A.W. Pink: The Holiness of God

Because God is holy, acceptance with Him on the ground of creature-doings is utterly impossible. A fallen creature could sooner create a world than produce that which would meet the approval of infinite Purity. Can darkness dwell with Light? Can the Immaculate One take pleasure with "filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6)? The best that sinful man brings forth is defiled. A corrupt tree cannot bear good fruit. God would deny Himself, vilify His perfections, were He to account as righteous and holy that which is not so in itself; and nothing is so which has the least stain upon it contrary to the nature of God. But blessed be His name, that which His holiness demanded His grace has provided in Christ Jesus our Lord. Every poor sinner who has fled to Him for refuge stands "accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:6). Hallelujah!

It has been well said that "true worship is based upon recognized greatness, and greatness is superlatively seen in Sovereignty, and at no other footstool will men really worship." In the presence of the Divine King upon His throne even the seraphim 'veil their faces.' Divine sovereignty is not the sovereignty of a tyrannical Despot, but the exercised pleasure of One who is infinitely wise and good! Because God is infinitely wise He cannot err, and because He is infinitely righteous He will not do wrong. Here then is the preciousness of this truth. The mere fact itself that God's will is irresistible and irreversible fills me with fear, but once I realize that God wills only that which is good, my heart is made to rejoice. Here then is the final answer to the question (concerning our attitude toward God's sovereignty) - What ought to be our attitude toward the sovereignty of God? The becoming attitude for us to take is that of godly fear, implicit obedience, and unreserved resignation and submission. But not only so: the recognition of the sovereignty of God, and the realization that the Sovereign Himself is my Father, ought to overwhelm the heart and cause me to bow before Him in adoring worship. At all times I must say, "Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in Thy sight."

HT:  PB Ministries 

Bible Q&A With John MacArthur: Christ's Holiness and Our Sinfulness (Luke 7)

YouTube: The Depth of the Gospel, Parts 1 & 2 (Paul Washer preaching at the Master's College, November 11, 2010)

YouTube: Suppose an Unholy Man Went to Heaven - J.C. Ryle (Reformed Readings)

D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones: Christians Are To Be Different From the World (Studies in the Sermon on the Mount)

"We have been told that we have to make the Church attractive to man outside, and the idea is to become as much like him as we can.  There were certain popular padres during the First World War who mixed  with their men, and smoked with them, and did this, that, and the other with them, in order to encourage them.  Some people though that, as a result,  when the war was was over, the exservicemen would be crowding into the churches.  Yet it did not happen, and it never has happened that way.  The glory of the gospel is that when the Church is absolutely different from the world, she invariably attracts it.  It is then that the world is made to listen to her message, though it may hate it at first.  That is how revival comes.  That must also be true of us as individuals, It should not be our ambition to be as much like everybody else as we can, though we happen to be Christian, but rather to be as different from everybody who is not a Christian as we can possibly be.  Our ambition should be to be like Christ, the more like Him the better, and the more like Him we become, the more we shall be unlike everybody who is not a Christian."  (D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Studies on the Sermon on the Mount, pg. 28, William B. Eerdmann's Publishing Company)

Fighting Friday: Letters of John Newton - Sin in the Minister

Sin in the Minister

by John Newton

________________________________________

June 13, 1772.


My Dear Sir,

You say that your experience agrees with mine. It must be so, because our hearts are alike. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked, destitute of good, and prone to evil. This is the character of mankind universally, and those who are made partakers of grace are renewed but in part; the evil nature still cleaves to them, and the root of sin, though mortified, is far from being dead.-While the cause remains, it will have effects; and while we are burdened with the body of this death, we must groan under it. But we need not be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow, since we have in Jesus a Saviour, a Righteousness, an Advocate, a Shepherd. "He knows our frame, and remembers that we are but dust." If sin abounds in us, grace abounds much more in Him; nor would He suffer sin to remain in His people, if He did not know how to overrule it, and make it an occasion of endearing His love and grace so much the more to their souls. The Lord forbid that we should plead His goodness as an encouragement to sloth and indifference. Humiliation, godly sorrow, and self-abasement become us; but, at the same time, we may rejoice in the Lord. Though sin remains, it shall not have dominion over us; though it wars in us, it shall not prevail against us. We have a mercy-seat sprinkled with blood, we have an Advocate with the Father, we are called to this warfare, and we fight under the eye of the Captain of our salvation, who is always near to renew our strength, to heal our wounds, and to cover our heads in the heat of battle. As ministers, we preach to those who have like passions and infirmities with ourselves, and by our own feelings, fears, and changes, we learn to speak a word in season to them that are weary, to warn those who stand, and to stretch out a hand of compassion towards them that are fallen; and to commend it to others from our own experience, as a faithful saying. Besides, if the Lord is pleased to give us some liberty, acceptance, and success in preaching the Gospel, we should be in great danger of running mad with spiritual pride, if the Lord did not permit us to feel the depravity and vileness of our hearts, and thereby keep us from forgetting what we are in ourselves.

