ARE YOU ON TIME?- CHARLES WOODRUFF

Time has been given to each of us. It can be our enemy or our friend. No matter what "time zone" we are in, we each have 24 hours in every day, seven days in every week, 52 weeks in a year---But wait! We know not how many years we have. We know not how many months we have, or weeks we have, or days we have, or hours we have, or minutes, or even seconds! God does not promise us tomorrow! He does say in Hebrews 9:27 "It is appointed unto men (all mankind), once to die, but after this the judgment." Whatever you may say, you cannot deny this truth. All of us, old and young, rich or poor, white or black, male or female have to die. We all know this. We do not know when.

You have been given this gift of a certain amount of time called a "lifetime", whether long or short. Use it wisely, for the day is coming for you, and for me, and for the entire planet when "That there should be time no longer:" (See Revelation 10:6).

Christ came on time. "But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law" (Galatians 4:4). Christ died when His time had come (see John 7:6; cp. with John 16:32). He rose again, ascended into heaven, and is returning at the end of time. He will receive unto Himself those who know Him, and have trusted Him as Lord and saviour. (John 14:2,3; cp. with 1 Thessalonians 4:16-18). You still have time--use it wisely! Turn to Christ!

A WORD TO THE READER- THOMAS BROOKS

(The following is the introduction to the reader of Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices, one of the classic Puritan writings by Thomas Brooks (1608-1680). Brooks is one of the most readable Puritans, and one of the most delightful. He is my favorite, except for Thomas Watson. An example of his sweetness and depth at the same time is evident right here in this introduction. An introduction! Yet it has such great thoughts that it certainly compliments the main piece. Oh, I would love to be able to write introductions like his! If this whets your appetite for Brooks, Precious Remedies (which I highly recommend), is available in paperback from Banner of Truth. More from Puritans currently featured on my site cyberwordoftruth.

Dear Friend,

SOLOMON bids us buy the truth, Prov. xxiii. 23. but doth not tell us what it must cost, because we must get it though it be never so dear; we must love it both shining and scorching; every parcel of truth is precious as the filings of gold; we must either live with it, or die for it. As Ruth said to Naomi, ' Whither thou goest, I will go, and where thou lodgest, I will lodge, and nothing but death shall part thee and me:' Ruth i. 16, 17. 'If truth be the cause of contention, nothing but death can separate me from it, and even that cannot do it.'—Jerome. So must gracious spirits say, Where truth goes, I will go, and where truth lodges, I will lodge, and nothing but death shall part me and truth. A man may lawfully sell his house, land, and jewels, but truth is a jewel that exceeds all price, and must not be sold, it is our heritage. ' Thy testimonies have I taken as an heritage for ever,' Ps. cxix. 111. It is a legacy that our fore-fathers have bought with their blood, which should make us willing to lay down any thing, and lay out every thing, that we may with the wise merchant in the gospel, Mat. xiii. 45, 46. purchase this precious pearl, which is of more worth than heaven and earth, and which will make a man live happily, die comfortably, and reign eternally.

And now if thou pleasest, read the following work, and receive this counsel from me.

First, Thou must know that every man cannot be excellent, yet may be useful. An iron key may unlock the door of a golden treasure, yea, iron can do some things that gold cannot do.

Secondly, Remember, it is not hasty reading, but seriously meditating upon holy and heavenly truths, that makes them prove sweet and profitable to the soul. It is not the bee's touching of the flowers that gathers honey, but her abiding for a time upon them, and drawing out the sweet. It is not he that reads most, but he that meditates most, that will prove the choicest, sweetest, wisest, and strongest Christian.

Thirdly, Know that it is not the knowing, the talking, nor the reading man, but the doing man," that at last will be found the happiest man: If you know these things, blessed and happy are you if you do them. 'Not every one that saith, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doth the will of my Father that is in heaven.' It was a good saying of Justin Martyr, ' Our religion consists not in speaking of the things, but in doing them.' Judas called Christ, Lord, Lord, and yet betrayed him, and is gone to his place; Ah! how many Judas's have we in these days that kiss Christ, and yet betray Christ; that in their words profess him, but in their works deny him; that bow their knee to him, and yet in their hearts despise him; that call him Jesus, and yet will not obey him for their Lord.

