Spurgeon on the Invitation to “Come”

‘And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.’ Revelation 22:17

suggested further reading: Luke 14:15–24

My dear friends, I do trust that this last day of the year may be to you a day of mercy. The Jews had a feast of ingatherings at the end of the year, and I earnestly pray that we may have an ingathering of precious souls to Christ before this year quite runs out: that would be a grand finish to this year of grace, and a sweet encouragement for the future.

But suppose you do not come. Well, you have been invited. If a Christmas feast is provided for the poor, and a number of beggars are standing shivering outside in the sleet and snow, and will not come in though earnestly bidden, we say, ‘Well, you have been invited: what more do you want?’

Remember, also, that you have been invited very earnestly; ‘the Spirit and the bride’ and ‘him that heareth’ and Jesus himself have all said to you ‘Come.’ I am as the man ‘that heareth’ and I have said ‘Come.’ I do not know how to say it more earnestly than I have said it.

How would my soul delight if every one here did come to Christ at this moment! I would ask no greater joy out of heaven to crown this year with. You are invited, and you are earnestly invited; what more do you want?

If you never come, you will have this thought to haunt you for ever—‘I was invited and pressed again and again, but I would not come.’ I want you to remember, too, that you are called to come now, at once.

You may not be bidden to come tomorrow for several reasons: you may not be alive, or there may be no earnest person near you to invite you. Can there be a better day than today?

for meditation: (Our Own Hymn Book no.509 v.3—Albert Midlane, 1865)
‘Come, and welcome: do not linger,
Make thy happy choice to-day;
True thou art a wretched sinner,
But He’ll wash thy sins away:
Come, and welcome,
Time admits of no delay.’

sermon no. 1331

Spurgeon on the Glory and Reign of Christ

I’ve always loved Spurgeon’s evening reading for Chirstmas Eve (which is relevant for any time of year):

“The glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together.”
—Isaiah 40:5

We anticipate the happy day when the whole world shall be converted to Christ; when the gods of the heathen shall be cast to the moles and the bats; when Romanism shall be exploded, and the crescent of Mohammed shall wane, never again to cast its baleful rays upon the nations; when kings shall bow down before the Prince of Peace, and all nations shall call their Redeemer blessed.

Some despair of this. They look upon the world as a vessel breaking up and going to pieces, never to float again. We know that the world and all that is therein is one day to be burnt up, and afterwards we look for new heavens and for a new earth; but we cannot read our Bibles without the conviction that—

“Jesus shall reign where’er the sun
Does his successive journeys run.”

We are not discouraged by the length of his delays; we are not disheartened by the long period which he allots to the church in which to struggle with little success and much defeat.

We believe that God will never suffer this world, which has once seen Christ’s blood shed upon it, to be always the devil’s stronghold. Christ came hither to deliver this world from the detested sway of the powers of darkness. What a shout shall that be when men and angels shall unite to cry “Hallelujah, hallelujah, for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth!”

What a satisfaction will it be in that day to have had a share in the fight, to have helped to break the arrows of the bow, and to have aided in winning the victory for our Lord! Happy are they who trust themselves with this conquering Lord, and who fight side by side with him, doing their little in his name and by his strength! How unhappy are those on the side of evil! It is a losing side, and it is a matter wherein to lose is to lose and to be lost for ever.

On whose side are you?

John Newton: Thoughts on the Anniversary of His “Deliverance”

This is from John Newton (the author of the hymn, “Amazing Grace”) on the anniversary of his conversion (March 21, 1776):

The anniversary of my great deliverance in 1748 calls for my grateful acknowledgement.…

I remember when I stood trembling, to appearance upon the brink of eternity, and thought it impossible I could live a quarter of an hour. Since that memorable day thou hast added twenty-eight years to my life.…

My time is shortening apace. O that the remainder may be spent for thee. Be my Shepherd, my Saviour, my all, and may all that I have and am be devoted to thee and employed for thee.

R. C. Sproul: Some Thoughts and Questions about Our Celebration of Christmas

Sproul is always insightful, thoughtful, and thought-provoking.

Marley and His Message

A Prayer for the First Sunday of Advent

I have always loved this prayer for the First Sunday of Advent from the Book of Common Prayer. It is largely unchanged from the 1662 BCP except for updated grammar.

