that God my Father will give me grace ever to help and never hinder, ever to comfort and never discourage, ever to be used by and never to use his children. December 23, 2007 In his incarnation the Son of God voluntary took into union with himself all that is inseparable from our humanity! December 16, 2007 In the incarnate One the immortal God made himself a mortal man, that mortal men might be made immortal sons of God! December 2, 2007 “The Word was made flesh!” — God the Son came into the world in our nature that as the Captain of our salvation he might be made perfect through the things that he suffered. Only as God in our nature could the Bread of Life hunger, the Fountain of Living Water thirst, the Light of the World be compassed with darkness, the Sinless One be made sin, God be made to die, and sinners be made the righteousness of God in him! November 18, 2007 As winter prepares the earth for spring, our afflictions prepare our souls for glory. November 11, 2007 “Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.” — This is a standard before which no hypocrite can stand, a fire that consumes the sparkling tinsel of unregenerate souls. November 4, 2007 Whatever my need, God’s grace is sufficient. I need nothing else. September 30, 2007 The new birth is more than God the Holy Spirit creating a new principle in us. A Democrat converted to a Republican has new principles. An unbeliever converted to a believer has a new nature! September 23, 2007 The new birth is a wondrous, mysterious thing. Who can explain “Christ in you”? Who can define what it means to be “partakers of the divine nature”? I repeat: the new birth is a wondrous mystery of grace. — But anyone who calls this blessed work of God the Holy Spirit mysticism is a blind, ignorant heretic. September 9, 2007 The first work of the Holy Spirit in the heart of a sinner, in bringing him to Christ, is to make him feel his need of Christ. None of us will ever be saved until we are lost. We will never seek Christ's righteousness until we see our unrighteousness. We will never look to his cleansing blood until we know our filth. Thirsty people seek water. Hungry people look for food. Sick people find a physician. Only lost, needy sinners seek and find the Savior — “If I may but touch his clothes, I shall be whole! August 12, 2007 Anytime a preacher begins to redefine his doctrine, seeking to distance himself from that which he has taught in the past and from those who remain faithful to the truth of God, no matter what he may say to defend his compromise, his motives are always self-serving and evil. The more he protests, the more apparent his guilt. August 19, 2007 I never cease to be amazed that those who talk most about the need for brotherly love and unity are the very people who, by gossip and slander, most seek to divide God’s people. Those who love the brethren do not need to advertise their love. The deed advertises itself. July 29, 2007 The light of the gospel, like the light of the sun, causes repulsive creatures of darkness to wiggle frantically, that might otherwise never be noticed; but it is better to deal with those disgusting creatures than it would be for the sun not to rise. July 1, 2007 Three things are essential to the salvation of a sinner: (1.) the work God the Father accomplished for us in eternity, (2.) the work God the Son accomplished for us at Calvary, and (3.) the work of God the Spirit accomplished in us in time. May 20, 2007 The Word of God is not the revelation of many things, but of one thing. It is “the Revelation of Jesus Christ.” The Book of God does not teach many doctrines. It teaches just one doctrine: — “The Doctrine of Christ.” May 13, 2007 Does it appear that the “old man” of flesh in you is stronger than the “new man” of spirit created in you by grace? There is a reason for that. The “old man” is full grown. The “new man” is a newborn babe. May 6, 2007 No man sent of God needs to promote himself. April 29, 2007 Faith in Christ is not the procuring cause of our justification, but only the instrument by which the righteousness of Christ is received. It is not our believing, but the One we believe, Christ, “who of God is made unto us Righteousness.” April 15, 2007 The violent opposition of will-worshipping Arminians to election and predestination will never alter the fact that our Savior declares, "I have chosen you and ordained you" April 1, 2007 Nothing is more paralyzing than self-pity. March 4, 2007 Preachers frequently speak of the way God sees his people in Christ, and then go to great pains to explain that that is not the way we really are. That is a terrible error. -- The way God sees us in Christ is the