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A Fatal Stab to Human Merit

"When ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was our duty to do ." -Luke 17:10 [KJV] This is a fatal stab to human merit: this is a deadly blow to sinless perfection. O! flee from the idea of any merit in thee or thy works, as from the face of the devil: it is of the pride of Satan. Avoid the thought of being perfect in thyself, as thou wouldest the most damnable lie: it ariseth from self-deceit, and is established through ignorance of God’s holy law. Our dear Lord here instructs us to be active, yet humble, to be obedient, yet self-abased; to do all things, yet own our unprofitableness after all. Beware you do not learn to decry that word, duty. It is very common for many so to do, as implying nothing but what is legal. Thy Lord here uses it. Be not wiser than thy Master. True, thou art freed from all slavish duty and legal bondage, in order to be justified and saved thereby. But...
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Faithful Covenant Promises to God's People in Christ JESUS

" And Moses said unto God, Behold, when I come unto the children of Israel, and shall say unto them, The God of your fathers hath sent me unto you; and they shall say to me, What is His name? What shall I say unto them? And God said unto Moses,  I AM, THAT I AM . And He said,  Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you."   - Exodus 3:13, 14 [KJV] My soul, hast thou fully considered, so as to rest in the full assurance of faith upon it, on what the whole foundation of covenant promises and engagements rest? It is not the greatness of the promise, no, nor the greatness of the deliverance wrought out for poor sinners, by the blood and righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ, on which faith founds its claim; for, in fact, the more astonishing, and great, and unexpected the mercy is, as in the case of redemption by the Lord Jesus Christ, the more difficult would it be for a poor self- condemned sinner to trust in it, with full a...
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The Blood of Christ for Poor Lost Sinners

"The LORD loveth the gates of Zion."   -Psalm 87:2 [KJV] What are gates for? Two purposes, entrance and exit. And Zion, too, has her gates of exit and entrance; she has her gates of access to God, entrance into the presence of the Most High; "the door of hope,"  opened in "the valley of Achor."  And who has opened the door; or, rather, who has not only opened it and made it, but Himself is the Door? "I am the Door , "   says Jesus. And was not "the door"  opened through His rent flesh? As the apostle speaks: "Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh" (Hebrews 10:19-20.) Through His bleeding wounds, through His pierced side, through His mangled feet and hands, there is now access to God: "A door of hope is open'd wide In Jesus' pierced hands and side."  Is...
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Matchless Saviour ~ The LORD our Righteousness!

Precious Savior, Friend of sinners, We, as such, to Thee draw near; Let Thy Spirit dwell within us With that love that casts out fear; Matchless Saviour, let us know Thee, As the LORD our Righteousness; Cause our hearts to cleave unto Thee, Come, and with Thy presence bless.   Open now Thy precious treasure, Let Thy word here freely flow; Give to us a gracious measure, ‘Tis Thyself we long to know; Come and claim us as Thy portion, Let us all find rest in Thee; Leave us not to empty notions, We would find our hope in Thee! -Hymn,  "What a Friend We Have in Jesus" ------------------------   The preaching of the Gospel, the prayers, service, and obedience of the saints, are all God-given, Holy-Spirit wrought means for the accomplishment of God’s sovereign, predestinated purpose. We walk in the light we have been given, and we trust Christ and His righteousness alone for our whole salvation. We follow His commandments as He speaks to us by His Word and as He drives and motiv...
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True Repentance

True repentance is not merely pressed, squeezed, or extorted by the workings and violent struggles of guilt and wrath, fear and torment; but it flows out under the sin-pardoning operations of the Spirit of love, accompanied with the blood of atonement, attended with a believing view of Christ, and of interest in Him, and of God’s appearing well-pleased and reconciled in Jesus, shining upon us in His blessed face, accepting us in the Beloved, and blessing us with all spiritual blessings, in heavenly places, in Him .    –preacher William Huntington (1745-1813 A.D.)
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How Can We Know?

“Quicken me after Thy lovingkindness; so shall I keep the testimony of Thy mouth.” -Psalm 119:88 [KJV]   As justified sinners, washed in the blood of Jesus Christ, and clothed in His righteousness imputed, and in consideration of all our remaining sins and weaknesses, how can we know that we will not eventually totally forsake Christ and abandon Him and His truth? We can know for certain, first, because HE WILL NOT LET US GO (John 10:27-30) .    He keeps us by His grace and power. The idea that God would not infringe His sovereign will and power upon us so as to impede upon our “free” wills or our inherent goodness is not only absurd but totally unscriptural. Left to ourselves we would never be saved and would never continue with Him.    Secondly, we can know for certain that we will never totally forsake Christ because we are thoroughly and eternally washed clean from all our sins in His blood, and we stand justified before God in His righteousness imputed. T...
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Be of Good Cheer ~ Entering Into God's Rest

To comfort the people of God we must preach the Gospel. As sinners saved by the grace of God, we experience in ourselves many miracles and powers of God’s grace. We go through a wide range of emotions. However, no experience or emotion will bring the lasting comfort that the good news of the work being finished by the Lord Jesus Christ will bring.  As true believers, we will make efforts to obey His Word as we are motivated by His grace and our gratitude and love to Him. However, no efforts to obey can bring us the peace and joy that comes to and in us from believing – resting in Him and His  righteousness for salvation. To realize that if left to myself I would be guilty and condemned by my best deeds requires the Holy Spirit to make the Gospel real by His Word.  To trust Christ as my Surety, Substitute, Redeemer, and Righteousness is the full assurance of knowing that I am saved by the grace of God. To know that the enmity between God and myself has been nailed to the c...
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