Alarm to the Unconverted!

New at Polemos
Puritans, The
Audio Links

1. Alarm to the Unconverted! part 1
   Joseph Alleine • Alleine's Alarm • 90 min.
   Grace Audio Treasures

2. Alarm to the Unconverted! part 2
   Joseph Alleine • Alleine's Alarm • 88 min.
   Grace Audio Treasures

3. Alarm to the Unconverted! part 3
   Joseph Alleine • Alleine's Alarm • 90 min.
   Grace Audio Treasures

4. Alarm to the Unconverted! part 4
   Joseph Alleine • Alleine's Alarm • 87 min.
   Grace Audio Treasures

5. Alarm to the Unconverted! part 5
   Joseph Alleine • Alleine's Alarm • 53 min.
   Grace Audio Treasures

If sinners will be damned...

"If sinners will be damned, at least let them leap to hell over our bodies. And if they will perish, let them perish with our arms around their knees, imploring them to stay. If hell must be filled, at least let it be filled in the teeth of our exertions, and let not one go there unwarned and unprayed for." - C.H. Spurgeon.

Guerilla Apologetics

New at Polemos
Evangelism

While I must confess that I don't really appreciate some of Ray Comfort's evangelism tactics, you gotta love anyone with such a heart for evangelism!

My children and I just finished watching the "Guerrilla Apologetics for the Glory of God" DVD put out by Vision Forum and it was awesome! A must hear message for anyone who longs to lead others to Christ, something that is certainly true of any true Christian.

Guerilla Apologetics for the Glory of God DVD
By Ray Comfort / The Vision Forum, Inc

" Evangelism today uses modern techniques that are often contrary to Scripture. While such outreach may lead to many "decisions", true conversions don't always follow in the same numbers. Ray Comfort has seen the power of evangelizing as Jesus did-by emphasizing that all believers have broken God's laws, are enemies of God, that God's judgment is directly tied to lawbreaking, and as sinners, they're desperately in need of repentance. Discover what Guerilla Apologetics are really all about! 1 DVD, 1 hr. 20 minutes."

The Conversion of Hugh Latimer

I ran across this fascinating story of the conversion of Hugh Latimer while reading The History of the Reformation of the Sixteenth Century by Merle d' Aubigne . Latimer was a vehement and brilliant defender of the Catholic Church who was out to stop the spread of the Reformation in England when he ran into Bilney, a teacher who had who had embraced the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the doctrines of the Reformation. Bilney went to hear Latimer's lectures against Philip Melancthon (Martin Luther's right hand man) and launched upon one of the most interesting evangelistic endeavors ever recorded. Here it is as recorded in d' Aubigne's History.

"Bilney easily detected Latimer’s sophisms, but at the same time loved his person and conceived the design of winning him to the gospel. But how would he manage it? The prejudiced Latimer would not even listen to the evangelical Bilney. Bilney reflected, prayed and at last planned a very candid and very strange plot, which led to one of the most astonishing conversions recorded in history.

He went to the college where Latimer resided. “For the love of God,” he said to Latimer, “be pleased to hear my confession.” The heretic (so Latimer thought) asked to make confession to the Catholic. What a singular fact! My discourse against Melancthon has no doubt converted him, said Latimer to himself. Had not Bilney once been among the number of most pious zealots?…..If he turns back (to Catholicism) all will turn back with him and the reaction will be complete at Cambridge. The ardent Latimer eagerly yielded to Bilney’s request, and Bilney, kneeling before Latimer, related to him with touching simplicity the anguish he had once felt in his soul, the efforts he had made to remove it; there unprofitableness as long as he determined to follow the precepts of the church, and lastly, the peace he had felt when he believed that Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the world. He described to Latimer the spirit of adoption he had received, and the happiness he experienced in being able now to call God his Father….

Latimer, who expected to receive a confession, listened without mistrust. His heart was opened, and the voice of the pious Bilney penetrated it without obstacle. From time to time Latimer would have chased away the thoughts which came crowding into his bosom; but Bilney continued. His language, at once so simple and so lively, entered like a two-edged sword. Bilney was not without assistance in his work. A new and strange witness – the Holy Ghost – was speaking in Latimer’s soul. He learned from God to know God: he received a new heart.

