The Puritan's Dealings with Troubled Souls: 3

This is the third part of an essay written by G. A. Hemming, taken from the collection of essays called "The Puritan Papers". This essay is from volume 1 in that series. Enjoy.  :  )

Let us now assume that the Puritan pastor is satisfied that the man who has approached him in distress is neither unregenerate nor melancholic. He now considered

3. The Genuine Spiritual Distress of the Genuine Child of God

This is the main theme of our present study, and we examine it under four headings:

A. Its Reality

It is impossible to read any of the Puritans, better or lesser known, without coming across some reference to this subject. A few quotations will illustrate: thus "Among all the works of God's eternal counsel there is none more wonderful than His Desertion: which is nothing else but an action of God forsaking His creature---that is, by taking away the grace and operation of His Spirit from His creature." Or again "The blessings that God bestoweth on His own elect children are of two sorts, positive and privative. Positive are real graces wrought in the heart by the Spirit of God. Privative are such means whereby God preserves men from falling into sin, as crosses and desertions: and these in number exceed the first as long as men live in the world." Or again "the man Christ is the blessed channel betwixt the fountain and the cistern through which grace, life, peace, strength, glory come by a gracious and glorious convoy; every vessel shall have its fullness to all eternity; sometimes indeed the streams come fuller, and sometimes slower; sometimes Christ stayeth the current that we may thirst, that after thirsting, we may drink again with redoubled pleasure." Or, yet again, "This is the main of a godly man's unhappiness---that he neither has a full nor a fixed state of comfortable communion with God in the world. After sweet meetings come sad partings." These quotations are given because it is so necessary to insist on this point. Nowadays the Christian is taught often that he should look forward to a life of unbroken victory, joy, and happiness, as not merely desirable, not only attainable, but actually obligatory for him in this life; not so the Puritans. They recognised that quite the reverse is the Christian's portion, and quoted such verses as Isaiah 49:14, "And Zion said, 'the Lord has forsaken me and my God has forgotten me.'" in support of their views: and lest it should be argued that Zion merely feels forsaken but is not actually so, they quote such verses as Isaiah 54:7, where God Himself is the speaker and says, "For a small moment have I forsaken Thee." i.e., God confirms that we do not merely feel deserted: we are deserted.

Yet, the Puritans, "though God deserts His people really yet He does not desert them totally." "The Lord will forsake His People for His great name's sake," 1 Samuel 12:22; and the Puritans interpolated the word "totally" or "finally" between "not" and "forsake." Thus, they argued, desertions are not the interruptions of God's love, they are rather the acts of God's love. God's love of benevolence or intention remains ever unchanged, but God's love of benificence or execution does change. It is these considerations which give rise to the complaints of the saints, either that God does not carry on the spiritual life as He was wont, or that He gives not that peace, joy, comfort, assurance as he was wont; or that He brings them into ourward straits and does not deliver them. The Christian finds that the tenure of grace and peace is not the same.

The Puritan's Dealings with Troubled Souls: 2

This is the second part of an essay written by G. A. Hemming, taken from the collection of essays called "The Puritan Papers". This essay is from volume 1 in that series. Enjoy.  :  )

2. He Considered the Possibility That the Man's Distress Might Be Due to Non-spiritual Causes
The Puritans recognised that a man might be deeply distressed through what we should call psychological troubles, but which they termed "Melancholy." They recognised that it was no good seeking to apply spiritual remedies to psychological maladies. Thus says Baxter, "Expect not that rational spiritual remedies should suffice for this cure, for you may as well expect that a good sermon or comfortable words  should cure the falling sickness, or palsy, or a broken head, as to be a sufficient cure to your melancholy fears: for this is as real a bodily disease as the other." It is at this point that the Puritans display that shrewdness and robust common sense which are ever needed as a complement to spiritual understanding. They are prepared to give good advice as far as good advice is worth while in such cases. Thus they would counsel a man to watch his prayers. They recognised that some men needed to spend most of their prayer time in praise and thanksgiving and recollections of God's mercies, and that a minimum of time should be spent in confession and expressions of penitence. They recognised too that some Christians should not be over-encouraged to spend much time in solitary prayer and meditations. Rather, they should seek the company of cheerful Christians, for, said they, "There is no mirth like the mirth of believers." They should pray in the company of cheerful saints, and they should converse with men of strongest faith that have this heavenly mirth and can speak experimentally of the joy of the Holy Ghost. These things, said the Puritans, would be great help in lifting a man out of melancholy and depression and establishing him on the pathway of normal and peaceful Christian experience. They recognised that while every man must examine himself, yet there are those who need to observe restraint even in this excellent practice. "Spend more time in doing your duty than in trying your estate" is the Puritan advice to the unduly introspective Christian.
Here again much more could be said, but this must suffice for our present purpose.

