Hungry Heart Daily Devotional Anthology -mjs

[Netchaplain]

"The place of man under grace is that he has been accepted in Christ (Eph 1:6), who is his standing and therefore is not on probation. As to his past life, it does not exist before the Father; he died in Christ on the Cross and now Christ is his life.

Grace once bestowed is not withdrawn (irrevocable; Rom 11:29 - NKJV); for the Father knew all the human exigencies beforehand and His action was independent of them, not dependent upon them. The failure of devotion does not cause the withdrawal of bestowed grace (as it would under law).

For example: the man in 1 Corinthians 5:1-5 and also those in 11:30-32, who did not “judge” themselves and so were “judged by the Lord – that they might not be condemned with the world.'"
- William Newell

The New Covenant of the Christian (Mat 26:28; Mar 14:24; Luk 22:20; 1Cr 11:25) which is now, is different from the New Covenant of Israel, which will begin during the Millennial Kingdom (Jer. 31:31,32; Ezek. 36:26,27; 37:14). –NC (Bob)

DEVASTATING DEVIATION

"Study to show thyself approved unto God" (2 Timothy 2:15a).

There is as much error produced in failing to divide the Word at all, as there is in wrongly dividing it.

"Covenant Theology (Law), at the utmost, is forgiveness of sins and divine favor enjoyed; and all that concerns their position in the Lord Jesus is ignored, or alas! guarded against as dangerous. Men are placed under the New Covenant (millennial Israel) which does not go beyond remission of sins and the law written in the heart. But being in Christ, and knowing it by the Holy Spirit, and what it involves now has dropped out of their creed altogether."

"We are come 'to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant' (Hebrews 12:24). We (Jewish / Gentile Christians) are not come to the new covenant (of Israel), but to Jesus the Mediator of it. I am associated with Him who is the Mediator; that is a much higher position than if we merely come to the covenant. He will make this new covenant with Israel on the millennial earth." -H.S.

"Non-dispensational teachers have endeavored to bring over the many promises of the physical and material aspects of kingdom salvation into the present dispensation, giving hope of material prosperity and physical health, as well as political peace. Failure to realize these promised goals has caused many to lose faith and to become bitter toward God Himself. The failure, of course, is not of God, but of teachers who have refused to rightly divide the Word of Truth."

"Calvin attempted by discipline of Church and State to make everyone live like a Christian–as did the Puritans. As a result, this effort resulted in the need to use the Old Testament rather than the New as an ethical guide."

"A workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of truth" (2 Timothy 2:15b).

WithChrist.org

THE HEART OF THE MATTER

"You. . . hath He reconciled" (Colossians 1:21).

Our Father's Cross-love was personal; we were there in the Son. Our Father's heart-love is personal; we are hidden there in the Son.

"Have you ever thought of the Father dealing with you not as to what you are in yourself, but as to where He has positioned you in His Son? Have you ever thought that it is the affections of the Father's heart which flow down to us where we are, seeing us in the Son, not in our poor wretched selves? What we are in the old man is not the thing to scan, but what we are, and where we are, in the Son; and what there is in the living affections of the Father, who has raised us up together with His Son, and has given us all heavenly blessings in Him." -G.V.W.

"Nothing can make up for a lack of personal acquaintance with the Lord Jesus. Intimacy with Himself is certainly the secret of true devotedness. Occupation with Him, the heart readily detects, and rejects the voice of the stranger, and cannot but own the Lord's claims to be paramount. Nothing so thoroughly tests the state of our hearts, as whether or not we have intimacy with the Lord Jesus Himself." -H.H.S.

"A great deal of our time is spent in learning that there is nothing here to meet the requirements of our new affections. There is a wandering in the wilderness in a solitary way, and yet no city is found to dwell in. But our Father allows this in order that His children may find that their desires can only be satisfied by and in Him. We must learn that we are not of this world." -J.B.S

"To present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in His sight" (Colossians 1:22).

WithChrist.org
_____________________________________________________________________________

The Christian life is never that of independence but of dependence. There is nothing within ourselves to trust, but rather to “yield” it all to Him (Rom 6:13) and He will deal with it in us (Rom 8:13; Gal 5:17). Faith is not in that which it produces but in Him who produces faith in us.

Otherwise, we would be self-deprived of “casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you” (1 Pet 5:7), which places strength in Him and not ourselves. It has been well said, “To be disappointed is to have trusted in the arm of flesh and not the arm of God, for God does not disappoint.”

If we believe that “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom 8:28), we should not be disappointed even with ourselves, which concludes of regret; this detracts in our conscience from enjoying God’s complete forgiveness and acceptance in Christ (Eph 1:6).

Regret is a worldly sorrow and can interfere in knowing complete forgiveness. “For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Cor 7:10, NKJV).
- NC

SPIRIT-DEPENDENT

"God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth" (2 Thessalonians 2:13).

To be Christ-centered, we must be Spirit-dependent.

"It is basically the belief of the truth; it is not belief of the fruits. The Holy Spirit cannot present to me the fruit He has produced in me, as the object of my faith. He speaks to me of my faults, of my sins, but not of the good works that may be in me. He produces them in me, but He hides them from me; for if we think of them, it is but a more subtle self-righteousness. It is like the manna which, being kept, produced worms. All is spoilt–it is no more faith in action. The Holy Spirit must always present to me the Lord Jesus Christ, that I may grow and have peace." -J.N.D.

"An understanding of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is basic to Christian growth. Spirituality is Christ-likeness, and Christ-likeness is the fruit of the Spirit. Spiritual power is not the miraculous or the spectacular, but rather the consistent manifestation of the characteristics of the Lord Jesus in the believer's life. All this is the work of the Spirit, of whom the Lord Jesus said, 'He shall glorify Me' (John 16:14).

"What are the ingredients of spirituality? First, a spirit of dependence, whatever may be the state of faith and the blessings we may have realized. Secondly, an entire confidence in the goodness of the Father; for He is love. Thirdly, the Lord Jesus as the constant object of the affections of the heart, for the work of the Holy Spirit in the heart is to fill it with contemplation of and fellowship with the Lord Jesus in glory."

"Changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord" (2 Corinthians 3:18).