Almighty God, give us grace to cast away the works of darkness, and put on the armor of light, now in the time of this mortal life in which your Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when he shall come again in his glorious majesty to judge both the living and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal; through him who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Spurgeon on Avoiding Foolish Questions

Our business is neither to ask nor answer foolish questions, but to avoid them altogether; and if we observe the apostle’s precept (Titus 3:8) to be careful to maintain good works, we shall find ourselves far too much occupied with profitable business to take much interest in unworthy, contentious, and needless strivings.

There are, however, some questions which are the reverse of foolish, which we must not avoid, but fairly and honestly meet, such as these: Do I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ? Am I renewed in the spirit of my mind? Am I walking not after the flesh, but after the Spirit? Am I growing in grace? Does my conversation adorn the doctrine of God my Saviour? Am I looking for the coming of the Lord, and watching as a servant should do who expects his master? What more can I do for Jesus? Such enquiries as these urgently demand our attention; and if we have been at all given to cavilling, let us now turn our critical abilities to a service so much more profitable. Let us be peace-makers, and endeavour to lead others both by our precept and example, to “avoid foolish questions.”

Source: C. H. Spurgeon, Morning and Evening: Daily Readings (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1896), for the morning of November 19.

“Boring” is not necesarily a bad thing: “The Beauty of Boring Churches”

Carl Trueman on The Beauty of Boring Churches (and most of them are "boring churches")

Sermon Supplement: Charles Hodge on Protecting the Church from False Teachers and the Divisions They Cause

From Hodge’s Commentary on Romans to supplement the upcoming Lord’s Day sermon for November 12, 2023, from Romans 16:17–20:

From his “Remarks” on Rom. 16:18:

False teachers have ever abounded in the church. All the apostles were called upon earnestly to oppose them. Witness the epistles of Paul, John, Peter, and James. No one of the apostolical epistles is silent on this subject. Good men may indeed hold erroneous doctrines; but the false teachers, the promoters of heresy and divisions, as a class, are characterized by Paul as not influenced by a desire to serve Christ, but   p 715  as selfish in their aims, and plausible, flattering, and deceitful in their conduct, ver. 18.

And from his “Remarks” on Rom. 16:17:

It is the duty of Christians to be constantly watchful over the peace and purity of the church, and not to allow those who cause divisions and scandals, by departing from the true doctrines, to pursue their course unnoticed. With all such we should break off every connection which either sanctions their opinions and conduct, or gives them facilities for effecting evil, ver. 17.

This

“Brothers, Don’t Be Steered: Identifying and Resisting the Tactics of Manipulation”

Over at American Reformer (a site started by Aaron Renn and a site which I highly recommend), Jospeh Rigney has an article about resting the manipulation of our enemies, often accomplished through other Christians. He provides several helpful strategies and end with this banger:

Finally, root all of your resistance to being steered in a sincere and honest desire to please God. When Paul is slandered by the Judaizers, he has a clean conscience because he knows the one whose approval he seeks. “For am I now seeking the approval of man, or of God? Or am I trying to please man? If I were still trying to please man, I would not be a servant of Christ” (Galatians 1:10).

Here’s the link: Brothers, Don’t Be Steered

The Necessity of Prayer

It is, therefore, by the benefit of prayer that we reach those riches which are laid up for us with the Heavenly Father. For there is a communion of men with God by which, having entered the heavenly sanctuary, they appeal to him in person concerning his promises in order to experience, where necessity so demands, that what they believed was not vain, although he had promised it in word alone. Therefore we see that to us nothing is promised to be expected from the Lord, which we are not also bidden to ask of him in prayers. So true is it that we dig up by prayer the treasures that were pointed out by the Lord’s gospel, and which our faith has gazed upon. Words fail to explain how necessary prayer is, and how many ways the exercise of prayer is profitable. Surely, with good reason, the heavenly father affirms, that the only strong hold of safety isn’t calling upon his name. Words fail to explain how necessary prayer is, and in how many ways the exercise of prayer is profitable. Surely, with good reason the Heavenly Father affirms that the only stronghold of safety is in calling upon his name [cf. Joel 2:32].

Calvin, Institutes, Book IV Chapter XX: 2. The necessity of prayer (pg. 851 in the Battles translation)