With regard to your young people, you must expect to meet with some disappointment. Perhaps, not every one of whom you have conceived hopes will stand, and some who do belong to the Lord are permitted to make sad mistakes for their future humiliation. It is our part to watch, warn, and admonish, and we ought, likewise, to be concerned for those slips and miscarriages which we cannot prevent. A minister, if faithful, and of a right spirit, can have no greater joy than to see his people walking honourably and steadily in the truth; and hardly anything will give him more sensible grief, than to see any of them taken in Satan's wiles. Yet still the Gospel brings relief here. He is wiser than we are, and knows how to make those things subservient to promote his work, which we ought to guard against as evils and hindrances. We are to use the means-He is to rule the whole. If the faults of some are made warnings to others, and prove, in the end, occasions of illustrating the riches of divine grace, this should reconcile us to what we cannot help, though such considerations should not slacken our diligence in sounding an alarm, and reminding our hearers of their continual danger.

I am, &c.


H.T. Fire and Ice

YouTube: Blessed Purity, Steve Lawson (2009 Resolved Conference)

SermonAudio: A Clarion Call to Gospel Holiness (Albert N. Martin)

Loving God and Loving Our Neighbor Through Our Evangelism by Tony Zabala

SWORD DRILLS

"Loving God and Loving Our Neighbor

Through Our Evangelism"

by

Tony Zabala

"Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, " 'YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, 'YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.' (Matt. 22: 36-39)

Last time, we took a look at the primary reason why Christian's evangelize which is to glorify God. We glorify God not only in our evangelistic efforts, but we also found out that if there are any sin issues that we refuse to deal with despite the fact that we continue to evangelize we will not bring glory to God and our evangelistic efforts will be in vain. Today, we will take a look at the next two reasons why Christians' evangelize, and that's because they love God and love their neighbor.

Jesus and the two greatest commandments

In Matthew 22: 36-39, our Lord is asked a question by one of the Scribes. The Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees were always trying to catch our Lord in a trap by asking him trick questions. On this day, the Scribe's question was, "Teacher, which is the great commandment of the Law?" Jesus, adeptly answered him by summing up the whole moral law, "You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' "This is the great and foremost commandment. "The second is like it, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself.', thereby fulfilling the whole moral law.

How does the Christian fulfill those two great commandments? The Christian shows his love for God by obeying the first four commandments of the 10 commandments or moral law. The Christian shows love for his neighbor by obeying the last six commandments of the 10 commandments.

How do we show our love for God through our evangelism?

So how do we show our love for God through our evangelism? The first thing we must do, simply, is to follow God's commands concerning evangelism. First off, we show our love for God by keeping His commandments. Jesus said in John 14:15, "If you love me you will keep my commandments". If you want to show your love toward God through your evangelism all you have to do is follow His commands to "evangelize":

“And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.” (Mark 16:15)

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." (Matt. 28: 19-20)

". . .but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." (Acts 1:8)

Another way that we show our love for God through our evangelism is to be concerned about the things that God is concerned with. The Christian shows love toward God by caring about the things that God is concerned about. One concern that God has is to seek and save those that are lost. Jesus said in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost." Jesus concern for the lost was the same love and concern that the Father has for the lost as illustrated in the parable of the lost sheep where the Shepherd (God the Father) in the parable was concerned, cared for, and even went after that one lost sheep (Luke 18:12-14).

Jesus, the Son, has the same love and concern for the lost like God the Father has, and likewise, as His adopted children, we should have the same care and concern for the lost as well. Now that we have looked at two reasons how we show love toward God through over evangelism, let's now look at how we show love toward our neighbor through our evangelism.

How do we show our love for our neighbor through our evangelism?

Once again, we show our love to our neighbor through our evangelism by following God's commandment to proclaim the Gospel to our neighbor. The greatest love you can show your neighbor is to proclaim the Gospel to him. To tell your neighbor that they are lost, dying sinners without hope unless they repent of their sins and put their trust in faith in Jesus as their Lord and Savior is the greatest love you can ever show your neighbor.

