EXAMINE YOURSELVES-- W. F. BELL

"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?" (2 Corinthians 13:5). Here is a crucial test for all men and women to take who profess to be Christians. The word translated "reprobates" is the same word translated "castaway" or "disqualified" in I Corinthians 9:27. We may "fail the test," thus proving ourselves reprobates, castaways, or disqualified. While we do not believe it is possible for God's true elect to be deceived (Matthew 24:24), this is all the more reason why we must "give diligence" to make sure that we are chosen of God, by examining our "calling" to Christ, thus giving evidence of our "election" in Christ (2 Peter 1:10).

Some in the Corinthian church sought to examine Paul's credentials as an apostle (2 Corinthians 13:3), but Paul informs them that they themselves should be performing a self-examination rather than spending their time examining him. The exam they are to take is one which reveals if "Jesus Christ is in you." That is, were they truly justified by the merits of Christ, and were they the recipients of the life-giving Spirit of Christ? These are still the vital questions for all of us.

"I remind you that the Puritans recognized the need of this, and made provisions for it. They believed in being much alone with God and surveying their lives in His presence with an unsparing scrutiny" (Alan Redpath). In John and Charles Wesley's day (1730s), there was a Holy Club at Oxford, made up of men who examined themselves daily to test their love for God, and the simplicity of their faith in Christ. They came up with a long list of questions that they questioned themselves with. Though later most of them realized that this was "legalism" (being devoid of a true understanding of the gospel of free justification through the work of Christ alone), still the particular questions given here (only a partial list) are always good to ask ourselves, especially the first two and last two:

• Do I create the impression that I am a better man than I really am -- in other words, am I a hypocrite?
• Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
• Am I self-conscious, self-pitying, or self-justifying?
• Am I enjoying prayer?
• Do I disobey God in anything?
• Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
• Am I defeated in any part of my life, jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?
• How do I spend my spare time?
• Am I proud?
• Is there anybody whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold a resentment toward or disregard?
• Do I grumble or complain constantly?
• Is Christ real to me?

Do these questions speak powerfully to you? Do they make you angry? At any rate, they should be honestly looked at and meditated upon. There is nothing wrong with introspection, as long as it does not go to extremes (where you become critical and judgmental of those who do not think and act as you do). Experiences do differ in the Christian life, and we must never make "our experience" the norm for everyone else. But note, an unholy life is certainly the evidence of an unchanged heart, and an unchanged heart is the evidence of an unregenerate soul. There is no value at all in "grace" which makes us no different from what we were before! Scripture plainly tells us that we are "created in Christ Jesus unto good works" (Ephesians 2:10). That says it all. True faith does work! "Good works" are the evidence of true faith, but never its cause.

WHY WE MINISTER

He Must Increase, But I Must Decrease

John 3:30

I would far rather publish the good writings of my brothers and sisters than to seek glory for myself by always being the one doing the writing, or the preaching. Let Him who “ever lives to make intercession for us” (Hebrews 7:25), receive any glory that comes from these feeble publishing efforts. To paraphrase George Whitefield “Let the name of Woodruff perish, but Christ be glorified!”. I only let you know who I am so that I may be of service to you in Jesus Christ. Cw

As George Whitefield himself said:

“Unloose my stammering tongue to tell, Thy Love immense, unsearchable”.

Stage Christianity (from a letter of Samuel Rutherford).

Now, Madam, let me tell you that most people only have a stage Christianity. They consider it to be a mask easily put on or taken off. I myself thought it would be an easy thing to be a Christian, and that seeking God would only be like a jaunt next door. But O the windings, the turnings, the ups and downs that He has led me through! And even so, it still seems as if it will be a long way to the shore.** "Shore" is a common image for death. (Here Rutherford thinks of death as the culmination of God's purposes for him. When he is with Christ in heaven, all the turnings of his life will be shown to be meaningful). Excerpt from Letters of Samuel Rutherford; letter 104 to Madame Kenmure; March 7, 1637; in modern words from http://www.puritansermons.com/ruth/ruth3f2.htm

C. H. SPURGEON'S FIRST WORDS at the Tabernacle

March 25, 1861 — From the Sermon "The First Sermon in the Tabernacle"

MTP Vol 7, pg. 169, Acts 5:10

I WOULD PROPOSE THAT THE SUBJECT OF THE MINISTRY IN THIS HOUSE, AS LONG AS THIS PLATFORM SHALL STAND, AND AS LONG AS THIS HOUSE SHALL BE FREQUENTED BY WORSHIPPERS, SHALL BE THE PERSON OF JESUS CHRIST. I AM NEVER ASHAMED TO AVOW MYSELF A CALVINIST; I DO NOT HESITATE TO TAKE THE NAME OF BAPTIST; BUT IF I AM ASKED WHAT IS MY CREED, I REPLY — "IT IS JESUS CHRIST."

