Daily Devotional Readings
The man who preaches the gospel is compared to a farmer who sows his fields with seed. We preach the gospel earnestly to all men, broadcasting the precious seed. But only when the gospel is received 'in an honest and good heart' does it bring forth fruit. In this parable of 'the sower our Lord tells us three things about all true believers:
1. The true believer Receives the Word in an honest and good heart. No man's heart is honest by nature. It must be made honest by the grace of God. This is one of the first acts of divine grace in a man's soul: His heart is renewed, and made to see things in their true light (Ezek. 36:26; John 3:19-21). We see who God is, what sin is and what we are.
A good heart is a broken and contrite heart. In order for soil to be good and ready to receive seed, it must be broken by the plough. Even so, a good heart is one that has been broken by God the Holy Spirit. Until the heart is broken, it is unfit to receive the seed of the gospel. It must be broken by the conviction of sin, the severity of the law, the sight of a crucified Christ and the knowledge of divine love.
A good heart is one that has been tender and soft. There the seed takes deep and permanent root.
2. The true believer not only receives the word, he keeps it. The gospel is kept in the heart of faith. Our Lord holds us and we go on holding him. True faith is perserving faith. True grace is enduring grace. When God prepares the heart and sows the seed, the plant cannot die (Heb. 3:6; 10:23, 38, 39).
3. The true believer brings forth fruit. He does not produce fruit, but brings it forth. The fruit is the produce of the Spirit of God. The fruit has not yet come to perfection, but it is real. Mark my words, there is no such thing as a fruitless believer. They all repent. They all believe. They all obey (John 15:5, 6, 16). They bring forth heart fruit (Gal. 5:22-23). They bring forth lip fruit (Heb. 13:15). And they bring forth life fruit (Rom. 6:14-16).
What is the new birth? It is nothing less than a resurrection from the dead! Three blessed truths are set forth in this text, in which the children of God can read their experience.
1. You were dead. Spiritual death, like physical death, may be more manifest in one than it is in another. For example, Jairus' daughter looked almost as though she were still alive, but she was, in reality, just as dead as Lazarus who had been in the grave for four days. Many around us are morally upright, honest and good in the eyes of men, but spiritually they are just as dead as the harlot, the drunk and the blasphemer. All men are by nature dead in trespasses and sins. We died in our father, Adam. We are legally dead, born under the sentence of the law. Some are less corrupt than others. But all are utterly destitute of spiritual life. Sin brings forth death and death, sooner or later, brings forth corruption. The natural man's corrupt heart corrupts his entire being. And being dead, we were utterly helpless and impotent.
2. But here is the marvellous intervention of divine grace: you have been quickened. God has, by almighty power, given you life from the dead! This is the new birth. It is not a decision of man's free will. It is not a co-operative effort on the part of God and man together. It is a resurrection to life, accomplished by the life-giving voice of the Son of God! John 5:21, 24, 25.) God Almighty sovereignly interposes his love, grace and mercy to give life to dead sinners!
3. Now, children of God, you are alive! We were dead, but now we are alive. And we owe it all to the manifold grace of our triune God. Dwell no longer in the graveyard of sin. No longer be held in bondage by the fear of the law. Speak to God as a living child to his living Father. Are we alive? Then we are one with Christ! Let us, as living men who were dead, live to love and glorify our Saviour.
Election is a doctrine plainly taught in the Bible. It is not possible for a man to read the Word of God and, with a sincere conscience, deny that election is true. Nor can a man, familiar with the Scriptures, in honesty deny that God's election of his people in Christ is both personal and particular, eternal and immutable. We therefore preach this blessed truth of God without apology or hesitation.
But Satan and the ministers of Satan turn the truth of God into a lie. In dealing with men, I have on occasion met poor souls who desperately felt their need of Christ and his righteousness. But they stumbled over the doctrine of election, thinking, 'If I am not elect, I cannot believe; and I have no reason to suppose that I am elect. Therefore, I dare not trust Christ and confess him.' Who are you, and who am I, to suppose that we can thus know the mind of God?