Paul stated in Romans 10:15, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!" The Gospel is "good news" despite the fact that your neighbor may despise and reject you for your faithfulness in proclaiming it. As a Christian, you are an ambassador and a representative of Christ called out to bring the Gospel of peace to unbelievers who are currently at war with God because of their sinful and wicked ways (2 Cor. 5:20).

If God so chooses, he may save that person you are witnessing to through the power of the Holy Spirit and that person will no longer be at war with God (John 3:8; Rom. 9:15). That's why Jesus said, "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God" (Matt. 5:9). One characteristic of a son of God is that he is a "peacemaker" who is a bearer of the "Gospel of peace" and the proclamation of that Gospel of peace through the power of the Holy Spirit can turn a wicked sinner who is at war with God and an enemy of Christ into a son of God, who is at peace with God, and a friend of Christ.

Another way that we can show love toward our neighbor through our evangelism is by showing our compassion to them (Matt. 25: 35-40; Jam. 4: 14-17). Whether it be listening to their troubles or meeting their physical needs, we show our love to our neighbors through our evangelism by showing compassion toward them by meeting their needs and using that as a springboard to present the Gospel to them. However, none of this matters, if you don't lead a holy life that is pleasing to God.

You still need to lead a holy life

Living a holy life is vital to our testimony and shows our love for God and for our neighbor through our evangelism. God commands us to lead holy lives. (Matt. 5:8; 1 Tim. 4:8; 1 Pet. 1:16). As I stated in a previous post, I have met many Christians or professing Christians over the years who are skilled evangelists, have zeal for evangelism, and desire to honor God through their evangelism, but do not lead holy lives. There is usually some sin issue they will either deny or ignore and still insist on evangelizing despite their sinful behavior. This always leads to disastrous results.

That's because they are measuring their Christian lives through their evangelism rather than first and foremost living a life that's glorifying to God and bearing the fruits from their evangelism through the holy life that they lead. Remember, it's all about God's glory as I pointed out the last time. Your life does not honor or glorify God in any way if you still continue to evangelize and have a sin issue in your life that you are either denying or ignoring. Jesus said, "If you love me you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15). Loving God means that the Christian follows all of God's commandments not merely the commandments to evangelize.

Finally, you are neither showing love to God or to your neighbor if you continue to evangelize and not deal with your sin issue. You will eventually bear the fruits of your sinful behavior and you will bring reproach to yourself, your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ, and most importantly to Christ Himself. That's something to seriously consider.

Fight the Good Fight of Faith

Tony

Some helpful resources to consider:

Words to Winners of Souls by Horatius Bonar

The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges

The Practice of Godliness by Jerry Bridges

One Thing You Can't Do In Heaven by Mark Cahill

Humility by C.J. Mahaney

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer

Holiness by J.C. Ryle

Tony Zabala is currently the lay leader of Grace Community Church's Neighborhood Outreach Ministry located in Sun Valley, California. Neighborhood Outreach is an evangelism ministry which reaches out to the community surrounding Grace Community Church. The views and recommendations from this blog site do not necessarily represent the views and recommendations of Grace Community Church, John F. MacArthur, Grace To You, the Master's Seminary, the Master's College or any other associated ministry.

A.W. Pink: The Holy Spirit - The Spirit Preserving (28/32)

Chapter 28

The Spirit Preserving

During recent years much has been written upon the eternal security of the saints, some of it helpful, but most of it superficial and injurious. Many Scriptures have been quoted, but few of them explained. A great deal has been said about the fact of Divine preservation, but comparatively little on the method thereof. The preservation of the believer by the Father and by the Son has been given considerable prominence, but the work of the Spirit therein was largely ignored. The general impression conveyed to the thoughtful reader has been that, the "final perseverance" of the Christian is a mechanical thing rather than a spiritual process, that it is accomplished by physical force rather than by moral persuasion, that it is performed by external might rather than by internal means—something like an unconscious non-swimmer being rescued from a watery grave, or a fireman carrying a swooning person out of a burning building. Such illustrations are radically faulty, utterly misleading, and pernicious in their tendency.

