The Comforting Promise

Another thought from one of my favorite theologians, A.W. Pink. This taken again from Comfort for Christians.

Observe the tense that is used here. It is not “how has he not with him also freely given us all things,” though this is also true, for even now are we “heirs of God” (Romans 8:17). But our text goes further than this: “How shall he not with Him also freely give us all things?” The second half of this wonderful verse contains more than a record of the past; it supplies reassuring confidence both for the present and future. No time limits are to be set on this “shall.” Both now in the present and forever and ever in the future God shall manifest Himself as the great Giver. Nothing for His glory and for our good will He withhold. The same God who delivered up Christ for us all is “without variableness or shadow of turning” (James 1:17).
Mark the manner in which God gives: “How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” God does not have to be coaxed; there is no reluctance in Him for us to overcome. He is more willing to give than we are to receive. Further, He is under no obligations to any; if He were, He would bestow of necessity instead of giving “freely.” Remember that He has a perfect right to do with His own as He pleases. He is free to give to whom He wills.

The word “freely” signifies not only that God is under no constraint, but also that He makes no charge for His gifts, He places no price on His blessings. God is no retailer of mercies or barterer of good things; if He were, justice would require Him to charge exactly what each blessing was worth, and then who among the children of Adam could find the wherewithal? No, blessed be His name, God’s gifts are “without money and without price” (Isaiah 55:1), unmerited and unearned.

Finally, rejoice over the comprehensiveness of this promise: “How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” The Holy Spirit would here regale us with the extent of God’s wondrous grant. What is it you need, fellow Christian? Is it pardon? Then has He not said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9)? Is it grace? Then has He not said, “God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (II Corinthians 9:8) ? Is it a “thorn in the flesh”? this too will be given: “there was given to me a thorn in the flesh” (II Corinthians 12:7). Is it rest? Then heed the Savior’s invitation, “Come unto Me… and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). Is it comfort? Is He not the God of all comfort (II Corinthians 1:3)?

“How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” Is it temporal mercies that the reader is in need of? Are your circumstances so adverse that you are filled with dismal forebodings? Do your cruse of oil and barrel of meal look as though they will soon be quite empty? Then spread your need before God, and do it in simple childlike faith. Do you think that He will bestow the greater blessings of grace and deny the lesser ones of Providence? No, “My God shall supply all your need” (Philippians 4:19). True, He has not promised to give all you ask, for we often ask “amiss.” Mark the qualifying clause: “How shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” We often desire things that would come in between us and Christ if they were granted, therefore God in His faithfulness withholds them.

Here then are four things that should bring comfort to every renewed heart. (1) The Father’s costly sacrifice:Our God is a giving God and no good thing does He withhold from them who walk uprightly. (2) The Father’s gracious design:It was for us that Christ was delivered up; it was our highest and eternal interests that He had at heart. (3) The Spirit’s infallible inference:The greater includes the less; the best Gift guarantees the bestowment of all other needed favors. (4) The comforting promise:Its sure foundation, its present and future scope, its blessed extent, are for the assuring of our hearts and the peace of our minds. May the Lord add His blessing to this meditation.

I Shall Come Forth as Gold

Our thoughty thought for today comes from A. W. Pink’s Comfort for Christians.

“I shall come forth as gold.” Observe the tense here. Job did not imagine that he was pure gold already. “I shall come forth as gold,” he declared. He knew full well that there was yet much dross in him. He did not boast that he was already perfect. Far from it. In the final chapter of his book we find him saying, “I abhor myself” (Job 42:6). And well he might; and well may we. As we discover that in our flesh there dwells “no good thing,” as we examine ourselves and our ways in the light of God’s Word and behold our innumerable failures, as we think of our countless sins, both of omission and commission, we have good reason for abhorring ourselves. Ah, Christian reader, there is much dross in us. But it will not ever be thus.

“I shall come forth as gold.” Job did not say, “When he hath tried me I may come forth as gold,” or “I hope to come forth as gold,” but with full confidence and positive assurance he declared, “I shall come forth as gold.” But how did he know this? How can we be sure of the happy issue? Because the Divine purpose cannot fail. He who has begun a good work in us “will finish it” (Philippians 1:6). How can we be sure of the happy issue? Because the Divine promise is sure: “The Lord will perfect that which concerns me” (Psalm 138:8). Then be of good cheer, tried and troubled one. The process may be unpleasant and painful, but the outcome is joyous and sure.

“I shall come forth as gold.” This was said by one who knew affliction and sorrow as few men have known them. Yet despite his fiery trials he was optimistic. Let then this triumphant language be ours. “I shall come forth as gold” is not the language of carnal boasting, but the confidence of one whose mind was stayed on God. There will be no credit to our account:the glory will all belong to the Divine Refiner (James 1:12).