At length grace prevailed: Bilney rose up, but Latimer remained seated, absorbed in thought. The strong Latimer contended in vain against the words of the feeble Bilney. Like Saul on his way to Damascus, he was conquered, and his conversion, like the Apostle’s was instantaneous. He stammered out a few words; Bilney drew near him with love, and God scattered the darkness which still obscured his mind. He saw Jesus Christ as the only Savior given to man: he contemplated and adored him. “I learned more by this confession,” he said afterward, “then by much reading and in many years before….I now tasted the word of God, and forsook the doctors of the school and all their fooleries…”

It was not Bilney, but Latimer who received absolution. Latimer viewed with horror the obstinate war he had waged against God; he wept bitterly; but Bilney consoled him. “Brother”, Bilney said, “though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” These two men, then locked in their solitary chamber at Cambridge, were one day to mount the scaffold for that divine Master whose Spirit was teaching them."

Reformation in England 2
By Merle D'Aubigne / Banner Of Truth

Cornelius Van Til on Apologetics

"The Romanist-evangelical method of defending Christianity … has to compromise Christianity while defending it. If the demands of "reason" as the non-Christian thinks of it are assumed to be legitimate, then Christianity will be able to prove itself true only by destroying itself. As it cannot clearly show the difference be­tween the Christian and the non-Christian view of things, so it cannot present any clear-cut reason why the non-Christian should forsake his position.

The Reformed method of apologetics seeks to escape this neme­sis. It begins frankly "from above." It would "presuppose" God. But in presupposing God it cannot place itself at any point on a neutral basis with the non-Christian. Before seeking to prove that Chris­tianity is in accord with reason and in accord with fact, it would ask what is meant by "reason" and what is meant by "fact." It would argue that unless reason and fact are themselves interpreted in terms of God they are unintelligible. If God is not presupposed, reason is a pure abstraction that has no contact with fact, and fact is a pure abstraction that has no contact with reason. Reason and fact cannot be brought into fruitful union with one another except upon the pre­supposition of the existence of God and his control over the universe.

Since on the Reformed basis there is no area of neutrality be­tween the believer and the unbeliever, the argument between them must be indirect. Christians cannot allow the legitimacy of the as­sumptions that underlie the non-Christian methodology. But they can place themselves upon the position of those whom they are seek­ing to win to a belief in Christianity for the sake of the argument. And the non-Christian, though not granting the presuppositions from which the Christian works, can nevertheless place himself upon the position of the Christian for the sake of the argument.

The Christian knows the truth about the non-Christian. He knows this because he is himself what he is by grace alone. He has been saved from the blindness of mind and the hardness of heart that marks the "natural man." The Christian has the "doctor's book." The Scriptures tell him of the origin and of the nature of sin. Man is dead in trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1). He hates God. His inability to see the facts as they are and to reason about them as he ought to reason about them is, at bottom, a matter of sin. He has the God-created ability of reasoning within him. He is made in the image of God. God's revelation is before him and within him. He is in his own constitution a manifestation of the revelation and therefore of the requirement of God. God made a covenant with him through Adam (Rom. 5:12). He is therefore now, in Adam, a cove­nant-breaker. He is also against God and therefore against the rev­elation of God (Rom. 8:6-8). This revelation of God constantly and inescapably reminds him of his creatural responsibility. As a sinner he has, in Adam, declared himself autonomous.

Thus, intellectual argument will not, as such, convince and con­vert the non-Christian. It takes the regenerating power of the Holy Spirit to do that. But as in the case of preaching, so in the case of apologetical reasoning, the Holy Spirit may use a mediate approach to the minds and hearts of men. The natural man is quite able intellectually to follow the argument that the Christian offers for the truth of his position. He can therefore see that the wisdom of this world has been made foolishness by God. Christianity can be shown to be, not "just as good as" or even "better than" the non-Chris­tian position, but the only position that does not make nonsense of human experience."

A snippet from A Christian Theory of Knowledge

Evangelism

It was the very end of 1994 or very, very early 1995. I was sitting in a pew at Indian Hills Community Church in Lincoln Nebraska when the pastor preached an excellent sermon challenging us to share the gospel more in the up coming year. Though I’ve moved away from Nebraska and moved on from Indian Hills, I remember that sermon every year about this time.

A friend and I (we worked together at the time) took the message to heart and began praying that the Lord would allow us to share the gospel with at least one person each week of the year and the Lord always seemed to answered this prayer (sometimes in some rather strange ways).