It may be objected that the principal thing for us to be concerned with is the blessed fact itself, and that there is no need for us to trouble ourselves about the modus operandi: let us rejoice in the truth that God does preserve His people, and not wrack our brains over how He does so. As well might the objector say the same about the redemptive work of Christ: let us be thankful that He did make an atonement, and not worry ourselves over the philosophy of it. But is it of no real importance, no value to the soul, to ascertain that Christ’s atonement was avicarious one, that it was a definite one, and not offered at random; that it is a triumphantone, securing the actual justification of all for whom it was made? Why, my reader, it is at this very point lies the dividing-line between vital truth and fundamental error. God has done something more than record in the Gospels the historical fact of Christ’s death: He has supplied in the Epistles an explanation of its nature and design.

So, too, God has given us far more than bald statements in His Word that none of His people shall perish: He has also revealed how He preserves them from destruction, and it is not only highly insulting to Him, but to our own great loss, if we ignore or refuse to ponder carefully what He has made known therein. Was it without reason Paul prayed, "That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know . . . what is the exceeding greatness of His power to usward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand" (Eph. 1:17-20). Christians are "kept by the power of God" (1 Pet. 1:5), and evidently we can only know what that power is, and the greatness thereof, as we are spiritually enlightened concerning the same.

When we read that we are "kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time" (1 Pet. 1:5), or "For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13), in such passages the immediate reference is always tothe Holy Spirit—the "immediate," though not the exclusive. In the economy of redemption all is from the Father, through the Son, by the Spirit. All proceeds from the fore-ordination of the Father, all that comes to the believer is through Christ, that is, on account of His infinite merits: all is actually wrought by the Spirit, for He is the Executive of the Godhead, the active Agent in all the works of redemption. The believer is as truly and directly preserved by the Spirit, as he was quickened by Him; and only as this is duly recognized by us will we be inclined to render Him that thanks and praise which is His distinctive due.

Preservation in Holiness

The chief end for which God sends the Spirit to indwell His people is to deliver them from apostasy: to preserve them not only from the everlasting burnings, but from those things which would expose them thereto. Unless that be clearly stated, we justly lay ourselves open to the charge that this is a dangerous doctrine—making light of sin and encouraging careless living. It is not true that if a man has once truly believed in Christ, no matter what enormities he may commit afterwards, nor what course of evil he follow, he cannot fail to reach Heaven. Not so is the teaching of Holy Writ. The Spirit does not preserve in a way of licentiousness, but only in the way of holiness. Nowhere has God promised His favor to dogs who go back to their vomit, nor to swine which return to their wallowing in the mire. The believer may indeed experience a fearful fall, yet he will not lie down content in his filth, any more than David did: "Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down: for the LORD upholdeth him with His hand" (Ps. 37:24).

That many Christians have persevered in holiness to the last moment of their lives, cannot be truthfully denied. Now their perseverance must have been obtained wholly of themselves, or partly of themselves and partly by Divine aid, or it must have been wholly dependent on the purpose and power of God. None who profess to believe the Scriptures would affirm that it was due entirely to their own efforts and faithfulness, for they clearly teach that progress in holiness is as much the work of the Spirit as is the new birth itself. To say that the perseverance of the saint is due, in part to himself, is to divide the credit, afford ground for boasting, and rob God of half His rightful glory. To declare that a life of faith and holiness is entirely dependent upon the grace and power of God, is but to repeat what the Lord told His disciples: "without Me ye can do nothing" (John 15:5), and is to affirm with the Apostle, "Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God" (2 Cor. 3:5).

Yet it needs to be pointed out that in maintaining His people in holiness, the power of God operates in quite another manner than it does in the maintenance of a river or the preservation of a tree. A river may (sometimes does) dry up, and a tree may be uprooted: the one is maintained by being replenished by fresh waters, the other is preserved by its being nourished and by its roots being held in the ground; but in each case, the preservation is by physical power, from without, entirely without their concurrence. In the case of the Christian’s preservation it is quite otherwise. With him God works from within, using moral persuasion, leading him to a concurrence of mind and will with the Holy Spirit in this work. God deals with the believer as a moral agent, draws him "with cords of a man" (Hosea 11:4), maintains his responsibility, and bids him, "work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:12, 13).

Thus there is both preservation on God’s part and perseverance in holiness on ours, and the former is accomplished by maintaining the latter. God does not deal with His people as though they were machines, but as rational creatures. He sets before them weighty considerations and powerful motives, solemn warnings and rich rewards, and by the renewings of His grace and the revivings of His Spirit causes them to respond thereto. Are they made conscious of the power and pollution of indwelling sin? then they cry for help to resist its lustings and to escape its defilements. Are they shown the importance, the value, and the need of faith? then they beg the Lord for an increase of it. Are they made sensible of that obedience which is due unto God, but aware, too, of the hindering drag of the flesh? then they cry, "Draw me, we will run after Thee." Do they yearn to be fruitful? then they pray, "Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my Beloved come into His garden, and eat His pleasant fruits" (Song. 4:16).

