Matthew 25:1-46

For Reading and Meditation:     Proverbs 4:10-27

We pause today to make clear the difference between diligence and obstinacy. I know people who have experienced spiritual shipwreck because they didn't know the difference between these two things. When asked to clarify the difference between perseverance and obstinacy, a student wrote: "One is a strong will and the...

For Reading and Meditation:     Luke 16:19-31

The final state of those who die without availing themselves of the forgiveness God offers them at the Cross is eternal banishment from God's presence. The Bible calls this "hell." "There is no heaven with a little hell in it," said George MacDonald, meaning that the God who is passionately for righteousness and...

For Reading and Meditation:     John 20:24-31

We said a couple of days ago that those who choose to deprive themselves of fellowship with other Christians miss out on life's greatest science - learning about God. I heard one preacher say: "People who neglect attendance at the house of God are fools because on some favoured occasion something special and powerful...

WHEN we think of the warning Jesus has given, the promises He has made, and the precepts He has delivered, we are ready to conclude that His people must be always active and always happy. But when we look around us, or when we look at our own course, we are obliged to lament that this is not the case. Jesus is gone to receive a kingdom and to return; He has given talents to His servants, and to every man his work, and commanded the porter to watch. But it is said of the wise, as well as the...

Here is both a rewarding encouragement and a warning that should bring us up short. Whatever we do to Christ's brethren is reckoned as being done unto Himself.

We can show kindness to the Lord Jesus any day by showing kindness to a fellow-believer. When we show hospitality to God's people, it is the same as if we entertain Him in our homes. If we give them the master bedroom, we are giving it to Him.

Almost anyone would be quick to do everything possible for the Savior if He came...

The word "hath" at the beginning of this verse means more than mere possession. It includes the idea of obeying what we have been taught and of using what we have been given. In other words, it is not just what we have but rather what we do with what we have.

Here is a great principle for us, then, in the study of the Bible. As we follow the light which we receive, God gives us more light. The man who makes the best progress in the Christian life is the one who is determined to do what...

The wrath of God is His fierce anger and retributive punishment directed against unrepentant sinners in time and in eternity. A. W. Pink has pointed out that it is as much a divine perfection as is His faithfulness, power and mercy. We need make no apology for it.

In pondering the wrath of God, there are a few facts we should keep in mind.

There is no conflict between God's love and His wrath. True love punishes sin, rebellion and disobedience.

If men refuse God's love,...

Faithful people are an endangered species; they are rapidly vanishing from the human race. If David mourned their demise in his day, we often wonder how he would feel if he lived today.

When we speak of a faithful person, we mean one who is trustworthy, reliable, dependable. If he makes a promise, he keeps it. If he has a responsibility, he fulfills it. If he has honorable allegiances, he is staunchly loyal to them.

The unfaithful man makes an appointment, then either fails to...

The subject of hell generates enormous resistance in the human heart. This resistance is most often expressed in the question, "How could a God of love sustain an everlasting hell?"

If Paul were answering the question he would probably say at the outset, "Who art thou that repliest against God?" or "Let God be true and every man a liar." Translation: the creature really has no right to question the Creator. If God sustains an everlasting hell, He has valid reasons for doing so. We have...

Cain was the first child born on earth. The coming of the first baby, is always an important event in a home - but the birth of the first child in the human family, was an event of peculiar importance. Mothers have many dreams and hopes for their babies. The first mother had her dreams. She seems to have been expecting that her son would be the "seed of the woman" referred to in the...