As I kept this prayer request in mind I found myself constantly looking for that person. I began keeping track of everyone that I that I spoke with about spiritual things and often jotted a little note of what we spoke about. While I didn’t share the gospel with a different person every single week, the Lord opened many doors of ministry to me that year and I frequently got to speak to many more than one person. When the year was over I had personally shared the gospel with hundreds of different people, it averaged out to a little over one different person a day.

While I haven’t been so faithful at keeping track of those who I’ve shared the gospel with over the years, I usually think about it at the beginning of each year and start keeping track again, for a while at least. I now have a small booklet full of names and dates and occasionally something about our conversation.

I have personally found this practice helps keep me focused on the subject of evangelism and always looking for the next person to speak with about eternal matters, not to mention, it’s always interesting to go back and look at the booklet every now and then. I would highly recommend it to everybody.

Starting with the Lordship of Christ

One thing I’ve noticed in all my years of sharing the Gospel is that when someone who loves their sin is first exposed to the Gospel and first feels the sting of the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, they will often respond by attacking the veracity of the Word of God. It’s like trying to wake someone up and they keep pulling the covers back over their head in order to hide in the darkness.

I found myself listening to an apologist on a Christian radio station recently when a man called in questioning the reliability of the Word of God. The host did an admirable job defending the Word of God and trying to prove its reliability, but no matter how hard he tried the caller wouldn’t listen to reason.

It seems that we frequently forget that mans problem with God is not a simply a matter of evidence and proof, but rather it is a moral problem; man loves sin and hates God. Unless the Holy Spirit is at work no amount of evidence or proof is going to shake the unbeliever from his unbelief.

I’ve frequently suggested that we do not need to prove the existence of God; all men know deep in their hearts that God exists and we shouldn’t indulge the in their sinful desire to sit in judgment upon God, but what about the Word of God? Shouldn’t we prove that the Word of God is really the word of God before we should expect people to trust it?

Again, there’s a place for proofs and evidence, but in many cases they are not what’s really needed. If mankind recognizes the fingerprints of their Creator in the general revelation of creation, how much more so will they recognize the voice of their Creator in the special revelation of Scripture? While we must certainly defend the faith, we must do it in a biblical manner; we do not start with man as the judge and Gods Word as the defendant. Such a practice turns things entirely on their head! We have to start with the Lordship of Christ and the Word of God as the Judge; that is the way it ought to be.

Perhaps we could make a little more headway by exposing peoples questioning of the Word of God as the moral rejection of the truth that it is rather than letting them hide behind the mask of needing evidence in order to believe.

The Uncertainty of Life

Evangelistic
Audio

• The Uncertainty of Life and the Certainty of Death
  Albert N. Martin

Unflinching Courage

"Although the leaders of early Methodism were of differing doctrinal persuasions, in another matter they were alike: they all met physical opposition with unflinching courage. This was true first of Howell Harris. In Wales he was attacked by ruffians, hated by clergy, and brought before magistrates. And in 1741, at the town of Bala, the local clergyman opened a barrel of beer on the main street and used it to entice the mob to attack Harris.

The women were as fiendish as the men, for they besmeared him with mire, while their companions belaboured him with their fists and clubs, inflicting such wounds that his path could be marked in the street by the crimson stains of his blood. The enemy continued to persecute him, striking him with sticks and with staves, until overcome with exhaus­tion he fell to the ground. They still abused him, though prostrate. ...'

In London, even while he was ministering in the Tabernacle, Harris was violently opposed. More than once the mob came beating on the Tabernacle doors during a service, forced their way in, and attacked the people with staves. Amid these dangers Harris was unmoved, and of one such occasion he reported:

Had bullets been shot at me, 1 felt I would not move. Mob raged. Voice lifted up, and though by the power going with the words my head almost went to pieces, such was my zeal that I cried, 'I'll preach Christ till to pieces I fall!'"

A quote from chapter 15 of

George Whitefield
By Arnold Dallimore / Crossway Books & Bibles

Meeting the Mob

As I've mentioned a couple times already, I'm reading Arnold Dallimore's biography of George Whitefield to the kids right now. Chapter 15 is entitled "Meeting the Mob" and recounts the violent persecution that Whitefield and his accomplices faced in the early days of their ministries. This chapter is worth the price of the book as far as I'm concerned. It starts out with this quote:

"If Methodism had not come into contact with the mob it would never have reached that section of the English peo­ple which most needed salvation. The 'Religious Societies' shut up in their rooms, would never have reformed the country.