His understanding having been savingly enlightened, the believer desires to grow in grace and the knowledge of his Lord, that he may abound in spiritual wisdom and good works. Every affection of his heart is stirred, every faculty of his soul called into action. And yet this concurrence is not such as to warrant us saying that his perseverance depends, in any degree on himself, for every spiritual stirring and act on his part is but the effect of the Spirit’s operation within him, "He which hath begun a good work in you will finish it" (Phil. 1:6). He who first enlightened, will continue to shine upon the understanding; He who originally convicted of sin, will go on searching the conscience; He who imparted faith will nourish and sustain the same; He who drew to Christ, will continue to attract the affections toward Him. (Please click here to continue reading, "The Spirit Persevering")

It's All About God's Glory Not Yours by Tony Zabala

SWORD DRILLS

"It's All About God's Glory Not Yours"

by

Tony Zabala

“Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” (1 Cor. 10: 31)

Evangelism can be a hard painstaking task without immediate reward or visible fruit. Many Christians partake in evangelism for many reasons: being gifted as an evangelist, enjoying evangelism, wanting to save people from going to hell, or obedience to the great commission, etc. Those are all valid reasons for doing evangelism. However, the primary, Biblical reason the Christian evangelizes above any other reason is to glorify God. Paul stated about the glory of God that:

“Whether, then, you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God." (1 Cor. 10:31)

"“Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.” (Col. 3:17)

Paul and the Corinthians

The Apostle Paul was addressing the Corinthians who were a problem church and had many serious issues. Some of those issues included divisions in the Corinthian church because they wanted to follow their favorite teacher rather than Christ (1 Cor. 1: 10-13), they had a conflict with baptism (1 Cor. 1: 14-17), they were more interested in Greek and Roman philosophy rather than Scripture (1 Cor. 2: 12-16), they were prideful because of their spiritual gifts (tongues) rather than desiring the greater things (prophecy) (1 Cor. 13:1, 14: 1-5), and they were tolerant of and not practicing church discipline on a young man who was having sexual relations with his step mother (1 Cor. 5: 1-2).

It's no surprise to find Paul exhorting the Corinthians in chapter 10 with regard to the Corinthians measuring their Christianity by the externals such as the food they ate or drank or what day they practiced the Sabbath. Paul was reminding the Corinthians in this section of chapter 10 that the true measure of one's Christianity or relationship with Christ isn't found in the externals, but that the Christian's life glorifies God in everything he does including the externals.

The first catechism in the Westminster Larger Catechism states that: "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever." Have you ever wondered why that's the first catechism in the Westminster Larger Catechism? The reason why the English Puritans made that the first catechism is because if the Christian's main purpose is not to glorify God in everything he does, everything that he does for God will ultimately fall apart. If the Christian's main purpose is not to glorify God as Scripture and the Westminster Catechism advocates, his purpose will be primarily man-centered and his efforts will ultimately fail rather than having a God-centered purpose which is to glorify God in everything he does.

So what does this have to do with evangelism?

Everything! I have seen too many Christians or professing Christians over the years involved in evangelism who measure their whole Christian walk based on how much evangelism they do or how excellent or supposedly perfect their Gospel presentations are and later find out how much of a mess the rest of their Christian walk is. You start to find out that they are involved in some sin that they refuse to repent from, or they want to argue and promote some theological side issue which has nothing to do with the essentials of the Christian faith hence causing division in the body of Christ, but yet they still want to evangelize and have no problems going out evangelizing despite their sin.

The problem is that even though the Christian is saved and continuing to be sanctified by the Holy Spirit, he still has a tendency to revert back to measuring his Christian walk by his works rather than what Christ did for him on the cross. In addition, if the person refuses to deal with his sin , that person may be a professing Christian who is not saved at all and measuring his supposed Christian walk by his evangelistic efforts.

So my question to you is how does this glorify God? The answer is it doesn't glorify God at all.

So how can I make sure that my evangelism glorifies God?

