THE EXPERIENCE OF CHRIST's GRACE AND LOVE

"The kingdom of God is not in word, but in power." -I Corinthians 4:20 [KJV]

It is the wisdom of a Christian to improve from the various objects he meets with. See we an open, profane sinner? beware of looking down upon him with Pharisaic pride, and supercilious contempt: behold in him your wicked nature! Remember, grace alone made the difference: be humble: adore the God of grace. See we only the form of godliness in any? St. Paul tells us how to act: “From such turn away” (II Timothy 3:5.) You will get no good from them. There is little hope of doing good to them: leave them. 

Why so? Because they are strangers to the vital power of godliness, and destitute of the inward experience of the grace of Christ upon their souls. True, they may make a great shew; have vast zeal for the interest of a party; be very warm and violent for the form of sound words, a consistent plan of doctrine, and a set of Scripture notions. But, yet, after all, it is but the notion and form of things, which float in their heads, and swim on the surface of their understandings. Their hearts are dead to the love of Christ, but alive to the love of the world. They join the men of the world in their contemptuous sneer upon the power of self-denying godliness; and in irreligious banter upon those, who separate themselves from the ungodly and profane, and live and walk under the influence of spiritual feelings and experience. 

All this they account precise folly, and condemn as rank enthusiasm. Have you the power of godliness? Is Christ the power of God in your heart? Is your soul alive to Him? Is your body the temple of the Holy Ghost? Does God dwell in you, and delight over you? Is it your daily delight to study the word, rely upon the promises, taste the grace, feel the power, feed upon the comfort, and live upon the fulness of the love of Christ? What have you to do with the men who are content with mere form, shadow, and notion; and are strangers to the power of all this? 

Catch the infection of their secure spirit, you may: by such, the keen edge of your spiritual affections may be blunted: you may be drawn to lie supinely down by them, and get into spiritual slumber with them. But of all men, there is the least hope of these rising from their security, running the heavenly race with you, and of being spiritually profitable to you. 

Think of this, and turn from them. Know your danger: though not of losing your soul, yet of losing the life, comfort, and power of godliness. O! what is a Christian without this? How comfortless the moments! how dejecting the hours! how distressing the days! how doleful the nights—without experiencing the power of Christ! Yea, what is life itself, without the experience of His grace and love?

 

-preacher William Mason (1724-1797 A.D.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

CHRIST OUR ONLY AND PERFECT RIGHTEOUSNESS

" The flesh lusteth against the Spirit." —Galatians 5:17 [KJV] Christian experience fully proves this apostolic truth. Hence the children of God cannot do the things that they would: nor have we any authority from God's word to conclude this lusting ever ceased in any of the saints till they got to glory; none are delivered from it while in the flesh. For, as the renewed soul or spirit loves to enjoy spiritual and heavenly objects, so the flesh, or unrenewed part, lusts after those objects it is naturally conversant with, and from which it derives its happiness.  Here is thy conflict, O Christian. Hence the necessity of thy Lord's command, "Watch always." This is the use of the doctrine. What woeful effects have fulfilling the lusts or desires of the flesh produced in eminent saints! Thou standest by faith, be not high-minded, but fear. The conceptions of lust are the productions of sin.— see James 1:15 . The commission of sin contracts fresh s
Read more

Incoming GOOD NEWS!

  Weekend Gospel message to follow for All Hands   (17-19SEP21) Heads-Up   ---   Please find enclosed encouragement in   SO GREAT SALVATION   by the perfect and finished work of   our Lord Jesus Christ in saving poor, needy and wretched sinners by His sovereign free grace - God's unmerited favor to save us  from our sins and from Hell: HOW GOD SAVES SINNERS In Genesis chapter six and seven we have the story of the flood and how God  saved Noah and his family from the horrendous destruction by putting them  into an Ark. We see the righteous judgment of God against sin and the mercy  of God revealed through Christ. The Ark of God is a worthy picture and  pattern of how the Lord is pleased to save sinners and justify them in Jesus  Christ. Here are five things to remember about how God saves sinners. 1). The grace of God , "Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD" (Genesis 6:8) .  Noah did not earn, merit or deserve grace, he found God to be gracious. It  was the sovereign
Read more

3 LIES ABOUT GOD & 3 TRUTHS ABOUT GOD

 I want to share three lies about God I’ve recently seen tossed about on social media as truth by professed believers: (1) God can move in your life.......if you permit Him. (2) Christ can be Lord.......if you confess Him. (3) God can do anything ........except overcome a man’s will. Friends, if God doesn’t even have sovereignty over the human heart (without being granted permission, of course) who is serving who? Who really has all power in this universe? Many of you reading this post pray to God for the salvation of your loved ones. Yet you believe it is your loved one who has to grant God permission to save! God is left only to making their life miserable in the hopes they come to Him. Such foolishness! Such powerlessness! Truth #1 : God moves in the lives of His children without human permission . Truth #2 : Men do not make Christ Lord. He IS Lord. Your current opinion of Him no more changes His Lordship over you than if you declared a boiling lava pit to be a s
Read more