WithChrist.org

 

[Netchaplain]

God never punishes His own, but rather in love, chastens and rebukes them (Heb 12:5-11); which affords great comfort in the knowledge that regardless the occurrences in our lives He is always for us and accepts us. The remorse the Spirit causes us to feel is His loving hand guiding us to know that “the goodness of God leads you to repentance” (Rom 2:4)

The “hardness” the believer is commanded to “endure” (2 Tim 2:3) in trials has a single method of accomplishment; “be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (v 1). Never will anyone owe God for His grace because it is His “gift” (Eph 2:8, 9) and therefore requires no merit to be retained. Our work is not repayment, which thing is impossible; but is gratitude out of love which will “glorify your Father” (Mat 5:16).
-NC

CHASTENING = CHILD-TRAINING

"Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous" (Hebrews 12:11a).

Our Father chastens us "for our own profit, that we might be partakers of His holiness" (Hebrews 12:10). We are not chastened because we deserve it, but because we need it. And there is no wrath in His child-training.

"Many have the wrong idea of that word 'chastening.' We think, perhaps, that it represents God as having a big stick in His hand and knocking us about all the time. You have only to make a mistake and down comes the big stick! That, of course, is a totally wrong conception of the Father, and is not at all what the word means. The word 'chastening' simply means child-training, which has to do with sonship. Sonship in our Father's mind is to have people who are reliable and responsible, who know in their own hearts what is right and what is wrong, and do not have to be constantly told and admonished.

"We should always look at our difficulties in the light of this training. It often seems that the life of a Christian is more difficult than any other life, and more troubles come to us than to anyone else. Whether we recognize it or not, these difficulties and troubles which come to us are to train us for something and to develop in us the spirit of sonship; that is, to develop spiritual intelligence and spiritual ability in us." -T. A-S.

"One of the main purposes of all the Father's dealings with us is to bring us into a greater knowledge of His Son. We never know anything about greatness unless we have a great need to know it. Therefore we are brought into situations where we must know something much greater than we already know. This is why our Father brings His children into difficult circumstances–that they may learn how great their Lord Jesus is." -T. A-S.

"Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them who are exercised by it" (Hebrews 12:11b).

WithChrist.org

The most growth-stunting opposition to the progress of being “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29) is that of not going “on to completion” (Heb 6:1). If the choice of a static position in the “foundation” remains, traversing beyond it onto the superstructure is not encountered.

Repentance is an internal activity of the heart involving desires which are toward the opposite of a pre-established behavior. When one chooses to “repent and be converted” (Acts 3:19), this is a single occurrence and means that one’s desires will always be toward the will of God, never requiring again to repent from the six articles listed in Hebrews 6:1, 2.

Even though this does not involve an unbroken doing of God’s will (sin), repentance remains unbroken and confession is to be maintained; this is the evidence (not the cause) of the soul’s standing in Grace, for we repent once and for all, but confess continually.

The Law was a “schoolmaster” which brought men “to Christ” (Gal 3:24), which was no longer necessary after being in Christ (v 25) and the doctrines of Christ taught by Himself and His Apostles, which esp. includes Paul, were centralized on the freedom in Christ’s atonement for the purpose of setting men apart from the Law.

This was continuously met (and still is) with opposition from those who chose to remain in Judaism, which now is the unscripturally supported concdept of a Judeo-Christian religion which if not intended for a Jewish conversion to Christianity, it is the error and weighty burden of many in modern Christendom who accept that salvation is not of the Law concerning its ritual ordinances, but believe the Decalogue (Ten Commandments - Covenantism) is still the rule of life for the Christian believer.

The are two Covenants which remain: the Covenant in Christ's blood, made in eternity past between the Father and the Son; and Israel's Covenant which God will make with them in the future (http://www.withchrist.org/MJS/twonew.htm).
-NC

RECALCITRANT REFORMATION

"Everyone that useth milk is unskillful in the word of righteousness" (Hebrews 5:13).

The Reformation, for all of its rise from Rome, to this day has never really gotten off the ground.

"Almost all the theology of the various 'creeds of Christendom' dates back to the Reformation, which went triumphantly to the end of Romans Five, and, so far as theological development or presentation of the truth was concerned, stopped there. Therefore, you must not regard yourself as bound to accept all that legal doctrine of sanctification, which has been and still is predominantly, the sine qua non of orthodox belief."-W.R.N.

"The contrast is painful in the extreme between the uniform language of the New Testament about Christians as thus called to worship in liberty and joy and nearness to the Father, and that of liturgies ancient and modern; and this because the results of redemption soon became merged and hidden in Jewish forms, and the law was recalled to the place of the Holy Spirit, and man in the flesh intruded wholesale into realms which belong only to those solemnly accredited as God's Church, the Body of Christ." -W.K.

"The liturgies of ritualism merely fall back upon the feelings of man, with a slight tincture of Gospel and a large infusion of law. There may be sublime language and glowing ideas, chiefly borrowed from the Old Testament; but in substance they are utterly beneath spiritual or even intelligent Christian use." -W.K.

"The only thing that God ever acknowledged in religion and ritualism was Jewish. It all had to do with the flesh. That is repudiated in the Cross; all is crucified: your life is now 'hid with Christ in God' (Colossians 3:3)."

"But solid food belongeth to them that are of full age" (Hebrews 5:14).

WithChrist.org

THE SPIRIT'S OBJECT

"He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit (with Him)" (1 Corinthians 6:17).

We are one spirit with the Lord Jesus by the one and only Holy Spirit.

"I can always know when the Holy Spirit is leading me, because He ever occupies me with the Lord Jesus. True, He may have to call attention to my own condition, but if He does, He turns me to the Lord Jesus, not merely to convict me, but to relieve me." -J.B.S.

"Spiritual growth is the Holy Spirit engraving the Lord Jesus on a man's heart, putting Him into his thoughts, his words, and his ways, just as the Law was engraved upon stones. It is not that there is no failure. A man who is seeking to make money does not always succeed; but everybody knows what his object is. Just so, the Lord Jesus Christ is the object of the believer's life." -J.N.D.

"The believer is not to clamor for the solution of perplexities or for intellectual mastery of divine mysteries. What knowledge he has in this realm is his because the Holy Spirit has declared it to him; and for the Spirit's declaration he must wait."

"None of us is ever beyond the work of the Spirit in us. Many think that because they have the light of a truth, they are in all the practical reality of it. No! You may know and reckon on all the Bible, but there is no growth beyond the measure of the Holy Spirit's work in you." -J.B.S.

"The Holy Spirit is only truly yielded to as the Cross, with its crucifixion of the flesh and the world, has become the attitude of our heart and mind."

"He (the Holy Spirit) shall glorify Me" (John 16:14).

