Freedom
5 years ago
Sunday, April 06, 2008
Thursday, April 03, 2008
Wrath to come!
Wrath to come!
(Thomas Vincent, "The Only Deliverer from the Wrath to Come!"
Or, The Way to Escape the Horrible and Eternal Burnings of Hell)
"Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come!" 1 Thess. 1:10By "the wrath to come" we are to understand the infinite wrath of the sin-avenging God—in comparison with which, the wrath of all other creatures in the world is mild, and not in the least to be regarded.
This wrath which is to come, will be most bitter—beyond any gall or wormwood to the taste. This wrath will be most pure—without any allay or mixture of any comfortable ingredients. This wrath will be most plentiful—the treasury of which will be opened in hell, and all the damned will be filled with it abundantly.
This wrath will be most weighty—beyond any mountain of lead, to sink sinners down into the bottomless pit. This wrath will be most fierce—and so powerful that all the powers of men and devils shall not be able to make the least resistance. This wrath will be intolerable—and yet must be borne; it will be implacable—so as never to be appeased; and it will be eternal—so as never to be ended!
This wrath will include the punishment of loss—will consist of the loss of the crown, glory, and happiness of heaven, where the righteous shall be admitted to the immediate vision and full fruition of God the chief good, which will fill them with soul-ravishing, inconceivable, and eternal joy.
But from this, all the wicked will be eternally shut out, and wholly denied any share in the least of that happiness which, when they come to understand the worth and excellency of it—will above all things be most vexing to them!
This wrath will include the punishment of sense—will consist in the horrible pains and tortures which shall in extreme measure be inflicted upon every part of the bodies of all the wicked, by the most dreadful and unquenchable fire into which they shall be thrown; and the horrible anguish which, through the immediate impressions of God's wrath, shall be inflicted upon every faculty of their souls in hell, where they shall have no ease or release forever!
Matthew 25:41, "Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!" Revelation 14:10-11, "They shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night."
The wicked are vessels fitted by sin for destruction, and prepared for wrath; and therefore they shall be filled with it! God has treasured up wrath for the wicked—as they have treasured up sin! God will give them that which they have so much deserved, and which He has prepared for them. However sinners may vainly hope to flee or hide themselves from the stroke of God's vengeance, yet God's right hand will find all those who hate Him; and He will make them as a fiery oven in the time of His anger, swallow them up in His wrath, and devour them with the fire of His indignation! (Psalm 21:8-9).
The souls of the wicked, as soon as they are loosened by death from the ruinous habitation of their bodies, presently appear before God, are condemned to hell, and are dragged by the devil, hell's jailer, into that prison where they are bound in chains of darkness, filled with horror and anguish until the day of eternal judgment!Oh, the dread and confusion which the wicked then shall be filled with—when they are summoned and dragged to the tribunal seat of Christ—and there have the books opened before them, where all their sins are written, and which will then be made manifest to the whole world; and when the sentence
"Depart, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire!" shall be passed upon them; and when the Lord shall open the treasury of wrath to them, and give them that portion thereof, which is their due; and when they shall see the mouth of hell open beneath them, and a horrible flame issuing forth from there, giving notice of a more horrible fire within which is prepared for them! Oh, the dread! Oh, the shrieks! Who can dwell with such devouring fire!
Who can inhabit such everlasting burnings! How welcome would a great rock or mountain be—if they could find any that would fall upon them, and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb, and keep off the strokes of God's vengeance, which then will be inflicted upon them!But, the sentence being pronounced—the execution will follow—and none can escape it! From Christ's tribunal seat, the wicked will be thrown into the fiery prison of hell, where they will be shut down and shut in, and that forever!
There they will lie; there they will fry, and there they will cry! Though always dying—they will never die! The fire there will burn most dreadfully and continually, yet will never be extinguished! The wicked will be tormented there, in every part and in extreme measure—and their torment will never be ended!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Because God is so good He must punish so severely. God hates sin. Because the consequence of sinning against God is so great and so severe, He provided you a way out of this damnation so you would never have to experience the horrible effect of His wrath.