The Puritan's Dealings with Troubled Souls: 1

This is an essay written by G. A. Hemming, taken from the collection of essays called "The Puritan Papers". This essay is from volume 1 in that series. Enjoy.  :  )

In this paper we are concerned with the principles which the Puritans followed in their dealings with those who came to them complaining that all was not well with them spiritually. The Puritans realised that the child of God does not walk in a state of unbroken joy: there come times when clouds intervene and the Christian loses the sense of God's favour. The Puritan pastor encouraged his people to come to him and disclose the state of their hearts so that counsel and advice could be given. In this way he built up an amazing stock of knowledge not only of God's dealings with His children but also of the Christian's experience of those dealings.
The complaint of the church member who came to his pastor might be more, or less, serious. He might complain simply that he has an indefinable sense that all is not well with him spiritually; he might have lost all his joy; he might have fallen back into some obvious sin which he thought he had put behind him for ever---as when Peter cursed and swore; he might have lost his assurance of salvation; he might even have found assurance of damnation! He might be finding in his heart doubtings of the gospel, of the goodness of God, of the very existence of God. Troubled that such terrible things should enter and temporarily, at any rate, possess his mind, he turns to his pastor in distress of soul.
In such a case the Puritan pastor worked along well defined lines.

1. He Considered the Possibility That the Man Coming to Him Is Not Truly Converted
To this end he looked for two things. First, a true and deep sense of sin. The Puritans seldom concerned themselves with the moment, real or imagined, of a man's turning to God; they were much more concerned with a man's present state. This does not mean, of course, that they were indifferent to the question of conversion, it means rather that they realised clearly that a true conversion will be shown by its fruit, and they looked for that fruit as evidence that a work of grace had taken place then, they said, one great overriding result would follow, that is, the man would have a deep and continually deepening sense of sin. And they resolutely refused to offer any comfort unless they were convinced that a real sense of sin was present. Thus "the conscience is not to be healed if it be not wounded. Thou preachest and pressest the law, comminations, the judgement to come, and that with much earnestness and importunity. He which hears, if he be not terrified, if he be not troubled, is not to be conforted. Another hears, is stirred, is stung, takes on extremely; cure his contritions, because he is cast down and confounded in himself." Or again, says Perkins, "First of all a man must have knowledge of four things, of the law of God, of sin against the law, of the guilt of sin, and of the judgement of God against sin, which is eternal wrath." Or again "never any of God's children," says Greenham, "were comforted thoroughly, but they were first humbled for their sins."
These quotations give a brief indication of the Puritans' attitude to this all-important question, and they resolutely declined to apply any comfort to a troubled soul until they were first sure that the soul had indeed been troubled as it should be troubled by a sense of sin.
The second thing for which they looked was a genuine love toward God. This will be evidenced by a genuine desire to please God, out of love, not fear. Baxter puts it in this way: "Are you heartily willing to take God for your portions and had you rather live with Him in Glory in His favour and fullest love, with a soul perfectly cleansed from all sin, and never more to offend Him, rejoicing with His Saints in His everlasting praises, that to enjoy the delights of the flesh on earth in a way of sin and without the favour of God? Are you heartily willing to take Jesus Christ as He is offered in the Gospel, that is to be your only Saviour and Lord, and to give you pardon by His blood shed and to sanctify you by His Work and Spirit and to govern you by His laws? Note that to be willing to be ruled by His laws in general and utterly unwilling when it comes to particulars is no true willingness and subjection. You must know that His laws reach both to heart and outward actions, that they command a Holy, Spiritual, Heavenly life, that they command things so cross and unpleasing to the flesh that the flesh will be ever murmuring and striving against obedience; particularly, they command things quite cross to the inclinations of the flesh as to forgive wrongs, to love enemies, to forbear malice and revenge, to restrain and mortify lust and passion, to abhor and mortify pride and to be low in our own eyes, and humble and meek in spirit. These are the laws of Christ which you must know before you can determine whether you are indeed unfeignedly willing to obey them."
Perkins sees fives characteristics of saving faith. The man that has it, he says, will know what it is "to feel his extreme need of Christ and His merits: to hunger and thrist after Him as after meat and drink: to be nothing in himself: to be able to say that he liveth not, but Christ liveth in him by faith: to loathe his own sins with a vehement hatred, and to prize and value Christ and the least drop of His blood above a thousand worlds."
Much more could be said under this heading but it is not the main purpose of this paper to deal with this branch of the subject. Suffice it to say that the Puritans were very thorough in their probing of a man's state, and they realised the great seriousness of allowing any man to rest in a false sense of security when in point of fact he is not truly a child of God. Bolton refers to those who too readily administer the comfort of the gospel as "dawbing ministers, a generation of vilest men, excellent idiots in the mystery of Christ, and merciful cut-throats of many miserable, deluded souls, to whom they promise life and peace; when there is no peace towards, but terrible things at hand, tumblings of garments in blood, noise of damned souls and tormenting in hell for ever."
Let us now assume that the pastor is satisfied that the distressed soul who has turned to him for help is truly regenerate. How next did he proceed?

