Other Men’s Sins

This past Saturday, I took up to read a sermon by John Owen in volume 9 of his works (pages 296-307) entitled God’s Withdrawing His Presence, The Correction of His Church. It is very good, as is just about all things Owen. By the way, if you are discouraged from reading Owen because he is a tougher read than most Puritan and reformed authors, I would encourage you to start with his sermons in volumes 8 & 9 of his works, as they are much easier to read and are generally confined to about ten pages each.

Anyway, one part in particular he treats concerns our ‘unconcernedness‘  for the sins of other men. I am reminded of Cain smarting off to God about not being his brothers keeper. We are our brother’s keeper. But more importantly, we are to be a neighbor to everyone. Owen’s pastoral concern for the sins of other men rebukes us, but also encourages us that we should be concerned, for if we are not, we have not a zeal for the glory of God. This is very good and very much needed today! Enjoy, be reproved, and God bless.

“We have before us the sins of professors, the sins of the world, the provoking sins of the nation in the generation wherein we live, and the sins of all sorts of men; and I think there is not in any one duty more spiritual wisdom required of believers, than how to deport themselves with a suitable frame of heart, in reference to the sins of other men. Some are ready to be contented that they should sin, and sometimes ready to make sport at their sins; and for the most part it is indifferent unto us at what rate men sin in the world, so it go well with us or the Church of Christ.

We understand but little of that, “Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, because men keep not thy law,” Ps. 119: 136. I confess, I think there is little of this in the world,—that we can truly say, as he did, by the Spirit of God, that our eyes run down with water, because other men, all sorts of men, keep not God’s law.

….And the Lord help us, I am afraid we have very small concern for the sins of other men. And it is resolved into these two principles:—want of zeal for God’s glory, and want of compassion to the souls of men; which would make us deeply concerned for the sins of other men. Sin in the world is grown a common thing to us; we do not rend our garments, when we hear of all the blasphemies and atheism in the world,—all the blood, uncleanness, profaneness, oaths. Every sin is grown common to us; nobody is affected.

“None taketh hold upon God,” saith the prophet. What will be the end of these things? Yet we speak of them as commonly as of our daily food. This is not to be under the power of the fear of the Lord. There is a partial hardness upon us from the fear of the Lord, in that general and almost universal unconcernedness that is upon us about the sins of other men.”

Armchair Sermons: M’Cheyne’s Last Sermon, The Vessels of Wrath Fitted to Destruction, part 5

This will be the fifth and final post on M’Cheyne’s last sermon. All of my readers (yep, both of them) have been eagerly waiting for this for almost two weeks now. As I mentioned in part 4, this is probably the best part of the sermon. I know it’s a lengthy read for a blog post, but if you don’t read any of the other posts in this series, at least read this one and if you don’t want to read the whole thing, at least read the very last paragraph. I will not comment on any portion of this last part as I believe M’Cheyne’s words need not be added to. They are bold and very convicting as if the Holy Spirit himself is at work in them.

Let us learn a few lessons from this subject. And -

1st. All will not be saved. It is a fearful delusion among you – I do not say you avow it, but you practically say, you believe – that there will be no hell. It was God’s plan that there should be vessels of wrath as well as vessels of mercy. Brethren, it is better it should be so. O do not dream! All will not be saved. There are vessels of wrath as well as vessels of mercy. Some of you, I think, are going to hell, and some, I trust, are going to heaven; and doubtless it is best it should be so, though I cannot explain the reason of it. The net has good and bad fishes: some will be taken into the vessel, and some will be cast away.

2nd. Every one of you will be to the glory of God. You will be made to glorify him in one way or another. You will either do it willingly or unwillingly. You must form a step to his throne. Ah, brethren! I believe each of you will yet be a beacon or a monument – either a beacon of wrath or a monument of mercy, “He hath made all things for himself; even the wicked for the day of evil.” Yes, wicked man, you would rob God of his glory if you could, but you cannot. If you come to Christ, you will show forth his glory in saving you; but if you do not, God will show forth his power in destroying a vessel of his wrath.

3rd. There is a third lesson we may learn. It is, the chief end of God in the world to manifest his glory. Many think, especially infidel men, that God’s chief end is the happiness of his creatures; but, from deep study of the Word of God for years, I see that it is not so. If that were his chief end, all would be happy. His chief end is diverse – it is self-manifestation. Had it not been for this, God would have remained alone in awful solitude. I would desire to speak with deep reverence on such a subject. This seems to be the reason why there are vessels of wrath as well as of mercy – that they might be mirrors to reflect his attributes. And I believe, brethren, when creation is done, and when redemption is done, that there will then be a complete manifestation of the glory of God.