WithChrist.org

HAND-HEWN

"Now no chastening for the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous" (Hebrews 10:11a).

You will be prepared, but never pierced, by the nail-pierced Hand.

"Sufferings are for chastening (child-training). And chastening is from love, a token of our Father's care. We live in a world full of trial and suffering. Many of the Lord's people have complained that their circumstances were too unfavorable for a life of full devotion, of close fellowship with Him, or pressing on to maturity. The duties and difficulties, the cares and troubles of life, render it practically impossible, they say, to live a fully consecrated life.

"Would God that they might learn the lesson of His Word! Every trial comes from the Father as a call to come away from the world to Him, to trust Him, to believe in His love. In every trial He will give strength and blessing. Let but this truth be accepted, in each trial, small or great; first of all and at once, recognize the Father's hand in it. Say at once, I welcome it from Him; my first care is to glorify my Father–He will use it all for my good."

"Do not be afraid of the Father's training school. He both knows His scholars, as to what they are, and He knows for what service they are to be fitted. A jeweler will take more pains over a gem than over a piece of glass; but the one he takes most pains over is longest under discipline and most severely dealt with. Once finished, however, the burnish never tarnishes, the brightness never dims. So with us. If we are placed, at times, as in a furnace, it is not merely for earthly service, but for eternity. May you so appreciate the plans of your Father that you can triumphantly glory in the love that subjects you to such discipline, though the trial itself be sharp and to the flesh hard to bear." -J.H.T.

"Nevertheless, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of righteousness unto them who are exercised by it" (Hebrews 12:11b).

WithChrist.org

FREELY COME; FREELY ABIDE

"That our God may make you worthy of His call, and by His power fully satisfy your every desire for goodness" (2 Thessalonians 1:11a, Wms.).

If we are born into the Lord Jesus by sheer grace, surely He can manifest Himself in us on the same principle.

"It is this quiet expectation and confidence, resting on the Word of the Lord Jesus that in Him there is an abiding place prepared, which is so sadly wanting among Christians. The idea many have of grace is that their conversion and pardon are God's work, but that now, in gratitude to Him, it is their work to live as Christians. There is always the thought of work (law) that has to be done, and even though they pray for help, still the work is theirs. They fail continually, and become helpless; and the despondency only increases the helplessness.

"Abiding in the Lord Jesus is not a work that we have to do as the condition for enjoying His salvation, but a consenting to let Him do all for us and in us, and through us. It is a work He does for us–the fruit and power of His redeeming love. Our part is simply to yield, to trust, to abide, and to wait for what He has engaged to perform. As it was the Lord Jesus who drew thee when He said 'Come,' so it is the Lord Jesus who keeps thee when He says 'Abide.'" -A.M.

"The heart is constantly looking to God to give a testimony about itself; but the Father is giving a testimony concerning His Son, and not about what we are; if He were to give a testimony about us, it must be about our sin and unbelief of heart. But no; and it is of great importance in this day of infidelity to see that if the Father gives a testimony, it is about His Son, and what He is to the sinner. If you believe that, you will have peace." -J.N.D.

"And complete every activity of your faith, so that the Name of our Lord Jesus might be glorified in you" (2 Thessalonians 1:11b, Wms.).

WithChrist.org

UNFEIGNED HUMILITY

"God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble" (1 Peter 5:5).

Humility is the hallmark of the servant resting in, and sent from, the Father's presence.

"There is a sense in which God's true servant is always a defeated man. The one who drives on with a sense of his own importance, who is unwilling to appreciate the worthlessness of his own best efforts and is always seeking to justify himself–that one will not be meek, and so will lack the essential enablement by which God's work must be accomplished. Our brokenness must not be feigned; we must not be content with the mere language and appearance of humility. We, too, must be as conscious of Divine mercy in our being recovered for God's service as we are of the original mercy which drew us from the dark waters of death." -H.F.

"Humility is quietness of heart. It is to have no trouble. It is never to be fretted or irritated or disappointed. It is to wonder at nothing that is done to me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have my blessed home in the Lord Jesus, where I can go in and shut the door and be with my Father in secret, and be at peace when all outside is trouble." -A.M.

"The Father may allow His servant to succeed when He has disciplined him to a point where he does not need to succeed to be happy. The man who is elated by success and cast down by failure is still a carnal man. At best his fruit will have a worm in it."

"Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time" (1 Peter 5:6).

WithChrist.org

There is only one place God wants the believer—close (Psa 73:28; Heb 7:19; Jam 4:8)! Many times we hinder this type of fellowship with the veiled hearts and fig leaf coverings of our conscience by not understanding the suffiency of Christ’s redemption and to base our support concerning this by any other source would be to “trod underfoot the Son of God” (Heb 10:29), due to doubting the efficacy of His atonement.

The primary evidence of a clear understanding here is “the answer of a good conscience toward God” (1 Pet 3:21), which can only be maintained when we accept the truth that “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession for them” (Heb 7:25).
-NC


NEW BIRTH PLACE

"(God) hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus" (Ephesians 2:6)

We are to settle down to live and grow precisely where we have been re-born: in Christ Jesus above.

"Do we not often harbor the thought that something yet remains to be done–either by ourselves or by Him–in order to our drawing near? Do we not often thus become occupied with the circumstantials of worship rather than with the Lord Jesus–the substance? Are we not often false to Him in questioning our title to draw near, because we find distance in our own hearts, as if it was the warmth of our affections, instead of the Blood of the Lord Jesus, which brought us nigh?" -W.K.

"Our being perfectly cleansed by the Blood of the Lord Jesus, the Holiest of All is our place before the Father, and it is so simply upon the ground of what His sacrifice has effected. Our dwelling place is in the light, not by reason of our subjective condition, but because the Lord Jesus has made the position ours by the putting away of our sins, and by bringing us to the Father." -H.F.W.

"The heart must enter into something more than the look behind into those waters of judgment, out of which the Lord Jesus rose, having left our sins, and death, and judgment forever! Such a joy would never carry us through the desert where faith and patience are tried and tested every day. It needs that the heart be carried into the glory of Canaan beyond; in the present sense of peace with the Father, and the consciousness of standing in His present favor–the favor that is better than life." -F.G.P.

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus, by a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us, through the veil" (Hebrews 10:19, 20).