For the present two things are certain:first, Love is the Divine thermometer while we are in the crucible of testing: “And he shall sit [the patience of Divine grace] as a Refiner and Purifier of silver,” etc. (Malachi. 3:3). Second, the Lord Himself is with us in the fiery furnace, as He was with the three young Hebrews (Daniel 3:25). For the future this is sure:the most wonderful thing in heaven will not be the golden street or the golden harps, but golden souls on which is stamped the image of God; “predestinated to be conformed to the image of his Son”! Praise God for such a glorious prospect, such a victorious outcome, and such a marvelous goal.

Grace a Great Word of the Gospel

The following is an excerpt from Gleanings from Paul: The Prayers of the Apostle by A. W. Pink.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.” Why distinctively ascribe grace to Him if it is of God and the Spirit as well? Because in the economy of redemption all grace comes to us through Him. The word grace is the special token of Paul in every epistle: eight close with “the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you,” sometimes varying the formula to “with your spirit.” Grace is one of the outstanding words of the gospel. Again quoting Chadwick: “It is more than mercy and greater than love. Justice demands integrity, and mercy is the ministry of pity; love seeks correspondence, appreciation, and response; but grace demands no merit. Grace flows unrestrained and unreserved upon those who have no goodness to plead and no claim to advance. Grace seeks the unfit and the unworthy. It is love, mercy, and compassion combined, stretching out toward the guilty, ungracious, and rebellious. It is the only hope for sinful men. If salvation comes not by grace, it can never be ours. Without grace there can be no reconciliation, no pardon, no peace.”

When He became incarnate the only begotten of the Father was beheld by His own as “full of grace and truth,” and as the apostle added, “And of his fullness have all we received, and grace for grace” (John 1:14, 16). Here the meaning of grace passes from an attribute of the divine character to an active energy in the souls of the redeemed. At the throne of grace we “find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). The heart is “established with grace” (Hebrews 13:9) and by that grace we are enabled to “serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear” (Hebrews 12:28). It is in “the grace that is in Christ Jesus” (2 Timothy 2:1) that we find our strength, and He assures us of its competency to support us under all afflictions and persecutions by the promise “My grace is sufficient for thee” (2 Corinthians 12:9). Therefore we are exhorted to “grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Those passages all speak of the divine power in the soul as the operation of grace in connection with the Lord Jesus Christ as its Fountain.

Contentment

The following is from Comfort for Christians by A.W. Pink.

“I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content”
(Philippians 4:11)

Discontent! Was there ever a time when there was so much restlessness in the world as there is today? We very much doubt it. Despite our boasted progress, the vast increase of wealth, the time and money expended daily in pleasure, discontent is everywhere. No class is exempt. Everything is in a state of flux, and almost everybody is dissatisfied. Many even among God’s own people are affected with the evil spirit of this age.

Contentment! Is such a thing realizable, or is it nothing more than a beautiful ideal, a dream of the poet? Is it attainable on earth or is it restricted to the inhabitants of heaven? If practicable here and now, may it be retained, or are a few brief moments or hours of contentment the most we may expect in this life? Such questions find answer in the words of the apostle Paul: “Not that I speak in respect of want:for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Philippians 4:11).

The force of the apostle’s statement will be better appreciated if his condition and circumstances at the time he made it are kept in mind. When the apostle wrote (or most probably dictated) the words, he was not luxuriating in a special suite in the Emperor’s palace, nor was he being entertained in some exceptional Christian household of unusual piety. Instead,he was “in bonds” (Philipians 1:13-14); “a prisoner” (Ephesians 4:1), as he says in another Epistle. And yet, notwithstanding, he declared he was content!

Now, there is a vast difference between precept and practice, between the ideal and the realization. But in the case of the apostle Paul contentment was an actual experience that must have been continuous, for he says, “in whatsoever state I am.” How then did Paul enter into this experience, and of what did the experience consist? The reply to the first question is to be found in the words, “I have learned…to be content.” The apostle did not say, “I have received the baptism of the Spirit, and therefore contentment is mine.” Nor did he attribute this blessing to his perfect “consecration.” Equally plain is it that it was not the outcome of natural disposition or temperament. It is something he had learned in the school of Christian experience. It should be noted, too, that this statement is found in an Epistle the apostle wrote near the close of his earthly career!

From what has been pointed out it should be apparent that the contentment Paul enjoyed was not the result of congenial and comfortable surroundings. And this at once dissipates a common misconception. Most people suppose that contentment is impossible unless one can have gratified the desires of the carnal heart. A prison is the last place to which they would go if they were seeking a contented man. This much, then, is clear:contentment comes from within not without; it must be sought from God, not in creature comforts.