4th. Another lesson we may learn is, God is longsuffering to the vessels of wrath. I remember a person who once argued with me that she must needs be a child of God on account of his goodness to her. She enumerated many blessings she had received – how God had protected her in a foreign country, how many trials she had been delivered out of, and how many domestic comforts she had enjoyed. My only answer to her was, “The goodness of god leadeth thee to repentance.” It is no proof that you are a child of God that God has borne long with you. There would be many children of God here, if this were the case. Ah, brethren! Strange though it may seem, he does not want any to perish – he does bear long with you.

Last of all, the destruction of the vessels of wrath will be no grief to the vessels of mercy. I once spoke to you of this before; but I would again remind you of it. The redeemed will have no tears to shed; and here is the reason – the very destruction of the wicked makes known the riches of divine grace. O my believing brethren, it will be an awful day when we shall not weep to see them perish. The day is hastening on – the day when no more rivers of waters will run down our eyes because they keep not God’s law. But, O brethren, till that day come let us weep on; for, although God will be glorified in the destruction of the vessels of his wrath, he will be more glorified in making them vessels of mercy. The Lord bless his own Word. Amen.

God Bless and Amen!

Armchair Sermons: M’Cheyne’s Last Sermon, The Vessels of Wrath Fitted to Destruction, part 4

Part 4….
This is the fourth post on M’Cheyne’s last sermon. In this portion of his sermon, M’Cheyne deals with the third reason why there are vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, that God may show the riches of His glory. God’s glory is what should be sought in every aspect of our lives.

III. I come now to the third point–the reason given why believers are saved. Verse 23 – “And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory.” One reason why there are vessels of wrath fitted to destruction is, that God may show by contrast the riches of his grace on the vessels of mercy. You know, brethren, we learn many things best by contrast: for example, the rainbow is never seen so bright as in the bosom of a dark cloud. So, brethren, we shall never see the love and compassion of God in them that are saved so gloriously displayed as when we see his wrath poured out on the vessels of wrath. This, then, is one reason why there are vessels of wrath.

I believe that the “riches of glory” here spoken of are the whole rainbow of the divine attributes displayed in the salvation of souls. It was for this reason that God provided that there should be vessels of wrath fitted for destruction. This may appear to you very awful: it is so to myself. I could not and dare not speak of it if it were not here in God’s own Word.

This next part needs to be preached in churches today, especially reformed churches….

I would just show you one or two of his attributes that will be brilliantly illustrated in the salvation of souls. One is, the sovereignty of God. I have often told you of this. Many of you do not believe it; but there is a day coming when God will put it beyond a doubt. There are whole churches – whole bodies of professing Christians – that deny it; but there is a day coming when there will be none in heaven, or earth, or hell, that will deny it. Suppose that day were come, and this congregation divided, some on the left hand, some on the right, will you not see then God’s sovereignty in the contrast? You were once all the same. You were under the same condemnation. Some of you came out of the same womb – were nursed at the same mother’s breast; yet it will be seen that some will be taken and some left. What made the difference? Every creature will see that God made the difference, that he had “mercy on whom he would have mercy.”

Another is, the pardoning attribute of God. At present this is denied; but, brethren, in that day it will be made known. God will make known the riches of his glorious mercy on the vessels of mercy. O brethren, when one vessel is cleansed and taken up to glory, and another is left to perish, and when you see that they were equally sinful, then you will see that it was blood that made the difference. God will make known the riches of his mercy in the vessels of mercy, as well as his wrath in the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction.

The next post will be the fifth and final in this series. M’Cheyne’s finale to this sermon is simply the best part of this whole thing, as if what we have read so far isn’t more than mediocre. Some of the things he says in the last part send chills up my spine. It is terrible and terrific. M’Cheyne shows his longing for the glory of God as he ends his last occupancy in the pulpit serving the master he loved. God Bless!

Armchair Sermons: M’Cheyne’s Last Sermon, The Vessels of Wrath Fitted to Destruction, part 1

What We’re Going To Be Doing…
I am newly acquainted with Robert Murray M’Cheyne and I already love him! This is the first full sermon of his that I have read and it is fantastic. I was drawn to read it first because of the text of Scripture he preaches on, Romans 9:22,23. I did not realize it was the last sermon he ever preached until after I read it. Even more remarkable to me was the footnote at the bottom of the page that said:

The following sermon preached on the afternoon of March 12, 1843, was the author’s last in St. Peter’s. “It was observed, both then and on other occasions,” says Andrew Bonar, “that he spoke with peculiar strength upon the sovereignty of God.” The following evening McCheyne’s illness commenced and on Saturday, March 25, he went to the Saviour whose glory he lived to proclaim.

If you do the math, M’Cheyne died thirteen days after he preached this sermon in which “he spoke with peculiar strength upon the sovereignty of God.”