In our text a poor, sinful, idolatrous Gentile came to Christ in desperate need of mercy. 'The Lord confronted her with the doctrine of sovereign election: 'I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel.' But this poor soul knew that she could not obtain the mercy she desired from anyone except the Lord Jesus Christ, so she pressed her case before him. If she did not find mercy here, she would never find mercy. What could she lose by throwing herself upon him?
Do you feet the burden of sin pressing you down? Is your case so great, your misery so vexing that you know no one can help you but Christ? Like job resolve to wait for him to show mercy, saying, 'Though he slay me, yet will I trust him.' Like Jacob cry, 'I will not let thee go except thou bless me.'
This is great faith. And it will always obtain the blessing. The question is not 'Am I elect?' It is 'Do I believe?' Feeling your great need of Christ and believing that he is able to show mercy, you will have mercy – election notwithstanding. Then, having obtained mercy, look back to God's electing love, and say, 'Blessed be God.'
Whenever believers come to consider any doctrine, we should always ask three questions: 'Is this doctrine plainly stated in the Word of God? Does this doctrine glorify God? Will this doctrine give man room and cause to boast before God?' You can be sure of this: any doctrine taught in the Word of God will both glorify God and remove all ground of boasting from man. God has determined 'that no flesh should glory in his presence ... That according as it is written, He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord' (I Cor. 1:29-31).
On that basis alone, the theory of universal redemption, the doctrine which says Christ died for and made an atonement for the sins of all men, as much so for those who perish under the wrath of God as for those who are saved, must be rejected as heresy. This doctrine makes the cross of Christ of none effect and declares that the determining factor in man's salvation is not the work of Christ but rather the free will of man! Such a doctrine as this must be exposed and denounced for what it is, the most hideous doctrine that has ever been perpetrated in the world. It is more harmful to the souls of men than any other. It treads under foot the Son of God, counts the blood of the covenant a useless thing and does despite to the Spirit of grace.
I know that I am using strong language, but where the souls of men and the glory of God are at stake there is no room for pretty words and accommodating speech. Either the Lord Jesus Christ effectually accomplished the redemption of those people for whom he died, or he failed in his work! If a building contractor makes a bid and agrees to build a specifically designed building within a certain amount of time for a specified price, but only gets the building 90% complete, he is a failure. The part that he did may look beautiful, but if someone else has to finish the job, the original contractor is a failure. He must hang his head in shameful reproach and forfeit all honour and reward. My friend, the Lord Jesus Christ is no failure! 'He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied' (Isa. 53:11).
Can a saved person ever be lost? Our Lord Jesus emphatically answers that question for us. Listen to what he says in John 10:27-30: 'My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: and I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one.' Our Lord himself has spoken it, and it is true not one of his own will ever perish! Any person who is truly saved, born again by almighty grace, a true believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, is eternally secure in the hands of Christ.
To be sure, there are many who make a profession of faith in Christ, reform their lives and to all outward appearance seem to be saved people that do fall from grace and perish. But the apostle John tells us that those who fall away, forsake the gospel and perish in their sins were never truly saved. He says in 1 John 2: 19, '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' Any man who leaves Christ never truly knew Christ.
I readily grant that if our salvation were in any measure dependent upon us, we would most certainly be lost and without hope. But salvation is entirely the work of God's grace and power in Christ. And since it is the work of God, it cannot be destroyed. Solomon said, 'I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be done for ever; nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it: and God doeth it, that men may fear before him' (Eccles. 3:14). Paul said, 'He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ' (Phil. 1:6).
Are you one of the Lord's sheep? Are you a true believer? Have you heard the Saviour's voice calling you to himself? Has he given you eternal life? Do you follow him in true faith? If so, you are one of his chosen, redeemed, saved sheep. You have eternal life. And you will never perish. There are many things to give us comfort and confidence regarding the security of our salvation in Christ. The purpose of God secures the salvation of all his elect. He said, 'I will be their God, and they shall be my people.' If one of the chosen number could be lost, God's eternal purpose would be overturned. The promise of God demands our security in Christ.. He said, 'I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.' The blood of Christ requires the eternal salvation of all his redeemed ones. He said, 'I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. I am the Good Shepherd: the Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.' But if even one of those sheep for which he died, which he purchased with his own blood, parishes at last, then his blood would be shed in vain and that cannot be! The satisfaction of Christ demands that all his people be preserved unto eternal glory. If one of those for whom he suffered and died were to perish at last, he could not be satisfied. His cross would be discovered a miscarriage. But that cannot be. It is written: 'He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.' The work of the Holy Spirit secures the everlasting preservation of every true believer. We are sealed (or preserved) with that Holy Spirit, of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.'