It was necessary that a race of heroic men should arise, who would dare to confront the wildest and most brutal of men, and tell them the meaning of sin, and show them the Christ of the Cross and of the Judgement Throne.

The incessant assaults of the mob on the Methodist preachers showed they had reached the masses. With a superb courage, rarely equalled on the battlefield, the Methodist preachers went again and again to the places from which they had been driven by violence, until their persistence wore down the antagonism of their assailants. Then, out of the once furious crowd, men and women were gathered whose hearts the Lord had touched."

John S. Simon

The Revival of Religion in England in the Eighteenth Century

As quoted in

George Whitefield
By Arnold Dallimore / Crossway Books & Bibles

Evangelism of the humorous type

"Evangelism of the humorous type may attract multitudes but it lays the soul in ashes and destroys the very germs of religion."

-Robertson Nicoll

Baron von Kamp on Evangelism

Evangelism
Articles, Sermons and Other Writings

An Evangelistic account taken from The Auto Biography of George Muller
March 4th 1841

"March 4. For the encouragement of believers who are tried by having unconverted relatives and friends, I will relate the following circumstance which I know is true. Baron von Kamp, who lived In Prussia, had been a disciple of the Lord Jesus for many years. In the year 1806, great financial dis­tress came upon many thousands of weavers in the area. They had no employment because the whole continent was in an unsettled state from the war. I he baron believed that it was the will of the Lord to use his wealth to furnish these poor weavers with work, in order to save them from complete ruin There was not only no prospect of personal gain, but rather the certain prospect of immense loss. Nevertheless, he found employment for about six thousand weavers.

But the baron was not content with this. He also wanted to minister to the souls of these weavers. He set believers as overseers over his immense weaving concern. The weavers were instructed in spiritual things, and he personally shared the truth of the gospel with them.

The work went on for a good while until at last, on account of the loss of most of his property, he was obliged to think about giving it up. But by this time, his precious act of mercy had proven its worth to the government. It was taken up by them and carried on until the times changed. Baron von Kamp was appointed director of the whole con­cern as long as it existed.

This dear man of God was not content with this. He traveled through many countries to visit the prisons for the sake of improving the physical and spiritual condition of the prisoners. He also assisted poor students at the University of Berlin, especially those who studied theology, in order to win them for the Lord.

One day a talented young man heard of the aged baron's kindness to students. He wrote to the baron, requesting his assistance because his own father could not afford to support him any longer. A short time afterward, young Thomas received a kind reply from the baron, inviting him to come to Berlin. But before this letter arrived, the young student had heard that Baron von Kamp was a "pietist" or "mystic," as true believers were con­temptuously called in Germany. Young Thomas was deeply involved in philosophy, reasoning about everything, questioning the truth of revela­tion, questioning even the existence of God. He disliked the prospect of going to the old baron for help. Still, he thought he could try, and if he did not like it, he was not obligated to remain in con­nection with him.

Thomas arrived in Berlin on a day when the baron was out of town on business. He began to speak about his philosophies to the steward of the baron. The steward, however, was a believer, and he turned the conversation to spiritual things.

At last the baron arrived. He received Thomas in the most affectionate and familiar manner. The baron offered him a room in his house and a place at his table while Thomas studied in Berlin. Thomas accepted the offer.

The baron now sought in every way to treat the young student in the most kind and affectionate way, to serve him as much as possible, and to -show him the power of the gospel in his own life. He did all this without arguing with him or even speaking to him directly about his soul. Thomas obviously had a skeptical mind, and the baron avoided getting into any argument with him. The .student often said to himself, "I wish I could get into an argument with this old fool. I would show him how irrational his beliefs are." But the baron avoided it.

When the baron heard the young student come home in the evening, he would go to meet him and serve him in any way he could, even helping him to take off his boots. Thus this lowly, aged disciple went on for some time. While Thomas still sought an opportunity for arguing with him, he wondered how the baron could continue to serve him.

One evening when Thomas returned to the baron's house, the baron was making himself his servant as usual. The student could restrain him­self no longer and burst out, "Baron, how can you do all this? You see I do not care about you. How are you able to continue to be so kind to me and serve me like this?" The baron replied, "My dear young friend, I have learned it from the Lord Jesus. I wish you would read through the gospel of John. Good night."