Glorifying God in your evangelism is more than just going out consistently to proclaim the Gospel and delivering a theologically perfect Gospel message. It's also leading a holy life which is pleasing and glorifying to God. (1 Tim. 4:8; 1 Pet. 1:16). Your evangelism and the fruits from your evangelistic efforts are a result of a life that is glorifying to God and not vice versa. If you are continuing to evangelize, not leading a holy life, and not dealing with the sin issues in your life, then your evangelistic efforts are in vain and not glorifying to God at all no matter how many times you evangelize or how many people you proclaim the Gospel to. So here are some questions to consider if you want to find out if your evangelism is glorifying to God:

Do you still evangelize despite the fact that you have a sin issue in your life which you haven't dealt with or are ignoring just because you evangelize? (hypocrisy)

Do you judge other Christians because they are not as enthusiastic or as zealous about evangelism as you are and as a result of this, do you bear any animosity toward other Christians or church leaders because they don't have the same zeal as you have rather than being content and trusting in a sovereign God who can change the hearts of these leaders and members of your congregation? (spiritual pride, censoriousness)

Do you desire to lead a holy life and are you actively examining you life for any sin and mortifying those sins in your life or are you measuring your Christianity based solely on your evangelistic efforts? (works)

If you answer yes to any of these questions, you should seriously examine your Christian walk, repent of these sins, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you mortify these sins. If this is a continuing pattern in your life, you should seriously consider stepping down from ministry and dealing with these sins prior to resuming your Christian duties of evangelism or any other ministry the Lord has lead you to partake in. Your Christian life and testimony are just as important as your evangelistic efforts or your Gospel presentation. Most importantly, it's all about God's glory not yours.

"Fight the Good Fight of Faith"

Tony

Some helpful resources to consider:

Words to Winners of Souls by Horatius Bonar

The Pursuit of Holiness by Jerry Bridges

The Practice of Godliness by Jerry Bridges

Humility by C.J. Mahaney

Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer

Holiness by J.C. Ryle

Tony Zabala is currently the lay leader of Grace Community Church's Neighborhood Outreach Ministry located in Sun Valley, California. Neighborhood Outreach is an evangelism ministry which reaches out to the community surrounding Grace Community Church. The views and recommendations from this blog site do not necessarily represent the views and recommendations of Grace Community Church, John F. MacArthur, Grace To You, the Master's Seminary, the Master's College or any other associated ministry.

Google Video: Holiness and Justice, R.C. Sproul (2007 Desiring God Pastors Conference)

You Tube: The Holiness of God, Parts 1-5 (R.C. Sproul)

You Tube: The Total Depravity of Man, Parts 1-3 (R.C. Sproul)

Fighting Five Articles of Interest

Ligonier Blog

Opening Our Ears to Hear by R.C. Sproul

R.C. Sproul on the importance of obeying what we hear from God's Word and what happens when we don't.

Pulpit Magazine

Merging History and Homiletics by Rich Gregory

The need to study the history and background of a passage in order interept it correctly.

Reformation Theology

Does John 20:31 prove that faith precedes regeneration? by John Samson

John answers an e-mail question on the subject of John 20:31.

The Blazing Center

What To Do When You Receive Bad News by Mark Altrogge

Timely message on trusting God during trials from Mark Altrogge.

Possessing the Treasure

Called to Be Holy by Mike Ratliff

Mike on what holiness is and what it looks like in the life of a believer.

"FIGHTING MAD" or Other Articles of Interest

Pyromaniacs

A Few Pithy Thoughts on Doubt by Dan Phillips

Dan gives his thoughts on evangelicalism's current fascination with the false virtue of doubt.

A.W. Pink: The Holy Spirit - The Spirit Leading (21/32)