"So great a cloud of witnesses..." (from Hebrews 12:1)

This is an excerpt taken from "The New Foxe's Book of Martyrs".

Graham and Gladys Staines were Australian missionaries at the Mayurbhanj Leprosy Mission in Mayurbhanj, India, southwest of Calcutta. The mission has two centers, one for treatment and one for rehabilitation. The facilities include dormitories for men and women, an occupational training center, and a chapel. About 80 patients normally live at the Mission, and there is a continuous flow of out-patients. The Staines worked in the treatment center. They lived in an old house within the Mission compound with their three children, Esther (14), Philip (11), and Timothy (7).
In January (1999), Graham took his two sons with him on an annual trip to a leprosy hospital that he was in charge of in Manoharpur, a tin village nestled in the remote hills of Keonjhar, about 155 miles north of the Orissa state capital of Bhubaneswar. Orissa had the highest incidences of attacks against Christian churches in India-some 60 attacks between 1986 and 1998. Graham was aware of this, and also that some of te tension had found in way to Manoharpur, but he wasn't worried. He had decided a long time before to follow Christ wherever He led him to minister to lepers, and Manoharpur was one of the places.
There is no electricity or running water in the village of Manoharpur, and no modern conveniences. At night, Graham and his two sons slept in the back of their Willys station wagon, which had more than enough room for them, and comfortable bedding, which they carried on their trips to these remote areas.
The boys always enjoyed the trips with their father, and he enjoyed having them along. They had already developed a love for these simple people and the lepers that their parents treated. Graham hoped that someday they would follow in his footsteps and join their parents in this work to which they had devoted their lives. India was now his and Gladys' home and always would be. They loved the people of India and could not imagine living and working anywhere else.
God had brought them here, and God poured His love through them as they ministered to the lepers and treated their sores. One former leper said about the Staines: "Our world was darkness. We always faced death. None of the religious leaders bothered to give us even one meal. When we begged for alms, they would throw stones at us and chase us away. We were untouchables. These religious leaders used to tell us that we deserved leprosy because of our sins in our previous birth-because of our karma. And we were left to die in the jungles all alone, like worms. But then came Staines Dada and his friends. They stretched forth their hands of mercy to us and to the Leprosy Home. There we saw the love of God.
Dada and his wife would personally wash our sores and dress the wounds with medicines and when we were cured, they would teach us some skills, and give jobs to us...Philip and Timothy, what loving kids, they used to come and play with us lepers, the outcasts of society."
At this point, the young woman, Sarida, was overcome with grief and unable to speak any longer.
On this particular night in Manoharpur, January 23, Graham fixed the bed in their station wagon not long after dark and they all climbed in to settle down for the night. It had been a hard day, and they were all tired-the boys more from running around the village and playing with the other children than from work, though they always willingly helped their father when he needed them. Before they went to sleep, they did what they always did on these trips, talked about Jesus for a while, and then each said a prayer. Graham loved to hear his boys pray, especially Timothy who still prayed in the innocence and simplicity of a young child.
Not far from their station wagon, about 300 yards, a group of young men were playing drums and enjoying a traditional Indian dance. The rhythmic beat of the drums helped Graham and his two sons fall asleep quickly and soundly. Tomorrow was going to be another busy day.
But there wouldn't be any tomorrow for them.
At about 11p.m. on January 22, a group of radical Hindus led by a man named Dara Singh left Jamadwar and headed for Manoharpur. Singh was no stranger to police, having been arrested several times for initiating violence.
At about 12:20 a.m. on January 23, Singh and his mob arrived at Manoharpur. They approached throuth the fields, armed with axes and tridents (three-pronged spears). They had just one pre-determined target, the Staines station wagon where Graham and his two sons slept. As they got near the vehicle, they started screaming as loud as they could.
