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

"For a godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation…for behold this selfsame thing, that ye sorrowed after a godly sort, what carefulness it wrought in you, yea, what clearing of yourselves, yea, what indignation, yea, what fear, yea, what vehement desire, yea, what zeal, yea, what revenge" -II C ORINTHIANS 7:10-11 [KJV] Now Paul gives us seven evidences of true, sincere and genuine-godly repentance; that is the gift of God [ACTS 11:18 ] . 1). What carefulness ( eagerness, diligence and haste ) it wrought in you; to correct our behavior before God and to avoid future offences, diligence and carefulness; as opposed to our past negligence in the gospel and in spiritual matters [I THESSALONIANS 1:4-9 ] . 2). What clearing of yourself; not by denying our sin ( what we are before God ) and our guilt (b ecause of our transgressions against God ), but rather by confessing and owning them and seeking forgiveness for them only through Christ [I JOHN 1:7-9; H ...

"And he shewed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the L ORD , and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him." -Z ECHARIAH 3:1 [KJV]   It is the object of Satan to keep those secure who are safe in his hands; nor does God see fit to disturb their quiet. But on the other hand, where Satan perceives a work of grace going on, where he sees the eyes sometimes filled with tears, where he hears the sobs heaving from the contrite heart, where he observes the knees often bent in secret prayer, where his listening ear often hears the poor penitent confess his sins, weaknesses, and backslidings before God, (for by these observations we have reason to believe Satan gains his intelligence,) wherever he sees this secret work going on in the soul, mad with wrath and filled with malice, he vents his hellish spleen against the objects of God's love. Sometimes he tries to ensnare them into sin, sometimes to harass them with temptation, sometimes to...

"I lead in the way of righteousness, in the  midst of the paths of judgment: that I  may cause those that love M e to inherit  substance." -P ROVERBS 8:20, 21 [KJV] Whence springs it, that God causes His people "to inherit substance, " by "leading them in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment?" When He leads them first into the way of righteousness by opening up His holy law, it drives away all shadows. We had been heaping together, with great toil, chaff and hay and straw and stubble; we had been like the man spoken of in Scripture, who "dreamed, and behold! he ate, but he awoke and his soul was empty;" so we were dreaming our life away continually with shadows, with a name to live, with a formal religion, with a mere external show of godliness, content with a few ordinances and sermons, and thinking that these would shelter us in the day of wrath. These were only shadows; of no more avail to deli...

Opinions are like noses…everyone has one. That’s why, when it comes to doctrine, we so often hear “I think this,” or “I think that,” and "Mr So-and-So thinks the other." There are many varied and colourful opinions out there but to establish the veracity of a matter we need to ask what God thinks? What are His thoughts? In Matthew 22:29 the Lord rebuked the Sadducees saying, "You do err, not knowing the Scriptures." That’s a sombre reprimand for many of us. God has spoken and His word endures for ever (1 Peter 1:25). What then does His Word say, for example, about repentance? Is it the same as reformation? Let’s then, for just a moment, look at this important truth. In Acts 17:30-31 we discover that, “God now commands all men everywhere to repent: Because H e has appointed a day, in which H e will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom H e has ordained; whereof  H e has given assurance unto all men, in that H e has raised H im from t...

God warns us, "Take heed to yourselves, that your heart be not deceived, and ye turn aside, and serve other gods, and worship them" [DEUTERONOMY 11:16 ] . Many are deceived in their worship of "other gods" rather than the Living God. Their deception includes their being fully convinced and totally satisfied that their god is the Living God. These individuals are Satan-deceived and self-deceived. This deception concerns WHO CHRIST IS and WHAT HE’S DONE. "For many shall come in My name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many." Many deceivers means much deception. Jesus warned, "Take heed that no man deceive you." This deception is promoted by those who claim to speak for God, "And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many" [MATTHEW 24:11 ] . Their deception is subtle and deceives all but God's sheep. "For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and w...

"So did not I, because of the fear of God" -N EHEMIAH 5:15 [KJV] We can never praise God sufficiently for His restraining grace; for what should we be without it? What an unspeakable mercy, then, it is, that you cannot be what you would be, nor act as you would act, nor speak what you would speak, nor do the things you would do, because there is in you who fear God a spiritual principle which holds you up, and keeps you back from the ways of sin and death in which the flesh would walk. How this spirit of grace and godly fear kept Joseph in the hour of temptation! How it preserved David when he had Saul in his power as he lay asleep in the cave! How it kept Nehemiah in the fear of God from extortion and oppression [ see NEHEMIAH 5:1-15] ! And how, in thousands of instances, it has preserved the feet of the saints, and kept them from doing things that would have ruined their reputation, blighted their character, brought reproach upon the cause of God, and th...

“ As a believer contemplates the mercy, compassion, and keeping power of God toward all that He has everlastingly loved in Christ…God the Father who chose them in Christ their Surety...God the Son who redeemed them at Calvary being made sin for them...and God the Holy Spirit who shall surely regenerate and keep them from falling, that believer willingly bows in adoration to Him who is omnipotent.” -Gospel report by preacher Marvin Stalnaker