What is the way out?
He, God, humbled Himself and left His throne in Heaven. He clothed Himself in human form and walked a perfect sinless life. He allowed Himself to be taken by man and endured a horrible execution through crucifixion. He died on a cross for your sins, my sins, the sins of the world. They took Him down a buried Him in a tomb. Three days later God raised Himself from the dead so that you COULD have forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Heaven.
The Bible says you must repent and forsake your sins, put your trust in Christ to save you from God’s wrath, and you will be saved.
Will you do that today before it’s too late?
(Thomas Vincent, "The Only Deliverer from the Wrath to Come!"
Or, The Way to Escape the Horrible and Eternal Burnings of Hell)
"Jesus, who delivers us from the wrath to come!" 1 Thess. 1:10By "the wrath to come" we are to understand the infinite wrath of the sin-avenging God—in comparison with which, the wrath of all other creatures in the world is mild, and not in the least to be regarded.
This wrath which is to come, will be most bitter—beyond any gall or wormwood to the taste. This wrath will be most pure—without any allay or mixture of any comfortable ingredients. This wrath will be most plentiful—the treasury of which will be opened in hell, and all the damned will be filled with it abundantly.
This wrath will be most weighty—beyond any mountain of lead, to sink sinners down into the bottomless pit. This wrath will be most fierce—and so powerful that all the powers of men and devils shall not be able to make the least resistance. This wrath will be intolerable—and yet must be borne; it will be implacable—so as never to be appeased; and it will be eternal—so as never to be ended!
This wrath will include the punishment of loss—will consist of the loss of the crown, glory, and happiness of heaven, where the righteous shall be admitted to the immediate vision and full fruition of God the chief good, which will fill them with soul-ravishing, inconceivable, and eternal joy.
But from this, all the wicked will be eternally shut out, and wholly denied any share in the least of that happiness which, when they come to understand the worth and excellency of it—will above all things be most vexing to them!
This wrath will include the punishment of sense—will consist in the horrible pains and tortures which shall in extreme measure be inflicted upon every part of the bodies of all the wicked, by the most dreadful and unquenchable fire into which they shall be thrown; and the horrible anguish which, through the immediate impressions of God's wrath, shall be inflicted upon every faculty of their souls in hell, where they shall have no ease or release forever!
Matthew 25:41, "Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels!" Revelation 14:10-11, "They shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation, and shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment ascends up forever and ever, and they have no rest day or night."
The wicked are vessels fitted by sin for destruction, and prepared for wrath; and therefore they shall be filled with it! God has treasured up wrath for the wicked—as they have treasured up sin! God will give them that which they have so much deserved, and which He has prepared for them. However sinners may vainly hope to flee or hide themselves from the stroke of God's vengeance, yet God's right hand will find all those who hate Him; and He will make them as a fiery oven in the time of His anger, swallow them up in His wrath, and devour them with the fire of His indignation! (Psalm 21:8-9).
The souls of the wicked, as soon as they are loosened by death from the ruinous habitation of their bodies, presently appear before God, are condemned to hell, and are dragged by the devil, hell's jailer, into that prison where they are bound in chains of darkness, filled with horror and anguish until the day of eternal judgment!Oh, the dread and confusion which the wicked then shall be filled with—when they are summoned and dragged to the tribunal seat of Christ—and there have the books opened before them, where all their sins are written, and which will then be made manifest to the whole world; and when the sentence
"Depart, you who are cursed, into everlasting fire!" shall be passed upon them; and when the Lord shall open the treasury of wrath to them, and give them that portion thereof, which is their due; and when they shall see the mouth of hell open beneath them, and a horrible flame issuing forth from there, giving notice of a more horrible fire within which is prepared for them! Oh, the dread! Oh, the shrieks! Who can dwell with such devouring fire!
Who can inhabit such everlasting burnings! How welcome would a great rock or mountain be—if they could find any that would fall upon them, and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb, and keep off the strokes of God's vengeance, which then will be inflicted upon them!But, the sentence being pronounced—the execution will follow—and none can escape it! From Christ's tribunal seat, the wicked will be thrown into the fiery prison of hell, where they will be shut down and shut in, and that forever!
