A Warning to Believers
(No. 3466)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, JULY 8, 1915.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON THURSDAY EVENING, JUNE
16, 1870.
"Let no man beguile you of your reward." Colossians 2:18.
THERE is an allusion here to the prize which was offered to the runners
in the Olympic games. And at the outset it is well for us to remark how
very frequently the Apostle Paul conducts us by his metaphors to the
racecourse. Over and over again he is telling us so to run that we may
obtain, bidding us to strive and, at other times, to agonize, and
speaks of wrestling and contending. Ought not this make us feel what an
intense thing the Christian life is–not a thing of sleepiness or
haphazard, not a thing to be left, now and then, to a little
superficial consideration? It must be a matter which demands all our
strength, so that when we are saved there is a living principle put
within us which demands all our energies and gives us energy over and
above any that we ever had before! Those who dream that carelessness
will find its way to Heaven have made a great mistake. The way to Hell
is neglect, but the way to Heaven is very different. "How shall we
escape if we neglect so great a salvation?" A little matter of neglect
brings you to ruin, but our Master's words are, "Strive to enter in at
the straight gate, for many, I say unto you, shall seek"–merely
seek–"to enter in, and shall not be able." Striving is needed more
than seeking! Let us pray that God the Holy Spirit would always enable
us to be in downright, awful earnest about the salvation of our souls.
May we never count this a matter of secondary importance, but may we
seek first and beyond everything else, the Kingdom of God and His
righteousness. May we lay hold on eternal life–may we so run that we
may obtain.
I would press this upon your memories because I observe–observe it in
myself as well as in my fellow Christians, that we are often more
earnest about the things of this life than we are about the things of
the life to come. We are all impressed with the fact that in these days
of competition, if a man would not be run over and crushed beneath the
wheels of the Juggernaut of poverty, he must exert himself. No man now
seems able to keep his head above water with the faint swimmer strokes
which our forefathers used to give. We have to strive–and the bread
that perishes has to be labored for. Shall it be that this poor world
shall engross our earliest thoughts and our latest cares, and shall the
world to come have only now and then a consideration? No! May we love
our God with all our heart, and all our soul, and all our strength–and
may we lay our body, soul and spirit upon the altar of Christ's
service–for these are but our reasonable sacrifices to Him.
Now the Apostle, in the text before us, gives us a warning which comes
to the same thing, however it is interpreted. But the passage is
somewhat difficult of rendering and there have been several meanings
given to it. Out of these there are three meanings which have been
given of the text before us which are worthy of notice. "Let no man
beguile you of your reward" The Apostle, in the first place, may mean
here–
I. LET NO MAN BEGUILE ANY OF YOU who profess to be followers of Christ,
of the great reward that will await the faithful at the last.
Now, my Brothers and Sisters, we have, many of us, commenced the
Christian race, or we profess to have done so– but the number of the
starters is far greater than the number of the winners! "They that run
in a race, run all, but one receives the prize." "Many are called, but
few are chosen." Many commence, apparently, in the Christian career,
but after a while, though they did run well, something hinders them
that they do not obey the Truths of God and they go out from us because
they were not of us, or if they had been of us, doubtless they would
have continued with us. Now we may expect, now that we have commenced
to run, that some will come and try to turn us out of the racecourse
openly–not
plausibly and with sophistry–but with an open and honest wickedness.
Some will tell us plainly that there is no reward to run for, that our
religion is all a mistake, that the pleasures of this world are the
only things worth seeking, that there are delights of the flesh and the
lusts thereof, and that we should do well to enjoy them. We all meet
the Atheist with his sneer and with his ringing laugh. We shall meet
with all kinds of persons who will, to our faces, tell us to turn back,
for there is no Heaven, there is no Christ, or, if there is, it is not
worth our while to take so much trouble to find Him. Take heed of these
people! Meet them face to face with dauntless courage. Mind not their
sneers. If they persecute you, only, reckon this to be an honor to
you–for what is persecution but the tribute which wickedness pays to
righteousness? And what is it, indeed, but the recognition of the Seed
of the woman when the seed of the serpent would gladly bite His heel?
But the Apostle does not warn you so much against those people who
openly come to you in this way. He knows that you will be on the alert
against them. He gives a special warning against some others who would
beguile you–that is to say– who will try to turn you out of the right
road, but who will not tell you that they mean to do so. They pretend
that they are going to show you something better than what you have, to
teach you something that you knew not before, some improvement upon
what you have here learned. In Paul's day there were some who took off
the attention of the Christian from the worship of God to the worship
of angels. "Angels," they said, "these are holy beings. They keep watch
over you–you should speak of them with great respect." And then, when
they grew bolder, they said, "You should ask for their protection." And
then after a little while they said, "You should worship them. You
should make them intermediate intercessors!" And so, step by step, they
went on and established an old heresy which lasted for many years in
the Christian Church–and which is not dead, even now–and thus the
worship of angels crept in.