This is our assurance and security in Christ. We do not in any way trust in ourselves. But we do trust the Lord our God. The faithfulness of God, the blood of Christ, the intercession of Christ and the power of the Holy Spirit assure us that none of Christ's sheep will ever perish.
There is much confusion in our day about the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ. There are many who teach that Christ actually redeemed some of those who are finally lost in hell! I have heard preachers make some shocking statements about the redemptive work of Christ. I heard one man say that Christ died just as much for Judas as he did for Paul.' Another one blasphemously declared that "The blood of Christ will be fuel for the flames of hell.' The popular idea of redemption is that though Christ has died to satisfy the wrath and justice of God against sin, and though he has paid the lawful price for the redemption of sinners, some of those who were redeemed by Christ will, after all, be required to suffer for their sins. If such a notion is accepted, then it must be concluded that the justice of God has fallen to the ground, the God of heaven has ceased to be just. If my debt has been paid by Christ, God cannot in justice demand payment from me.
If so much as one soul for whom Christ shed his blood at Calvary perishes in hell, then the justice of God is destroyed. And if Christ died to redeem some men who are not ultimately saved, then he can never see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied, as the Scriptures declare he will. How can he be satisfied while some of those for whom he died are in hell? Once more, if even one sinner for whom Christ shed his blood in death perishes in hell, then it must be concluded that the blood of Christ was shed in vain. Such blasphemous absurdities as these cannot be tolerated by a believing heart. They rob Christ of his redemptive glory, rob God of his justice and rob sinners of all real hope.
Because there is much confusion about the redemptive work of the Lord Jesus Christ, I want to be very plain and clear. The Bible nowhere teaches, nor does it anywhere imply that our Lord Jesus Christ died to redeem and save every person in the world. I hold it to be an authoritative doctrine, consistent with all common sense and most plainly revealed in Holy Scripture, that whatever Christ has redeemed, Christ will have. This simple foundation truth must be well established in our hearts: whatever the Lord Jesus Christ has redeemed he must have. Otherwise his redemptive work at Calvary would be a failure.
It is repugnant to reason and contrary to the plainest statements of Holy Scripture to assert that Christ has died to purchase what he will never possess. It is nothing less than blasphemy to declare, as many do, that the intention of our Saviour's death can be frustrated. I am sure that all who weigh the matter and honestly consider it, must see that the intention of Christ in his death must be fulfilled and that the design of God, whatever that may be, must be carried out. I believe that the efficacy of Christ's atonement is just as great as God meant that it should be, and that what Christ has redeemed is precisely what he meant to redeem and exactly what the Father had decreed he should redeem. Therefore I cannot, for one moment, give any credence whatever to that doctrine which tells us that all men are redeemed. The Lord Jesus Christ did not die to redeem those men and women who ultimately perish in hell!
Our Lord declares that he is 'the Good Shepherd: the Good Shepherd giveth his life for the sheep'. He did not give his life for those who are not his sheep. It is written: 'He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.' That is to say, all of those for whom he suffered and whom he died to redeem will be with him in glory. Not one of his redeemed ones will perish.
I am convinced that no man has ever experienced the grace of God in salvation until his heart is thoroughly broken before a holy God as he has revealed himself in the Lord Jesus Christ. If ever a man finds out who he is, who God is, who the Lord Jesus Christ is and what he has done for sinners – if a man ever really learns these things, he will be a broken man. When Job stood in the presence of his three miserable friends, he vindicated himself and even cursed his day. He said, 'Why did I not perish from the womb? Why did I not give up the ghost when I came out of the belly?' But when he stood in the presence of God, he was a broken man and he spoke as a broken man. He saw himself in all the hideousness of his sin and he saw God in all the holiness of his majesty. Then he said, 'Behold, I am vile.' 'I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear: but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes' (Job 40:4; 42:5-6). There is no pride and egotism here, no haughtiness, no self-vindication. Once Job had seen the Lord, he was broken. He loathed himself and blamed himself. Once Job had seen the Lord, he honoured God and vindicated him. The truly broken heart. will always vindicate God, no matter the cost.