WithChrist.org

“We must remind ourselves that "without faith it is impossible to please him" (Hebrews 11:6a). Moreover, and this is all-important, true faith must be based solely upon scriptural FACTS, for "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Romans 10:17). Unless our faith is established upon facts, it is no more than conjecture, superstition, speculation, or presumption.” – M Stanford

“Since true faith is anchored upon scriptural facts, we are certainly not to be influenced by IMPRESSIONS. George Mueller said, "Impressions have neither one thing nor the other to do with faith. Faith has to do with the Word of God. It is not impressions, strong or weak, which will make the difference. We have to do with the Written Word and not ourselves or our impressions."

Once we begin to reckon (count) on facts, our Father begins to build us up in the faith. From his profoundly simple trust in God, Mueller was able to say that "God delights to increase the faith of His children. We ought, instead of wanting no trials before victory, no exercise for patience, to be willing to take them from God's hand as a means. I say -- and say it deliberately -- trials, obstacles, difficulties, and sometimes defeats, are the very food of faith."

James McConkey wrote: "Faith is DEPENDENCE upon God. And this God-dependence only begins when self-dependence ends. And self-dependence only comes to its end, with some of us, when sorrow, suffering, affliction, broken plans and hopes bring us to that place of self-help-lessness and defeat. And only then do we find that we have learned the lesson of faith; to find our tiny craft of life rushing onward to a blessed victory of life and power and service undreamt of in the days of our fleshly strength and self-reliance."

FILIAL FAITH

"He (the Spirit) maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God" (Romans 8:27).

Neither the Lord Jesus nor the Holy Spirit ever thought of willing or praying outside the will of God the Father. Neither will we, while we walk in the Spirit, and abide in the Lord Jesus.

"Faith is not a power that one possesses, by which he can move the arm of God and work miracles. 'Faith accepts quiet guidance; only unbelief demands a miracle.' There is nothing in true faith that the flesh can glory in. The power is God's. It is the Father who works and does it according to His own wisdom and will. Faith is simply absolute confidence in the Father which gives the certainty that He will fulfill His Word." -A.H.

"Faith must be based upon certainty. There must be the definite knowledge of and confidence in the Father's purpose and will. Without that there can be no true faith. For faith is not a force that we can exercise or a striving to believe that something shall be, thinking that if we believe hard enough it will come to pass." -A.H.

"Let us not be discouraged if the transformation we long for does not take place immediately. Let us feel the need and lay it to heart. Let us stand in faith, and we shall never be put to shame. Cleaving to the Lord Jesus and His Word with purpose of heart can never be in vain. The hour will surely come when out of our hearts, too, will flow rivers of living water."

"Whatever sends us to the Lord Jesus–be it grief, disappointment or burden–is to that degree a blessing. No price is too great to pay in gaining this fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ."

"That ye might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding" (Colossians 1:9).

WithChrist.org

 

[Netchaplain]

When the motive for learning God’s Word is to allow the Spirit to apply it experientially in our lives, we will find that our fellowship “with Christ in God” (Col 3:3) is always precedential. This is developed in only one way; to “know Him” (Phil 3:10), and the prerequisite for this is first, to know His Word, then to understand it.

As we maintain exposure to the written Word it provides more possibility for us to learn that “which the Holy Spirit teaches”, which will be commensurate with our motives for the use of this knowledge, in whether or not it is to “puff up” (1 Cor 8:1), which results “in words which man's wisdom teaches” (1 Cor 2:13).

In our zeal to serve the Lord Jesus we can easily encounter situations which occasionally distract our learning of Him, only to find ourselves remembering the need to refocus on His person in our serving Him. This is best exemplified in His visit with the two sisters Martha and Mary. Luke wrote (10:39-42) that “Mary sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word” while “Martha was distracted with much serving” and when Martha complained to Him that her “sister has left me to serve alone”, He told her “one thing is needed and Mary has chosen that good part.”

Our present fellowship with Christ is best understood and maximized when we realize God “has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). This means we have an unbroken continuity with Him (through His Spirit) where He is now and it is as we also are in the Father’s presence, “because as He is, so are we in this world” (1 John 4:17).

As we continue to behold Him in this glory, we can rest in the assurance of living in His promise, “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb 13:5); which was His promise to Joshua (Deu 13:6; Josh 1:5) and is extended to all who are His (Deu 4:31; 1Chro 28:20).
- NC

THE LIVING TRUTH

"I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).

We must be truth-centered if we are to be Christ-centered.

"With an increase of knowledge and apprehension of the truth, there is a constant sense that we are not practically up to what we have received; and hence the measure of our strength is not the enjoyment of a truth, but the extent to which we maintain what we believe in spite of every obstacle. It is the way in which we surmount the difficulties in our path, and not the enjoyment of the truth, which defines our position." -J.B.S.

"We will not learn truth aright excepting in the deepening knowledge of the Lord Jesus. It is the lack of this which is the cause of weakness among us: bare doctrine is not connected with Him. When the flower is separated from that which is its source, its sustenance and support, it is henceforth doomed to decay. We have that which is lovely and full of blessing in the Lord Jesus; but if we are to know it as such, to prove its truth, to enjoy it practically, it must be in taking these things as connected with Him." -W.K.

"The Lord Jesus Himself, and not even truth about Him, must be filling our hearts if we are to grow. This is no unnecessary admonition in a day when knowledge of the most sacred truths may be intellectually attained by so small an effort. It is a happy and necessary thing to understand the Word of God, but, with that Word treasured, the aim of the believer's affections should be, 'That I may know Him.' Desires after the Lord Jesus, desires to live with Him in heaven now, and to manifest Him on earth, make the growing believer separate from the world, and separate him unto the glorified Lord." -H.F.W.

"That I may know Him" (Phil 3:10).

WithChrist.org

SPIRIT SPIRITUALITY

"Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty" (2 Corinthians 3:17).

Concerning the Holy Spirit, hidden as He is, faith is required above all else.

"Certainly the Holy Spirit directs in the countless details of daily life. Those who have faith, and are dependent upon His direction, will not be disappointed. But the Spirit leads according to Scriptural directions; hence that which is called the leading of the Spirit, and which has not the truth of the Word for its line of thought and action, is necessarily false." -H.F.W.

"The principle of walking in dependence upon the Holy Spirit must never be abandoned, however we may fail to carry it out. We must steer by divinely given principles, even if winds and waves at times do throw us off course. To give up the Father's principles because of opposing elements is to court shipwreck." -H.F.W.

