Test Your Faith

Here is John Owen again. This section is taken from Christologia, chapter XIX, on http://www.ccel.org/.

The glory of heaven consists in the full manifestation of divine wisdom, goodness, grace, holiness, — of all the properties of the nature of God in Christ. In the clear perception and constant contemplation hereof consists no small part of eternal blessedness. What, then, are our present thoughts of these things? What joy, what satisfaction have we in the sight of them, which we have by faith through divine revelation? What is our desire to come unto the perfect comprehension of them? How do we like this heaven? What do we find in ourselves that will be eternally satisfied hereby? According as our desires are after them, such and no other are our desires of the true heaven, — of the residence of blessedness and glory. Neither will God bring us unto heaven whether we will or no. If, through the ignorance and darkness of our minds, — if, through the earthliness and sensuality of our affections, — if, through a fulness of the world, and the occasions of it, — if, by the love of life and our present enjoyments, we are strangers unto these things, we are not conversant about them, we long not after them, — we are not in the way towards their enjoyment. The present satisfaction we receive in them by faith, is the best evidence we have of an indefeasible interest in them. How foolish is it to lose the first fruits of these things in our own souls, — those entrances into blessedness which the contemplation of them through faith would open unto us, — and hazard our everlasting enjoyment of them by an eager pursuit of an interest in perishing things here below! This, this is that which ruins the souls of most, and keeps the faith of many at so low an ebb, that it is hard to discover any genuine working of it.

John Owen on Conformity to Christ

From his book Christologia, found at Christian Classics Ethereal Library (linked on my sidebar), is a short paragraph from Owen about true conformity to Christ:

One Christian who is meek, humble, kind, patient, and useful unto all; that condescends to the ignorance, weaknesses and infirmities of others; that passeth by provocations, injuries, contempt, with patience and with silence, unless where the glory and truth of God call for a just vindication; that pitieth all sorts of men in their failings and miscarriages, who is free from jealousies and evil surmises; that loveth what is good in all men, and all men even wherein they are not good, nor do good, — doth more express the virtues and excellencies of Christ than thousands can do with the most magnificent works of piety or charity, where this frame is wanting in them. For men to pretend to follow the example of Christ, and in the meantime to be proud, wrathful envious, bitterly zealous, calling for fire from heaven to destroy men, or fetching it themselves from hell, is to cry, “Hail unto him,” and to crucify him afresh unto their power.

I Dare Not Think Where I Would Be

Didst Thou, my Lord, Thine all resign,
And courts of glory thus forsake,
Laying aside Thy rights divine,
Of human clay so to partake?
I dare not think where I would be
Hadst Thou retained Thy liberty!

And loving Thine unto the end
Thou gavest Thyself in blood to die -
And, oh, for sinners, what a Friend!
For even such a wretch as I.
I dare not think where I would be
Hadst Thou retained Thy liberty!

Oh, Holy One - becoming sin -
No words can tell the sacrifice!
What agonies enduredst Thou then,
When Thou didst pay redemption's price?
I dare not think where I would be
Hadst Thou retained Thy liberty!

Oh, could my tears forever flow
And could my zeal no languor know
These all for sin could not atone
For Thou must save, and Thou alone.
In dying on dark Calvary,
Thou gavest up all Thy liberty.

Though rich, yet poor becamest Thou,
Thou prayedst "Not My will but Thine,"
Thou drainedst the bitter cup for me,
Bearing the awful wrath Divine.
I dare not think where I would be
Hadst Thou retained Thy liberty!

And can it be that I should gain
(I dare not think where I would be . . .)
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
( . . . Hadst Thou retained Thy liberty!)
Amazing love! How can it be
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me!

MC (et al)

That He Might Fill All Things

Since it is God's plan that Christ "fill all things," "have the preeminence," and that "every knee should bow" to Him, it is not straining the Scripture to see that all of my life should be filled up by Him: that the knees of my desires and will should also bow to Him, and that in every part of my life He should have the preeminence. If every thought is to be brought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, then certainly everything else in my life (my words and deeds) must follow, because all is based on that which originates in the heart - that is, the thoughts.