MY VENERATED PREDECESSOR, DR. GILL, HAS LEFT A BODY OF DIVINITY, ADMIRABLE AND EXCELLENT IN ITS WAY; BUT THE BODY OF DIVINITY TO WHICH I WOULD PIN & BIND MYSELF FOR EVER, GOD HELPING ME, IS NOT HIS SYSTEM, OR ANY OTHER HUMAN TREATISE; BUT JESUS CHRIST, WHO IS THE SUM & SUBSTANCE OF THE GOSPEL, WHO IS IN HIMSELF ALL THEOLOGY, THE INCARNATION OF EVERY PRECIOUS TRUTH, THE ALL-GLORIOUS PERSONAL EMBODIMENT OF THE WAY, THE TRUTH, & THE LIFE.

THROWING AWAY THE BIBLE

BY CHARLES WOODRUFF

Recently my youngest son, Mark, built some nice bookshelves for my office. Before this, I had quite a few books that couldn’t be found, because of lack of display room. Mark did a great job, and much of the problem has been remedied. In going through books, which had been stored for quite a while, it has been necessary to discard a few of them. I did come across two books that were extremely hard to throw away. They were both Bibles; a Russian one and an old KJV. Both were in pretty bad shape with missing pages. Both were ordinary Bibles that had long ago seen their best days.

You may not realize, my dear friends, how difficult it was for me to discard those two Bibles. You see, I remember well that Christians in Romania, Russia, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, and other former communist countries had great difficulty in obtaining a bible. I know this first hand. I have been in these countries. When I worked with ECL/Door of Hope, and later, Russian Bible Society as a missionary representative, I made several trips overseas, and each time Bibles and Christian books were secretly taken in by me and others.

I remember being in Kiev, in the Ukraine, in the home of Georgi Vins in 1978. At the time he was in prison for preaching the gospel contrary to the registration laws of the government of the USSR, so we met with his mother, Lydia, and his wife, Nadezhda. As a leader of the Evangelical Christian Baptists of the USSR (the unregistered church in that era), he and others such as Gennady Krychkov were severely persecuted for their faith. In good conscience they could not yield to the state controlling Christ’s church.

Later when Georgi and his family were released in an exchange worked out by the Carter administration, they came to the USA. I met him in Syracuse, NY and interviewed him for the Bible Journal. He told me at that time the greatest need in the USSR was for Bibles, especially in the languages of the smaller Soviet states. This need still exists today for some of those areas. Russian Bible Society is endeavoring to meet that need. More about Georgi Vins: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgy_Vins

I remember in 1985 traveling by train from Budapest, Hungary to Arad, Romania, with about 20-25 Bibles hidden in my luggage. At the Romanian border, the female guard searched my luggage and found about six of them. I pleaded with her, with tears in my eyes, to let me keep them for friends, but to no avail. She made out her little report, gave me a copy, and said I could pick them up at the border when I came out. I knew I wasn’t coming back that way, and even if I did, likely would not have gotten them back. I went on my way, praising God that she did not find the rest of them which were in my other bag that had food items, and film, and some things I had bought in Budapest.

Of course, the ones I took in were quickly given away in the churches that Dorin Motz and I visited in Romania. Toward the end of the trip, all I had left was my personal Bible in English. When a brother asked me if I had Bibles, I told him all I had was my own in English. He said “Brother, please give me that one. I can read some English, and you can easily get another one”. He was right you know, and I gave it to him gladly.

Do you recognize how important the Bible is? In Christianity, in its broadest sense, a Bible is very necessary. I do not care if you are Baptist, Presbyterian, Pentecostal, Lutheran, Adventist, Episcopal, Orthodox or even Catholic. You can be Calvinist, Arminian, Semi-Pelagian, Conditionalist, Absolute Predestinarian, Modernist, Neo- Evangelical, Fundamentalist or whatever you call yourself. You’ll be hard pressed to practice your faith without a Bible! We take the Bible for granted in the west. There are many places in the world today where they do not. For instance, China, North Korea, Cuba, and the Muslim nations. There is still a need today.

I am willing to help anyone get a Bible, regardless of their religion or lack thereof. I saw too many people who I believe were genuine Christians, who did not have Bibles under communism. In many cases, perhaps most, how will people know the truth, if they have not the written word of God? Remember in Nehemiah’s day revival among the Jews came as God’s word was rediscovered and publicly read (please see Nehemiah chapter eight). Read and meditate on verse eight which says: “So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused them to understand the reading”. Also: “Study to show thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (II Timothy 2:15). “All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (II Timothy 3:16,17).

So, beloved, you can see how difficult it would be for a true Christian to function without the scriptures. Not impossible, but difficult. Haralan Popov and Simion Motz, who both served many years in harsh communist prisons, each personally told me how Christian prisoners had no Bibles, but shared the word from memory

with one another when they could gather. There, in prison, one page of the Bible was precious.

