Love

Philia (φιλία) Love:

Philia is that love found between friends, as found between David and Jonathan (1 Sam. 18). Nowadays, true friendship is a lost art. C. S. Lewis said, "to the Ancients, Friendship seemed the happiest and most fully human of all loves; the crown of life and the school of virtue. The modern world, in comparison, ignores it." Modern society does not value the worth of philia love because so few have experienced true friendship. Nowadays, everyone is out for themselves and will quickly and readily throw you under the bus if it means they can get ahead in life. Friendship is a strong bond that exists between people who share common interests or activities. Philia love is freely chosen; there is nothing biological about it. You are not obligated to be someone's friend.

Storge (στοργή) Love:

Storge is that love through familiarity, such as brotherly love or familial love (love between family members). It is affectionate. Storge love is the most natural, emotive, and widely diffused (the ability to overlook one's faults and accept one as one is). It is natural because it does not have to be coerced out of another person. It includes give and take. Its give is what C. S. Lewis called "Gift-love," and its take is what he called "Need-love." Storge love's strength is also its weakness, however, in that people come to expect it irrespective of their behaviour and its natural consequences. We can see another of its weaknesses in modern society where, because of one's love for one's family, they become blind to justice, conscience, logic, and common sense.

Eros (ἔρως) Love:

Eros is that sensual and/or romantic love. It is the sense of "being in love" or "loving" someone. Eros love can be good or bad, as C. S. Lewis says, "Eros in all his splendour...may urge to evil as well as good." Walter Hooper said that eros love turns need-pleasure into the most appreciative of all pleasures, while Lewis warned against the modern tendency for eros love to become a god to people who fully submit themselves to it. Sadly, this is precisely what we see on a colossal scale in our modern society. Eros love has become a god to the people; the need-pleasure rules their lives and their beliefs, justifying every sexually perverse deed they do: swingers, orgies, homosexuals, etc.

Agape (ἀγάπη) Love:

Agape is that love that is unconditional, selfless, and self-sacrificing. It is a love that loves irrespective of whether the other person deserves that love or has earned that love. This is the love that husbands and wives are commanded to give unto one another (Eph. 5). Agape is the greatest of loves. It has no expectations or agendas behind it. In a world where arranged marriages were normal, the command to show agape love puts an even greater understanding upon the duties of both husband and wife. Agape love is the love with which God loves us. We do not deserve His love, and we sure have not earned His love. What Jesus did for us on the cross was the highest demonstration of agape love.

Have This Attitude...

Nebuchadnezzar's Ultimatum:

"If you do not worship [the image], you will be thrown immediately into a blazing furnace. Then what god will be able to rescue you from my hand?" (Dan. 3:15)

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego's Response:

Notice the lack of panic in the response of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego:

"O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter." (Dan. 3:16)

Notice how their response was courteous, yet unanswerable:

"If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king." (Dan. 3:17)

Notice how they were content with whatever the result should be:

"But even if [no deliverance should come] we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods." (Dan. 3:18)

As Oswald Chambers said, they "smilingly washed their hands of the consequences." They had the same attitude as that of the apostles, who said, "We must obey God rather than men" (Acts 5:29). They were on the same wave length as Paul, who said, "Neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy" (Acts 20:24). They did not care if none of God's other children stood with them or if any of them saw things differently. Whether they were the only ones to refuse to worship Nebuchadnezzar's image or not, they did not care.

The attitude and response of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego should be the attitude and response of every Christian with regard to every situation and circumstance they find themselves in. The Christian should be able to say to God, "Whether you do or do not, I am and will be content and shall offer my praise to You because You are worthy of it." The Christian needs to remember his/her place and that he/she is mere dust and clay.

Allow me to offer some examples:

In 2004, I found myself jobless. Despite my efforts, I could not obtain work where I was living at the time, and my Employment Insurance had just run out. I did not know what I should do or where I should go, but I could no longer remain in my apartment. So, with only two weeks before classes should start, I applied to a Bible Institute and for government assistance in re-training. This was a long shot, as my adviser informed me that to hear back from the government on this issue would take at least 8 weeks. I did not have 8 weeks to wait, but I also had no other options. So onward I pressed.