The student now for the first time in his life sat down and read the Word of God with an open heart and a willingness to learn. Up to that time, he had never read the Holy Scriptures unless he wanted to find out arguments against them. God blessed him. From that time he became a follower of the Lord Jesus and has continued in the faith ever since."

First break and bruise

Some Good Quotes

Law and Evangelism

“Let the power of the law first break and bruise, which is a necessary preparative for the plantation of grace: and then pour in (and spare not) the most precious oil of the sweetest Evangelical comfort. But many, very many, mar all with missing this method; either from want of sanctification in themselves, or skill to manage their Master's business.”

Bolton as quoted in The Christian Ministry by Charles Bridges

Spurgeon's Conversion Part 3

"I do from my soul confess that I never was satisfied till I came to Christ; when I was yet a child, I had far more wretchedness than ever I have now; I will even add, more weariness, more care, more heart­ache than I know at this day. I may be singular in this confession, but I make it, and know it to be the truth. Since that dear hour when my soul cast itself on Jesus, I have found solid joy and peace; but before that, all those supposed gaieties of early youth, all the imagined ease and joy of boyhood, were but vanity and vexation of spirit to me. That happy day, when I found the Saviour, and learned to cling to His dear feet, was a day never to be forgotten by me. An obscure child, unknown, unheard of, I listened to the Word of God; and that precious text led me to the cross of Christ. I can testify that the joy of that day was utterly indescribable. I could have leaped, I could have danced; there was no expression, however fanatical, which would have been out of keeping with the joy of my spirit at that hour. Many days of Christian experience have passed since then, but there has never been one which has had the full exhilaration, the sparkling delight which that first day had. I thought I could have sprung from the seat on which I sat, and have called out with the wildest of those Methodist brethren who were present, "I am forgiven! I am forgiven! A monument of grace! A sinner saved by blood!" My spirit saw its chains broken to pieces, I felt that I was an emancipated soul, an heir of heaven, a forgiven one, accepted in Christ Jesus, plucked out of the miry clay and out of the horrible pit, with my feet set upon a rock, Kid my goings established. I thought I could dance all the way home. I could understand what John Bunyan meant, when he declared he wanted to tell the crows on the ploughed land all about his conversion. He was too full to hold, he felt he must tell some­body."

From
Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1 By Charles Spurgeon / Banner Of Truth

Spurgeon's Conversion Part 2

"I sometimes think I might have been in darkness and despair until now had it not been for the goodness of God in sending a snowstorm, one Sunday morning, while I was going to a certain place of worship. When I could go no further, I turned down a side street, and came to a little Primitive Methodist Chapel. In that chapel there may have been a dozen or fifteen people. I had heard of the Primitive Methodists, how they sang so loudly that they made people's heads ache; but that did not matter to me. I wanted to know how I might be saved, and if they could tell me that, I did not care how much they made my head ache. The minister did not come that morning; he was snowed up, I suppose. At last, a very thin-looking man,¹ a shoemaker, or tailor, or something of that sort, went up into the pulpit to preach. Now, it is well that preachers should be instructed, but this man was really stupid. He was obliged to stick to his text, for the simple reason that he had little else to say. The text was—

"look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth."

He did not even pronounce the words rightly, but that did not matter. There was, I thought, a glimpse of hope for me in that text. The preacher began thus: "My dear friends, this is a very simple text indeed. It says, 'Look.' Now lookin' don't take a deal of pain. It ain't liftin' your foot or your finger; it is just, 'Look.' Well, a man needn't go to College to learn to look. You may be the biggest fool, and yet you can look. A man needn't be worth a thousand a year to be able to look. Anyone can look; even a child can look. But then the text says, 'Look unto Me.' Ay!" said he, in broad Essex, "many on ye are lookin' to yourselves, but it's no use lookin' there. You'll never find any comfort in yourselves. Some look to God the Father. No, look to Him by-and-by. Jesus Christ says, 'Look unto Me.' Some on ye say, 'We must wait for the Spirit's workinV You have no business with that just now. Look to Christ. The text says, 'Look unto Me.' "

Then the good man followed up his text in this way: "Look unto Me; I am sweatin' great drops of blood. Look unto Me; I am hangin' on the cross. Look unto Me; I am dead and buried. Look unto Me; I rise again. Look unto Me; I ascend to Heaven. Look unto Me; I am sittin' at the Father's right hand. O poor sinner, look unto Me! look unto Me!"