It may come to that here in America if the socialist God haters have their way. I think here a greater problem is a watering down of the true gospel through liberal and cultic preachers, and also continual re-translating and watering down of the pure word of God. That is a great danger. This is the reason I will not endorse just any translation of the Bible. In English now we have-- how many? So many it is ridiculous! Many of them are not sound, and are based on faulty theories, and faulty manuscripts. We do not have the original autographs. In the Providence of God, it is best we do not, for some liturgical types would likely worship the parchments themselves!

Call me old fashioned, obscurantist, whatever you will, but I believe the Masoretic text in the OT, and the majority text (received text = Textus Receptus), in the NT, is God’s settled word. In English, only the KJV, NKJV, Darby, and a handful of other translations are based on TR. The rest are Westcott and Hort variations. In English, I have seen nothing to surpass the KJV in spite of the Elizabethan language. Study it and you will be really richer for it. There are many study aids to help you grasp it. But, use whatever version you prefer, but I will stick with the old book ‘til Jesus comes or I go home.

The Russian Bible Society is a reliable distributor of Bibles in the languages of the former soviet states. Their address is: Russian Bible Society, P.O. Box 6064, Asheville, NC 28816. Phone: (828) 681-0370- Dr. Bob Doom, Director. Email: russianbibles@juno.com

PRESENT DAY CHRISTIANITY

By CHARLES WOODRUFF

Present day Christianity has largely rejected the teaching of God's grace in its biblical fullness Instead, we have on all sides a largely man-centered religion. "Media Event Christianity" is the norm in so many churches. The manipulation of souls and "decisionism" has given us a watered-down gospel that couldn't save a flea. It has been taught that God can only do what man "lets" Him do! But this is a far cry from the God of the Bible! He is the Sovereign of the universe! He does not need our help, we need His!

Naturally to declare God as God Almighty is going to "ruffle some feathers". The Baptists of today forget the London Confession, the Philadelphia Confession, and the New Hampshire Confession of Faith, which all contain clear and strong statements regarding the Sovereign God.

The Baptists are not alone in forgetting. The Presbyterians of today often fail to take note of the old landmark Westminster Confession of Faith (which differs from the Philadelphia Confession very little). The heritage of the church is largely discarded today, and the “emerging church”, “wealth and health gospel” along with “new evangelicalism”. and now "ultra-modernism". Most of today's fundamentalism cannot shape up when compared to the faith of our fathers. For the most part, as J.B. Phillips once said, "Your God is too small". Truth has fallen in the streets! We desperately need revival. I pray for it. I believe that reformation must come before true revival will come.

(I originally wrote the majority of these words in 1983. Some things have changed for the better, but it is evident that many things are much worse).

THE HOLINESS OF GOD- ARTHUR W. PINK

(A note from Charles). I have been studying much lately on the holiness of God. What an awesome subject! What an awesome God! I recently read R. C. Sproul's book on The Holiness of God; and also re-read some of A. W. Tozer's book, The Knowledge of the Holy. Both are very good books. I preached one sermon on this subject so far (check it out on our Sermon Audio site. Click the title at "my other blogs" on the right side of this page). I realize that I am still a learner on this subject; still a learner of this God; this Christ. All of us are, and will be through eternity. This is one of the missing things in modern evangelism, seeing the awesomeness of this holy God as Isaiah did; as John did; as Habakkuk did, as well as others. Remember the condemning words "There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Romans 3:18). Here is a small, helpful study by Arthur Pink on God's holiness.

"Who shall not fear Thee, O Lord, and glorify Thy name? for Thou only art holy" (Rev. 15:4). He only is independently, infinitely, immutably holy. In Scripture He is frequently styled "The Holy One": He is so because the sum of all moral excellency is found in Him. He is absolute Purity, unsullied even by the shadow of sin. "God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all" (1 John 1:5). Holiness is the very excellency of the Divine nature: the great God is "glorious in holiness" (Ex. 15:11). Therefore do we read, "Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity" (Hab. 1:13). As God’s power is the opposite of the native weakness of the creature, as His wisdom is in complete contrast from the least defect of understanding or folly, so His holiness is the very antithesis of all moral blemish or defilement. Of old God appointed singers in Israel "that they should praise for the beauty of holiness" (2 Chron. 20:21). "Power is God’s hand or arm, omniscience His eye, mercy His bowels, eternity His duration, but holiness is His beauty" (S. Charnock). It is this, supremely, which renders Him lovely to those who are delivered from sin’s dominion.

A chief emphasis is placed upon this perfection of God: God is oftener styled Holy than almighty, and set forth by this part of His dignity more than by any other. This is more fixed on as an epithet to His name than any other. You never find it expressed ‘His mighty name’ or ‘His wise name,’ but His great name, and most of all, His holy name. This is the greatest title of honour; in this latter doth the majesty and venerableness of His name appear (S. Charnock).

