Tried With Fire

“Now unto Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and forever. Amen.” Jude 1:24, 25. But to the people of God, I have to say this. Dear Brothers and Sisters, we need keeping , therefore let us adore Him who can keep us! As saved souls, we need keeping from final apostasy. “Oh,” says one, “I thought you taught us that those who are once saved shall never finally apostatize.” I do believe that doctrine and delight to preach it—yet it is true that the saved ones would apostatize—everyone of them—if the Lord did not keep them! There is no stability in any Christian, considered in himself. It is the Grace of God within him that enables him to stand. I believe than the soul of man is immortal, yet not in and of itself, but only by the immortality which God bestows upon it from His essential immortality. So is it with ...

I want you to know the length and breadth of your portion in Christ. I want you to understand the full amount of treasure to which faith in Jesus entitles you. You have found out that you are a great sinner. Thank God for that. You have fled to Christ for pardon and peace with God. Thank God for that. You have committed yourself to Jesus for time and eternity: you have no hope but in Christ's blood, Christ's righteousness, Christ's mediation, Christ's daily all-persevering intercession. Thank God for that. Your heart's desire and prayer is to be holy in all manner of conversation. Thank God for that. But oh, lay hold upon the glorious truth,—that believing on Jesus you shall never perish, you shall never be cast away, you shall never fall away! It is written for you as well as the apostles, "My sheep shall never perish." Yes! reader, Jesus has spoken it, and Jesus meant it to be believed. Jesus has spoken it, who never broke His promises. Jesus has spoken ...

It's my turn to post at Out of the Ordinary: It's been a sad week. Two elderly sisters in my church went home to glory. I also learned that a dear friend of my grandparents died last month at the age of 104. These women fought the good fight, finished the race, and kept the faith. They loved God and the people He placed in their lives. They will be greatly missed.  As I was thinking about these women, I wondered "What was their secret? How did they endure so well? How did they persevere through the Great Depression, WWII, widowhood, and illness?" This led to another question. "How will I finish the race?" I'm on the plus side of 50 now. I could die today, but I could have another 40 years ahead of me. It would be easy to think, "What do I need to do to make sure I die well?" But that's probably not the right question. A better question would be, "What has the Triune God done to ensure that I will finish the race?" Read mor...