"Being led by the Holy Spirit is the principle by which the Father deals in grace with believers. Outside the circle of the Spirit, men are led by the flesh; under the law His people were in bondage and under the schoolmaster. Now, in Christian privilege, the Spirit leads: 'if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law' (Galatians 5:18). -H.F.W.

"The Lord Jesus in glory is the standard of perfection, and the Savior on earth is the pattern for our walk. No one's walk is perfect, but the Spirit of Christ who dwells in us is perfect, and as the believer yields to the Father as one alive from the dead, the desires of the flesh are not fulfilled, and the Spirit brings forth His fruit in him." -H.F.W.

"Walk in (dependence upon) the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh" (Galatians 5:16).

WithChrist.org

There is more profitability in store for the believer to go through a trial with Christ than to go around one without Him. It is a “glory” (2 Cor 12:9) for a believer to “endure hardness” (2 Tim 2:3) because “as you are partakers of the sufferings, so also you will partake of the consolation” (2 Cor 1:7).

We rested in God’s grace for our salvation and we must continue to rest in His grace for everything else, because He has made no other provision for our “sufficiency” (2 Cor 12:9). Basing our support on anything other than His grace is failure, thus delaying His teaching in our learning progression.

We can “patiently wait” (1 Pet 2:20) the trial out by just letting it “pass over” (Ex 12:23). Even if it is a self-incurred adversity due to a mistake, from which many a lessons will derive, we can be assured that “all things work together for good to them that love God” (Rom 8:28). Whether we go through kicking and screaming or patiently trusting, the outcome will be the same, “deliverance”! The obvious difference for the former is just a lesson yet to learn.

A cruise ship was caught in a storm at sea, when a frightful women restlessly made her way to the helm to ask the captain what they were going to do. He took her to the port side and said “if you look near the center you’ll notice a plank flapping and if it dislodges we’ll go down. If you look at the smoke stack you’ll notice it is billowing full stream, so if the boiler blows we’ll go up. But unless either occurs, we’re going through!! (Fictional)
- NC

SUPPORT, NOT RELIEF

"In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you" (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Relief from pressure may seem merciful, but support in the pressure produces growth and maturity.

"There is a greater blessing for us than relief; there is the Father's support, for it imparts to you an acquaintance with Himself which relief does not. Relief makes one more satisfied with things here. I have known some who could tell you of a long list of mercies, most touching, truly proof of the tenderness of God.

"Thank God, we all know something of His tenderness. But then there is a greater blessing, namely, that He does not remove the pressure, but raises you above it, so that, though you are not relieved, you are better off than if you were merely relieved, because you know His heart who supports you in the pressure. You have made a deep acquaintance with your Father, and your heart is more attached to Him." -J.B.S.

"It is not getting away from our circumstances, our environment, our associations, that we need, but the Lord Jesus' likeness where we are. The Father placed us there, permitted the trials for a purpose, and He stands ready to bring us out into a life of liberty, if we will stand with Him in trust and endurance while He works it out."

"Have you asked to be made like your Lord; that it might be 'not I, but Christ'? Have you longed for the fruit of the Spirit, and have you prayed for patience and love? Then fear not the stormy tempest that is at this moment sweeping through your life. A blessing is in the storm, and there will be a rich fruitage in the 'afterward.'"

"The eternal God is thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms" (Deuteronomy 33:27).

WithChrist.com

THE EXCELLENT GLORY

"We all, with unveiled face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord. . . " (2 Corinthians 3:18a).

During the first half of your Christian life you are concerned about your doing; in the second half you will be burdened about your being.

"The more simply devoted you are to the Lord Jesus, who is worthy of all devotion, the more fragrance there will be in all your ways; for it will be manifested that you are not seeking yourself, not wincing because your rights are invaded, or that you are not as much cared for as you are entitled to be. Rather, there is only one governing thought of your life about everything, and that is, how you may distinguish Him who fills every need in your heart, and lights it up with unfading joy."-J.B.S.

"Nothing can be so divinely beautiful on earth as a believer so transformed by the Spirit of God, that he is in heavenly manners here on earth; so that he does not in any of his ways deny the Lord Jesus Christ; but in the most trying hour of his history upon earth the Lord can say of him, 'thou hast a little power, and hast kept My Word, and hast not denied My Name.'" -J.B.S.

"In creation God planted a man in the garden in innocence; in redemption He has planted a Man in heaven, in glory. There is a glory that excelleth. The glory in redemption leaves the glory that was once in creation as nothing." -J.G.B.

"For every believer who actually crosses over into the Promised Land there are far too many who stand for awhile and look longingly across the river, and then turn sadly back to the comparative safety of the sandy wastes of the self-life."

". . . are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord " (2 Corinthians 3:18b).

WithChrist.org

GROUNDWORK

"Ye have died, and your life is hid with Christ in God" (Colossians 3:3).

When we rely upon and cater to the old man, that ground produces "the works of the flesh" (Galatians 5:19-21). But as we abide in the risen Lord Jesus, that new ground of our position, His life will be manifested in "the fruit of the Spirit" (Galatians 5:22,23).

"God's Word declares that we are 'dead indeed unto sin,' but nowhere does it say that we are dead in ourselves. We shall look in vain within to find death there. We have died to sin; not in ourselves, but 'in Christ,' and our death with Him is as sure as His death, and since we died with Him it is impossible for His death to be certain and ours uncertain.

"We were crucified with Him because we were in Him (Galatians 2:20). We are raised in Him (Ephesians 2:6); we are complete in Him (Colossians 2:10); we are blessed with all spiritual blessings in Him (Ephesians 1:3); the entire work regarding us is not done in us but in the Lord Jesus–the Father has done all in His Son. If you stand on the ground of what the Lord Jesus is (abide), you will find in your growth that all that is true of Him is becoming true of you; but if you remain on the ground of what you are in yourself, you will find that all that is true of the old man is true of you in life and walk."

"The purpose of Paul, in Romans Six, is to show how completely the believer is identified with the Lord Jesus when 'He died unto sin.' To enter fully into the meaning of that death is to see that He has emancipated us from any further dealings with our old master, sin. The believer is privileged thus to take his position in the risen Lord Jesus, who is now 'alive unto God.' From that ground he is henceforth to regard sin." -E.H.

"Stand fast, therefore, in the liberty with which Christ hath made us free" (Galatians 5:1).

WithChrist.org

TRUE LOVE

"If (since) ye, then, be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above" (Colossians 3:1).
Our Father may cripple our earthly standing in order to strengthen our spiritual state, but He will never detract from our spiritual state in order to enhance our worldly standing. Never. "The world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world" (Galatians 6:14).