way we really are and shall forever be. March 18, 2007 Justice punishes sin only where sin is found. It treats as guilty none but the guilty (Pro. 17:15). The wonder and glory of redemption by Christ is this: — When he was made sin for us, when our guilt was made his, justice punished him in our stead. And that same justice forbids the punishment of those for whom the Savior died (Romans 8:1, 33-34). March 11, 2007 The same glorious God who has fixed us in and accepted us in Christ before the worlds were made, has made him our righteousness; and he did both at the same time. That fact is so plainly written in the Word of God that none can fail to see it, exept those who refuse to see. He who accepted us in Christ, blessed us with all spiritual blessings in Christ from eternity. Who will assert that the accepted and blessed us as unrighteous? March 4, 2007 Preachers frequently speak of the way God sees his people in Christ, and then go to great pains to explain that that is not the way we really are. That is a terrible error. — The way God sees us in Christ is the way we really are and shall forever be. February 11, 2007 Failure is an impossibility to anyone who is obedient to Christ. All heaven waits to assist God’s obedient servant. February 4, 2007 The salvation accomplished by Christ, the salvation God gives is a salvation that God himself cannot improve and a salvation that all the powers of hell cannot mar. January 28,2007 With regard to the Book of God, Christ is “the key of knowledge.” Without the key, men can never unlock the chest and discover its riches. — They just fumble. January 21, 2007 When the Lord Jesus Christ was made sin for us, our sins were imputed to him, so that we might have his righteousness imputed to us and be made the righteousness of God in him. January 7, 2007 Let us seize every opportunity to serve Christ. The smallest opportunity may be the door of great usefulness to the souls of men and the glory of God. December 17, 2006 The death of this body will be the death of all my sorrows and all my sins. — Blessed anticipation! November 26,2006 Eternal life, the gift of God the Holy Spirit in the new birth, is not the mere gift of life extended forever, but the gift of an entirely new life, spiritual life in Christ that shall never cease, a new, holy nature, by which all who are born of God are graciously made “partakers of the divine nature.”ovember 19, 2006 Christ endured and completely exhausted all the hell we must have endured but could never exhaust, had he not suffered and died for us. November 12, 2006 Though our great shame and sorrow is the constant multiplying of sins, our God’s great glory is the constant multiplication of pardons (Isa. 55:7). September 24, 2006 That which God the Holy Spirit does in us in regeneration is just as necessary as that which God the Son did for us in redemption and God the Father did for us in predestination. September 17, 2006 Three things are essential to the everlasting salvation of God's elect: (1.) The work of God the Father for us in eternity. (2.) The work of God the Son for us as our Substitute. And (3.) the work of God the Holy Spirit in us. September 10, 2006 "Thou God seest me" (Gen. 16:13). — What a word of comfort that is to my soul! Though men oppress me, though Satan assails me, though sorrows crush me, though my own heart condemns me, "Thou God seest me!" He sees me perfectly. He sees me always. He sees me where I am. He sees me as I am, completely. He sees me with perfect love, approval, and acceptance, for he sees me in his Son! September 3, 2006 The object of faith is a whom, not a what. The matter that must be settled is not "What do you believe?" or "When did you first believe?" or even "How did you come to believe?" but — "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?" August 27, 2006 Our God has trusted to us, poor earthen vessels, the great treasure of the gospel. May he give us grace to be faithful to that trust, as stewards in his great house, for Christ's sake. August 20, 2006 Many years ago, Bro. N. B. Magruder raised this alarming question: — "What is going on in churches today that needs God for an explanation?" In such a day as this, our hearts ought to cry, with Elisha, "Where is the God of Elijah?" August 13, 2006 False prophets are concerned about the goods of men, not about doing good for men. — They seek to be served, not to serve. August 6, 2006 False prophets handle the Word of God with cunning, craftiness and deceit, rather than with honesty, reverence and fear. July 30, 2006 God's view of things is reality. Ours is only a dim perception. If the Lord God views us in Christ and one with Christ, altogether