This brokenness can only be produced in our stubbornly sinful hearts by a saving revelation of Christ in our hearts. Brokenness is found at the cross. The Lord God declares that when he pours upon the hearts of his elect the Spirit of grace, then 'They shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn' (Zech. 12: 10). Have you been to the cross? Have you had the crucified Christ revealed in your heart? Has your heart been broken by the knowledge of the Lord? 0 Lord, evermore break our hearts before thee! Amen.
A true spiritual knowledge of Christ will be a personal knowledge. I cannot know Christ through another person's acquaintance with him. No, I must know him myself. I must know him by my own heart's personal experience.
It will be an intelligent knowledge. I must know him, not by visions and dreams, but as the Word reveals him. I must know his natures, divine and human. I must know his offices, his attributes, his works, his shame and his glory. I must meditate upon him until I comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and ... know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge' (Eph. 3:18-19).
It will be an affectionate knowledge of him. Indeed, if I know Christ at all, I must love him. An ounce of heart knowledge is worth a ton of head learning.
Our knowledge of Christ will be a satisfying knowledge. When I know my Saviour, my mind will be full to the brim, I shall feel that I have that for which my soul pants.
At the same time, it will be an exciting knowledge. The more I know of my Beloved, the more I shall want to know of him. The more I have, the more I shall want. Like the miser's money, my treasure in Christ will make me covet more of him.
To conclude, the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ will be a most happy knowledge. It is so elevating that it will carry me up above my trials and doubts and sorrows. Such knowledge will cause me to rise up above my earthly cares. It will cover me with the immortality of the ever-living Saviour. It will strengthen me with his eternal joy. Come, my soul, let me count everything but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord.
Everyone talks about the love of God. We all know those scriptures that tell us 'God is love' (I John 4:8). 'God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life' (John 3:16). 'God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us' (Rom. 5:8). 'Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us' (I John 3:16). Love is not a fickle, sentimental passion in God, like it is with us. It is not an emotion of his heart, but an attribute of' his nature. 'God is love!' Love is an essential part of God's character. I rejoice to declare to men that the God of heaven is love. He is a God who delights to show love, mercy and grace to men. In the sacrificial death of the Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary, as the sinner's Substitute, the infinite, magnanimous love of God for his people is most clearly revealed, John wrote, 'In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins' (I John 4:9-10). God's love towards us is free, sovereign and gracious. We did not love him, but he loved us. Our love for God is preceded by and caused by his love for us. 'We love him, because he first loved us' (I John 4:19). God so loved us that he willingly sacrificed the Lord Jesus Christ, his own well-beloved Son, to satisfy his own justice in our place and redeem us. Who can comprehend, or explain, the love of God for us?
I cannot begin to explain the love of God. But I do want to share with you four facts about the love of God revealed in Holy Scripture.
1. The love of God is without beginning. There never was a time when God began to love his people. Like God himself, his love for us is eternal. He says, 'Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love' (Jer. 31:3). In eternal love he chose his own elect in Christ, before the world was. In love, he predestinated us unto the adoption of children in Christ. Those whom God loves today he has loved always and will love always.
2. The love of God is without measure. It would be far easier to measure the waters of the ocean in a tea cup than to measure the love of God in our puny brains and hearts. Paul tells us that the height and depth and length and breadth of the love of God in Christ pass all knowledge.
3. The love of God is without change. God's love is perfect. It never changes. He does not love today and hate tomorrow. Our love to him varies from day to day, but his love towards us knows no variation. If you are truly one of his own, there is nothing you can do that will cause him to cease loving you, or even to love you less. This immutable, unchanging love is a love such as we might expect from our God.
4. The love of God is without end. He will never cease to cherish his own. Children of God, take comfort in this word of grace today: 'God is love." The love of God for us is without beginning, without measure, without change and without end.