One week before classes should start, the young adults from my church were going up north for a weekend retreat. At first, I was not going to go with them because I was worried and fearful pertaining my plight. However, the morning of their departure I determined to give my plight over to God because there was not a thing I could do about it one way or the other. I would go to this retreat, have a good time fellowshiping and worshiping God, and leave everything in God's hands. I had a response back from the government within 5 days. I was on my way to the Bible Institute.

One of the deacons from my church asked me to stop by his place on my way out of town, and so I did. To my blessing, he and his wife gave me a few hundred dollars, which just happened to be precisely the amount needed for gas on the way to my destination. Praise be to God with the miracles He pulled for this to happen.

Currently, I find myself in a similar situation. My fiancée and I have been together for over 8 years. She lives in another country. I proposed to her 3 years ago, and have been down to see her and her family twice. Our hopes and dreams were to finally be married this coming April, but now we are not sure if it will happen. I had the money required for our tickets, but then a debt that I thought had been dealt with came back to bite me. It just so happened that I had precisely the amount saved that would pay this debt off once and for all. So I paid it faithfully.

Around the same time, my fiancée's family ran into financial difficulties and so she loaned them the part of the money for our wedding that she had saved. Currently, we are waiting for a response back from my government with regard to her Visitor's Visa, and we have no money to see our desires and plans through. Fear, doubt and worry plague us. We know that God can move mountains, but our flesh has trouble believing it in circumstances such as these. We are tired of waiting and just want to get married so that we can finally share our lives with each other for the glory of God. UPDATE: My fiancée received her Visitor's Visa stamp on her passport. Praise be to God!!! The thing we were most concerned about has been granted. Now we continue praying for the $6000 we need to get married soon.

This morning, I asked God to strengthen my faith and help my unbelief. Though it is hard, I asked Him to help me give this situation over to Him because not an ounce of worry from me can change it. I asked Him, that whether it should happen in this time as we have hoped or not, that He would help me to worship Him regardless. Ours is a beautiful story because neither of us wanted what we now have, and neither of us will give up what we now have for anything else. Looking back, we can see how God brought us together and how He has been working in our relationship this entire time. We have known for quite some time that marriage was the final result. We are just not sure when that will be.

Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego trusted God to take care of their plight, but were also content enough that if He decided not to, that was alright. They knew their God and their God knew them. Their attitude and response is the same attitude and response that my fiancée and I are trying to have before God. Despite how difficult it can be at times, we are trying to give our situation over to God and trust Him for the results. We know that He can move mountains, if He chooses. Every Christian should have the same attitude and response about them. Sure, you will struggle with it for a time, but there ought to come a point where you surrender it and give its care unto the Lord, no matter what the outcome should turn out to be. If the response should be contrary to your desires, you should be able to praise God still.

We have no problems praising God when everything goes our way and we are enjoying life to its fullest, but what about when life throws us curve balls and lemons? What about when life drops dung pile after dung pile upon us? The Bible says that "in every thing" we are to "give thanks" (1 Thess. 5:18). Do you give thanks during the rough times of your life? You ought to!

We often have a "Whoa is me" attitude when things do not go our way. I do not pretend to have arrived at perfection, because I have not, and I do not expect to this side of heaven. But I do know what my Bible says, and I believe it. I know my God, and I pray that He knows me. The trouble is putting what we know into action the way we are called to and supposed to. Sometimes we do not even want to, even when God's Spirit is convicting us of our wrongful attitudes and responses. But every one of us knows better. "To him who knows the good he ought to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin" (James 4:17).

If You Love Me...Be TRUE Christians

With the unsaved, we still have a fighting chance at winning them over to Christ through the Gospel. But with the misguided, head-strong, so-called Sunday-morning-"Christian" (who is living anything but a Christian lifestyle) who has been Pope-ishly declared to be a Christian by some fool preaching a false Gospel, that is a tough egg to crack. These highly religious, superficially moral, self-rightoues individuals look at holiness and judge it to be "legalism." Despite everything the Bible has to say about the Christian and the Christian life, these people deny it all, "having a form of godliness but denying its power," and still have the audacity to call themselves Christians, claiming that they supposedly "love Jesus." What was it that Jesus said? Oh, yeah! "If you love me, you will obey my commandments."

