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

“Whosoever shall call upon the Name of the Lord shall be saved.” What is it to call on the Name of the Lord?  It is to call on the Lord Jesus Christ for all of our salvation, start to finish!  “Call His Name Jesus: for HE shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21) .   To call upon Him for salvation is to call upon HIM and NOT my religion.  It is to call upon HIM, and NOT my devotion as a Christian.  It is to call upon HIM, and NOT my good, moral obedience to the law.   It is to call on HIS will and purpose in ALL things, and NOT my will or decision in anything!  It is to say: “I can’t save myself, YOU must save me!  This is not in my hands, this is in YOUR hands alone!  I plead YOUR finished work!  I beg for YOUR abundant grace and mercy, through the shedding of YOUR own blood!”   It is to believe in the heart: “Lord, I can’t even call on You unless You call on me first.”  That is calling upon the Name ...

" Oh let the wickedness of the wicked come to an end; but establish the just: for the righteous God trieth the hearts and reins.  My defence is of God, which saveth the upright in heart.  God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day." -Psalm 7:9-11 [KJV]   “That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6) .  What, then, is the new birth? It is not the removal of anything from the sinner nor the changing of anything physical or fleshly in the sinner; instead, it is the communication of SOMETHING NEW to the sinner. The new birth is the impartation of a NEW NATURE. When we were born the first time, we received from our parents their nature; so too, when we are born again, we receive from God His nature. The Spirit of God begets within us a spiritual nature (Galatians 5:17; II Peter 1:4) . That which is born of man is human; that which is born of God is divine and spiritual (I John 3:9) . N...

" Above all, taking the shield of faith." -Ephesians 6:16 [KJV] When Christ has the heart, it will say, if I can see nothing of Christ in the text, that text is nothing to me. Here is a shield of defence. What is it? A mere assent of the mind? A cold consent of the tongue, to some certain propositions? Is this the shield of faith, which will cover my head, and defend my heart in the day of battle? Is it believing a system of doctrines, without having the heart warmed with love, or the life influenced by the power of them, that the apostle exhorts me above all to take?  O no, nothing less is this shield of faith than Christ, precious Christ. Never, never have any idea of faith, without including its author and object. Otherwise it is a mere non-entity: a notion which has no real existence but in fancy. When we hear people insist, that faith is our righteousness—that faith is imputed to us for righteousness, we are led to think they take up, and are in love with ...

“Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” -II Corinthians 3:17 [KJV] Paul encourages all believers to stand fast in the liberty and freedom we enjoy in the Lord Jesus Christ. "Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage" (Galatians 5:1). Consider these brief thoughts on the believer's freedom in Christ: 1). Where Christ in the gospel is, the Spirit of illumination in our heart, there is freedom from darkness. "I am the light of the world: he that followeth Me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life" (John 8:12) . "Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son" (Colossians 1:13). 2). Where Christ in the gospel is, the Spirit of regeneration in our heart, there is freedom from the bondage of sin. "And ye shall know the truth, and the t...