proverbs-4:1-27-esv

"My Son despise not thou the chastening of the Lord nor faint when thou art rebuked of Him" (HEBREWS 12:5). Not all chastisement is sanctified to the recipients of it. Some are hardened thereby; others are crushed beneath it. Much depends on the spirit in which afflictions are received. There is no ... Read More

REGENERATION OR THE NEW BIRTH Chapter 1 ITS NECESSITY 1. The need for regeneration lies in our natural degeneration. In consequence of the fall of our first parents, all of us were born alienated from the Divine life and holiness, despoiled of all those perfections wherewith man’s nature was at firs... Read More

Spiritual Growth 1. Introduction The name which is usually given to our subject by Christian writers is that of "Growth in Grace" which is a scriptural expression, being found 2 Peter 3:18. But it appears to us that, strictly speaking, growing in grace has reference to but a single aspect or branch ... Read More

Spiritual Growth 10. Its Decline I First, its nature. That which we are here to be concerned with is what some writers term "backsliding"—a lucid and expressive word that is not employed so often as it should be or once was. Like most other theological terms this one has been made the occasion of no... Read More

Spiritual Growth 4. Its Nature I We have now arrived at what is really the most important part of our subject, but which is far from being the easiest to handle. If we are to be preserved or delivered from erroneous views at this point it is very necessary that we should form a right concept of what... Read More

Spiritual Growth 5. Its Analogy I An "analogy" is an agreement or correspondence in certain respects between things which otherwise differ, and just as it is often an aid to obtaining the force of a word by considering its synonyms, so it frequently helps us to a better understanding of a subject or... Read More

STUDIES ON SAVING FAITH Part IV 17. ITS MAINTENANCE Here again there are two extremes to be guarded against: the fatalistic lethargy of I cannot help myself, and the humanistic effrontery which affirms that the remedy lies in my own hands. Spiritual assurance is a Divine gift, nevertheless the Chris... Read More

STUDIES ON SAVING FAITH Part IV DIALOGUE 3 Editor Visits Humble Heart In the communicating of His Word God was pleased to speak ‘at sundry times and in divers manners’ (Heb. 1:1). In the Scriptures of Truth we have clear doctrinal instruction and plain precepts for the regulation of conduct, but we ... Read More

THE DOCTRINE OF MAN’S IMPOTENCE Chapter 2 REALITY The spiritual impotence of the natural man is no mere product of theological dyspepsia, nor is it a dismal dogma invented during the Dark Ages. It is a solemn fact affirmed by Holy Writ, manifested throughout human history, confirmed in the conscious... Read More

THE DOCTRINE OF MAN’S IMPOTENCE Chapter 5 EXTENT When seeking to uphold some other great truths of Scripture by means of contemplating separately their component parts, we reminded the reader how very difficult it was to avoid some overlapping. The same thing needs to be pointed out here in connecti... Read More