Provoking Unto Love & Good Works

"Walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil." —Ephesians 5:15, 16 [KJV]

Light and life are communicated from Jesus to His members, not merely to fill their heads with gospel truths, as matters of speculation, or to make them fluent talkers about religion, but chiefly to affect their hearts, renew their minds, and cause them to be close, consistent WALKERS with Jesus. Without this, we only seem to be religious, and deceive our hearts, while our religion is vain: for we cannot stand approved in the sight of God, before men, nor to our own consciences. "The wise man's eyes are in his head;" he looks around him and sees the evil of sin, the vanity of this present world—that its gay pleasures, alluring pastimes, bewitching diversions, are the gilded bait of the god of this world, whereby he ensnares unwary fools to kill their precious time, and to blind and destroy their immortal souls! 

The wise man looks above him— directs his eye of faith to his Saviour, as his example—to have His Spirit for his guide—to be kept by His power—to have his steps directed by His grace, that His word may be the rule of his life, and that his walk and conversation may please his Lord, and adorn His gospel. Without this constant circumspection, we betray the greatest folly, and make sad work for future grief and repentance. Lord keep us from this! Time is the gift of God. It is too precious a jewel to be worse than idly lavished away upon vanity. 

It is the wisdom of the wise to improve time to the noblest and best of purposes, in acquiring more knowledge of spiritual and eternal things. It is the foolishness of folly for God's wise virgins, at any time, so to debase themselves, as to sacrifice their precious upon heathenish altars, devoted to vain delights and sinful pleasures. We dare not, we cannot comply with these things, consistent with faith in Jesus, love to God, and a good conscience in the Holy Ghost.

The days are evil; iniquity abounds; the love of many waxeth cold; heresies prevail; the way of holiness is awfully neglected; but the Lord's arm is not shortened, that He cannot save: He can keep us close to Himself, in the most perilous times. Constant watchfulness, and earnest prayer, are our daily duty—"Let us consider one another, to provoke unto love and to good works; not forsaking the assembling ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhort one another; and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." —Hebrews 10:24, 25

 

From precious faith a precious strife 

Of precious virtues flow, 

A precious heart, a precious life, 

And precious duties too.

Wherever faith does justify, 

It purifies the heart; 

The pardon and the purity 

Join hands, and never part.

 

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