Reader, If it be not impressed upon thy heart to practise what thou readest, to what end dost thou read, to increase thy own condemnation? If thy light and knowledge be not turned into practice, the more knowing thou art, the more miserable thou wilt be in the day of recompence; thy light and knowledge will torment thee more than all the devils in hell. Thy knowledge will be that rod that will eternally lash thee, and that scorpion that will for ever bite thee, and that worm that will everlastingly gnaw thee; therefore read, and labour to know, that thou mayest do, or else thou art undone for ever. When Demosthenes was asked, What was the first part of an orator, what the second, what the third ? he answered, Action; The same may I say, if any should ask me, what is the first, the second, the third part of a Christian? I must answer, Action. That man who reads that he may know, and labours to know that he may do, will have two heavens, a heaven of joy, peace and comfort on earth, and a heaven of glory and happiness after death.

Fourthly and lastly, if in thy reading thou wilt cast a serious eye upon the margin, thou wilt find many sweet and precious notes, that will oftentimes give light to the things thou readest, and pay thee for the pains with much comfort and profit. So desiring that thou mayest find as much sweetness and advantage in reading this Treatise, as I have found, (by the over-shadowing of heaven) in the studying and writing of it, I recommend thee to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build thee up, and to give thee an inheritance among them which are sanctified. And rest, Reader,

Thy Soul's Servant in every office of the Gospel,

THOMAS BROOKS,

Some editing and emphasis mine (CW)

DIRECTIONS TO HEAVEN-W.F. BELL

SCRIPTURAL DIRECTIONS TO HEAVEN (If You Are Enquiring) John 14:6; Acts 4:12; Romans 5:8-9; I Timothy 1:15 The Lord Jesus Christ ONLY is "The Way." There is "salvation" from sin and wrath in "no other name." "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." His mission was "accomplished" by death and resurrection. Salvation is the work of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God the Father chose His people "in Christ." The Son died for His sheep among Jews and Gentiles. The Holy Spirit effectually calls all of the elect to embrace Christ. We know we are Christ's sheep by hearing His voice and following Him. God's people are identified by their repentance and faith. God's children experience many dangers, toils, and snares. Christ must return to raise the dead and change the living! VICTORY is ours by Christ's grace alone, and is never earned! John 10:14-16; Romans 3:24-26; Ephesians 1:3-14 I Corinthians 15:51-57; Colossians 3:4; Revelation 5:11-12

CHRISTIAN APHORISMS-W.F. BELL

(Let God's People Think)

Aphorism = a short sentence expressing a general truth; maxim; proverb.

MANY DO NOT REALLY BELIEVE THE BIBLE, ONLY WHAT THEY LIKE IN THE BIBLE.

And usually we only like what we already believe. For example, if church people have been taught a pre-tribulation rapture, they usually have no difficulty accepting that as scriptural. But, if someone comes along teaching differently (with proper exegesis of scripture), suddenly they do not "like" the new teaching. Correct? The same thing can be said for numerous doctrines, including the atonement and the resurrection.

YOU CAN'T TELL ANYTHING TO PEOPLE WHO ALREADY KNOW EVERYTHING.

"A living dog is better than a dead lion" (Ecclesiastes 9:4). But who knows what that means? We make "dead lions" know more than "living dogs," don't we? The same with "dead" people, for we say "They are not really dead." For sure, "The legs of the lame are not equal; so is a parable in the mouth of fools" (Proverbs 26:7). So, if you already know everything, that is, you are correct on all Bible interpretation, why even attend preaching, read books, or listen to radio and television preachers? Why bother with even reading this? Closed-mindedness is a dark sin!

"ALL IS VAIN UNLESS THE SPIRIT OF THE HOLY ONE COMES DOWN."

These lines from an old hymn have truly been forgotten in the modern church. We can meet and socialize, go through forms and ceremonies, feel good about being devoutly religious, and totally forget that true worship is all about bowing in humility and praise before the great God heaven. "O come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our Maker" (Psalm 95:6). Is there anyone experiencing this regularly in your church meetings? Does the Holy Spirit still "come down" and melt you to tears, in true confession of sin, and praise of Christ? Philippians 3:3.