These so-called "Christians" lead very non-Christian-like lifestyles, hiding behind the cross as if God were their alibi. I am sorry, but the Bible makes it pretty clear that we are to "pursue...the sanctification [holiness] without which no one will see the Lord." These are not mere suggestions, my friends; these are commandments from the Lord Jesus. You do not have the option to obey or disobey them. Jesus made it clear that "he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven will enter" the kingdom of heaven. "For this is the will of God, your sanctification [holiness]."

Do these people not read their Bibles? Do they not see what is written on the pages? It puts me in mind of those passages that state, "seeing they might not see, and hearing they might not understand." It also puts me in mind of the words of Charles Spurgeon, who said, "There is dust enough on some of your Bibles to write 'damnation' with your fingers." Seriously, what are we to do with passages that challenge us to "Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test?" How about passages that urge us to "be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble"? What about passages that encourage us to "consider yourselves dead unto sin" because "if you are living according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live"? Does the Bible say these things just for the sake of saying them? Or does it actually mean what it says and say what it means?

A mental assent to the facts and evidence of Jesus does not equal saving faith; it equals a one-way trip to Hell on a greased pole. A personal relationship with Christ does not consist of one claiming to "believe" in Him and nothing more. A genuine personal relationship with the Lord is evidenced by a person's continual forsaking of sin and repenting of sin found in their life, their life of prayer (our communication to God), their reading of God's Word (God's communication to us), and in a genuine seeking of the living Lord. If a person does not seek the Lord, there is nothing personal about that person's so-called "relationship." Try claiming a personal relationship with your wife or children when you know nothing of them other than their name and do not bother to pursue them in order to know them.

"But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul."
"I love those who love me, and those who seek me diligently find me."
"But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
"Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you."
"If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God."

"If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." That means that "as you have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him." It means to "bear fruit in keeping with repentance." So "walk in a manner worthy of the Lord," "worthy of the God who calls you into His own kingdom and glory," "worthy of the calling with which you have been called," "[conducting] yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ," because "like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves also in all your behaviour; because it is written, 'You shall be holy, for I am holy.'"

Keep this in mind: "If it is with difficulty that the righteous is saved, what will become of the godless man and the sinner?" The Bible offers us no assurance of salvation if we are living in habitual sin: "Everyone who habitually practices sin also habitually practices lawlessness; and sin in lawlessness. You know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him continues to sin; no one who continues to sin has seen Him or knows Him. Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who habitually practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God habitually practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not habitually practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother."

Let us read our Bibles and believe what they say; and if what we read frightens us, let us pray to God for Him to change us and to comfort us. "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom" because "It is a frightful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." Amen.

Christ's Sword

by Alexander Smellie

"I did not come to bring peace, but a sword!" Matthew 10:34

Not peace, but a sword! Lord Jesus, this is a hard saying! Teach me to believe it, and to submit to the ordeal—sharp and piercing and painful though it may be.

Between me and my world, Christ's sword may pierce with its remorseless edge. He separates me . . .
  from old sinful habits,
  from old sinful employments,
  from old sinful pleasures,
  from old sinful friendships.

He divides me from the society in which I was accustomed to move. "Your home is no longer there!" He says. And I go out from the familiar surroundings, into an untrodden region and realm.

Between me and my nearest and dearest—Christ's sword may pierce pitilessly. Perhaps the loved ones of my own house will have nothing to do with my Redeemer and Lord. Perhaps they see no beauty in Him, that they should desire Him. Then, in the deepest and noblest things, they and I will stand apart—a sundering tide rolling between us. And how immeasurably sad that will be!

Between me and myself—Christ's sword is sure to pierce with a blade that does not spare! The I, the self—which used to be so vain, so confident, so proud—must be slain outright! Its days of pride, pleasure and selfishness must end—until I can say, "It is no more I who live—but He—my Prophet, my Priest, my King—who lives in me!" What a change that is! What a martyrdom!

It is painful, this stroke of Christ's sword. But the old confessor was right: "The nearer the sword—the nearer Heaven!" If I am victim—I am victor too. Smitten down by Jesus—I am not destroyed, but crowned!

Go, and Sin No More

To the lame man at the pool called Bethesda, Jesus said, "Sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee" (John 5:14). To the woman caught in adultery, Jesus said, "Go, and sin no more" (John 8:11). What could be worse than being stoned in this life? Being separated from the presence of God for eternity. We do not stone disobedient children any more because they would have no opportunity to repent. Likewise, we do not stone adulterers, fornicators, homosexuals, or anybody else any more because they, too, would have no opportunity to repent.