as Christ is, that is reality; and he tells us to reckon it so, just as he does (Rom. 6:11). July 16, 2006 There is no difference between what comes to pass in time and what was purposed by our God in eternity. July 9, 2006 In Romans 8:28 the Apostle Paul tells us what God is doing. In verse 29 he tells us what God is going to do. In verse 30 he tells us it is already done. June 18, 2006 Judas did not show his true, self-serving, covetous character by the words he preached, but by his cunning, deceit and the betrayer's kiss. So it is with many who preach in Jesus' name, though they care for nothing but what they can gain by that name, while betraying it. June 11, 2006 Any man who needs to validate what he believes by the writings of other men, by creeds, confessions of faith, or history, doesn't really believe anything. May 28, 2006 My righteousness before God is not based upon the righteousness of Christ. - My righteousness is the righteousness of Christ. May 14, 2006 "He that doeth truth cometh to the Light." - How else can we do truth, but by coming to Christ the Light, who is the Truth? May 7, 2006 Christ crucified is the basis of our hope before God; and "Christ in you the hope of glory" is the sweet, joyful experience of hope. April 2, 2006 Those who seek to justify themselves before God continually seek to justify themselves before men. — Those who are justified before God never need to justify themselves before men. March 26, 2006 Take away the absolute certainty of God's providence mirroring and fulfilling his purpose, and faith in God is an absolute impossibility. The Word of God and its countless promises could not be trusted. It would become as useless as wastepaper! March 12, 2006 Here is a cause for great joy. - Our God finds the reason for his mercy to us in himself, and in himself alone! March 5, 2006 Gospel preaching is not delivering facts, debating issues, and settling points of doctrine. Gospel preaching is presenting the glorious Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ and delivering his message. February 19, 2006 Wicked men are responsible for all the havoc they attempt to wreak upon the kingdom of God , and shall be judged accordingly; but let us never imagine that they have the power to accomplish their evil designs. — It is written, “Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil… Jerusalem shall dwell safely” (Pro. 1:33 ; Jer. 23:6). February 12, 2006 The Bible is the word of the living God. Each letter was penned by an Almighty finger. Each word came from the everlasting lips. Each sentence was dictated by the Holy Spirit. The very words of the Book are God's words, the words of the eternal, the invisible, the almighty God. When I pick it up, I can almost hear it saying, "I am the Book of God; man, Open my pages, read me, and hear God speak!” December 25, 2005 The surest thing that can be said about good works is this. - Those who think they have them do not; and those who perform them are fully convinced that they haven't (Matt. 25:31-46) December 4, 2005 All the religions of this world focus on preparing people to live in this world. The gospel of Christ focuses on preparing people to live in the world to come. November 27, 2005 The God of Glory does not live, and move, and have his being in us. We live, and move, and have our being in him. November 13, 2005 The single most important aspect of every believer's life is public worship. The only place on this earth where the Son of God promises to meet with, speak to, and instruct his people is in the place his people are gathered in his name. November 6, 2005 Those whom Jude describes as men who turn "the grace of our God into lasciviousness" are men who teach that preaching the gospel of Christ, salvation by grace alone without any mixture of legal works, leads to lascivious behavior. October 30, 2005 God always looking upon his people in Christ sees them as saints, speaks of them as saints, and deals with them as saints. May he teach me to do the same! October 23, 2005 The best day of every believer's life in this world is his last October 16, 2005 There are just two kinds of preachers: - Givers and Takers - Those who are used and those who use - Those who serve and those who seek to be served. October 9, 2005 How thankful we ought to be that our God, remembering that we are dust, does not deal with us according to our iniquities, but as we are in Christ! May he give us grace and teach us to remember that our brothers and sisters, like us, are but dust and to deal with them not according to their iniquities, but as they are in Christ October 2, 2005 Faith never comes by understanding. Understanding