Great Encouragement in Christ JESUS ~ 17 February, 2026 A.D.

"Now abideth faith, hope, charity." -I Corinthians 13:13 [KJV]


Where do these graces abide? in regenerate hearts. What is faith? a precious grace, the gift of God to miserable sinners. Lord, give us the comfort of it to-night. Say some, ‘Faith is an assurance that my sins are pardoned; that Christ loved me, and gave Himself for me.’ Indeed it is not. They further add, ‘No one has faith without this assurance: if they have it not, they are in a state of wrath.’ This is false: this notion has inflated many with a vain hope, while it has distressed sincere souls without reason.


Many who contend for this assurance of faith, believe a lie with it; for they say, ‘Those whom Christ has so loved as to die for, and whose sins are now forgiven, may at last perish.’ Such an assurance is not worth a straw. This is not the faith of God’s elect; for it gives the lie to Jesus, who is the Author and Finisher of our faith: it contradicts His double oath, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, he who believeth on Me hath everlasting life” (John 6:47.) Leave the vain notions of such; look into the divine word for the true nature of faith. It is neither more nor less, than a belief of God’s word: giving credit to God for what He speaks therein; “Believing on His Son Jesus Christ, according to His commandment” (see I John 3:23.)

Dost thou believe thus in thine heart? then, faith abides there. Consider, there is faith, and “the furtherance and joy of faith” (Philippians 1:25.) If you have faith, though but as a grain of mustard-seed, you will see Christ as precious to you, a miserable sinner; you will receive Him as the most inestimable gift of God, to save you, a lost sinner; you will go to Him, as the one object of your hope, and the chief desire of your soul; you will rely on His death, as the only requirement for your sins, and trust in His righteousness alone to justify you; you will lay hold on Him as the only refuge for your guilty soul; you will live upon Him, that you may find joy and peace in Him, and grow up into Him in all things; you will glory of, and in Him alone, saying, “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus” (Galatians 6:14.)

Hence, you will grow out of conceit with yourself; dead to sin, dead to your own righteousness, and dead to the world. This, this is the faith of the operation of God, which lives and abides in new-born souls. “In thus believing, we may be fully assured, God will fill us with all joy and peace.” -Romans 15:13 

Father, I bless Thee for the gift

Of Christ, Thy precious Son:
Spirit, in praise my soul I lift,
For faith, my Lord to own.

Let precious faith in Christ abide,

With all its healing pow’r:
To cleave to Christ, whate’er betide
Me in the darkest hour.


-preacher Wm. Mason (1724-1797 A.D.)

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Putrid Cup of Tolerance: When Evil Poses as Progress

"Ye that love the LORD, hate evil: He preserveth the souls of His saints; He delivereth them out of the hand of the wicked." -Psalm 97:10 [KJV] "Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil." Thomas Mann's chilling words pierce through the fog of modern moral relativism like a shard of ice. It's a warning that echoes through the blood-soaked pages of history, a truth we ignore at our peril. The Seduction of False Neutrality We live in an age where tolerance is held up as the supreme virtue, the golden idol before which we must all bow. We're told to accept everything, question nothing, and embrace a faux-unity that sacrifices truth on the altar of political correctness. But what happens when this tolerance becomes a blindfold, obscuring the stark reality of evil lurking in our midst? Like a ravenous wolf, evil doesn't care for our carefully crafted social constructs. It doesn't respect boundaries, it doesn't play fair, and it ce...
Read more

LORD JESUS, Be Merciful...

" LORD, be merciful to me: heal my soul, for I have sinned against Thee." -Psalm 41:4 [KJV] Is this the language of the man after God’s own heart? Was David a saint when he uttered it? Yes, he was a holy man of God. This confession and prayer shew it. His heart was not hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, nor blinded by self-righteous pride, so as to say, “I have no sin.”   Self-righteous hearts cannot away with this, that all the Lord’s saints are yet in themselves miserable sinners; that they daily see need to confess this; and to sue for mercy and healing from the Lord. Here is a confession, a plea, and a prayer.  (1st.) A confession, “I have sinned against Thee.” Thus we must come and confess to the Lord to-day, to-morrow, and every day, till the sun of life sets. Sense of sin, whether fresh contracted, or long since committed, abides with us. It wounds and pains a gracious soul. Here grace discovers itself. That soul waits not for time to efface the m...
Read more

Great Encouragement in Christ JESUS ~ 19 October, 2025 A.D.

"Behold, he prayeth!"   -Acts 9:11 [KJV] In many trades, it is customary to shew samples or patterns. By these men judge of the goodness or quality of the whole. St. Paul sets himself forth as a sample, or pattern, of the free, distinguishing, sovereign, unmerited grace of God, that we should judge of its nature by its efficacy upon him. “I obtained mercy, for this cause, that in me first   (-a first rate sinner) Jesus Christ may shew forth His all long suffering, for a pattern to them who should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting”   (I Timothy 1:16.) Thou hast seen this pattern of free grace. What dost thou think of it?  The whole is alike with the pattern. It cometh alike upon elect sinners. It finds no more prerequisites, fitness, qualifications, or conditions in any, than it did in St. Paul. Whenever it takes place upon any, it produceth the same effects as it did in him. Grace and mercy from Jesus, makes Saul pray to Jesus. There is the ...
Read more