To the idolater, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the blasphemer, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the rebellious child who is disobedient to his/her parents, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the murderer, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the adulterer, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the thief, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the liar, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the covetous, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee." 

To the deceitful, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the envious, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the slanderer, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the proud, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the foolish, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the homosexual man or woman, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the unrighteous, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the wicked, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the greedy, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To those filled with strife, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the malicious, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the gossipers, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the haters of God, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the insolent, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the arrogant, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the boastful, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the inventors of evil, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the untrustworthy, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the unloving, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the unmerciful, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the immoral, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the impure, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the jealous, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the substance abusers, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the lovers of self, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the lovers of money, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the revilers, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the ungrateful, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the unholy, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the irreconcilable, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To those without self-control, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the brutal, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To those who hate good, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the treacherous, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the reckless, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the conceited, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the lovers of pleasure, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the self-righteous, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."
To the fornicators, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To those engaged in pre-marital sex, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the swinger, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the person who looks at pornography, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the person engaged in pornography and prostitution via their webcam, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the child molesting pedophile, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the person engaged in bestiality, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To the necrophiliac, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To those who engage in orgies and the like, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

To anyone engaged in any sin of the mind or sin of the body, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."
To both you and I and whatever our particular pet sin is, Jesus says, "Go, and sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto thee."

Everything is New Under the Son

"There is nothing new under the sun" (Eccl. 1:9). However, everything is new under the Son.

"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (John 13:34)

"Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us" (1 Cor. 5:7)

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Cor. 5:17)

"For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature." (Gal. 6:15)

"Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;" (Eph. 2:15)

"And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Eph. 4:24)

"And have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowledge after the image of him that created him:" (Col. 3:10)

"By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;" (Heb. 10:20)

"Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness." (2 Pet. 3:13)

"He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it." (Rev. 2:17)

"Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name." (Rev. 3:12)

"And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation;" (Rev. 5:9)

"And they sung as it were a new song before the throne, and before the four beasts, and the elders: and no man could learn that song but the hundred and forty and four thousand, which were redeemed from the earth." (Rev. 14:3)

"And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea." (Rev. 21:1)

"And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband." (Rev. 21:2)

"And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful." (Rev. 21:5)

About Sex

Lyrics to the song from the band Jacob's Trouble

In the backseat of his love-machine, [rapidly mumbled] of everything.
I will be a king, you can be my queen, if only you'll do this one little thing.
He said, "If you love me, you'll let me." She said, "If you love me, you'll wait."
She was getting tired and it was getting late, in the heat of the moment she compromised.
She'll never forget the hungry look that was in his eyes that night.

I saw a magazine just the other day; inside they were giving condoms away.
They said, "You don't have to be afraid; just use this and you won't get AIDS,"
The one thing that they fail to see is: condoms never come with no guarantee.
And so I wonder what they're gonna say to the boy who uses condoms and catches AIDS anyway.

Love ain't sex, sex ain't love,
What in the world are we thinking of?
It's not something that you do on a dare,
It's meant for a man and his wife to share.
Sex ain't love, love ain't sex,
What in the world we gonna think of next about sex?

Are you ready for this?

I saw a man on MTV. "I want your sex," he screamed at me.
It scared me, but I watched his video...I wish I turned the channel though,
You know what he said?
He said, "You don't need no Bible, just look into my eye,"
But, on judgment day, I think he's in for quite a big surprise,
'Cause if he read the Bible he'd understand: sex is a part of God's master-plan
But everything has got its proper time and place,
It's like this, George...you gotta have faith,
Gotta have faith, faith, faith.

Love ain't sex, sex ain't love,
What in the world are we thinking of?
It isn't a sin, no, it isn't a crime,
It's a gift from God, with a purpose in mind,
Sex ain't love, love ain't sex,
What in the world we gonna tell our children next about sex?

Well, there's sex in the classroom and sex in my home,
Sex in the workplace and sex on the phone,
Seems the whole world's got a one-tracked mind,
Like carts before horses, pearls before swine,
You just can't escape; it's all over the place,
Get your sex out of my face!

Now the reason for this little tune, is to tell you folks I'm not immune,
Deep in my heart, where shadows hide, some deep dark secrets there abide,
Things that I would never tell - Guess I'm susceptible as well,
But, thanks to God, I've been set free 'cause Jesus is the Lord of my sexuality.