Chapter 21 The Spirit Leading "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (Rom. 8:14). This verse presents to us another aspect of the varied work of the blessed Holy Spirit. In addition to all His other functions, He performs the office of Guide unto the godly. Nor is this peculiar to the present dispensation: He so ministered during the Old Testament times. This is brought out clearly in Isaiah 63, "Where is He that brought them up out of the Sea with the shepherd of His flock? where is He that put His holy Spirit within him? That led them by the right hand of Moses with His glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make Himself an everlasting name? That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble? As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the LORDcaused him to rest: so didst Thou lead Thy people, to make Thyself a glorious name" (vv. 11-14). Moses was no more able, by his own power, to induce the Hebrews to pass between the divided waters of the Red Sea and to cross the trackless desert, than by the mere extending of the rod he could divide those waters. Moses was simply the human instrument: the Holy Spirit was the efficient Agent. Divinely Drawn In the above passage we have more than a hint of how the Holy Spirit "leads": it is by means of an inward impulse, as well as by external directions. Among his comments upon Romans 8:14 Matthew Henry says, "Led by the Spirit as a scholar in his learning is led by his tutor, as a traveler in his journey is led by his guide, as a soldier in his engagements is led by his captain." But such analogies are inadequate, for they present only the external side, leaving out of account the internal operations of the Spirit, which are even more essential. "O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer. 10:23). By nature we are not only ignorant of God’s way, but reluctant to walk therein even when it is shown us, and therefore we find the Church praying "Draw me, we will run after Thee" (Song. 1:4). Ah, we never seek unto God, still less "run after Him," till we are Divinely drawn. This humbling truth was well understood by David of old. First, he prayed, "Teach me, O LORD, the way of Thy statutes . . . Give me understanding" (Ps. 119:33, 34). But second, he realized that something more than Divine illumination was needed by him: therefore did he add, "Make me to go in the path of Thy commandments . . . Incline my heart unto Thy testimonies," (vv. 35, 36). By nature our hearts are averse from God and holiness. We can be worldly of ourselves, but we cannot be heavenly of ourselves. The power of sin lies in the love of it, and it is only as our affections are Divinely drawn unto things above that we are delivered from sin’s dominion. Moreover, our wills are perverse, and only as supernatural grace is brought to bear upon them are they "inclined" Godwards. Thus, to be "led by the Spirit of God" is to be governed by Him from within, to be subject unto His secret but real impulses or strivings. Not only are our hearts inclined by nature unto temporal, material, worldly, and evil things, rather than unto eternal, spiritual, heavenly and holy things, but they are by inveterate customtoo. As soon as we are born we follow the bent of our natural appetites, and the first few years of our life are governed merely by sense; and the pleasures begotten by gratifying our senses become deeply ingrained in us. Moreover, by constant living in the world and long contact with material things, the tendency increases upon us and we become more strongly settled in a worldly frame. "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil" (Jer. 13:23). Custom becomes a "second nature" to us: the more we follow a certain course of life, the more we delight in it, and we are only weaned from it with very great difficulty. Natural lusts and appetites being born and bred in us from infancy, continue to cry out for indulgence and satisfaction. The will has become bent to a carnal course and the heart craves material pleasures. Hence, when the claims of God are presented to us, when the interests of our souls and the things of eternity are brought before us, when the "beauty ofholiness" is presented to our view, they find our wills already biased in the contrary direction and our heart prepossessed with other inclinations, which by reason of long indulgence bind us to them. The heart being deeply engaged with and delighting in temporal and worldly things, is quite unable to respond to the dictates of reason and set itself upon that which is heavenly and Divine; and even the voice of conscience is unheeded by the soul, which prefers the insidious lullaby of Satan. Nothing but the Almighty power of the Holy Spirit can turn ("lead") the heart in a contrary direction. Now the heart is inclined toward God when the habitual bent of our affections is more to holiness than to worldly things. As the power of sin lies in the love of it, so it is with indwelling grace. Grace prevails over us when we so love the things of God that the bent of the will and the strength of our affections is carried after them. When the course of our desires and endeavors, and the strength and stream of our souls runs out after holiness, then the heart is "inclined" Godwards. And how is this brought to pass, how does God reduce our rebellious hearts and mold them to the obedience of His will? The answer is, by His Word and by His Spirit; or putting it another way, by moral persuasion and by gracious power. "And I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes" (Ezek. 36:27). God does this by combining together invincible might and gentle inducements. God works upon us morally, not physically, because He will preserve our nature and the principles thereof. He does not force us against our wills, but sweetly draws us. He presents weighty reasons, casting into the mind one after another, till the scales be turned and then all is made efficacious by His Spirit. Yet this is not a work which He does in the soul once and for all, but is often renewed and repeated; and that because the "flesh" or sinful nature remains in us, unchanged, even after regeneration. Therefore do we need to ask God to continue inclining our hearts toward Himself. This brings us to notice the intimate connection which exists between our present text and the verse immediately preceding it. "For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live" (Rom. 8:13):—if we yield ourselves to the Spirit’s impulses to restrain our evil propensities and our proneness to indulge them, then Heaven will be our portion, "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God" (v. 14). Thus Romans 8:14 is said in confirmation and amplification of verse 13: only those who are ruled by the Spirit give evidence that they are the "sons of God." To be "led by the Spirit," then, means, as the whole context clearly shows, to "walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit" (v. 4), to "mind the things of the Spirit" (v. 5), to "through the Spirit mortify the deeds of the body" (v. 13). Suitably did Calvin remark on Romans 8:14, "Thus the empty boasting of hypocrites is taken away, who without any reason assume the title of sons of God." Thus we are "led by the Spirit" both actively and passively: actively, with respect to His prompting; passively on our part, as we submit to those promptings; actively, by His pressing upon us the holy requirements of the Scriptures; passively, as we yield ourselves unto those requirements. The Spirit is our Guide, but we must obey His motions. In the immediate context it is His restraining motives which are in view, moving us to the mortifying of sin. But His "leading" is not to be restricted to that: He exercises inviting motives, encouraging us unto the perfecting of holiness. And this being guided and governed by the Holy Spirit is an infallible proof that we are living members of God’s family. (Please click here to continue reading, "The Holy Spirit Leading")