"It is not only that the Lord Jesus is the object of my heart, but I find that the One I love has made me the object of His heart! A great day for the soul. People are ready to say how they love Him, but how far can they say that they are conscious of His love for them; that they so prize it, that it is the greatest secret of their heart?

"When the Lord Jesus' love is before you, you find this love is drawing you from darkness to light. He begins by showing His desire for your spiritual advancement, and not by advancing you in earthly position. It is beautiful to see that the work of true love is to set aside darkness, or whatever would interfere with association; and therefore it is not esteemed as it ought to be, because we are looking for something on earth, and the tendency is to judge of His love by earthly gifts and favors down here." -J.B.S.

"Most growing believers rightly maintain that all must come from the Lord; but instead of taking their actual position of being dwellers in heaven, and coming from there to earth, they only look up to heaven for help as to their walk on earth; and their thoughts and labors are always influenced and dictated by the state and order of things on earth, and instead of seeking the mind of the Lord as learned in heaven, they are occupied with the blessings of man on earth." -J.B.S.

"Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. For ye have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God " (Colossians 3:2,3).

WithChrist.org

Our heavenly Father desires us to “leave the principles of the doctrine of Christ” and “go on unto completion.”(Heb 6:1). This is our lives being “conformed to the image of His Son” (Rom 8:29) by appropriating what God has made available to us which concerns “all things that pertain unto life and godliness” (2 Pet 1:3). It is only through the Scriptures and the Holy Spirit that this is being done in all who are His and so our spiritual growth is increased by that “which the Holy Ghost teaches”.

He never works outside of the Scriptures because His way is “comparing spiritual things with spiritual” (1 Cor 2:13), instead of men “measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves” (2 Cor 10:12). Thus, the only growth source is the Word of God and the Spirit will teach us through it as we continue to study it while asking that the “Lord give thee understanding in all things” (2 Tim 2:7).
-NC

In the overall development of the Church, it would seem that we are at the dawn of the Father's spreading of the Growth truths before His own. We are not only to share the Gospel truths with the lost, but also the Growth truths with the saved.

The Psalms was the only book of Scripture fully translated into Anglo-Saxon, Anglo-Norman, and Old English, with the exception of Bede, who, with his dying breath, completed his translation of John.

Our fathers had to wait eight and a half centuries, from Caedmon to Tyndale, before the Epistles of Paul were translated into the common tongue, and thus they could have the full truth revealed by Paul in his proclamation of the Cross.
How readily we take for granted what the Father has given us, to give.

"Wherefore, also, we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfill all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power, that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ may be glorified in you, and ye in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ" (2 Thessalonians 1:11,12).
-Miles J. Stanford; May 1985

PERFECT PROVISION

"For when for a time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God, and are become such as have need of milk, and not of solid food" (Hebrews 5:12).

It is a great comfort, during our growing up in the Lord Jesus, to know that He is our perfect provision, and that He provides the perfect processing.

"When the queen bee lays an egg, there is deposited in the cell with it the food on which the larva is to feed during its development. Similarly, when the Father placed us 'in Christ,' He also made provision in Him for our whole life. Christ is made unto us wisdom to enable us to walk aright in a perplexing world, righteousness to replace our sinfulness, sanctification to impart the growth we so greatly need, and redemption of the body to consummate the whole."

"As with the seed that is buried once for all, but then disintegrates through a gradual process that sets free the new life, even so does the Father deal with our old man by delivering it to death with the Lord Jesus once for all, and then bringing about its mortification in detail through the circumstances of life, until the power of the flesh has lost its hold." -L.T.

"Our Father is faithful and wise as well as a gracious and patient Teacher. He will not permit us to pass cursorily over our lessons. Sometimes, perhaps, we think we have mastered a lesson, and we attempt to move on to another; but our wise Teacher knows better, and He sees the need of deeper ploughing. He will not have us mere theorists or smatterers: He will keep us, if need be, year after year at our scales until we learn to sing."-C.H.M.

"Solid food belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil" (Hebrews 5:14).

WithChrist.org

 

[Netchaplain]

The practical “Condition” of the believer includes the infirmities encountered in the physical body and also in the thoughts of the mind, along with the joys of Heaven now and later. The “Position” of the believer includes not only God’s present “mercy and grace to help in time of need” (Heb 4:16) but also our place before the Father. Being fully identified with Christ we presently have a position with Him and are now, “made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph 2:6). Because of being “sealed” with or “given” (synonymous) the Holy Spirit, we are “guaranteed” (1 Cor 1:22; 5:5; Eph 1:13, 14) an “inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven” (1 Pet 1:4).
- NC

PERMANENT POSITION

"Alive unto God in Jesus Christ, our Lord" (Romans 6:11).

Until the believer's faith is firmly established in the fact of his position in the risen Lord Jesus, he will not be able to rest in Him during the process of his position becoming his condition. One must be sure of the Source before he can trust for the growth.

"The standing of the believer is settled, perfect, eternal. His state is imperfect and fluctuating. He is partaker of the new life which cannot sin; but he bears about within him the old man which can do nothing else but sin. Now his standing is in the new and not the old. He is not in the flesh, but in the Spirit (Romans 8:9). He is not under law, but under grace. This is his perfect and unalterable position; his sins are gone before God; his person is accepted by God–all complete in the Lord Jesus Christ.

"His practical condition can never touch his position. It can very seriously affect his fellowship, his worship, his testimony, his usefulness, his spiritual enjoyment, the glory of the Lord Jesus as involved in his practical career. These are great consequences in the estimation of every sensitive conscience and well-regulated mind; but the position of the true believer remains intact and unalterable. The feeblest member of the family of God has this place of security, and is perfect in Christ. To deny this is to remove the true basis of self-judgment and practical growth." -C.H.M.

"We are spiritually both in the wilderness and in Canaan; we are partakers on earth of the heavenly calling, and we are seated in Christ in the heavenly places. The enjoyment of the favors of the Father to us, in the heavenly places in Christ, enhances the sense of His favors to us in the wilderness." -H.F.W.

"We are identified in union with Him who stands as really for us in the glory of the heavens as once for us He hung upon the Cross."

"For to me to live is Christ" (Philippians 1:21).

