"Salvation is of the LORD." -Jonah 2:9

"Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall: for so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." -II PETER 1:10-11 [KJV] I believe many of God's people, if not most, have much ado to "make their calling and election sure." They are not a people to take things for granted; they cannot sit at ease and say, "I have no doubt that I am a child of God;" they want something powerful, something applied, something spoken by the mouth of God H imself; and short of that, they must be exercised with doubts and fears as to their state before H im. Now let conscience speak; let us turn over the leaves of conscience. What says that faithful W itness? Has God spoken with power to your soul? Has H e pardoned your sins? Has H e given you a sweet testimony of your interest in the Son of

A statement is received in the mail informing you that such-and-such an amount is due by some specific date. Should you choose to do so, you could destroy the bill in a paper shredder so that you no longer see it. You may decide, in fact, not to even think about the obligation again, ignoring and discarding every reminder of your indebtedness. Your refusal to acknowledge and take care of your financial responsibility, however, does not make the indebtedness go away. It is, however, an entirely different thing to pay the debt and enjoy the peace of mind in knowing that it has been expunged from your record. You and I may choose to ignore our spiritual indebtedness to God for our sinfulness, but that does not make the debt go away and, consequently, there can be no real peace of heart in knowing it has been removed. How different it is to believe the Word of God that declares to every sinner who trusts the blessed Savior that their entire obligation to divine justice w

“ Do you know anything what it is to groan for mercy, to sigh under a sense of your sinfulness, your inability to help your own soul, and feel a spiritual thirsting for God? If you do, you know what it is to do the will of God. If you do not know this, the Lord has not taught you to see and feel your own ruin; and whatever external 'piety' you imagine you have, it is but self-deception, if you in any measure trust it.” -Gospel report by preacher Wm. Gadsby, 1842 A.D.