What a joy it would be if He did indeed "fill all things" in my life. There is no lack in Him as to fulness for He is altogether lovely. Though my flesh is weak and I am unequal to the task because of sin still warring in my members, still I would always behold His face, which shows forth the glory of God. Then would my life be filled to overflowing; then would the glory of all that He is in me and to me pour forth from my life in ceaseless praise to Him in everything I think, do, and say - and what could be a greater joy on the earth than this: to reflect His beauty and glory in my life?

The Parable of our Righteous God

At the beginning of Luke 18, Jesus gives a parable about a widow and an unjust judge. His purpose in telling the parable is given in verse 1: "That men ought always to pray and not to faint."

The widow has a claim against someone who is called her "adversary." Someone has wronged her in some way, and she has a legal claim, apparently. The judge to whom the widow comes is "unjust", and "feared not God, neither regarded man." This case appears hopeless for the widow, that she will ever receive satisfaction. The judge "feared not God" Who had commanded special care for widows, "neither regarded man," - he did not care even about seeing justice done.

The widow kept coming back, however, and the judge perceived that she was going to weary him with her continual coming. For her persistence, he takes her case. It is not because he suddenly realizes that she has a good case, or that he has suddenly become a God-fearing man that he decides to avenge the widow - he still acts as he pleases. What pleases him is that this widow leave him alone, so he will act on her behalf in order to effect that end. He wants to get this pesky lady off his back so he can have some peace.

Remember the purpose of the parable: "That men ought always to pray and not to faint." Is Jesus drawing a parallel between this unjust judge and God? Is He saying that God answers our prayers when He finally gets weary of us? First, God is not unjust. He cannot be compared to the judge on those grounds. As the character of the judge is opposite that of our God, so are all of the motives and incentives to keep on coming before God with our requests.

Jesus is telling us that even the most unjust among men can be prevailed upon through persistence. If this is true in the case of the unjust judge, how much more true is it that God will hear the prayers of His elect "though He bear long with them"? God is not unjust. Though we might besiege the throne of grace for a considerable time - perhaps for years, even - yet He will make the crooked straight and the rough places plain. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill made low. God will not leave injustices as they are. He will make all things right, in His time. The parallel is not between the judge and God, but between the case of the widow and that of God's elect, while a contrast is made between the judge and God. The widow has a complaint that she brings regularly to the judge; we have complaints we bring regularly to Jehovah God. She has to press her case because the judge is unjust; we press our case because our Judge is not unjust, and we know He will help us. She finally receives help because the judge didn't want to put up with her any more; we receive help because the Lord, in His time, will answer our prayers out of His great love wherewith He loves us.

"He that spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?"

I've Always Believed in Eternity!

When I was about 12 years old, my sister told me about a girl she knew that believed that when you die, you cease to exist. Not knowing Christ then, I had no Biblical objection to that concept. I remember, however, that later on (perhaps that same day), I was riding my bicycle toward the center of our town. What my sister had told me came rushing back into my mind. As I was riding, my whole being screamed inside me that such a thing could not be true. I understood in myself that I could never cease to exist. Now that I know the Bible somewhat, I know what it teaches concerning the Judgment, and eternal existence for the blessed and the damned.

I wonder if that knowledge inside of me was a part of "the Light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world."

Usurping

The Devil would exalt himself
To be as the Most High,
By imitating Providence;
And often, so do I.

The Prince of Darkness tries to shape
Events to suit his mind;
And I, as well, would have control:
In me his ways I find.

Yes, I would cast God from His throne
When things don't go my way-
And for God's will, exalt my own,
Exerting sinful sway.

I'll sin to try to make events
Go as I think they should;
As if I could, by being bad,
Work all things for my good!

"I trust in God," I often sing -
In piety divine,
But when I cannot see the way
It's "not Thy will, but mine!"

Oh, God, my sinful heart would cast
Thy rule from my soul -
Lord, cast instead my sin aside,
And take complete control!

MC