When he had gone to about that length, and managed to spin out ten minutes or so, he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery, and I daresay, with so few present, he knew me to be a stranger. Just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart, he said, "Young man, you look very miserable." Well, I did, but I had not been accustomed to have remarks made from the pulpit on my personal appearance before. However, it was a good blow, struck right home. He continued, "and you always will be miserable—miserable in life, and miserable in death—if you don't obey my text; but if you obey now, this moment, you will be saved." Then, lifting up his hands, he shouted, as only a Primitive Methodist could do, "Young man, look to Jesus Christ. Look! Look! Look! You have nothin' to do but to look and live." I saw at once the way of salvation. I know not what else he said—I did not take much notice of it—I was so possessed with that one thought. Like as when the brazen serpent was lifted up, the people only looked and were healed, so it was with me. I had been waiting to do fifty things, but when I heard that word, "Look!" what a charming word it seemed to me! Oh! I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away. There and then the cloud was gone, the darkness had rolled away, and that moment I saw the sun; and I could have risen that instant, and sung with the most enthusiastic of them, of the precious blood of Christ, and the simple faith which looks alone to Him. Oh, that somebody had told me this before, "Trust Christ, and you shall be saved." Yet it was, no doubt, all wisely ordered, and now I can say—

"E'er since by faith I saw the stream
Thy flowing wounds supply,

Redeeming love has been my theme,

And shall be till I die."

From
Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1 By Charles Spurgeon / Banner Of Truth

Spurgeon's Conversion Part 1

"Personally, I have to bless God for many good books; I thank Him for Dr. Doddridge's Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul; for Baxter's Call to the Unconverted; for Alleine's A.larm to Unconverted Sinners; and for James' Anxious inquirer, but my gratitude most of all is due to God, not for books, but for the preached Word—and that too addressed to me by a poor, uneducated man, a man who had never received any training for the ministry, and probably will never be heard of in this life, a man engaged in business, no doubt of a humble kind, during the week, but who had just enough of grace to say on the Sabbath, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth." The books were good, but the man was better. The revealed Word awakened me, but it was the preached Word that saved me; and I must ever attach peculiar value to the hearing of the truth, for by it I received the joy and peace in which my soul delights. While under concern of soul, I resolved that I would attend all the places of worship in the town where I lived, in order that I might find out the way of salvation. I was willing to do anything, and be anything, if God would only forgive my sin. I set off, determined to go round to all the chapels, and I did go to every place of worship; but for a long time I went in vain. I do not, however, blame the ministers. One man preached Divine Sovereignty; I could hear him with pleasure, but what was that sublime truth to a poor sinner who wished to know what he must do to be saved? There was another admirable man who always preached about the law, but what was the use of ploughing up ground that needed to be sown? Another was a practical preacher. I heard him, but it was very much like a commanding officer teaching the manoeuvres of war to a set of men without feet. What could I do? All his exhortations were lost on me. I knew it was said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shah be saved," but I did not know what it was to believe on Christ. These good men all preached truths suited to many in their congregations who were spiritually-minded people, but what I wanted to know was, "How can I get my sins forgiven?"— and they never told me that. I desired to hear how a poor sinner, under a sense of sin, might find peace with God, and when I went, I heard a sermon on, "Be not deceived, God is not mocked," which cut me up Still worse, but did not bring me into rest. I went again, another day, and the text was something about the glories of the righteous; nothing for poor me! I was like a dog under the table, not allowed to cat of the children's food. I went time after time, and I can honestly say that I do not know that I ever went without prayer to God, and I am sure there was not a more attentive hearer than myself in all the place, for I panted and longed to understand how I might be saved."

From
Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1 By Charles Spurgeon / Banner Of Truth

The Work of the Law in Spurgeon’s Conversion Part 3

"Then I remembered that, even if I kept the law perfectly, and kept it for ten, twenty, or thirty years, without a fault, yet if, at the end of that time, I should break it, I must suffer its dread penalty. Those words spoken by the Lord to the prophet Ezekiel came to my mind: "If he trust to his own righteousness, and commit iniquity, all his righteousnesses shall not be remembered; but for his iniquity that he hath committed, he shall die for it." So I saw that I was, indeed, "kept under the law, shut up." I had hoped to escape this way, or that way, or some other way. Was I not "christened" when I was a child? Had I not been taken to a place of worship? Had I not been brought up to say my prayers regularly? Had I not been an honest, upright, moral youth? Was all this nothing? "Nothing," said the law, as it drew its sword of fire: "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." So there was no rest for my spirit, nay, not even for a moment. What was I to do? I was in the hands of one who showed no mercy what­ever, for Moses never said, "Mercy." The law has nothing to do with mercy. That comes from another mouth, and under another dispensa­tion. But before faith came, I was "kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed."