This perfection, as none other, is solemnly celebrated before the Throne of Heaven, the seraphim crying, "Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts" (Isa. 6:3). God Himself singles out this perfection, "Once have I sworn by Thy holiness" (Ps. 89:35). God swears by His holiness because that is a fuller expression of Himself than anything else. Therefore are we exhorted, "Sing unto the Lord, O ye saints of His, and give thanks at the remembrance of His holiness" (Ps. 30:4). "This may be said to be a transcendental attribute, that, as it were, runs through the rest, and casts luster upon them. It is an attribute of attributes" (J. Howe, 1670). Thus we read of "the beauty of the Lord" (Ps. 27:4), which is none other than "the beauty of holiness" (Ps. 110:3).

As it seems to challenge an excellency above all His other perfections, so it is the glory of all the rest; as it is the glory of the Godhead, so it is the glory of every perfection in the Godhead; as His power is the strength of them, so His holiness is the beauty of them; as all would be weak without almightiness to back them, so all would be uncomely without holiness to adorn them. Should this be sullied, all the rest would lose their honour; as at the same instant the sun should lose its light, it would lose its heat, its strength, its generative and quickening virtue. As sincerity is the luster of every grace in a Christian, so is purity the splendor of every attribute in the Godhead. His justice is a holy justice, His wisdom a holy wisdom, His arm of power a "holy arm" (Ps. 98:1), His truth or promise a "holy promise" (Ps. 105:42). His name, which signifies all His attributes in conjunction, "is holy," Psalm 103:1 (S. Charnock).

God’s holiness is manifested in His works. "The Lord is righteous in all His ways, and holy in all His works" (Ps. 145:17). Nothing but that which is excellent can proceed from Him. Holiness is the rule of all His actions. At the beginning He pronounced all that He made "very good" (Gen. 1:31), which He could not have done had there been anything imperfect or unholy in them. Man was made "upright" (Eccl. 7:29), in the image and likeness of his Creator. The angels that fell were created holy, for we are told that they "kept not their first habitation" (Jude 6). Of Satan it is written, "Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee" (Ezek. 28:15).

God’s holiness is manifested in His law. That law forbids sin in all of its modifications: in its most refined as well as its grossest forms, the intent of the mind as well as the pollution of the body, the secret desire as well as the overt act. Therefore do we read, The law is holy, and "the commandment holy, and just, and good" (Rom. 7:12). Yes, "the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever: the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether" (Ps. 19:8, 9).

God’s holiness is manifested at the Cross. Wondrously and yet most solemnly does the Atonement display God’s infinite holiness and abhorrence of sin. How hateful must sin be to God for Him to punish it to its utmost deserts when it was imputed to His Son!

Not all the vials of judgment that have or shall be poured out upon the wicked world, nor the flaming furnace of a sinner’s conscience, nor the irreversible sentence pronounced against the rebellious demons, nor the groans of the damned creatures, give such a demonstration of God’s hatred of sin, as the wrath of God let loose upon His Son. Never did Divine holiness appear more beautiful and lovely than at the time our Saviour’s countenance was most marred in the midst of His dying groans. This Himself acknowledges in Psa. 22. When God had turned His smiling face from Him, and thrust His sharp knife into His heart, which forced that terrible cry from Him, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" He adores this perfection—"Thou art holy," v. 3 (S. Charnock).

Because God is holy He hates all sin. He loves everything which is in conformity to His laws, and loathes everything which is contrary to it. His Word plainly declares, "The froward is an abomination to the Lord" (Prov. 3:32). And again, "The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the Lord" (Prov. 15:26). It follows, therefore, that He must necessarily punish sin. Sin can no more exist without demanding His punishment than without requiring His hatred of it. God has often forgiven sinners, but He never forgives sin; and the sinner is only forgiven on the ground of Another having borne his punishment; for "without shedding of blood is no remission" (Heb. 9:22). Therefore we are told, "The Lord will, take vengeance on His adversaries, and He reserveth Wrath for His enemies" (Nahum 1:2). For one sin God banished our first parents from Eden. For one sin all the posterity of Ham fell under a curse which remains over them to this day (Gen. 9:21). For one sin Moses was excluded from Canaan, Elisha’s servant smitten with leprosy, Ananias and Sapphira cut off out of the land of the living.