TRUE CHRISTIAN JOY IS MORE INJURIOUS TO SATAN'S EMPIRE THAN ANYTHING.

So why should we go mourning all our days? "Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, you righteous; and shout for joy, all you upright in heart" (Psalm 32:11). Christians who keep themselves in a morbid state displease God, so let us ever be cultivating "joy unspeakable" in our lives, in true praise and honor of our Lord Jesus Christ, "whom having not seen, we love" (I Peter 1:8).

THE BIBLE MEANS WHAT IT SAYS, AND SAYS WHAT IT MEANS.

It also means what it means, because it is inspired. Some say, "The Bible is our only rule of faith and practice," but that expression came from their Confession of Faith! If we uphold and defend everything in our Confession of Faith, that means we venerate it as inspired also. If we say our Confession of Faith is not inspired like Scripture, then we do not need this additional Confession, do we? The Catholics are usually more honest than Protestants, because they say their authority is more than Scripture.

SCRIPTURE INTERPRETS SCRIPTURE, SO LET IT SPEAK FOR ITSELF.

Once a preacher read Joshua 1:2, "Moses my servant is dead." The preacher said, "We know that Moses is in heaven." Since the text does not say this, the preacher did not believe "The Bible means what it says." Most people do not take the time to correct preachers (out of kindness, maybe), but we should if given the opportunity. Otherwise, we allow man's word to go against God's word. (This goes on craftily all the time even among true Christian people.)

WE NEED AND MUST HAVE FAITHFUL BIBLE TRANSLATIONS.

Those who advocate a certain Bible version over another often forget that their preferred version is just a translation! All translations are versions of the originals. Copies of the original, inspired Hebrew and Greek have been faithfully translated, and we must be thankful that God's Word has been preserved for us in English, German, Dutch, French, Spanish, and numerous languages of the world. This proves the originals were inspired, otherwise they would have passed away! Remember, "But my words shall NOT pass away" (Matthew 24:35).

SOME SAY OUR BELOVED BROTHER PAUL JUST MIGHT BE WRONG.

A man was once asked if he believed in divine election as Paul taught it, and the man said, "No, I don't care what Paul said!" That "election" is a Bible doctrine, hardly no one will deny. But that it is divine, unconditional election is what is quite often vehemently denied. But look again at such clear passages as Amos 3:2, Romans 9:11, and 2 Thessalonians 2:13, to name just three among many, the last two from Paul himself, "an apostle."

"BREAK UP YOUR FALLOW GROUND" (Hosea 10:12).

Few farmers are left in our day, and maybe some do not even know what "fallow ground" means, but we will assume you do. Now, to make us think even more, listen to quaint Vance Havner on this verse: "God will not rain showers of blessings on fallow ground, for that would mean only more briars and weeds." Anyway, our hard hearts of unbelief in God's holy Word need "weeding" and "working."

CHRIST ALONE, GRACE ALONE-W. F. BELL

How deceived the religious world is, which thinks "the gospel" is something we are to DO! But the Bible declares that "the gospel" is what Christ has already DONE! "Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation (satisfaction) through faith in His blood" (Romans 3:25). We are not told to "make" propitiation ourselves to God, but the gospel "sets forth" Christ alone as having done this "for us."

The way to heaven is not our works or obedience, our prayers or Bible reading, our giving or self-sacrifices, but the only way is through the "propitiation" of Christ on Calvary's cross. He Himself is our "mercy seat," and His "sacrifice" alone has appeased God's wrath and justice -- and not anything we do or sacrifice or give.

And the only way we can know for sure that we are among the "justified" and the "redeemed" is by being "created in Christ Jesus" by the "workmanship" of God Himself in His grace and mercy (Ephesians 2:10). It is never by our obedient works or actions (including our repentance or faith), though this "creation" in Christ is "unto good works." Not "by" but "unto." Grace alone puts us in Christ, therefore all the boastings of men in their works are "excluded" (Romans 3:27). Grace crowns all the work of God, so God alone gets all the glory in declaring "His righteousness" through the blood of our Mediator, the Lord Jesus Christ.