From
Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1 By Charles Spurgeon / Banner Of Truth

The Work of the Law in Spurgeon’s Conversion Part 2

“The law seemed also to blight all my hopes with its stern sentence, "Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." Only too well did I know that I had not continued in all those things, so I saw myself accursed, turn which way I might. If I had not committed one sin, that made no difference if I had committed another; I was under the curse. What if I had never blasphemed God with my tongue? Yet, if I had coveted, I had broken the law. He who breaks a chain might say, 'I did not break that link, and the other link." No, but if you break one link, you have broken the chain. Ah, me, how I seemed shut up then! I had offended against the justice of God; I was impure and polluted, and I used to say, "If God does not send me to hell, He ought to do it." I sat in judgment upon myself, and pronounced the sentence that I felt would be just. I could not have gone to Heaven with my sin unpardoned, even if I had had the offer to do it, for I knew that it would not be right that I should do so, and I justified God in my own conscience while I condemned myself. The law would not even let me despair. If I thought I would give up all desire to do right, and just go and drown my conscience in sin, the law said, "No, you cannot do that; there is no rest for you in sinning. You know the law too well to be able to sin in the blindness of a seared conscience." So the law worried and troubled me at all points; it shut me up as in an iron cage, and every way of escape was effectually blocked up.”

From
Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1 By Charles Spurgeon / Banner Of Truth

The Work of the Law in Spurgeon’s Conversion Part 1

“Then there came into my startled conscience the remembrance of the universality of law. I thought of what was said of the old Roman empire that, under the rule of Caesar, if a man once broke the law of Rome, the whole world was one vast prison to him, for he could not get out of the reach of the imperial power. So did it come to be in my aroused conscience. Wherever I went, the law had a demand upon my thoughts, upon my words, upon my rising, upon my resting. What I did, and what I did not do, all came under the cognizance of the law; and then I found that this law so surrounded me that I was always running against it, I was always breaking it. I seemed as if I was a sinner, and nothing else but a sinner. If I opened my mouth, I spoke amiss. If I sat still, there was sin in my silence. I remember that when the Spirit of God was thus dealing with me, I used to feel myself to be a sinner even when I was in the house of God. I thought that when I sang, I was mocking the Lord with a solemn sound upon a false tongue; and if I prayed, I feared that I was sinning in my prayers, insulting Him by uttering confessions which I did not feel, and asking for mercies with a faith that was not true at all, but only another form of unbelief. At the very mention of that word con­viction, I seem to hear my chains rattling anew. Was there ever a bond-slave who had more bitterness of soul than I, five years a captive in the dungeons of the law, till my youth seemed as if it would turn into premature old age, and all the buoyancy of my spirit had vanished? O God of the spirits of all men, most of all ought I to hate sin, for surely most of all have I smarted beneath the lash of Thy law!”

From
Charles Haddon Spurgeon Autobiography: The Early Years 1834-1860 Volume 1 By Charles Spurgeon / Banner Of Truth

Evangelism & Sovereignty of God

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Evangelism

Evangelism & Sovereignty of God
By J.I. Packer / Inter-varsity Press

"If God is in control of everything, can Christians sit back and not bother to evangelize? Or does active evangelism imply that God is not really sovereign at all? J.I. Packer shows in this classic study how both of these attitudes are false. In a careful review of the biblical evidence, he shows how a right understanding of God's sovereignty is not so much a barrier to evangelism as an incentive and powerful support for it."

Evangelism and the Divine Sovereignty of God - Audiobook on CD
By J.I. Packer / Hovel Audio Inc.

Evangelism and the Divine Sovereignty of God - audiobook on MP3
By J.I. Packer / Hovel Audio Inc.