comes by faith. When we believe that which God has revealed in his Word, we begin to understand what he has revealed. Until we believe, we understand nothing. September 11, 2005 An egotist is a person who thinks himself so important that his mind shrinks, while his head swells and his heart hardens. He craves recognition and honor. September 4, 2005 Christ is made of God unto us both righteousness and sanctification. God declares his elect righteous by imputing the righteous obedience of Christ to us in justification. He makes us righteous by imparting Christ's righteous nature to us in sanctification. Christ is that righteousness, that holiness we must have, without which no man shall see the Lord . August 28, 2005 Not once in all the Word of God is the word "Trinity" used. Yet, the Scriptures everywhere teach the doctrine of the Holy Trinity. Not once in the Inspired Volume is the word "imputed" (or any that might be translated "imputed") used in reference to Christ being made sin for us. Yet, the Book of God everywhere teaches that our sins were imputed to him because he was made sin for us. Even so, not once are the words "imparted righteousness" used in the Book of Divine Revelation to speak of us being made righteous by our God. Yet, the whole testimony of Scripture asserts that the righteousness of Christ is imparted to all in the new birth to whom righteousness has been imputed in justification. August 14, 2005 Our sin was not pasted on our Savior; and his righteousness is not pasted on the believer. Christ was "made sin for us," and we are "made the righteousness of God in him." August 7, 2005 The righteousness by which we are justified is imputed. The righteousness by which we are sanctified is imparted. The first is our title to heaven, the second is our fitness for heaven. June 19, 2005 As Priscilla and Aquila were Paul's "helpers in Christ," gracious God, make me a helper, rather than a hinderer to your people. June 12, 2005 No man can preach Christ without preaching his doctrine; but many preach his doctrine who never preach Christ. June 5, 2005 Righteousness imputed is our justification. Righteousness imparted is our sanctification. Righteousness rewarded shall be our glorification. May 29, 2005 It is a sad and painful fact that brethren here are sometimes incapable of living and working together peaceably, a fact that reveals much about our fallen nature and depraved hearts, horribly dishonoring to our God, but a fact nonetheless. Blessed God, our Savior, hasten the day when every breach in Zion shall be healed. May 15, 2005 The great danger of Diotrephes is not so much his stated doctrine, but his hidden motive, his insatiable desire for preeminence. April 3, 2005 Our hope of eternal salvation and acceptance with God is altogether outside our experience. It is totally in the doing and dying of the Lord Jesus Christ. The great danger of Diotrephes is not so much his stated doctrine, but his hidden motive, his insatiable desire for preeminence. March 27, 2005 God's forgiveness of our sins in and by Christ is not partial, but complete. He has forgiven all our sins: past, present, and future. So thorough and complete is our heavenly Father's forgiveness that he will never impute sin to us, to any degree or for any reason. So absolute is the forgiveness of our sins that our God will never treat us any the less graciously for having sinned! March 20, 2005 I have searched the Book of God from cover to cover repeatedly, marking every place where God says something good about humanity with a bold green marker. - There are no green marks in my Bible. March 13, 2005 "Accepted in the Beloved!" - What a sweet, soul-cheering declaration of grace. Though I am in and of myself nothing but sin, I am accepted in Christ. - Accepted in Christ before the world was made! - Accepted in Christ, though fallen in Adam! - Accepted in Christ before ever I heard his voice! - Accepted in Christ when he called me by his grace! - Accepted in Christ though often in darkness because of my own sin and unbelief! - Accepted in Christ immutably and forever! March 6, 2005 I never respond to men who attack the gospel I preach or vilify me for preaching it. The best way to refute error is to proclaim truth. And the best thing to do with a mad dog in a man's body is ignore and walk away from him. February 27, 2005 Ahithophel may slander my name, Shemei may curse me, many may lay snares before me and say, "There is no help for him in God," and in my foolish weakness and unbelief I may even fear that all things are against me, but all are servants to my soul's everlasting good. - "If God be for us, who can be against us?" February 20, 