Herein we find proof for the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures. The unregenerate do not really believe in the holiness of God. Their conception of His character is altogether one-sided. They fondly hope that His mercy will override everything else. "Thou thoughtest that I was altogether as thyself" (Ps. 50:21) is God’s charge against them. They think only of a "god" patterned after their own evil hearts. Hence their continuance in a course of mad folly. Such is the holiness ascribed to the Divine nature and character in Scripture that it clearly demonstrates their superhuman origin. The character attributed to the "gods" of the ancients and of modern heathendom are the very reverse of that immaculate purity which pertains to the true God. An ineffably holy God, who has the utmost abhorrence of all sin, was never invented by any of Adam’s fallen descendants! The fact is that nothing makes more manifest the terrible depravity of man’s heart and his enmity against the living God than to have set before him One who is infinitely and immutably holy. His own idea of sin is practically limited to what the world calls "crime." Anything short of that, man palliates as "defects," "mistakes," "infirmities," etc. And even where sin is owned at all, excuses and extenuations are made for it.

The "god" which the vast majority of professing Christians "love," is looked upon very much like an indulgent old man, who himself has no relish for folly, but leniently winks at the "indiscretions" of youth. But the Word says, "Thou hatest all workers of iniquity "(Ps. 5:5). And again, "God is angry with the wicked every day" (Ps. 7:11). But men refuse to believe in this God, and gnash their teeth when His hatred of sin is faithfully pressed upon their attention. No, sinful man was no more likely to devise a holy God than to create the Lake of fire in which he will be tormented for ever and ever.

Because God is holy, acceptance with Him on the ground of creature doings is utterly impossible. A fallen creature could sooner create a world than produce that which would meet the approval of infinite Purity. Can darkness dwell with Light? Can the Immaculate One take pleasure in "filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6)? The best that sinful man brings forth is defiled. A corrupt tree cannot bear good fruit. God would deny Himself, vilify His perfections, were He to account as righteous and holy that which is not so in itself; and nothing is so which has the least stain upon it contrary to the nature of God. But blessed be His name, that which His holiness demanded His grace has provided in Christ Jesus our Lord. Every poor sinner who has fled to Him for refuge stands "accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:6). Hallelujah!

Because God is holy the utmost reverence becomes our approaches unto Him. "God is greatly to be feared in the assembly of the saints, and to be had in reverence of all about Him" (Ps. 89:7). Then "Exalt ye the Lord our God, and worship at His footstool; He is holy" (Ps. 99:5). Yes, "at His footstool," in the lowest posture of humility, prostrate before Him. When Moses would approach unto the burning bush, God said, "put off thy shoes from off thy feet" (Ex. 3:5). He is to be served "with fear" (Ps. 2:11). Of Israel His demand was, "I will be sanctified in them that come nigh Me, and before all the people I will be glorified" (Lev. 10:3). The more our hearts are awed by His ineffable holiness, the more acceptable will be our approaches unto Him.

Because God is holy we should desire to be conformed to Him. His command is, "Be ye holy, for I am holy" (1 Pet. 1:16). We are not bidden to be omnipotent or omniscient as God is, but we are to be holy, and that "in all manner of deportment" (1 Pet. 1:15).

This is the prime way of honoring God. We do not so glorify God by elevated admiration, or eloquent expressions, or pompous services of Him, as when we aspire to a conversing with Him with unstained spirits, end live to Him in living like Him (S. Charnock).

Then as God alone is the Source and Fount of holiness, let us earnestly seek holiness from Him; let our daily prayer be that He may "sanctify us wholly; and our whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:23).

(from The Attributes of God, chapter 8; Reiner Publications, Swengel, PA, 1970 edition; emphasis mine, cw))

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REGARDING SCRIPTURE-ARTHUR W. PINK

Christianity is the religion of a Book. Christianity is based upon the impregnable rock of Holy Scripture. The starting point of all doctrinal discussion must be the Bible. Upon the foundation of the Divine inspiration of the Bible stands or falls the entire edifice of Christian truth.—"If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Ps. 11:3). Surrender the dogma of verbal inspiration and you are left like a rudderless ship on a stormy sea-at the mercy of every wind that blows. Deny that the Bible is, without any qualifications, the very Word of God, and you are left without any ultimate standard of measurement and without any supreme authority. It is useless to discuss any doctrine taught by the Bible until you are prepared to acknowledge, unreservedly, that the Bible is the final court of appeal. Grant that the Bible is a Divine revelation and communication of God’s own mind and will to men, and you have a fixed starting point from which advance can be made into the domain of truth. Grant that the Bible is (in its original manuscripts) inerrant and infallible and you reach the place where study of its contents is both practicable and profitable.

It is impossible to over-estimate the importance of the doctrine of the Divine inspiration of Scripture. This is the strategic center of Christian theology, and must be defended at all costs. It is the point at which our satanic enemy is constantly hurling his hellish battalions. Here it was he made his first attack. In Eden he asked, "Yea, hath God said?" and today he is pursuing the same tactics. Throughout the ages the Bible has been the central object of his assaults. Every available weapon in the devil’s arsenal has been employed in his determined and ceaseless efforts to destroy the temple of God’s truth. In the first days of the Christian era the attack of the enemy was made openly—the bonfire being the chief instrument of destruction—but, in these "last days" the assault is made in a more subtle manner and comes from a more unexpected quarter. The Divine origin of the Scriptures is now disputed in the name of "Scholarship" and "Science," and that, too, by those who profess to be friends and champions of the Bible.

