"He who would keep up intimate converse with the Lord must habitually find in the Scriptures the highway of such companionship. God's aristocracy, His nobility, the princes of His realm, are not the wise, mighty, and highborn of earth, but often the poor, weak, despised of men, who abide in His presence, and devoutly commune with Him through His inspired word. Blessed are they who have thus learned to use the key which gives free access, not only to the King's Treasuries, but to the King Himself." (A.T. Pierson 1837-1911)
***
Truly, 'few' are they who "continue in the faith" which was once delivered unto the saints [Jude 3]...while 'many' are they who are "moved away from the hope of the gospel" - always by degrees, and always completely unaware. Be not moved away.
see also (a true classic): Another Gospel - A.T. Pierson
8/29/10
Bible Studying: Watch For The 'If's' And the 'And's'
"...to present you holy and unblamable and unreprovable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel" Col. 1:22,23
Amen ! Good one
ReplyDeleteThe slowly moving away...and the process one of being "unaware"..of it.
Now, how do we KNOW when we have moved away...especially if self deception and that "unawares" is at the core of it?
So....Matthew 7:21-23.
Not one professing Christian (or christian) wants to be one counted as the one our Lord "never knew".
Is this completely out of our hands...or the Lord's divine call?
Can we as Christians(or christians)
seemingly be zealous in the faith...yet be steadily and briskly marching backwards in all our sincere efforts?
Prayer...a constant relationship with Him...and immersion in the Word on a daily basis is what my bible and the Holy Spirit will reveal our own mis-steps in our walk...IF we desire to see the mis-steps when they are put before us.
Self deception......a killer
Might boil down to fellowship as the Lord encouraged us not to forsake.
Your take? This was a thought provoking essay...thanks
re: Is this completely out of our hands...or the Lord's divine call?
ReplyDeleteSalvation is of course wholly by grace alone. That is divine call.
The other side of the coin though is human responsibility. Finishing the race.
Who is truly saved? Those who finish the race prove that they were divinely called, chosen, elected, all along. This is a great mystery.
Many are called, few are chosen.
A huge problem in Christendom today is the completely unscriptural so-called "altar call".
Say the magic words and you are 'saved on the spot'. At best, it could be a starting point, but there is a race to be run...and finished. This is completely missed.
From my side, my salvation must be "worked out".
Philippians 2:12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
This puts me under responsibility. Mumbling some words about "accepting Jesus" that I don't understand, and then "fellowshipping" in a dead assembly, does not a Christian make.
re: Might boil down to fellowship as the Lord encouraged us not to forsake.
The apostle Paul exhorted the 1st century Jewish believers, already separated from the 'dead assembly', the defunct Jewish ritual system, that many previously professing believers were at that point returning to, to not forsake the assembling of themselves together.
They were outcasts. So too today are true believers outcasts from the dead churches of our day. The Lord Jesus Christ is outside knocking, and they know it not. Rev. 3:20
There is no true fellowship to be found in today's Laodicean 'dead assemblies', void of the Spirit of God.
It is unfortunate, but it is what it is.
Safest place?
Heb. 13:13 Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach.
"Unto him". The church of Ephesus left their first love. Rev. 2:4
"Unto him". Any real fellowship can only begin here.
(see Luke 14:25-33; find the three 'cannots')
***
"work it out" i.e. finishing the race. This is what Bunyan illustrated in his classic book "Pilgrim's Progress".
He wrote another classic treatise on the same theme called "The Heavenly Footman":
"The doctrine is this: THEY THAT WILL HAVE HEAVEN, MUST RUN FOR IT; I say, they that will have heaven, they must run for it. I beseech you to heed it well. Know ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run ye. The prize is heaven, and if you will have it, you must run for it.
It is very much worth reading: Heavenly Footman
Run ye
Lots of christians out there running in the wrong direction and seemingly "working out" what was never in ...in the first place.
ReplyDeleteThanks...splained it well