2005 It is not my business to determine, or even imagine that I can know, the spiritual health of another. It is my business to esteem all who are in Christ as Christ himself, and to love and serve them as I would Christ himself. February 13, 2005 With the eternal God there is no such thing as past or future, but only a continuous, unbroken present. With him history and prophecy are the same thing. February 6, 2005 To deny the eternal union of God's elect with Christ and the eternality of our complete acceptance and blessedness in him, as stated in Holy Scripture (Rom. 8:29-30; Eph. 1:3-6), is to deny the immutability of our God. January 23, 2005 The best answer for slander is silence. January 16, 2005 Slanderers are the billows Satan uses to stir up fires of contention. January 2, 2005 The past we can never recall. Tomorrow may never come. This is the day the Lord has made for us. Let us rejoice and serve him in it. December 26, 2004 The Son of God came out from the Father into the world that he might bring us out of the world unto the Father. He came down to us that he might bring us up to him. December 19, 2004 The Son of God became the Son of Man so that the sons of men might become the sons of God! December 12, 2004 Rejoice, my soul and wonder! - The immortal God became a mortal Man, that fallen, mortal men might live in eternal immortality! December 5, 2004 The providence of God will never take you where the grace of God will not sustain, keep and bless you. November 28, 2004 If there is anything in the Book of God with which we should desire to be acquainted it is this upon which our salvation and everlasting consolation depend. - "He hath made him sin for us!" If we would know Christ and the fellowship of his sufferings, if we would look on him whom we have pierced and mourn, if we would die unto sin and bring forth fruit unto God, we must have the gift of God the Holy Spirit to reveal this great mystery to us, that God the Father has laid on Christ the iniquity of us all, that "He hath made him sin for us!" November 14, 2004 This is the greatest transaction that ever took place upon the earth, the most marvelous sight that men ever saw, and the most stupendous wonder that heaven ever executed. Jesus Christ was made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Jesus Christ, the spotless Son of God, was made sin! November 7, 2004 The Scriptures declare that God's elect were "accepted in the Beloved" and "blessed with all spiritual blessings" in him "before the foundation of the world." Question: Were we accepted and blessed in and with Christ from eternity as righteous or as unrighteous? The obvious answer is the only answer: - as righteous. Blessed, sweet revelation of grace. - Our Lord Jesus Christ is "The Lord Our Righteousness" eternally! October 24, 2004 The torture of a screaming conscience is the hell of a guilty sinner, both on earth and in eternity. The only way to silence the screams and obtain deliverance is to trust Christ. October 10, 2004 I would rather play with lightening than speak a slanderous word against one of God's elect. October 3, 2004 Christ satisfied the justice of God for his elect. And he shall be satisfied by the justice of God with the salvation of his elect. - "He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied!" September 19, 2004 Beware of those preachers who claim to have "new light," especially when their "new light" paints men and churches of proven faithfulness in dark colors. Usually, their "new light" is just old darkness. You will almost always find such men are do-nothings. The only way they can get the attention they crave is by discovering something new and slandering others. In spiritual matters, you can be sure of this fact. - Any new doctrine is false doctrine. All hell must hoot with laughter while men who profess to be gospel preachers bloviate about theological trivia to immortal souls living but a breath from eternity! September 12, 2004 Old friends are the best of friends. Old friends have known me in all my frames and are yet friends. I hold them with both hands. September 5, 2004 There is no grace but free and sovereign grace, no election but eternal and unconditional election, no redemption but particular and effectual redemption, no salvation but by the irresistible grace and omnipotent power of God the Holy Spirit, and no security but by the absolute preservation of God's immutable goodness. And any pretended gospel that does not proclaim these things is, as Paul says, "another gospel" that is damning to the souls of men. August 22, 2004 A friend is one to whom you never need to explain yourself, one who always puts the best construction