WithChrist.org

 

[Netchaplain]

It is understandably so, that early on in the believer’s walk there is a desire to serve Christ, but serving Him out of pure gratitude and working for His blessings are entirely at variance. The former puts Himself in center view; the latter puts what He provides in center view and can engender legalistic-covenantism, which is unbelief because it falsely assumes there is a requirement of a greater “supply” (Phil 4:19) than what God provides.

It is bereft of limited trust in the work of Christ, not accepting that His atonement was “sufficient” (2 Cor 12:9) and thereby presuming to need man’s assistance. This is the Israelite-error which was manifested first in their deliverance from Egypt after a four-hundred and thirty year captivity (Ex 12:41), then in the wilderness and finally at the offering of Christ’s ”New Covenant” (Luk 22:20 - Israel’s salvation will come later).

God provided everything Israel needed for deliverance from Egypt and in the wilderness, but their unbelief evidenced mistrust during their exodus (Ex 14:11, 12) and in their wilderness-wandering (Ex 16:3). The same problem continues not only with the generality of Israel but also among the Gentile Christian’s, presuming man must somehow repay God for salvation or at least offer self in service to retain it; of which neither can suffice, but only manifests the ominous Israelite-error extant in contemporary Christendom.
- NC

BOLD BELIEF

"Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the Holiest by the Blood of Jesus" (Hebrews 10:19).

We enter our Father's presence when we believe He has already positioned us there in His Son.

"The Lord Jesus' work on the Cross gave us present entrance into the Holiest of All. What removed our sins rent the veil; and those who believe are positioned in the innermost sanctuary even now. Boldness to enter there on any pretension of our love or holiness, of nature or even divine ordinance, would be shameless presumption. In Hebrews Ten it is calmly claimed for believers, who are exhorted in the strongest terms to approach by faith the Father's presence without a doubt or a cloud, now.

"Boldness to enter the Father's presence is due to the shed Blood of the Savior. Only unbelief hinders. It is a new and living way which He dedicated for us through the veil, that is, His flesh; we honor Him by abiding there in the fullest confidence that pleases the Father. Being born of the Father we are abidingly His children. As such we have the right to take our place before Him. It is our privilege to think of ourselves according to what we are as being one spirit with the Lord Jesus; and this is ever maintained by Him.

"What we are by grace, as in Him before the Father, is unchangeable, and our interests are in His hands. Beloved, do our failures, our sins, in anywise alter what He is there before the face of our Father? What He is there is what we are, not of course in ourselves, but as being in the Lord Jesus who is our Life." -C.A.C.

"There are two basic things that the believer has to learn. One is, you are not to have the man here and the place where he is, the other is, you do have another Man, and the place where He is."

"By a new and living way, which He hath consecrated for us" (Hebrews 10:20).

WithChrist.org

 

[Netchaplain]

We are saved not only from something (sin) but also for something (fellowship). Scripture is occasionally repetitious concerning many truths for our learning and reassurance. It seems to me that our dealings with the “old man” (sinful nature) is predominant because this is the only avenue by which any opposition can approach us in our “new man”. How fervent our desire is for the Spirit’s teaching and leading will be evident in our desire for the Word with His guidance; along with how much we desire to live without the control of our “old man” (Rom 6:12, 14).
- NC

DETHRONEMENT

"For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty" (Galatians 5:13).

Our "No" to the old will be absolutely ineffective unless we are standing upon the facts of the new.

"At the Cross the old man was crucified and buried. When I plant my feet on that fact and say, 'No, as for me, I stand in the Lord Jesus as my life,' its governing power is broken. It is not annihilated or eradicated, but it has lost its throne. It is a greater testimony to the power of the Father to let that thing be in us and give us dominion over it, than to eradicate it to begin with. We want to get clear in our minds that the Father does not mean to improve the old man on the one hand, nor to remove it on the other. The fact that it does not go away or get better does not mean that we are not growing." -N.D.

"Our having been crucified with the Lord Jesus was to make the body of sin of none effect while we live by faith, but the old man can become active and dominant in the walk of the believer when faith becomes dormant and inactive. It is not the Father's will that sin should have dominion over any child of His; all died with the Lord Jesus, all were united with Him in crucifixion, but few enter into the joy of the freedom of the sons of God, because they do not believe His Word.

"Will you not now bow before your Father and thank Him regardless of feeling? It may take a day or a month, I do not know how long, but I do know that when any child of God will believe and begin to express that faith in thanksgiving, day by day thanking Him for the fact which one may not yet have experienced, the Holy Spirit will lead that one into a glorious personal realization of his identification with the Lord Jesus in His death, burial, resurrection and ascension." -L.L.L.

"They who receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ" (Romans 5:17).

WithChrist.org

I wanted to share this special note for those who spend time in the Bible concerning Scriptural-verse-studying. I realize many, if not most have not made it a practice to utilize a Bible Commentary, but I want to encourage you to attempt to do so for reasons I believe you would soon realize.

Apostle John wrote, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits, whether they are of God; because many false prophets (and teachers) have gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1). It should not need emphasized to realize this is no less applicable concerning our truth-searching in every way we may conceive; otherwise we may be unknowingly limiting useful avenues by which the Holy Spirit teaches Scripture.

I realize there are some who might be hesitant to compare their beliefs with other sources due to concerns that it may negatively affect their present beliefs, but limiting the comparing of them to other Christian’s beliefs also limits the “testing” of yours.

Until you may or may not find this to become a useful means, I would like to recommend John Gill’s Bible commentary (not an attempt to propagate him) because in my experiences with commentaries his seems, to me, to be the most inclusive and studious. As we already know, the Holy Spirit is the teacher to all Christians who seek Biblical truths and this includes many (not all) who are commentators who have spent the majority of their lives being used of the Spirit to share insight that one would not otherwise have opportunity to compare with.

I would greatly appreciate those who would share their opinion (in this thread) concerning this issue, especially if you try this and find it helpful. God’s blessings to your Families and God be blessed!
Bob (NC)

MERCIFUL DEATH

"Set your affection on things above. . . for ye died and your life is hidden with Christ in God" (Col. 3:2, 3).

The spiritual recession that occurs after the early joys of the new birth is not necessarily backsliding at all. The discovery of the sinful old man is the first and foremost step in the discovery of the righteous Christ-life.

"We are more disposed to be occupied in telling the Father what we are in ourselves, than to allow Him to tell us what we are in the Lord Jesus Christ. So often the believer is more taken up with his own self-consciousness than with the Father's scriptural revelation of Himself. His revelation is one thing; my self-consciousness is quite another "

"It gladdens the heart to hear the new convert speak of the blessings he has received, and of his new-found joy in those blessings; but we can often see very distinctly that he is wrapping all these benefits of grace round himself, and we feel pretty sure that he will have to learn some lessons presently that will take the shine out of him. He will have to learn what a poor wretched thing he is, as in the flesh, that his heart may be transferred to a new center altogether.

