“For ye see your calling brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not to bring to nought things that are; That no flesh should glory in His presence” I Corinthians 1:26-29.
Without this effectual call – there is no going to Heaven!
This effectual call, is a gracious call. It is the fruit and product of free grace! That God should call some – and not others; that some should be taken – and others left; that one should be called who is of a more wicked disposition – while another of a sweeter temper, is rejected. Here is free grace! That the poor should be rich in faith, heirs of a kingdom (James 2:5), and the nobles and great ones of the world for the most part rejected; this is free and rich grace! “Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Thy sight” Matthew 11:26.
That under the same sermon one should be effectually wrought upon – while another is no more moved than a dead man with the sound of music; that one should hear the Spirit’s voice in the Word – while another does not hear it; that one should be softened and moistened with the influence of Heaven – while another, like Gideon’s dry fleece, has no dew upon him; behold here distinguishing, sovereign grace!
What is the cause of this – but the free grace of God! It is all enamelled and interwoven with free grace! Those who are monuments of God’s mercies – will be trumpets of His praise. “That no flesh should glory in His presence” I Corinthians 1:29.
Edited from an address given at the High Leigh Bible Conference, 2016
The Word of God states – in Jude v 3 – to “earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints” or – in other words – “to engage in the battle.” It is a plain fact that the Protestant Reformed faith is under threat today as never before – it is under threat from various sources – including atheism, Islam, Ecumenism and Romanism. Sadly, many Ministers today choose to take a neutral stance on virtually every issue – presumably so that they don’t offend others or jeopardise their own positions. But the Word of God is very clear – and the Lord Jesus Christ did not preach to please all His hearers – the disciples did not preach to please all their hearers. They preached so that men and women could hear the good news of the Gospel and seek the Lord in repentance – and if people were offended (and many of the religious leaders were) – so be it. Why is the Church not active today? Is it because God’s people are not engaged in the battle? How many times have you heard prayers offered, prayers that bemoan the state of our nation? And yet we must ask ourselves some pertinent questions:
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith.
HEBREWS 12:2
Christ Himself is to be the single object of our attention in the spiritual race which we pursue. The word looking comes from a verb which means “to look away from.” It denotes the idea of viewing with undivided, fixed, earnest attention. This is the look of total dependence upon Christ for all we need as we run. Christ is the source of all our requirements. Thus the verse can be read, “Looking into Jesus”—a deep, penetrating look, filling our minds with all that Christ is, constantly communing with Him and drawing out of Him strength for the course. To run “looking into Jesus” also indicates total obedience. In the context, Paul reminds us that there is a race set before us (v. 1). We must fix our purpose on that race and allow nothing to divert our attention. That is possible only as we are taken up with the Lord. What obedience is generated in us as we keep our eyes on Him! You see, He ran His race with full commitment to the Father. Nothing could prevail upon Him to keep Him from doing the Father’s will. As He obeyed because He loved His Father, so love for Christ alone will stir up our hearts to run the race set before us. The more we love Christ, the more we will lay aside those things which would hinder us—our besetting sins, which are our inward corruptions, and the things of the world, the weights that would hold us back. Furthermore, this “looking unto Jesus” refers to total steadfastness in our running. We should want to run well and complete the race. Christ did so. He is the “author and finisher of our faith.” The word author also means “prince” or “captain,” denoting a leader. He has gone before us; so He has covered the ground already. What an example of steadfastness! Thus “let us run with patience” (v. 1).
Rev. John Greer
Too much occupied with our work, we can forget our Master—it is possible to have the hands full and the heart empty.
Theodore Monod
There is a faith that does not save. It is not even worthy of being called faith. It is but a counterfeit of true, saving faith in Christ. This counterfeit faith may be very orthodox in its doctrine. Indeed, it may be vociferous in its stand for the doctrines of the Bible. It can dot every i and cross every t. It loves theological hair-splitting and will make a man a heretic for a word. This false faith is very religious. It looks good. It sounds good. But in truth it is an evil thing. It has the stench of death about it, because when all is said and done, it simply does not work. A faith that does not produce good and holy works is a faith that is no better than what the devil has (James 2:19). Oh! let us take this personally and seriously. If your professed belief allows you to live comfortably in sin, if it does not work repentance and holiness within you, it is a dead faith. It is true that we are saved by faith without works. It is equally true that we are saved by a faith that works. Does your faith work? Does it stir up your heart to do the will of God and to seek the welfare of men? If godly works are the evidence of saving faith, is there any evidence that you are saved? Now is the time to face this question, because a faith that does not work for God now will not work for you on the judgment day.
Alan Cairns
It is faith alone that justifies, but the faith that justifies is not alone.
John Calvin
“If any man be in Christ, he is anew creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Cor. 5:17
What condemnation do these words pronounce upon the shallow, meagre religion so common among us – making us feel that hardly any description of its professors could be more exaggerated or unreal, than that of being “new creatures.”
Take yon member of the church. He wears the garb and bears the name of Christ. He is a fair average specimen of a large class. He has the profession of being a Christian; yet…
– he is fond of the world; – he grasps at its gold; – he loves its fashionable gaiety; – he reads its novels; – he frequents its haunts of amusement; – he enjoys its company; – he relishes its foolish talking and jesting.
Is he “a new creature” in Christ Jesus?
Is it possible that, with … – so much worldliness, – so much selfishness, – so much self-indulgence, – so much pleasing of the flesh,
Christ became incarnate or, which is the same thing, became man to put Himself in a capacity for working out our redemption. For though Christ as God was infinitely sufficient for the work, yet to His being in an immediate capacity for it, it was needful that He should not only be God, but man. If Christ had remained only in the divine nature, He would not have been in a capacity to have obtained our salvation; not from any imperfection of the divine nature, but by reason of its absolute and infinite perfection: for Christ, merely as God, was not capable either of that obedience or suffering that was needful.