Fighting Friday: We Must Be Holy by J.C. Ryle

We Must Be Holy

by

J. C. Ryle
(1816-1900)
__________________________

First published as a "Helmingham Series" Tract in Helmingham, Suffolk

We must be holy on earth before we die, if we desire to go to heaven after death. If we hope to dwell with God for ever in the life to come, we must endeavour to be like Him in the life that now is. We must not only admire holiness, and wish for holiness: we must be holy.

Holiness cannot justify and save us: holiness cannot cover our iniquities, make satisfaction for transgressions, pay our debts to God. Our best works are no better than filthy rags, when tried by the light of God's law. The righteousness which Jesus Christ brought in must be our only confidence,—the blood of atonement our only hope. All this is perfectly true, and yet we must be holy.

We must be holy, because God in the Bible plainly commands it. "As He which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy" (1 Peter i. 15, 16).

We must be holy, because this is one great end for which Christ came into the world. "He died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto Him which died for them, and rose again" (2 Cor. v. 15).

We must be holy, because this is the only sound evidence that we have a saving faith in Christ. "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." "As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also" (James ii. 17, 26).

We must be holy, because this is the only proof that we love the Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. What can be more plain than our Lord's own words? "If ye love Me, keep my commandments." "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me." (John xiv. 15, 21).

We must be holy, because this is the only sound evidence that we are God's children. "As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God." "Whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God" (Rom. viii. 14; I John iii. 10).

Lastly, we must be holy, because without holiness on earth we should never be prepared and meet for heaven. It is written of the heavenly glory, "There shall in no wise enter into it anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie" (Rev. xxi. 27). St. Paul says expressly, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord" (Heb. xii. 14).

Ah, reader, the last text I have just quoted is very solemn. It ought to make you think. It was written by the hand of inspired man: it is not my private fancy. Its words are the words of the Bible: not of my own invention. God has said it, and God will stand to it: "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord."

What tremendous words these are! What thoughts come across my mind as I write them down! I look at the world, and see the greater part of it lying in wickedness; I look at professing Christians, and see the vast majority having nothing of Christianity but the name; I turn to the Bible, and I hear the Spirit saying, "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord."

Surely it is a text that ought to make you consider your ways, and search your hearts. Surely it should raise within you solemn thoughts, and send you to prayer.

You may try to put me off by saying you feel much, and think much about these things,—far more than many suppose. I answer, This is not the point. The poor lost souls in hell do as much as this. The great question is, not what you think and what you feel, but what you DO. Are you holy?

You may say, It was never meant that all Christians should be holy, and that holiness such as I have described is only for great saints, and people of uncommon gifts. I answer, I cannot see this in Scripture. I read that "every man who hath hope in Christ purifieth himself" (1 John iii. 3). "Without holiness no man shall see the Lord."

You may say, It is impossible to be so holy and to do our duty in this life at the same time: the thing cannot be done. I answer, You are mistaken: it can be done. With God on your side, nothing is impossible. It has been done by many: Moses, and Obadiah, and Daniel, and the servants of Nero's household, are all examples that go to prove it.

You may say, If you were so holy, you would be unlike other people. I answer, I know it well: it is just what I want you to be. Christ's true servants always were unlike the world around them,—a separate nation, a peculiar people; and you must be so too, if you would be saved.

You may say, At this rate very few will be saved. I answer, I know it: Jesus said so eighteen hundred years ago. Few will be saved, because few will take the trouble to seek salvation. Men will not deny themselves the pleasures of sin and their own way for a season; for this they turn their backs on an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away. "Ye will not come to Me," says Jesus, "that ye might have life" (John v. 40)

(Please click here to continue reading, "We Must Be Holy")