And now-a-days you will meet with men who will say, "That bread upon
the Table–why, it represents the body of Jesus Christ to you when you
come to the Lord's Supper. Therefore you ought to treat that bread with
great respect." By-and-by they will get a little bolder, and then they
say, "As it represents Christ, you may worship it, pay it respect as if
it were Christ." By-and-by it will come to this, that you must have a
napkin under your chin, lest you should drop a crumb. And they will say
it would be very wicked if a drop of the sacred wine should cling to
your moustache when you drink! And there will be the directions which
are given in some of the papers coming out from the High Church party–
absurdities which are only worthy of the nursery–about the way in
which the holy bread is to be eaten and the holy wine is to be
drunk–bringing in idolatry–sheer, clear idolatry, under the pretence
of improving upon the too bare simplicity of the worship of Christ! Be
careful of the very first step, I pray you.
Or, perhaps, it may come to you in another shape. One will say to you,
"The place in which you worship–is it not very dear to you? That seat
where you have been accustomed to sit and listen, is it not dear?" And
your natural instincts will say, "Yes." Then it will go a little
farther. "That place is holy–it ought never to be used for anything
but worship." Then a little farther it will be, "Oh, that is the House
of God," and you will come to believe that, contrary to the words which
you know are given to you by the Holy Spirit, that God dwells not in
temples made with hands–that is to say, in these buildings–and you
will have, by degrees, a worship of places, and a worship of days, and
a worship of bread, and a worship of wine! And then it will be said to
you, "Your minister, has he not often cheered you? Well then, you
should reverence him–call him, 'Reverend.'" Go a little farther and
you will call him, "Father." Yet a little farther and he will be your
confessor! Get a little farther and he will be your infallible Pope! It
is all done step by step! The first step seems to be very harmless,
indeed. Indeed, it is a kind of voluntary humility! You look as if you
were humbling yourselves and were paying reverence to these things for
God's sake–whereas the objective is to get you to pay reverence to
them, instead of to God–and here the Apostle's words come in, "Let no
man beguile you of your reward." They will often attack you in that
insidious manner by setting up other objects of reverence besides those
which spiritual men worship!
So, too, they will, by slow degrees, try to insinuate a different way
of living from that which is the true life of the Christian. You who
have believed in Jesus are saved. Your sins are forgiven you for His
name's sake. You are accustomed to go to Jesus Christ constantly to
receive that washing of the feet of which He spoke to Peter when He
said, "He that is washed needs not except to wash his feet, for he is
clean every whit." You go to Him with, "Forgive us our trespasses as we
forgive those who trespass against us." But there will be some who will
come in and tell you that to live in that way by a simple faith in
Jesus Christ is not, perhaps, the best way. Could you not get a little
farther? Could you not lead the life of those recluses who mortify the
flesh in such a way that at last they come to have no sins, but
commence to be perfect in
themselves? Could you not begin, at least in some degree, to commit
your soul's care to some priest, or to some friend? And instead of
making every place holy and every day a holy day, would it not be well
to fast on such-and-such days in the week, to scrupulously observe this
rule and the other rule and walk by the general opinion of the ancient
Church, or by the Anglicanum Directorium, or some one of those books
which profess to show how they used to do it a thousand years ago? All
this may have a great show of wisdom, antiquity and beauty–there may
be a semblance of everything that is holy about it and names that
should never be mentioned without reverence may be appended to it
all–but listen to the Apostle as he says, "Beware lest any man beguile
you of your reward," for if they get you away from living upon Christ
as a poor sinner from day to day by simple confidence in Him, they will
beguile you of your reward!
There is another party who will seek to beguile you of your reward by
bringing in speculative notions instead of the simple Truths of God's
Word. There is a certain class of persons who think that a sermon is a
good one when they cannot understand it and who are always impressed
with a man whose words are long! And if his sentences are involved,
they feel, poor souls, that because they do not know what he is talking
about, there is no doubt that he is a very wise and learned man! And
after a while, when he does propound something that they can catch at,
though it may be quite contrary to what they have learned at their
mother's knee or from their father's Bible, yet they are ready to be
led off by it! There are many men, now-a-days, who seem to spend their
time in nothing else but in spinning new theories and inventing new
systems. They gut the Gospel, taking the very soul and heart out of it,
and leave nothing but the mere skin and outward bones. The life and
marrow of the Gospel is being taken away by their learning, by their
philosophies, by their refinements, by their bringing everything down
to the test of this wonderfully enlightened 19th Century, to which we
are all, I suppose, bound to defer! But a voice comes to us, "Let no
man beguile you of your reward." Stand fast to the old Truths of
God–they will outlast all these philosophies! Stand fast to the old
way of living–it will outlast all the inventions of men! Stand fast by
Christ, for you need no other object of worship but Himself!