For Me Personally
On a personal note, when my father died last October, I could tell that his death was near. Not because of any special insight I had. But because of the fruit of his Christian walk. Let me explain. The last few months of his life were wrought with the most stress I think he had ever been under in his whole life. There was a solemn gravity to his perseverance. He had not the vitality of life any longer that seemed to fade as though God had decided not to restore it. With quiet and reserved patience he continued  through the trials until ultimately, he died. His whole life, my father had had a tremendous amount of energy with a tenacity to accomplish his work whether at work or home, so when the end came, I could tell his death was close. Why am I telling you all of this? Because up until now, I had felt as though I missed something. I was looking for something in my Dad’s death that would be an encouragement about death, his last words, which there weren’t any, some glimpse that he was seeing glory as he was passing, something, anything, but there was absolutely nothing, no signs at all. I felt cheated by this as much as by the fact that his death was out of the blue and as seemingly untimely as it was. But after I read this sermon and even after that, when I read the footnote about this being M’Cheyne’s last sermon just thirteen days before he died, there certainly was a peculiar strength toward the end. Then I realized that the encouragement was not in the dieing but in the living with a peculiar strength up until he died. This was the sign I was given but did not see, could not see until now. Oh the glory of Christ that is seen in the way we have lived, especially in the trials that God may take us through in order to bring us home. It is as though God is reaping His harvest by pulling us up to Him and as He is pulling, His glory is seen even more vibrantly than ever because it is being seen by a thinned, worn out veil of human flesh which must needs be shed. I hope you enjoy this sermon and are blessed. I will make several posts on this as I will be posting it in segments in its entirety with commentary. God Bless!

The Vessels of Wrath Fitted to Destruction

“What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory?” – Romans 9:22,23

In a former discourse, brethren, I attempted to show you that the reason why God will punish the wicked eternally is, because he loveth righteousness. It is said in the eleventh Psalm, “Upon the wicked He shall rain snares, fire, and brimstone, and an horrible tempest: this shall be the portion of their cup, for the righteous Lord loveth righteousness.” I then tried to show you, that God has created hell, and will maintain it for ever, not because He loves human pain – I believe it is not so, nor is it because He is subject to passion, as men speak of passion – but because the righteous Lord loveth righteousness.

And I showed you, as you will remember, what a certainty hell is to the wicked. If it had its origin in the love of human pain, then you might have hoped that it would have an end; or, if it proceeded from passionateness, then it might cool; but ah! when it proceeds from Jehovah’s love of righteousness, I see, brethren, in that a reason why “the worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.”

There is a second question which no doubt has occurred to you: why are there any left unpardoned at all? Why was Adam left to fall? Could God not have held him up? Or, if it was necessary that Adam should fall, in order that Christ might die, why are not all saved? Surely there is efficacy in the blood of Christ to pardon all – why, then, are not all saved? There are many answers to that question which we will know in a higher state of being; but here is one; “What if God, willing to show His wrath and to make His power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction: and that He might make known the riches of His glory on the vessels of mercy, which He had afore prepared unto glory?” You will notice, brethren, that in these words the apostle Paul tries to give an answer to that question. He does not answer it directly, he employs a “what if”.

If you would like to the read the entire sermon now, click here.

Armchair Sermons: Owen On The First-Fruits of God

I have asked the question, as I am sure you have, “Why doesn’t God just take us all out right now?” Owen nails it right here. (Emphasis mine)

Now God takes believers, that they may be a kind of first-fruits unto himself of the creatures. He satisfies himself with believers throughout the world, to be first-fruits of the whole creation. And if God should cease from taking these first-fruits, he would destroy the world. To what end should he maintain this fabric at such an expense of power, patience, forbearance, goodness, wisdom, if there came no revenue to him? Now, he never took any revenue but the first-fruits. And if any one …. do put forth his hands to this portion of God, he will be sure sorely to revenge it.

-John Owen, Volume 9, page 287, from a sermon entitled, A Christian, God’s Temple

Read this book or buy it

First Impressions of M’Cheyne

I was recently given this little paperback of some of Robert Murray M’Cheyne’s sermons. I had not been acquainted with his writings or sermons except for hearing an occasional allusion to him in sermons by people I admire (John Piper), so I was very excited to get this. It is a small paperback published by the Banner of Truth in 1985 and is still available by them here.

I was very impressed as I began to peruse some of his sermons and even more amazed to find out that he had died at the age of 29. He is a very refreshing read and he has a youthful zeal that comes across in his sermons….even on paper. He died in 1843 after ministering for seven and a half years.

This is a quote of his printed on the back of the book:

“Get your texts from God – your thoughts, your words, from God… It is not great talents God blesses so much as great likeness to Jesus. A holy minister is an awful weapon in the hand of God. A word spoken by you when your conscience clear, and your heart full of God’s Spirit, is worth ten thousand words spoken in unbelief and sin.”