possible upon your actions and words, one who is always ready to help. A friend is someone who steps in when everyone else walks out. - I pray for grace to be such a friend. August 15, 2004 When our doctrine is so "orthodox" that we are fearful of using the very language of Holy Scripture in preaching the gospel, our "orthodoxy" has become utter heresy. August 8, 2004 That holiness we are urged to pursue, without which no man shall see the Lord (Heb. 12:14), is the righteousness of God in Christ (Phil. 3:7-11). August 1, 2004 Great people discuss great thoughts. Average people discuss things and events. Little people discuss other people. July 25, 2004 The publican went down to his house justified because he went down to his house believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. If you would you go home today justified before God, you must do the same. - "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." July 18, 2004 No sermon should ever be preached that does not address eternity bound sinners as eternity bound sinners, urgently persuading them to flee to Christ. July 11, 2004 "It is god that justifieth!" - Does God the Holy Spirit mean for us to understand that there is a present tense in justification? That certainly appears to be the case. That justification which was accomplished for us in the decree of God eternally and at Calvary in time, which we received by faith in Christ, is that which continually speaks peace to believing sinners. The Word of God is not preached, if the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ is not preached (1 Pet. 1:25). July 4, 2004 As we celebrate Independence Day as a nation, let us remember those before the throne of grace who are this very day hazarding their lives for the independence of others and the rulers of our nation and the other nations of the world _ "For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty." June 27, 2004 It is your great and sweet privilege, child of God, to place all your need over against his riches in grace and glory, and lose sight of the former in the light of the latter. DEATH ? How foolish it is for a believer to dread it! For the believer, there is no such thing as death. We shall never die, but only put off this temporary tabernacle of clay. What is death? It will be taking off a shoe that hurts my foot. It will be putting aside a tool, whose work is done, for which I have no more use. As soon as I close my eyes in death, all my most earnest, constant prayers and longings of heart will be satisfied. Let us live every day as though it were our last. For the believer there is nothing morbid about death or the anticipation of it. For us, preparing to die is preparing for life's greatest adventure. -- "Mortality swallowed up of life!" June 20, 2004 All that I have, I bring to God. It came from him and belongs to him. And he can take it by force if he chooses. June 13, 2004 The believer is a mystery to others and a mystery to himself, too. He is sanctified, yet he feels himself to be the chief of sinners. He loves God's law, yet he wrestles with inward rebellion. He loves Christ, yet he weeps over his lack of love for his Redeemer. He believes God, yet his heart aches because of his horrid unbelief. He has great sorrow and heaviness of heart because of his sin, yet he rejoices in the Lord always. His spirit longs to be with Christ, yet his flesh clings to the earth. He knows that he is secure in Christ, yet he examines his faith continually. June 6, 2004 When Satan harasses you with the blackness and vileness of your sins, resist his fiery darts by pointing him to the redness and efficacy of Christ's precious blood, and the old serpent will slither away in defeat. May 23, 2004 The believer is a mystery to others and to himself. He is sanctified, yet he feels himself to be the chief of sinners. He loves God's law, yet he wrestles with an inward desire to have his own way. He has great sorrow and heaviness of heart, yet he rejoices in the Lord always. His spirit longs to be with Christ, yet his flesh clings to the earth. He knows that he is secure in Christ, yet he continually examines himself, whether he be in the faith. April 18, 2004 All who are kept by God are well kept all the time. My relationship with the eternal God does in great measure determine what I do. But what I do does not in any way, or to any degree determine my relationship with God. March 7, 2004 We rejoice in the blood and righteousness of Christ and adore his doctrine, but it is the Lord Jesus Christ himself that we trust, love and worship. ? "Unto you that believe, HE is precious." February 29, 2004 All forms of man-made religion urge