There they will lie; there they will fry, and there they will cry! Though always dying—they will never die! The fire there will burn most dreadfully and continually, yet will never be extinguished! The wicked will be tormented there, in every part and in extreme measure—and their torment will never be ended!
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Because God is so good He must punish so severely. God hates sin. Because the consequence of sinning against God is so great and so severe, He provided you a way out of this damnation so you would never have to experience the horrible effect of His wrath.
What is the way out?
He, God, humbled Himself and left His throne in Heaven. He clothed Himself in human form and walked a perfect sinless life. He allowed Himself to be taken by man and endured a horrible execution through crucifixion. He died on a cross for your sins, my sins, the sins of the world. They took Him down a buried Him in a tomb. Three days later God raised Himself from the dead so that you COULD have forgiveness of sins and eternal life in Heaven.
The Bible says you must repent and forsake your sins, put your trust in Christ to save you from God’s wrath, and you will be saved.
Will you do that today before it’s too late?
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
Dear Wife, Farewell
Dear wife, farewell!
(An excerpt from a letter by Christopher Love, to his wife, on the morning of his execution)
My most gracious beloved, I am now going from a prison to a palace! I have finished my work.
I am now to receive my wages. I am going to heaven! Rejoice in my joy. The joy of the Lord is my strength. O, let it be yours also!
Dear wife, farewell! I will call you wife no more! I shall see your face no more! Yet I am not much troubled; for now I am going to meet the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom I shall be eternally married!
Your dying, yet most affectionate friend until death, Christopher Love, August 22, 1651, the day of my glorification!
Are you this ready and sure to go meet your Savior?
Ok - I admit I had never heard of Christopher Love until this morning........so here is a brief bio from Wikipedia:
Love was born at Cardiff, in Glamorganshire, Wales, in 1618. He was educated at New Inn Hall, Oxford University, in 1635. After taking the master's degree he was obliged to leave Oxford for refusing to subscribe to Archbishop William Laud's canons.
He went to London, and became domestic chaplain to the sheriff, and took a bold stand against the errors of the Book of Common Prayer and the religious tyranny of the times. He was cast into prison on account of an aggressive sermon at Newcastle, and in various ways persecuted in London.
At the outbreak of the English Civil War, he was made preacher to the garrison of Windsor Castle, where he offended the Church establishment through his outspoken opinions.
He was one of the first to receive presbyterial ordination under the new organization in Jan. 23, 1644, at Aldermanbury; London; and became pastor of St Lawrence Jewry in London, where he was highly esteemed for the eloquence and vigor of his preaching.
He was a strong Presbyterian, the leader of the younger men of that party. In this way he became involved in a treasonable correspondence with the Presbyterians of Scotland to restore Charles II; and, with many others, was arrested May 7, 1651, and chosen to make an example of, to check the Presbyterian agitation against Oliver Cromwell and in favor of Charles II. Love was also a Westminster divine.
He was condemned and beheaded on Tower Hill, an event which caused great indignation among the Presbyterian party, which had petitioned, by ministerial bodies and parishes, in vain for his pardon. He went to his death as their hero and martyr. His funeral sermon was preached by Thomas Manton to an immense sympathizing audience.
(An excerpt from a letter by Christopher Love, to his wife, on the morning of his execution)
My most gracious beloved, I am now going from a prison to a palace! I have finished my work.
I am now to receive my wages. I am going to heaven! Rejoice in my joy. The joy of the Lord is my strength. O, let it be yours also!
Dear wife, farewell! I will call you wife no more! I shall see your face no more! Yet I am not much troubled; for now I am going to meet the Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom I shall be eternally married!
Your dying, yet most affectionate friend until death, Christopher Love, August 22, 1651, the day of my glorification!
Are you this ready and sure to go meet your Savior?