"Nothing can be more distasteful to a spiritual mind than to hear people professedly giving a Christian testimony which begins and ends with themselves. It is for the effectual displacement of all this, and to transfer the heart to an entirely new center, that the revelation of the old man is divinely necessary for our souls. The Father has to come in and detach us from that which is our natural center, that He may link our affections with another Person–even with the glorified Lord Jesus Christ–and make Him everything to our hearts, so that our association with Him may be known, and may become the deep, abiding joy of our souls." -C.A.C.

"Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor and glory, and blessing" (Rev. 5:12).

WithChrist.org

 

[Netchaplain]

Even though the ”Protestant Reformation” has brought much religious freedom to the generality of Christendom, it did not address the “identification” truths of our “new man” in Christ and our “old man” in Adam; which is constantly addressed by Paul. Our part concerning this dichotomy-of-natures involves a follow-up of how to each will be yielded; “whether of sin leading to death” (not born-again) or of obedience leading to righteousness” (born-again—Rom 6:16)? This involves the “putting off” of the old and the “putting on” of the new (Eph 4:22-24); and God will ensure the latter for those born-again, “For it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure” (Phil 2:13).

Though these natures are not entities such as beings, they no less contain a power or “law” (Rom 7) which determines what an entity (person or angel) is. The “enmity” (Rom 8:7) between the two does not present a situation as to which will win or lose, that has already been settled (Rom 6:6), which ultimately evidences the regenerate and Spirit-controlled life, “so that ye cannot do the things that ye would” (Gal 5:17). Therefore everyone born-again will eventually evidence the Spirit-controlled life at their individual progressions, “For the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29 NKJV).
- NC

ME, MYSELF, AND I

"Oh, wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:24).

While both are essential, it is far more difficult to get to know the old man than it is to know the Lord Jesus. Many who know something of Him, know little or nothing of themselves.

"There is not a more difficult lesson in the Christian life than to come to a true knowledge of what the flesh is. Its terrible power, its secret and universal rule, and the blinding it exerts in keeping us from the knowledge of what it is, are the cause of all our sin and evil. Hence it comes that so few really believe in their absolute inability to obey God or to believe in His love. And there is nothing that can deliver us from it but that entire willingness to die to the old man, which comes when by faith we understand that we have died in Christ Jesus." -A.M.

"It seems that God's Spirit has to take every growing believer through a drastic process of self-exposure. That fleshly principle lurking within has to be looked in the face. Its presumptuous claim to be a sufficient source of wisdom and ability has to be exposed in its big lie. Its save-yourself attitude has to be recognized and rejected. And such knowledge can only come through failure, humiliation and despair." -N.G.

"If you come to feel, through ever-recurring misery and defeat, that unless Another shall lead you into the land of fruitful obedience your whole Christian career will be a spiritual and moral chaos, then perhaps you are ready to venture your all upon your union with the Lord Jesus in His death and resurrection."

"There is no joy like that of realizing our nothingness, while at the same time reposing upon the Father's all-sufficiency."

"I thank God through Jesus Christ, our Lord" (Romans 7:25).

WithChrist.org

 

[Netchaplain]

For those concerned about the “NBTHH” devotionals, I’m letting you know that the WithChrist.org web site has received a request from the current copyright owner of Miles Stanford’s publications to discontinue presentation of his materials on the internet through their web site and I am now waiting for permission as to whether or not I can continue sharing the materials in my capacity (using materials purchased over the years from their book site).

In the last thirteen years of my thirty-six year Christian walk I have been studying dispensation doctrines from theologians of the last few centuries and have found them to be as applicable to spiritual growth in Christ and as faithful, accurate and sincere to the truths of Scripture that can be expected. It has recently come to my attention that many earnest truth-seeking Christians have been unaware of the spiritual-growth teachings available within dispensation doctrine.

One prime example of concern is that there is a significant number of Christians opposing the Scriptural truth related to receiving salvation pertaining to the essential doctrine of “Justification by Faith Alone, in Christ Alone.” To understand this is pertinent to spiritual growth, as Scripture teaches that the receiving of salvation is a monolithic work of God, apart from any interjections of man. Scripture also teaches that regeneration will eventually manifest itself by “good works” (Mat 5:16; Jam 2:18). Even though true works will follow the believer, we must be clear they have no effect as to the retention of salvation, considering this can only be maintained in the same manner it is received—by Grace (Jude 1:24).

It is acceptable to have differing beliefs concerning non-essential-for-receiving-salvation doctrine, but there should not be variances concerning essential-for-receiving-salvation doctrine. The entirety of Scripture is clear in revealing that salvation comes by “Faith Alone, in Christ Alone.” This is due by “Grace” alone; therefore any alteration of this truism will only consign one to the un-restful taskmaster of “Legalistic Covetanism”, which is salvation by works (salvation evidenced by works is accurate - Jam 2:18) and is a one-eighty degree comparison to salvation by grace (Eph 2:8, 9).

“By Grace—Through Faith” is Scripture's sole proponent when revealing the method of entering Salvation; thus, transposing this order of terms (i.e. by faith instead of "by grace") is failure to understand and faithfully represent Scripture, leaving one to the destitution of his own interpretation. Since receiving salvation is “not by works” (Eph 2:9) it mandates the categorizing of “faith” as a gift of God. Concerning works and justification, Strong’s dictionary defines justification (G1344) in two categories (below); each containing a variant definition which, of course, is in accordance with contextual usage. Justification in reference to man’s work designs the concept of an outward manifestation of an inward, simultaneous work of grace. The crux of the matter is not to attempt to desire any personal credit because, "in all things He has the preeminence" (Col 1:18).

Justification:
1. To render righteous (“justified by His blood” Rom 5:9). This is prior to any work of man (other than reception) and is simultaneous with salvation, because the believer cannot produce the righteousness of God, but rather Christ is, “made unto us . . . righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30).

2. To show, exhibit, evince, one to be righteous. (“by works a man is justified” Jam 2:24). This is God working through man, to be seen by man—after receiving salvation; “that they may see your good works” (Mat 5:16). The phrase “your good works” are actually still God’s works being evident to others by Him using us.