But let us endeavor to go a little deeper. What is “contentment”? It is the being satisfied with the sovereign dispensations of God’s providence. It is the opposite of murmuring, the spirit of rebellion in which the clay says to the Potter, “Why hast Thou made me thus?” Instead of complaining about his lot, a contented man is thankful that his condition and circumstances are no worse than they are. Instead of greedily desiring more than the supply of his present need, he rejoices that God still cares for him. Such a one is “content” with what he has (Hebrews 13:5).

One of the fatal hindrances to contentment is covetousness, which is a canker eating into and destroying present satisfaction. It was not, therefore, without good reason that our Lord gave the solemn commandment to his followers, “Take heed, and beware of covetousness” (Luke 12:15). Few things are more insidious. Often it poses under the fair name of thrift, or the wise safeguarding of the future, present economy so as to lay up for a “rainy day.” The Scripture says, “covetousness which is idolatry” (Colossians 3:5), the affection of the heart being set on material things rather than on God. The language of a covetous heart is Give! Givel The covetous man is always desirous of more, whether he has little or much. How vastly different are the words of the apostle, “And having food and raiment let us be therewith content” (I Timothy 6:8). A much needed word is that of Luke 3:14: “Be content with your wages”!

“Godliness with contentment is great gain” (I Timothy 6:6). Negatively, it delivers from worry and fretfulness, from avarice and selfishness. Positively, it leaves us free to enjoy what God has given us. What a contrast is found in the word which follows: “But they that will be [desire to be] rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil:which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (I Timothy 6:9, 10). May the Lord in His grace deliver us from the spirit of this world, and make us to be “content with such things as we have.”

Contentment, then, is the product of a heart resting in God. It is the soul’s enjoyment of that peace that passes all understanding. It is the outcome of my will being brought into subjection to the Divine will. It is the blessed assurance that God does all things well, and is, even now, making all things work together for my ultimate good. This experience has to be “learned” by “proving what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). Contentment is possible only as we cultivate and maintain that attitude of accepting everything that enters our lives as coming from the hand of Him who is too wise to err, and too loving to cause one of His children a needless tear.

Let our final word be this:real contentment is possible only by being much in the presence of the Lord Jesus. This comes out clearly in the verses that follow our opening text; “I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound:everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me” (Philippians 4:12, 13). It is only by cultivating intimacy with that One who was never discontent that we shall be delivered from the sin of complaining. It is only by daily fellowship with Him who ever delighted in the Father’s will that we shall learn the secret of contentment. May both writer and reader so behold in the mirror of the Word the glory of the Lord that we shall be “changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord” (II Corinthians 3:18).

Puritan Quotes on Election

A king, consulting with himself and purposing to declare his honour and authority, enacteth such laws and statutes as the best industry of his subjects shalt not be able to observe, pretending nevertheless, of his own especial grace, to be favourable or merciful to some and upon the remnant of transgressors to execute justice. From this spring (to wit, the honour of the king) do distill two streams, the one for his beloved subjects to drink at and live, the other for the malignant to drown in.

Arthur Dent

Moreover, as God respects no persons, so He respects no conditions upon which He gives salvation to us.
Thomas Goodwin

It is absurd to think that anything in us could have the least influence upon our election. Some say that God did foresee that such persons would believe, and therefore did choose them; so they would make the business of salvation to depend upon something in us. Whereas God does not choose us FOR faith, but TO faith. “He hath chosen us, that we should be holy” (Eph. 1:4), not because we would be holy, but that we might be holy. We are elected to boldness, not for it.
Thomas Watson

Let us then ascribe the whole work of grace to the pleasure of God’s Will. God did not choose us because we were worthy, but by choosing us He makes us worthy.
Thomas Watson

The purpose of God is the sovereign cause of all that good that is in man, and of all that external, internal and eternal good that comes to man. Not works past, for men are chosen from everlasting; not works present, for Jacob was loved and chosen before he was born; nor works foreseen, for men were all corrupt in Adam. All a believer’s present happiness, and all his future happiness springs from the eternal purpose of God.
Thomas Brooks

This doctrine affords comfort: thy unworthiness may dismay thee, but remember that thy election depends not upon thy worthiness but upon the will of God.
Elnathan Pam

Election is ascribed to God the Father, sanctification to the Spirit, and reconciliation to Jesus Christ…. This is the chain of salvation and never a link of this chain must be broken. The Son cannot die for them whom the Father never elected, and the Spirit will never sanctify them whom the Father hath not elected nor the Son redeemed.
Thomas Manton

If so be that free–will were our tutor, and we had our heaven in our own keeping, then we would lose all. But because we have Christ for our tutor, and He has our heaven in His hand, therefore the covenant it must be perpetual.
Samuel Rutherford