Come, my soul, mediate on this. God declares that you are entirely free from condemnation. Believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are actually and effectually cleared from all guilt. Your prison doors are opened. You no longer wear the chains of a slave. You are delivered now from the bondage of the law. Free! Free! Free! Thank God, I am free at last! Free from the law! Free from sin! Free from death! Free from judgement! The Saviour's blood has procured your full discharge. Now you have a right to approach your Father's throne. There are no flames of vengeance to frighten you now. There is no fiery sword of judgement to threaten you now. Justice cannot strike the innocent. Once You were unable to see the Father's face, but now you see it clearly. Once you could not speak to him, but now you come before his throne and speak to him in prayer with the boldness of a son. Once the fear of hell was upon you, but now you no longer fear the dreadful pit. How can there be any punishment for the guiltless? He who believes is not condemned and cannot be punished.
And more, all of those privileges that you might have enjoyed if you had never sinned are now yours, because you are justified. All the blessings which you would have had if you had kept the law, and many more, are now yours, because Christ has kept the law in your place. All the love and acceptance that perfect obedience could have obtained from God belong to you, because Christ was perfectly obedient in your behalf. God has imputed the merits of his own Son to your account, that you might be exceedingly rich through him, who for your sake became exceedingly poor.
Oh, what grace the Lord has bestowed upon his people in Christ! What a great debt of love and gratitude believing souls owe to the Son of God! Let these words of grace comfort your soul and cheer your heart today: 'There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.'
We must all face the fact that flesh is flesh. Though all who believe are saved by the grace of God, washed in the blood and clothed in the righteousness of Christ, so long as we are in this world, we are just earthen vessels. When Paul talks about that salvation which brings into our hearts 'the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ', he reminds us that 'We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us' (2 Cor. 4:6-7).
The more we think of the utter weakness of our flesh, the more thankful we are that our security and preservation in Christ are not dependent upon our own weak nature, but upon God's constant power and sustaining grace. We are so feeble that if the matter were left in our hands, we should all fall and perish very soon. Many cannot endure the teachings of Holy Scripture regarding this matter of our security and preservation in Christ, because it makes the whole of salvation a work of divine grace, from beginning to end. It allows no room for human merit and works.
We do not pretend to live above sin. Sin is a sadly common fact of life. You will never find one of those men who lived and walked with God in the Bible bragging about his righteousness or his perfection. In fact, they all struggled with sin in their flesh. All of God's people are like Paul. We have two natures within us, two principles struggling for supremacy the one is good, the other evil; the one is righteousness, the other sin; the one is spirit, the other flesh. If we could avoid it, we would never sin. We abhor our sin as an infinitely evil thing! We long for the day when we shall be totally free from sin. But, for now, we have the treasure of God's saving grace in these earthen vessels, so that the excellency, the greatness, the power and the glory of our salvation may be attributed to God and not to us.
The believer is like a man climbing up a hill. Occasionally he slips down, but his face is always set towards the summit. The unregenerate man is always going down, because his face is set in that direction. The believer is like a man on a ship. He may slip and fall many times on the deck, but he never jumps overboard. Our judgement may at times be wrong, like those of the bewitched Galatians (3: 1). Our affections may cool like those of the church at Ephesus (Rev. 2:4). Grace may at times seem to be lost to a child of God, but it never is really lost. The people of God, like the church in the Song of Solomon, may become slothful and negligent, but their hearts awake (5:2). The sun is sometimes eclipsed, but it regains its splendour. The trees lose all their fruit and leaves in the winter, but they have fresh buds in the spring. Israel may flee before her enemies at times, but she enters the land of promise triumphantly when her journey is over. So too, the true believer falls many times, but the Lord raises him up and he will finally enter into heaven triumphantly, through the blood, the righteousness and the grace of Christ. It is utterly unthinkable that one of God's elect should fail to enter into eternal glory. Like Jonah, we all may, at times, flee from the will of God, but grace will pursue us, preserve us and cause our hearts to return to him who loved us and gave himself for us.
I am like you, a man struggling with sin. At times my sinful thoughts and my sinful deeds almost cause me to despair. But I am reminded by the gospel and by the Spirit of God that his grace is sufficient, even for me. My salvation and my acceptance with God are not in myself, but in my Substitute. Like you, I am just an earthen vessel, but Christ is the Lord our Righteousness. He is all my salvation, all my desire and all assurance. I hang all my hope upon him. Do you?
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