This message by W.F. Bell is exactly what we "Old Path" preachers endeavor to preach. He did very well with it. I want to invite you to use the link to Sermon Audio in the upper right panel and log on to W. F. Bell's message on Propitiation for a further look at this theme. I believe it is the oldest message that we have on the site (1977), but it will bless you. Check it out.

CREPT IN UNNOTICED-W.F. BELL

"For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness, and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Jude 4).

The phrase "crept in unnoticed" is one compound word in the Greek language, pareiseduesan, used only here in the New Testament. This long word is derived from the words "para" (beside), "eis" (in), and "duo" (to sink or plunge), thus meaning "to slip in secretly as by a side door." "Who long ago were marked out" is another long Greek word, progegrammenoi, which simply means "to write of beforehand." This could refer either to the decree of predestination or to written prophecies like that of Enoch's in verses 14-15. Either way, the point made is that these "ungodly men" are not "unknown" to God, though they have "slipped in" without the notice of men.

Note that these "crept in" false teachers deny Christ's Lordship, not only verbally, but by their lewd, ungodly lives (they profess "grace," but are in reality "graceless"). Here we see the explanation for all the foolish teachings and "damnable heresies" (2 Peter 2:1) that plague our world. Not only is our "creed" (what we believe) important, but also our "conduct" (how we live). "Judgment" and "condemnation" await all false prophets, including all those who "follow their destructive ways" (2 Peter 2:2-3). Judgment may be delayed, but it will eventually fall on all apostates, "because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed." What a bad name false "Christians" give to Christianity! Because of this we are constantly exhorted in Scripture to "flee" evil things, and "follow" good things (I Timothy 6:1-2; 2 Timothy 2:22). False prophets are thus known by their "doctrine" and their "deportment." But they are indeed "wolves in sheep's clothing" (Matthew 7:15), for they do not announce themselves as wolves or as being sent of Satan.

When we see men and women in the church of our day belittling the doctrine of God's sovereignty, while making great strides to entertain people, is this not a sign of apostates? And if there is continual, lewd, ungodly sensualness in the lives of leaders in the modern church, does this not prove the validity of these warnings from Christ and His apostles? A marked "strong delusion" (2 Thessalonians 2:11) has gripped modern society (religious and political), and it behooves all of us to be constantly examining ourselves to make sure we are not among those who have "crept in unnoticed." And may we always solemnly remember Ecclesiastes 8:10-13 -- that all sinning will some day be over, and in the end it will only "be well with those who fear God."

ACCOUNTABILITY TO GOD- A.W. TOZER

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die , but after this the judgment” (Hebrews 9:27).

“It was the belief in the accountability of man to his maker that made America a great nation. Among those earlier leaders was Daniel Webster whose blazing eyes and fiery oratory often held the Senate spellbound. In those days the Congress was composed of strong, noble statesmen who carried the weight of the nation in their hearts and minds.”

“Someone asked: ‘Mr. Webster, what do you consider the most serious thought that has ever entered your mind?’ ‘The most solemn thought that has ever entered my mind is my
accountability to my maker,’ he replied.”

“Men like that cannot be corrupted and bought. They do not have to worry if someone listens to their telephone calls. What they were in character and in deportment resulted from their belief that they would finally be accountable to God.”

"Lord, help me to live my life today in such a way that, should You call me tonight to stand before You and give account, I would have nothing of which I would need to be ashamed. Amen.” ( from A.W. Tozer, Echoes from Eden, page 130).

Oh how we need men and women today with the godly character and courage of A.W. Tozer and Daniel Webster. Men like Spurgeon and Ryle and M’Cheyne. Women like Amy Carmichael, and Susanna Wesley and Fanny Crosby. Oh God, please send us revival!

“Wilt thou not revive us again: that thy people may rejoice in thee? Shew us thy mercy, O LORD, and grant us thy salvation” (Psalm 85:6,7).

“O LORD, I have heard thy speech, and was afraid: O LORD, revive thy work in the midst of the years, in the midst of the years make known; in wrath remember mercy” (Habakkuk 3:2).