-
Often Do I Seriously Doubt Whether I Was Ever Converted At All
February 1, 1834 My dear Joseph Parry,—I have been partly prevented from answering your letter earlier by a painful inflammation of the eyes, which has been upon me this last fortnight, off and on, and is not yet subsided. I could wish I could give a more satisfactory answer to it than I fear you will find this to be. But my own mind is very dark, and the arm of the Lord is not yet revealed to me. The affair which I communicated to you went off more quietly than I had expected. Either the bishop was not applied to, or did not think it worth while to interfere. While that matter was pending, I was quite satisfied to leave it in the hands…
-
Heavenly Gifts To Victorious Saints
Preached at Eden Street Chapel, Hampstead Road, London, on Lord's Day Evening, August 30, 1846 "To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”—Revelation 2:17 I do not know a more striking or more deeply important portion of God's Word than that which is contained in the first three chapters of the Book of Revelation. What a solemn vision was John favoured with, when the Lord of life and glory appeared unto him in the manner described in the first chapter! "And in the midst of the seven candlesticks I saw one like unto the Son of…
-
Enjoy The Righteousness Of Christ
Our standing as Christians is founded upon the Lord Jesus Christ alone. We say it, we hear it, and nodding affirmatively we agree that it is true. Yet, all too often we fail to grasp the implications of this fact. All too often our actions and our attitudes, our feelings, our hopes and fears are motivated by something quite different. Instead of looking to Christ we look to ourselves. We imagine that if we could better overcome temptation we would be happier, if we could subdue our sin we would find more peace. We suspect that our interest in God’s love is hindered by our lack of faith and wonder if our conviction for sin has been deeply enough felt. So we become pre-occupied with…
-
True Benevolence
To those kind Friends who have so liberally given to the Distressed Poor in the Manufacturing Districts,—In the name of the poor I sincerely thank you for your kindness; and I can, in the fear of the Lord, say that your bounties have been much blessed to a great many of the Lord's dear tried family. I have already been enabled to send of your bounty to more than twenty places besides Manchester, and from some places I have received acknowledgments of real heartfelt gratitude. To some places I have sent five pounds, to some others four, three, two, and to some few places one pound, and have also disposed of a considerable sum to poor distressed private persons and families both in Manchester and…
-
Antinomianism And The Righteousness Of The Law
Most readers are familiar with the Calvinist-Arminian controversy of the 18th century in which free-grace, championed by Whitefield, Toplady and Romaine was set against free-will, maintained by Fletcher, Sellon and Wesley. The controversy dealt with whether salvation was made possible by Christ, depending on man’s acceptance of it, or whether Christ secured His Church’s salvation by His atoning death. At the same time, a similar controversy was raging on a closely related topic. “Is the Mosaic Law God’s eternal standard or has it become irrelevant to unbeliever and believer alike as a Covenant of Works and as a yardstick of sanctification?” The leading contestants in the Calvinistic-Arminian controversy were mainly Oxford and Cambridge dons and men of a first class education. The opposite was the…
-
For Me To Live Is Christ
What do you live for? Some people live for family and some live for work. Some people seek for pleasure while others pursue their passion of sport, music or art. The Apostle Paul could say that for him to live was Christ. What did he mean? What do I live for? What do you? What did Paul mean when he said, “For me to live is Christ” (Philippians 1:12). I think he meant that Christ was first and last in his life (Revelation 22:13). Everything he did was with an eye to Jesus Christ (Hebrews 2:9). The person and work of Jesus Christ filled his thoughts and expanded his horizons (Ephesians 3:20). The service of Jesus Christ consumed his time and exercised his labours and…