Art of Man Fishing

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Evangelism

Art of Man Fishing: A Puritan's View of Evangelism By Thomas Boston / Christian Focus Public "Thomas Boston penned a classic of the Christian faith, addressing soul winning for every follower of Christ that is still applicable three centuries after he wrote it. In his imperative, convicting tone he calls believers to the relentless spreading of the Gospel and the weight of his words, borrowing heavily from Scripture, carry the message straight to the core of the reader. While remaining unfinished, the book culminates with eight essays on those ways where the fisherman can best imitate Christ, all the while gently imploring the Christlikeness that he himself exhibited in his life and brought to fruition in evangelism."

The Albatross forever hung around the neck

I was reading some Cornelius Van Til when I came across the comment that the created world is the Albatross forever hung around the neck of the unbeliever. What a profound comment!

For those of you who aren’t familiar with the background of this comment, he’s making a reference to The Rime of the Ancient Mariner, a poem written by the English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge published in 1798.

In the poem a ship is driven off course by a storm, when the storm lets up an Albatrosses appears (a sign of good fortune) and begins to lead the ship out of the icy sea that they found themselves in. But for some reason the mariner shoots the bird of good omen with his crossbow and brings a curse upon the entire crew.

As the curse begins to unfold the angry crew members take the dead bird and hang it around the mariner’s neck to identify him with and remind him of his sin. With the dead bird hanging around his neck the mariner never had one moments peace, it was always there declaring to him his guilt.

In a like manner, Van Til is saying, the created world is right there, hung around their neck so to speak, where men are always aware of it; always reminding men of their sin and alienation from the God that made them. Always screaming in the ear of their conscience that they stand condemned, guilty and under the curse of God for what they have done.

Scripture tells us that deep down inside all men know that God exists through what He has made.

“The heavens declare the glory of God; And the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, And night unto night reveals knowledge. There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.” (Psalm 19:1-3) “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes have been clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.” (Romans 1:20)

All men will be “without excuse” on the Day of Judgment. No one will be able to say that they did not know that God existed. Every time we open our eyes creation is right there in our face, so to speak, testifying to the existence and greatness of God. But we don’t even really have to go that far; we don’t even have to open our eyes, for we ourselves are a part of God’s creation and as those who are created in God’s image our very being testifies to the glory, greatness, and existence of God. We are a revelation of God unto ourselves.

No wonder men who love sin so much and want to really enjoy it are dying to believe in something like Evolution or Atheism; it explains the bird hung about their necks in such a way that they that they can quit thinking about the God who has cursed them and go back to their beloved sins with a little bit a false peace about the whole situation. The dead bird, they tell themselves, has been hung around their neck by mere chance.

Jesus loves everybody and has a wonderful plan for their lives!

I was reading Pink’s Studies in the Scriptures November, 1943 when I ran across this complaint:

“Few words have been employed more inaccurately and loosely in recent years than has “love”. With a great many people it is but a synonym for moral laxity (and) weakness of character…”

Things certainly haven’t changed much; watch the “Holy Homosexuals” video for example or listen to Minister Carlton Pearson who recently decided that a loving God wouldn’t send anyone to hell. Clearly ‘love’ to these people is “moral laxity (and) weakness of character”

I think we could go further than that and say that the “god” of these people is worse than morally lax and weak in character; such a god is morally corrupt and a lover of unrighteousness. What would we think of a courtroom judge who wouldn’t sentence the worst of criminals because he was a “loving” judge? Who would have any respect for such a judge? Isn’t it interesting how those with no moral anchor in trusting the Word of God can turn things entirely on their heads; “Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!” Isaiah 5:20

While such people have always been around, their numbers seem to be reaching epidemic proportions in our politically correct days. So is there a cure for this diseased view of God? Absolutely! Its called “The Law of God”.

“Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:19, 20

The Law of God defines righteousness and unrighteousness for us. The Law of God delineates good and evil for us. The Law of God shows us that God is utterly pure and holy, and we by contrast are vile and corrupted. The Law of God convicts people of their sin and shuts their foolish mouths before the verdict of their Maker.

The Law of God imprisons us in our sin, so to speak(Galatians 3:22), showing us that we have no hope of escaping the bar of Gods justice in and of ourselves . The Law of God teaches us to look at ourselves in utter dismay and abandon all hope; but in so doing it also becomes a beloved teacher prodding us to turn away from ourselves and look to Jesus Christ for the salvation that we cannot accomplish (Galatians 3:24).

In a day and age when people have thrown out the Law of God in favor of a lawless “grace”, we should only expect that a perverted view of the love of God will prevail and that true and lasting conversions will be few and far between.