Much of the learning and theological activity of the hour, are concentrated in the attempt to discredit and destroy the authenticity and authority of God’s Word, the result being that thousands of nominal Christians are plunged into a sea of doubt. Many of those who are paid to stand in our pulpits and defend the Truth of God are now the very ones who are engaged in sowing the seeds of unbelief and destroying the faith of those to whom they minister. But these modern methods will prove no more successful in their efforts to destroy the Bible than did those employed in the opening centuries of the Christian era. As well might the birds attempt to demolish the granite rock of Gibraltar by pecking at it with their beaks—"For ever, O Lord, Thy Word is settled in heaven" (Ps. 119:89).

From the introduction to The Divine Inspiration of the Bible by Arthur W. Pink.

“So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it” (Isaiah 55:11).

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on

him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into

condemnation: but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24).

“ But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them;

And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” ( II Timothy 3:14-17).

“ Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11).

“Thy word is a lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path” (Psalm 119:105)

HISTORY BIBLICALLY UNDERSTOOD

"We are faced in the prophecy of Isaiah with the truth and reality of a Biblical view of history for mankind, especially fallen mankind; for those engaged in political philosophy in our modern day; for those who are evolutionary in their thinking. We commonly think of history as progressive from the past into the present and from the present into the future. A Biblical philosophy of history, which is the only true philosophy of history, is that time progresses from the future into the present and from the present into the past, because of divine predestination. There are those who deprecate any idea of predestination, but without predestination we cannot have in the Word of God either prophecy or promise, and all certainty is removed." -- William R. Downing on Isaiah 45:13-25

"I wish the reader to consider the unreasonableness of rejecting plain revelations just because they are puzzling to our reason. There is no greater difficulty attending this doctrine than the contrary, nor so great. So that, though the doctrine of the decrees is mysterious, and attended with difficulties, yet the opposite doctrine is in itself more mysterious, and attended with greater difficulties, and with contradictions to reason more evident to one who thoroughly considers things so that even if the Scripture had made no revelation of it, we would have had reason to believe it. But since the Scripture is so abundant in declaring it, the unreasonableness of rejecting it appears the more glaring." -- Jonathan Edwards on Job 7:1 and Isaiah 16:14

"I believe that nothing happens apart from divine determination and decree; even the little things in life are not overlooked by the all-seeing eye. All things are under regulation, and have an appointed place in God's plan; and nothing happens, after all, but what He permits or ordains." -- C. H. Spurgeon on James 4:13-17

Compiled by W.F. Bell 10/1/08. "That in all things He [Christ] may have the preeminence" (Colossians 1:18).

THE GLORIOUS GOSPEL- by W. F. Bell

"According to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust" (I Timothy 1:11).

"Gospel" means "good news," and indeed it is, for this heavenly news tells of "the glory of the blessed God,” which, according to Paul, was entrusted to him.

There are many words which describe the gospel in all its glory, but for our purposes here let us look at only three: incarnation, propitiation, justification. Embodied within these words are deep doctrinal truths which are essential to a proper understanding of the one, true gospel.

Incarnation. As C.H. Spurgeon has so aptly stated: "No idea of the Lord Jesus Christ approaches to correctness which does not see in His one dear person the two natures of God and man united. In that person, wherein were blended, but not confused, the Godhead and the Manhood, a practical faith has its most ample help."

By incarnation we simply mean the "becoming flesh" of the Son of God. "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father), full of grace and truth " (John 1:14). Note that in the incarnation Jesus the Christ was the glory of God the Father tabernacling among men! This is beyond human understanding, yet a cardinal truth of the gospel. "God was in Christ," said Paul (2 Corinthians 5:19). "God was manifest in the flesh" (I Timothy 3:16).

Apart from God the eternal Son becoming man we poor sinners could never find or know the living God. Though the gospel message is often scorned for its "narrowness," still it declares: "For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus" (I Timothy 2:5). This means all other religions and religious leaders are false, and it means also that any preacher or church daring to preach "another gospel" comes under God's awful anathema/curse (Galatians 1:6-9).

Propitiation. No word more adequately describes the heart of the glorious gospel than "propitiation." The three occurrences of the word in the KJV are Romans 3:25, I John 2:2, and I John 4:10. In modernistic "Bibles" (as the RSV or NEB) the word "propitiation" has been removed, proving the distaste modern man has for the doctrinal gospel of the New Testament. While "expiation" is certainly involved in propitiation, the latter term means far more. Expiation denotes the covering or putting away of sin, but propitiation means the pacifying of the wrath of God against sin and sinners.