Singh struck first, swinging his axe at the tires and slashing them open so the vehicle could not move. The others broke open the windows and struck at the Staines, beating all three unmercifully with their fists and clubs. Graham received the worst beating as he tried to shelter the children with his body. After beating all three nearly unconscious, the raging mob then repeatedly stabbed them-thrusting their tridents through the broken windows time and again in a wild frenzy.
Then Singh piled straw under the vehicle and set it on fire. In seconds, the station wagon was engulfed in flames. Through the broken windows Graham could be seen holding his two young sons close to him. Anyone who knew him was certain that the one name he would be speaking over and over as the flames consumed them was Jesus.
The murderers watched as the three in the vehicle were roasted alive. Someone ran up with a bucket of water to try to douse the flames and was chased away. Dr. Subhankar Ghosh, a close friend of Graham remembers vividly ever moment of that terrible night.
"We had dinner with the Staines around 9 p.m., and they went to sleep in their station wagon, parked near the church, at about 9:45. I was sleeping in one of the huts, only about 300 feet from the church. [Just after] midnight, we were woken up by some strange shouts and screams, and I peeped through the side window. I couldn't believe what I saw. I heard shouts, screams, beatings, breaking of doors. There were 50-60 people with burning torches in their hands....shouting ' beat, beat' around the station wagon.
Soon they started smashing the windows of the jeep with bars and sticks. The frenzied mob blocked Graham from escaping with his children. They were brutally beaten. Then suddenly I saw the jeep in flames. I knew my dear friends would be burned to ashes. The attackers had already blocked the doors of the village huts so that no one could get out to help the Staines. A few who did get out and questioned the mob were threatened [with beatings and burning themselves].
The villagers said the attackers were shouting 'Victory, Dara Singh.' The attackers also burned another jeep, parked nearby, and its driver was beaten and chased away. After an hour, the furious militants fled the scene.
[We freed our doors and raced outside.] We couldn't believe what we saw. We were numbed. Graham was an embodiment of Christian love and compassion. And his children-tender, cheerful, who used to play with the lepers and their children! Is there no limit to man's wickedness?"
Hasda, the driver of the station wagon and a coworker with the Staines for over 20 years, gave his report of the burning.
"I was woken up by the screams of some people. There were about 50-60 men around the jeep where Saibo and children were sleeping. They were smashing the vehicle with staves and stones. Some carried tridents also. Then I saw somebody putting a bundle of straw under the vehicle and setting it on fire. I brought water and tried to put out the fire, but some of them caught me and beat me hard and chased me away.
I ran to Murmu's hut and informed him, and he ran to call the village chief. When I returned to the vehicle, what I saw was most tragic. Fire had devoured the two vehicles, and my Saibo and little Philip and Tim [were] turned to ashes. I am sorry I couldn't do anything to save my Saibo and the little ones. My parents were cured lepers and inhabitants of Rajabasa rehabilitation center. I was born there. The Staines treated me like their son. Philip and Tim used to play with my children [and] take them on their cycles. The future of the mission is [now] in God's hands. Our Lord is able."
Also at Manoharpur that night was Gilbert Venz, a visiting friend of the Staines from Austrailia, who had accompanied Graham to the village. He also remembers vividly what happened.
"The village had turned in for the night, but at about 12:30 midnight, what seemed like a large group of men began raising a commotion in the street outside. They were screaming, 'Don't come out, we will kill you.'
I was indoors and we found that the door had been locked from outside. Graham and the kids were sleeping in the jeep."
Because he was trapped inside, Venz didn't know the station wagon had been set on fire. But he kept hearing the terrifying noise of the mob. Later, as he heard the shouting subside, someone freed the door and he rushed out and ran towards the station wagon. He found only a burned out, smoking, shell-and three bodies charred beyond recognition, locked in a tight embrace. In life and in the agony of their deaths, Graham and his sons had been inseparable.
A number who fled the raging mob said they saw a wide beam of bright light shining down on the burning station wagon. "I do believe," said Gladys Staines, "that my husband and children were specially strengthened by my Lord and the angelic hosts from heaven."