The divine nature is not capable of suffering; for it is infinitely above all suffering. Neither is it capable of obedience to that law which was given to man. It is as impossible that One, who is only God, should obey the law that was given to man, as it is that He should suffer man’s punishment.
And it was necessary not only that Christ should take upon him a created nature, but that He should take upon Him our nature. It would not have sufficed for Christ to have become an angel, and to have obeyed and suffered in the angelic nature. But it was necessary that He should become a man, upon three accounts:
Written in 1857 when the Revised Version was being contemplated.
We take this opportunity to express our opinion upon a question much agitated of late – whether it would be desirable to have a new (or at least a revised) translation of the Scriptures. We fully admit that there are here and there passages of which the translation might be improved, as, for instance, “love” for “charity” all through I Corinthians 13; but we deprecate any alteration as a measure that, for the smallest sprinkling of good, would deluge us with a flood of evil. The following are our reasons:
Who are to undertake it? Into whose hands would the revision fall? What an opportunity for the enemies of truth to give us a mutilated false Bible! Of course, they must be learned men, great critics, scholars, and divines. But these are notoriously either Puseyites or Neologians[1] – in other words, deeply tainted with either popery or infidelity. Where are there learned men sound in the truth, not to say alive unto God, who possess the necessary qualifications for so important a work? And can erroneous ungodly persons, spiritually translate a book written by the blessed Spirit? We have not the slightest ground for hope that they would be godly men, such as we have reason to believe translated the Scriptures into our present version.
Again, it would unsettle the minds of thousands as to which was the Word of God, the old translation or the new. What a door it would open for the workings of infidelity, or the temptations of Satan! What a gloom, too, it would cast over the minds of many of God’s saints, to have those passages which had been applied to their souls translated in a different way, and how it would seem to shake all their experience of the power and preciousness of God’s Word!
But besides this, there would be two Bibles spread through the land, the old and the new, and what confusion would this create in almost every place! At present, all sects and denominations agree in acknowledging our present version as the standard of appeal. Nothing settles disputes so soon as when the contending parties have confidence in the same umpire and are willing to abide by his decision. But this judge of all disputes, this umpire of all controversy, would cease to be the looser of strife if the present acknowledged authority were put an end to by a rival.
Again, if the revision and re-translation were once to begin, where would it end? It is good to let well alone, as it is easier to mar than mend. The Socinianising[2] Neologian would blot out “God” in I Timothy 3:16 and strike out I John 5:7-8, as an interpolation. The Puseyites would mend it to suit Tractarian[3] views. He would read “priest” where we now read “elder” and put “penance” in the place of “repentance.”
Proud flesh has no place in the work of God. That message is not a popular one nowadays, when even professed ministers of Christ have jumped on the humanistic bandwagon of self-love, self-esteem, self-expression, and self-gratification. However, it is still the message of God, and people desperately need to hear it. The Lord rejects all confidence in the flesh for salvation. Some people have an easy confidence that it is well with their souls. They rest in carnal security. They fear no judgment, for they have never felt any great burden of sin. They have easy methods of dealing with guilt, ranging from denial, to vain excuses, to blaming someone else, to adopting just enough religion to salve their conscience. Such people may expressly state their dependence on their own good works. Or they may place their confidence in a “decision” that has never yielded a true heart relationship with Christ. In all these cases, unsaved people are confident of their soul’s salvation. To all such, today’s text comes as a thunderbolt: “The Lord hath rejected thy confidences.” If you would be truly confident of your salvation, you must come to the end of yourself and unreservedly cast yourself upon the merits of Christ. Only in and through Him have you access to and acceptance with God.
Who is among you that feareth the Lord, … that walketh in darkness?… Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God.
Isaiah 55:10
Somehow the notion has spread abroad that true Christians should never endure periods of darkness, trial, or trouble. Nothing could be further from the truth. Trials will come to every Christian. Satan will attack every Christian. When these things occur, we can become very confused and distressed. It appears that the Lord has forsaken us. Is that your experience today? Are you an heir of heaven walking in darkness? Today’s text has a word for you.
The enemy is at the gates As I write, a Roman Catholic Cardinal has, after almost five centuries engaged in a vespers service in the very chapel at Hampton Court where Henry VIII worshipped. The same Henry who, in the wonderful providence of God, dismissed Cardinal Wolsey from office as his advisor and confidant and repudiated the Pope of Rome and all his ways. Some would say that this was merely in a fit of pique because he desired a divorce from Catherine of Aragon, however, as we study the life of our subject, William Tyndale, we shall see that he had more than a little influence in this breach with Papal authority, by the grace of Him who turneth the heart of Kings; whithersoever He will (see Proverbs 21:1).
This then is surely a fitting time to remind ourselves of the goodness of God in raising up such a one as William Tyndale, now that we appear to have come to a period in our contemporary history when, once more, the darkness of ignorance, superstition and false religion threatens to envelop us again.
That the Authorised Version of the Bible, referred to by some as the King James Bible, has been that great work which has had more influence upon the religious life of this nation than any other translation of the Word of God, is surely a matter beyond dispute. This nation owes much to the work of this one man who, in his service for Christ and in the strength of His grace, brought back to this nation the pure Word of God and so laid the foundation for the prosperity of its people all over the British Empire.
It is also a generally accepted fact that 80 % (some would claim 90%) of the King James Bible rests on the original translating work of William Tyndale from 1525 – 1535.