Other Bible words are pregnant with meaning also: reconciliation (peace-making after hatred and war), redemption (rescue by ransom), and sacrifice (the offering of a substitute). See Romans 5:10, Galatians 3:13, and Ephesians 5:2. These words all picture and illustrate the reality of propitiation, and do not imply variation of thought in the writers of the New Testament.

Here is the crucial point: there is only one divine remedy for human sin—the death of Christ at the cross. The sufferings and shame of the God-man alone satisfy divine justice against sinful men. Scripture verifies over and over that this is God's way of saving sinners: "Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief" (Isaiah 53:10). "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Corinthians 5:21). "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (I John 4:9-10).

Justification. To be "declared righteous" is what the gospel of grace is all about. Without free and full justification there could be no "good news" in the gospel. But, because of eternal love and the blood-shedding of the Lamb of God, those chosen to salvation are eternally acquitted at the bar of God's justice. "Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus" (Romans 3:24). Leap for joy, child of God, for in that verse is your whole salvation! Christ Jesus, the mighty Jehovah, has accomplished salvation for all his people; it is all by his grace, and it is through his redemption/death. All merit is in Christ, therefore he receives all praise.

Justification is solely "by faith" and not by the works of the creature (any works, whatever they may be). "Where is boasting then? It is excluded. By what law? of works? Nay: but by the law of faith. Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Romans 3:27-28).

Justification does not mean we are sinlessly righteous, only that we have been declared righteous. Nor does being justified mean that we are no longer sinners within ourselves, for we will ever be nothing but sinners by nature. But, this is where the glorious gospel continues to magnify God's grace: those whom God justifies he also sanctifies (that is, he gives them a heart to love God and hate sin). Holy desires within our breasts assure us that God is at work in our affections, and that we are justified (I Peter 2:9-12).

Do you thus see the glory of God in the gospel of grace: his power, wisdom, righteousness, truth, and love? In Christ's incarnation and propitiation do we as sinners have complete justification.

NEVER BEEN TO SPAIN

By CHARLES WOODRUFF

There was a popular song back in the 1970’s with that title. It was written in 1970 by Hoyt Axton, and originally sung by Three Dog Night, the Australian group. Elvis Presley had a version of it that I remember. He sang it in live concerts. The lyrics indicated a fascination with the beauty, and intrigue of the Spanish nation, and its women, and a curiosity to go there on the part of the singer; yet, in the song, he never got there. I always thought I would like to go there, and although I have been in England and France, that is as close as I have come so far in my life of 64 years.

Paul the apostle planned to go to Spain. “Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come unto you” (Romans 15:24). This was his human plan, but in God’s purpose he met a detour. The ultimate detour was to Rome where Paul was executed. We may think an apostle would know whether his ambition would come true or not, but Paul did not. Was God’s purpose thwarted? Was Paul’s life cut short (other that in a human sense)? No! Emphatically no! Remember “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27), and “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord: and he delighteth in his way” (Psalm 37:23). God had a purpose in Paul dying in Rome, and not on the isle of Melita when the viper bit him (Acts 28:1-6), or in Jerusalem (Acts 23:27), or Lystra when he was stoned (Acts 14:19). We can see some of His purpose in the thriving early church there in Rome. There were in subsequent years, many others executed there for Christ’s sake. There were many Christians in that empire then, and many more martyrs after the Roman church became the heretical Roman Catholic church with all its corruption.

Yet in the early days the gospel spread from there, as it had from Jerusalem earlier. God had a purpose in Paul not getting to Spain, but Rome instead. Paul had wanted to see Rome also, but I see nothing to indicate he expected to die there; at least not at first. Later, as he was under imprisonment, he knew he would not get to Spain, for he told Timothy “For I am now ready to be offered and the time of my departure is at hand . I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith” (II Timothy 4:6-7). I may never get to Spain either, but if I can have a testimony similar to Paul at the end, I won’t care. Follow Paul as he followed Christ. (I Corinthians 11:1).

STRANGE THINGS WITH VIDEO

By the way, another thing regarding Elvis; as almost everyone knows, they had a big hoopla in Memphis on August 16^th, the anniversary of his death 30 years ago. His daughter, Lisa Marie, now 39 years old, sang a duet with him of In The Ghetto. It was all done by photographic and holographic magic, I guess. I have not seen that performance. A few months earlier on American Idol, Canadian singer Celine Dion sang a duet with him of If I Can Dream . I saw that one. It looked as though he was really there, living and breathing, and singing, but, of course he wasn‘t. As my grandson told me “Elvis has left the planet.” The frightening thing about all this is that through digital animation, and special effects photography, they can make many things appear to be so that are not. Did you see the flying saucer hoax that came from Australia? That one was so well done that it even had the experts saying it was real! It did look absolutely real. Can’t you see the way this could go if you had an enemy with access to this technology that wanted to frame you? We are in an era of strange things. Even everything moral and sacred is under attack. “Men’s hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth” (Luke 21:26). I am glad we serve a God that cannot be defeated; a Christ that will gather His elect from the corners of the earth.. Whatever lies ahead, He is with us, and He is coming back.. Even so, come Lord Jesus!