Asked if she would now leave India and their work with the lepers, she replied, "Never. My husband and our children have sacrificed their lives for this nation. India is my home. I am happy to be here. I hope to die here and be buried along with them."

"Yea and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution."-2 Timothy 3:12

A Brief Study of "Advice to Young Converts" by Jonathan Edwards: Part 2

This is the second post in a series inspired by the short book, "Advice to a Young Convert" by Jonathan Edwards. May God be glorified in it, and may his people, the church, grow and be edified by it, and most of all, may God's Holy Spirit convict men's hearts of their sin and grant them repentance and faith in His blessed Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

This is a letter written during the Great Awakening by Jonathan Edwards to a young woman named Deborah Hathaway, and was later published as a small book called: "Advice to Young Converts".

“2. Don't slack off seeking, striving, and praying for the very same things that we exhort unconverted persons to strive for, and a degree of which you have had in conversion. Thus pray that your eyes may be opened, that you may receive your sight, that you may know your self and be brought to God's feet, and that you may see the glory of God and Christ, may be raised from the dead, and have the love of Christ shed abroad in your heart. Those that have most of these things still need to pray for them; for there is so much blindness and hardness and pride and death remaining that they still need to have that work of God upon them, further to enlighten and enliven them. This will be a further bringing out of darkness into God's marvelous light, and a kind of new conversion and resurrection from the dead. There are few requests that are not only proper for a natural person, but that in some sense are also proper for the godly.”

There are some today who would tell you that questioning your salvation isn’t a good idea, and that one can be a “carnal Christian”, meaning that our life can be just as sinful as ever without any sign of changing, and yet we must be saved, because we believe and we chose Christ. Is this true? Not according to Jonathan Edwards. He is encouraging new and old believers to continually keep in remembrance how sinful they are by nature and how they have no hope for heaven without Christ’s atoning sacrifice. 

He also says that we still have sinful desires and fleshly pride within in us even after we have been converted to Christ, and that we must always be on guard and aware of them, and to fight against them. Does the Bible support what he is saying? Is it okay or even normal for a Christian to question their salvation?

First, if we didn’t doubt we wouldn’t be human. And we need not look further than the Psalms to see that doubts and feelings of abandonment are not only normal, but beneficial. Just think of all the comfort that has been given through such Psalms.

“Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O LORD. 

Lord hear my voice: let thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplications.

If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?

But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared. 

I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning: I say, more than they that watch for the morning.

Let Israel hope in the LORD: for with the LORD there is mercy, and with him is plenteous redemption.

And he shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.”-Psalm 130

Had the Psalmists never doubted, never feared, never shared the reality of their weakness, how could we ever have any assurance for ourselves? These and many other accounts in the Bible help us to know that our nature cannot be trusted. And we know that God sees and looks at the intents of the heart. Let us examine what the Bible, what God, says about our hearts.

“And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”-Genesis 6:5

“But the LORD said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the LORD seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the LORD looketh on the heart.”-1 Samuel 16:7

“I know also, my God, that thou triest the heart, and hast pleasure in uprightness.”-1 Chronicles 29:17a

“He that hath clean hands, and a pure heart; who hath not lifted up his soul unto vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the LORD, and righteousness from the God of his salvation.”-Psalm 24:4-5

“Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.”-Psalm 44:21

“Search me, O God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.”-Psalm 139:23-24

“So as he thinketh in his heart, so is he:”-Proverbs 23:7a

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”-Jeremiah 17:9

“Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.”-Matthew 5:8

“For where you treasure is, there will your heart be also.”-Matthew 6:21

“O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.”-Matthew 12:34

“For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:”-Matthew 15:19

“And Jesus answered and said unto them, For the hardness of your heart he wrote you this precept.”-Mark 10:5

“A good man out of a the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.”-Luke 6:45

“For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.”-Romans 10:10

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.”-Hebrews 4:12-13

“Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from a evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)”-Hebrews 10:22-23

“For if we sin willfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries. He that despised Moses; law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace? For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. But call to remembrance the former days, in which, after ye were illuminated, ye endured a great fight of afflictions; Partly, whilt ye were made a gazingstock both by reproaches and afflictions; and partly, whilst ye became companions of them that were so used. For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better an an everlasting substance. Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that after ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and he that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul.”-Hebrews 10: 26-39