Ok - I admit I had never heard of Christopher Love until this morning........so here is a brief bio from Wikipedia:
Love was born at Cardiff, in Glamorganshire, Wales, in 1618. He was educated at New Inn Hall, Oxford University, in 1635. After taking the master's degree he was obliged to leave Oxford for refusing to subscribe to Archbishop William Laud's canons.
He went to London, and became domestic chaplain to the sheriff, and took a bold stand against the errors of the Book of Common Prayer and the religious tyranny of the times. He was cast into prison on account of an aggressive sermon at Newcastle, and in various ways persecuted in London.
At the outbreak of the English Civil War, he was made preacher to the garrison of Windsor Castle, where he offended the Church establishment through his outspoken opinions.
He was one of the first to receive presbyterial ordination under the new organization in Jan. 23, 1644, at Aldermanbury; London; and became pastor of St Lawrence Jewry in London, where he was highly esteemed for the eloquence and vigor of his preaching.
He was a strong Presbyterian, the leader of the younger men of that party. In this way he became involved in a treasonable correspondence with the Presbyterians of Scotland to restore Charles II; and, with many others, was arrested May 7, 1651, and chosen to make an example of, to check the Presbyterian agitation against Oliver Cromwell and in favor of Charles II. Love was also a Westminster divine.
He was condemned and beheaded on Tower Hill, an event which caused great indignation among the Presbyterian party, which had petitioned, by ministerial bodies and parishes, in vain for his pardon. He went to his death as their hero and martyr. His funeral sermon was preached by Thomas Manton to an immense sympathizing audience.
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
National Atheist Day
Today, April 1st, is National Atheist Day around the world.
The fool has said in his heart,“There is no God.” (Psalm 14:1)
The seeds of wickedness
The seeds of every wickedness
(J. C. Ryle, "The Gospel of Mark" 1857)
"But Peter insisted emphatically, 'Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You!'And all the others vowed the same." Mark 14:31
See how much ignorant self confidence may sometimes be found in the hearts of Christians. The apostle Peter could not think it possible that he could ever deny his Lord. And he did not stand alone in his confidence.
The other disciples were of the same opinion. "And all the others vowed the same."
Yet what did all this confident boasting come to? Twelve hours did not pass away before all the disciples forsook our Lord and fled. Their loud professions were all forgotten. The present danger swept all their promises of fidelity clean away.
So little do we know how we shall act in any particular position—until we are placed in it!
Let us learn to pray for humility. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." There is far more wickedness in all our hearts,than we know. We never can tell how far we might fall—if once placed in temptation.
There is no degree of sin into which the greatest saint may not run—if he is not held up by the grace of God, and if he does not watch and pray.The seeds of every wickedness lie hidden in our hearts!
They only need the convenient season to spring forth into a mischievous vitality. "Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." "He who trusts his own heart is a fool.''
Let our daily prayer be, "Hold me up—and I shall be safe!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
(J. C. Ryle, "The Gospel of Mark" 1857)
"But Peter insisted emphatically, 'Even if I have to die with You, I will never disown You!'And all the others vowed the same." Mark 14:31
See how much ignorant self confidence may sometimes be found in the hearts of Christians. The apostle Peter could not think it possible that he could ever deny his Lord. And he did not stand alone in his confidence.
The other disciples were of the same opinion. "And all the others vowed the same."
Yet what did all this confident boasting come to? Twelve hours did not pass away before all the disciples forsook our Lord and fled. Their loud professions were all forgotten. The present danger swept all their promises of fidelity clean away.
So little do we know how we shall act in any particular position—until we are placed in it!
Let us learn to pray for humility. "Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." There is far more wickedness in all our hearts,than we know. We never can tell how far we might fall—if once placed in temptation.
There is no degree of sin into which the greatest saint may not run—if he is not held up by the grace of God, and if he does not watch and pray.The seeds of every wickedness lie hidden in our hearts!
They only need the convenient season to spring forth into a mischievous vitality. "Let him that thinks he stands take heed lest he fall." "He who trusts his own heart is a fool.''
Let our daily prayer be, "Hold me up—and I shall be safe!"
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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