Love ain't sex, sex ain't love,
What in the world are we thinking of?
It's easy to get the two things confused, when the one is ignored and the other abused,
Sex ain't love, love ain't sex,
What in the world we gonna think of next about sex?

About sex,
About sex,
I can't even say it.

We Might As Well Sing Mother Goose Rhymes

by A. W. Tozer

"My Jesus, I love Thee, I know Thou art mine;
For Thee all the follies of sin I resign."

We sing that—but we might as well sing Mother Goose rhymes, because we do not mean what we are singing!

If God Almighty compelled us to be entirely 100 percent honest, we simply could not sing the average hymn—because their words would not be true of us!

"All to Jesus I surrender,
Humbly at His feet I bow,
Worldly pleasures all forsaken,
Take me, Jesus, take me now.

I surrender all,
I surrender all,
All to Thee, my blessed Savior,
I surrender all."

Choice Quotes from William Gurnall

The gospel is God's heart in print!

That book must be worth reading—that has God for the author!

Do not say that  you love Christ, so long as you can lay those sins in your bosom—which plucked His heart out of His bosom! It were strange if a child should keep, and delight to use, no other knife but that with which his mother was stabbed to death!

The pleasures of sin must needs be short, because life cannot be long—and they both end together.

Cease to pray—and you will begin to sin.
Prayer is not only a means to prevail for mercy—but also to prevent sin.

To forsake sin, is to leave it without any thought reserved of returning to it again.

The sheep may fall into a ditch—but it is the swine that wallows in it!
Take heed of deliberate sins!

"He who is his own teacher, is sure to have a fool for a master!"

Of all men out of Hell, none more to be pitied than he who hangs over the mouth of it, and yet is fearless of his danger.

A Christian should deny himself of the world's carnal joys and delights, lest the ungodly say, "These Christians draw their joy out of our cistern!"

He who has God's heart—cannot lack His arm!

It is impossible for an evil heart, to think well of an afflicting God.

"Faithful are the wounds of a friend—but the kisses of an enemy are deceitful." Proverbs 27:6 God's wounds cure—sin's kisses kill.

Idolatrous Professors of Christ

How often have you heard individuals say things like, "I don't think of God as a Judge; I like to think of Him simply as a Father"? That, brothers and sisters, is idolatry at its finest. How? Because the individual who makes such a statement, upon encountering passages in Scripture that depict God in other ways than what they "like to think," will reject those notions of God in favour of the idol that they have set up to worship in their own mind. These individuals have set up idols of the true God in their hearts and minds. Anything short of fulfilling what they "like to think" about God "is not what God is like."

Our understanding and acceptance of Who God is must be derived from what Scripture reveals to us and tells us about God. If we do not accept the fact that "[God hates] all who do iniquity" (Ps. 5:5) and is angry with the wicked "every day" (Ps. 7:11-13), but "[loves] those who love [him]" (Prov. 8:17), we will simply erect an idol of our own making in our hearts that "loves everybody" and will punish nobody. The problem is, this idol of a god who will not let people perish without some sort of offer of salvation is inconsistent with reality and Scripture. What about the hundreds of thousands of people who have never heard of Christ who perish every day? Obviously there is more here than these individuals care to acknowledge or admit in their idolatry.

What you think of or about God is of little consequence. How you feel about Him or what your opinion is of Him is irrelevant. You do not get to mold God to your liking. To do so is to engage in idolatry, which a great many professors of Christ have done and are doing today. The God of the Bible is not to their liking and so they re-cast Him in a mold that better suits them. The entire "free will" movement is built upon an idolatrous image of God because they refuse to accept the depravity of man and the fact that without God each and every one of us is already headed to hell, which is exactly what we deserve, but for His own glory God chose to save some from their well-deserved eternal abode.

To people who have made God into an idol more suitable to their tastes for worship, they have cast God as an equal opportunist who loves everybody and could not possibly deal with them any other way. They will often say things like, "God is a gentleman." No, God is not a gentleman—God is GOD! To cast Him as a gentleman—especially what you perceive a gentleman to be—is to make a mental idol of God. You are doing precisely what the second commandment forbids you to do. Those who worship God must worship Him "in spirit and truth" (John 4:24).

Scripture reveals to us that God is just as much a Judge as He is a Father. Remember that.