( Editor's note:These articles were written in August 2007 and were originally published in our Morsels and Tidbits publication; so please keep that in mind regarding the dates mentioned. cw)

RUIN REDEMPTION REGENERATION

By W.F. Bell

These are the three R's of the Christian Faith: Ruin, Redemption, and Regeneration . A proper understanding of these terms is essential to a proper understanding of the true Gospel. Man's "ruin" is the malady; "redemption" and "regeneration" are the remedy for man's sinful condition.

Ruin by Sin

Before one can ever come to appreciate and magnify God's grace in salvation, there must first be some realization of the awful fact of man's complete and entire ruin by his own sin. It is absolutely necessary, under the illumination of the Holy Ghost, to see oneself as horribly, hopelessly, and helplessly lost!

The first major concern of the Gospel is to reveal man's need of salvation. This need arises from the fact that sinners are under God's judgment and condemnation, due to the fall of man in the person of Adam. "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned" (Romans 5:12). There is a world of deep theology in this one verse! How often preachers are guilty of not declaring with clarity the truth of man's total and complete fall. Men are sinners because of Adam's sin! Men are sinners because there is a sin nature in every son of Adam! The entire human race has been ruined by man's fall in Genesis 3.

Men are now by nature dead, lost and blind. Our condition by nature is indeed incurable, at least from the standpoint of Man! "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). There is no hope for any sinner within himself; there is no hope for any sinner in another human; there is no hope for any sinner apart from the God of glory in the person of the God-Man, Christ Jesus. We are in ruin by our own sin, by the association we have with other sinners, by the work of Satan, and by the power of deceit of self.

Redemption By The Savior

With this deplorable background, we now come to the good news of the glorious Gospel. The good news out of heaven is that the infinite and eternal God (Yahweh or Jehovah) has come to man's rescue! "In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him" (1 John 4:9). What mystery! What condescension! God Almighty, the mighty Sovereign, has willingly and graciously come down to the level of His inferiors, in that He sent His very Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, into the world! All glory to this great God!

Here, dear reader, is our only hope: it is in the good news that Christ has come to redeem sinners by the giving of Himself on the cross. "Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10). Redemption means to buy back, to purchase by payment. So, the God of heaven has come to rescue a great multitude of Adam's fallen race, by the bloodshedding of His dear Son at Calvary. Redemption is only possible by the blood of Christ. "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7). Christ's blood has actually procured redemption for all the elect of God, which assures the victory of the Saviour over all the efforts of Satan and sinners (Isaiah 53:11,12; Revelation 5:9).

Christ came to the manger; He lived a sinless life; He performed mighty miracles; He died a vicarious (substitutionary) death; He arose and ascended back to His Father; He is now exalted and intercedes for His own; some blessed day this Redeemer will come again to redeem the bodies of all His chosen, and bring retribution on the ungodly. "So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation" (Hebrews 9:28).

Regeneration By The Spirit

Men who are ruined by sin can only be regenerated by the Spirit of God. "The letter killeth, but the Spirit giveth life" (2 Corinthians 3:6). Regeneration means the making new of sinners by a sovereign act of God the Holy Ghost (John 3:8; Titus 3:5). As man could not redeem himself, so neither can man regenerate himself. This is all in the good pleasure of our glorious God: He alone must quicken the dead, and give life to whom He will (John 5:21; 6:63).

The Gospel comes to us as lost, guilty sinners, in need of salvation. The Holy Ghost accompanies the Gospel for many, and opens their eyes to see the Lord Jesus as the only suitable and sufficient Saviour. When we see Christ we gladly repent of our sins, and trust the matchless Lord. When God Almighty acts upon man, then man can and will act! When the Holy Spirit regenerates us, then we are given repentance and faith (Acts 5:31; 11:18; 14:27). Thus, from start to finish, salvation is all of God's free and superabounding grace! All glory to God and the Lamb forever. "Worthy is the Lamb" (Revelation 5:12). This is the song of the redeemed both now and in glory!

He Lives

I know that my Redeemer lives;

What joy the blest assurance gives!

He lives, He lives, who once was dead;

He lives, my everlasting Head!

He lives, to bless me with His love;

He lives, to plead for me above;

He lives, my hungry soul to feed;

He lives, to help in time of need.

He lives, to grant me daily breath;

He lives, and I shall conquer death;

He lives, my mansion to prepare;

He lives, to bring me safely there.

He lives, all glory to His Name;

He lives, my Saviour, still the same;

What joy the blest assurance gives,