“They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us.”-1John 2:19

“And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. If ye know that he is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.”-1 John 2:28-29

“Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen  him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”-1 John 3:6-10

“And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.”-1John 3:19-24

“Strive to enter in at the strait gate: for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When once the master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door, an dye begin to stand without, and to knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and say unto you, I know you not whence ye are: Then shall ye begin to say, We have eaten and drunk in thy presence, and thou hast taught in our streets. But he shall say, I tell you, I know you not whence ye are; depart from me, all ye workers of iniquity. There shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out. And they shall come form the east, and from the west, and from the north, and from the south, and shall sit down in the kingdom of God. And, behold, there are last which shall be first, and there are first which shall be last.”-Luke 13:24-30

Our heart is sinful by nature and we only desire to do what is wrong apart from God’s sustaining grace. If you aren’t in Christ then you have no hope of eternal life or of being freed from the power of sin that keeps you enslaved. In Christ, we still sin, but God has taken away the desire to do evil and keeps us from many temptations and sins by His sovereign grace and power out of love for us. 

In Christ, our hardened and filthy hearts are replaced with a new heart with new desires. “A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my spirit within ou, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgements, and do them.”-Ezekiel 36:26-27.

We have no good/righteousness in us that God should forgive us and make us His own, but Christ died in our place. He died that He might take our unrighteousness and we might stand in His righteousness just before God. “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”-2 Corinthians 5:21. “And be found in him not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith.”-Philippians 3:9. 

The fact that you know how sinful you are is a sign that the Holy Spirit is working in you, for that knowledge can only come from God. 

“For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.”-Titus 3:3-7.

Doubts are good for our spiritual growth, they make us look for assurance, and the only place to look for assurance is in God’s Word through prayer and diligent study over it. So, go ahead, “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith: prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?”-2 Corinthians 13:5

Be sure that you are trusting your salvation being dependent upon Christ’s righteousness and His penal substitutionary atonement (that He took your punishment and thereby cleared you of the charges, satisfying justice). Do not trust in your goodness to take you to heaven, or your “decision for Christ”, or your church membership, or your involvement in youth group, or your knowledge of the Bible. And by no means trust in an idol of your own making: i.e. I believe God is too loving and kind to send His own creation to hell forever. If you do not believe in the God of the Bible as He is clearly and literally presented there, you have no hope for heaven. If you do not understand Jesus rightly that He is fully God and fully man, died on the cross to take our place, rose from the dead, and is seated at the right hand of God with all power being given to him. (To better understand who Jesus really is read Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and 1 & 2 John.) 

Beloved, do not put off seeking an assurance of your faith. It’s more than a possibility for believers; it’s a promise to us. 

“Blessed by the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of is grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. I whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: The in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him: In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will: That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ.”-Ephesians 1:3-12

From the 1599 Geneva Bible

“A Confession for all estates and times.

O Eternal God and most merciful Father, we confess and acknowledge here before thy divine Majesty, that we are miserable sinners, conceived and born in sin and iniquity, so that in us there is no goodness. For the flesh evermore rebelleth against the spirit, whereby we continually transgress thy holy precepts and commandments: and so purchase to ourselves through thy just judgement, death and damnation. Notwithstanding (O Heavenly Father) forasmuch as we are displeased with ourselves for the sins that we have committed against thee, and do unfeignedly repent us of the same, we most humbly beseech thee for Jesus Christ’s sake to show thy mercy upon us, to forgive us all our sins, and increase thy holy Spirit in us, that we acknowledging from the bottom of our hearts, our own unrighteousness, may from henceforth not only mortify our sinful lusts and affections, but also bring forth such fruits as may be agreeable to thy most blessed will, not for the worthiness thereof, but for the merits of thy dearly beloved Son Jesus Christ our only Savior, whom thou hast already given an oblation and offering for our sins, and for whose sake we are certainly persuaded that thou wilt deny us nothing that we shall ask in his name, according to thy will. For thy Spirit doth assure our consciences, that thou art our merciful Father, and so lovest us thy children through him, that nothing is able to remove thy heavenly grace and favor from us. To thee therefore (O Father) with the Son, and the holy Ghost, be all honor and glory world without end. Amen.” - From the 1599 Geneva Bible

“Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish in the way, when his wrath shall suddenly burn.  Blessed are all that trust in him.” -Psalm 2:12(1599 Geneva Bible translation)                                    

Justified by the Power of the Gospel

“16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them. 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:”-Romans 1:16-20

In this passage, Paul has just finished telling the church at Rome of his great desire to visit them, and that he is ready at any time, but is only waiting for it to be God’s will (vs. 10-15). And in verse 16 he is explaining why he is always ready and why he is a “debtor” to them. 