its adherents to show their religious devotion (holiness) to others by doing certain things before them. The Lord Jesus (Matt. 6) tells believers never to attempt to show their devotion to him by doing things before men. The only thing he tells us to show is love to others. February 22, 2004 The physical aspects of our Savior's agony at Calvary are not recorded in Holy Scripture to evoke sympathy for the Lord Jesus Christ, but to display man's hatred of God. February 15, 2004 Justification is a work of God wrought for us, entirely outside our experience, without our works or experience. We receive the benefits of that accomplished work by faith in Christ (Rom. 5:10-11); but the work itself was accomplished for us by Christ's sacrifice (Heb. 9:13). February 8, 2004 In 1771 John Berridge wrote to his friend and fellow-laborer in the gospel, Rowland Hill, "Avoid all controversy in preaching, talking, or writing, and wage no war but with the devil. Preach nothing down but the devil and nothing up but Jesus Christ." Happy is the preacher who follows that wise counsel and blessed are those who hear him. February 1, 2004 Trust the Lord your God, wait upon him, and hope in his Word. That is the best counsel any man can give to another in any circumstance. O for grace to heed that wise counsel! January 25, 2004 "Let none of you imagine evil against his brother in you heart." (Zech. 7:10) January 18, 2004 It is not the work of a faithful pastor to fill the pews, but to fill the pulpit. January 11, 2004 When Satan reminds me of the blackness of my sins, Christ reminds me of the efficacy of his precious blood. January 4, 2004 Many preach about the gospel, defending, explaining, and guarding it. Many preach about preaching the gospel. It is my determination to preach the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ every time I preach to eternity bound sinners. November 30, 2003 It is the preaching of the gospel that is the power of God unto salvation, not protecting, defining, defending, and explaining it, but preaching it. The gospel preached is its own best defense and explanation. So let us preach the gospel of Christ incessantly. November 23, 2003 Faith in Christ does not induce God to bestow his saving grace upon us. Rather, faith in Christ is the evidence that God has bestowed his saving grace upon us. October 26, 2003 When you are tempted to think things are just too great, that you just can't go on..."Consider Him." Keep looking away to Christ. Because of his great love for you, he refused to give up his race. He refused to quit on you. "For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. "Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin." May God give us grace not to quit on him. The snail, by patient perseverance, finally reached the ark, and we shall too, as we look away to Christ. October 19, 2003 The only way to live in this world sensibly is "set your affection on things above," to live in the constant, immediate prospect of eternity. October 12, 2003 Men make plans, plans that may or may not be executed. The Lord our God has a purpose, a purpose of grace, a purpose that shall be executed. September 28, 2003 The gospel's best defense is itself. Let us simply and boldly proclaim the gospel of God's free and sovereign grace in Christ. The naked, unadorned gospel of Christ is "the power of God unto salvation." Everything else is a hindrance. September 21, 2003 Worship is more than an act of devotion and more than a religious ceremony. Worship is the submission and consecration of ourselves and of all things to the will and glory of our God. September 14, 2003 Self-centered people live in terribly unhappy and bitter company. Believers should never wallow in self-pity. The moment we begin to feel sorry for ourselves, we are paralyzed. We have every reason to "rejoice in the Lord always," counting our blessings, not our woes. But, as John Flavel once wrote, "Our tears so blind our eyes that we cannot see our mercies." August 24, 2003 Faith in Christ is not the consent of my mind to a proposition, but the commitment of my life to a Person. August 17, 2003 I sometimes hear sermons and read articles that appear to have been specifically inspired by the great fear that some of the non-elect might get saved. The gospel is so thoroughly fenced and guarded that the preacher or writer has forgotten to put in even a small gate or narrow door. What a pity! What a waste! The gospel of Christ does not need defending, but proclaiming. Let us ever throw the Door open and urge sinners to enter in by Christ the Door, knowing that all who enter in were brought in by God's free, sovereign, irresistible grace. |