Ever wanted to access the power of God? This is where it’s at, “the gospel of Christ”. God hasn’t given us access to His infinite power in any other avenue, and no this isn’t about living prosperously here and now or how to fill the church pews, because the access given to us is “power unto salvation”. And this power only comes through the “gospel of Jesus Christ”.

Let’s clarify this a little. Jump down to verse 18-20. God’s wrath is “against all ungodliness an unrighteousness”. That means that God’s wrath isn’t just against Hitler, suicide bombers, serial killers, rapists, and child molesters. All means all, so, God’s wrath is against idolators, people who deny God, blasphemers who use the holy name of God their Creator as a curse word, haven’t kept a sabbath or given any time to God, have disobeyed their parents, have been unjustifiably angry and murdered in their heart, have stolen anything ever, liars, and coveters (desiring things that don’t belong to you). Any and all sin is enough to justify the wrath of a perfectly holy God. 

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”-1 John 3:4

“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”

-James 2:10

The guilt is worsened by the fact that the knowledge of God is made known within us and that God Himself has shown us Himself (vs. 19). And yet as in verse 18 we literally hold down this truth, we ignore and deny it’s very existence. And verse 20 makes our situation worser still, in that the very creation, the fact that there is an earth, a universe, people, is proof enough that there is a Creator. Spontaneous regeneration is impossible, something never comes from nothing. An effect must have a cause. And the entire universe is winding down, indicating that there is an end to it, which implies there must be a beginning. God has not hidden the fact of His existence, nor has He kept men from knowing Him.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. 

Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge.

There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard.

Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, 

Which is as a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race.

His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof.

The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.

The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes.

The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.

More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward.

Who can understand his errors? cleanse thou me from secret faults.

Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.

Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer.”-Psalm 19

The most condemning statement comes in the last phrase of verse 20. Because God has made the truth of His existence and showed Himself to us that we might know Him, and has revealed openly these things in creation, we are without excuse. In other words, you won’t have anything to say in your defense when you stand before the eternal and just God. And because we have no excuse, God’s anger is justifiable.

If someone were to walk up to you and punch you in the nose out of anger, this would be unjustifiable anger and an unjust act. However, if you were trying to steal a woman’s purse, and her husband punched you in the nose, his actions would be justifiable as would his anger, because you have sinned against him. 

Now let’s look at God’s wrath. If God crushed all of us in His wrath in this very instance, He would be justified in doing so, because we have sinned against Him. But God is loving, merciful, gracious, patient, and longsuffering with us. That’s why He hasn’t done what would be deserved by our actions. 

So, what does all this have to do with verse 16? Justification. God’s anger and wrath is justified by our sins. The best example of God pouring out His wrath against “all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” is found at the cross of Jesus Christ. It was here that the wrath of God that was justly deserved by our ungodliness and unrighteousness was poured out on the sinless and holy Son of God.

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”-2 Corinthians 5:21

God’s wrath against the sin of those He has redeemed was justified at the cross. This is the “gospel of Christ” where “the power of God” is revealed “unto salvation”. In verse 17, the righteousness of God in Christ is revealed  that “The just shall live by faith.” We can stand justified before God because of Christ’s righteousness given to us by faith. If we have repented and put our faith in Christ and have been regenerated as a new creature, then God’s wrath cannot be executed upon us; it would now be unjustifiable wrath, because His wrath was already put on Jesus Christ. 

If we are saved this news should spur us on in witnessing and sharing the gospel with everyone, because apart from Christ’s righteousness all people will be under the just wrath of God and will be without excuse. And should make out Savior only sweeter and make us love Him more.

If you are not saved, then know that right now is the moment to seek God’s power in salvation. There is no guarantee that God, who is mercifully allowing you to live by providing every breath and beat of your heart each moment, will continue to do so. You may walk across the street and be hit by a car or die in your sleep tonight. Do not let this rest until you are sure He has saved you. Plead for His mercy, turn from your sins, ask His forgiveness, but don’t wait. For when you stand before the all powerful and mighty God His wrath will be justifiable and you will be condemned without excuse. Then read His Word, the Bible, that you might please Him and walk in obedience to Him. Love in truth.