The Apostle gives us this warning, "Let no man beguile you of your
reward," reminding us that these persons are very likely to beguile us.
They will beguile us by their character. Have I not often heard young
people say of such-and-such a preacher who preaches error, "But he is
so good a man!" That is not the point. "Though we, or an angel from
Heaven preach any other Gospel unto you than that which we have
preached unto you, let him be accursed." If the life of the man should
be blameless as the life of Christ, yet if he preaches to you other
than the Gospel of Jesus Christ, take no heed of him! He wears but the
sheep's clothing, and is a wolf, after all. Some will plead, "But
such-and-such a man is so eloquent." Ah, Brothers and Sisters, may the
day never come when your faith shall stand in the words of men! What is
a ready orator, after all, that he should convince your hearts? Are
there not ready orators caught any day for everything? Men speak, speak
fluently, and speak well in the cause of evil! And there are some that
can speak much more fluently and more eloquently for evil than any of
our poor tongues are ever likely to do for the right! But words, words,
words, flowers of rhetoric, oratory–are these the things that saved
you? Are you so foolish that having begun in the spirit by being
convicted of your sins, having begun by being led simply to Christ and
putting your trust in Him–are you now to be led astray by these poetic
utterances and flowery periods of men? God forbid! Let nothing of this
kind beguile you!
Then there will be added to these remarks that the man is not only very
good and very eloquent, but that he is very earnest–he seems very
humble-minded. Yes, and of old they wore rough garments to deceive, and
in the context of the text we find that those persons were noted for
their voluntary humility and their worship of angels! Satan knows very
well that if he comes in black, he will be discovered, but if he puts
on the garb of an angel of light, then men will think he comes from God
and so will be deceived. "By their fruits you shall know them." If they
give you not the Gospel–if they exalt not Christ, if they bear not
witness to salvation through the precious blood, if they do not lift up
Jesus Christ as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness–have
nothing to do with them, speak they as they may! "Let no man beguile
you of your reward." Through it should happen to be your relative, one
whom you love, one who may have many claims on your respect–let no
man, let no man, however plausible may be his speech or eminent his
character–beguile you of your reward!
Recollect, you professors, you lose the reward if you lose the road to
the reward. He that runs may run very fast, but if he does not run the
course, he wins not the prize. You may believe false Doctrine with
great earnestness, but you will find it false, for all that! You may
give yourself up indefatigably to the pursuit of the wrong religion,
but it will ruin your souls! A notion is abroad that if you are but
earnest and sincere, you will be all right. Permit me to remind you
that
if you travel ever so earnestly to the north, you will never reach the
south. And if you earnestly take prussic acid, you will die! And if you
earnestly cut off a limb, you will be wounded. You must not only be
earnest, but you must be right in it! Hence is it necessary to say,
"Let no man beguile you of your reward." "I bear them witness," said
the Apostle, "that they had a zeal for God, but not according to
knowledge, but went about to establish their own righteousness, and
have not submitted themselves to the righteousness of God." Oh, may we
not be beguiled, then, so as to miss the reward of Heaven at the last!
But I must pass on, especially as the light fails us this evening–I
hope it is prognostic of a coming shower. Here is a second rendering
which may be given to the text– II. LET NO MAN DOMINEER OVER YOU.
This rendering, or something analogous to it, is in the French
translation. One of the great expositors in his commentary upon this
passage refers it to the judges at the end of the course who sometimes
would give the reward to the wrong person, and the person who had
really run well might thus be deprived of his reward. Now, however
close a man may be to Christ, the world, instead of honoring him for
it, will, on the contrary, censure and condemn him–and hence the
Apostle's exhortation is, "Let no man domineer over you."
And, my Brothers and Sisters, I would earnestly ask you to remember
this, first, as to your course of action. If you conscientiously
believe that you are right in what you are doing, care very little who
is pleased or who is displeased. If you are persuaded in your own soul
that what you believe and what you do are acceptable to God, whether
they are acceptable to man or not is of very small consequence! You are
not man's servant, you do not look to man for your reward and,
therefore, you need not care what man's opinion may be in this matter.
Be just and fear not! Tread in the footsteps of Christ, follow what
may. Live not on the breath of men. Let not their applause make you
feel great, for perhaps then their censure will make you faint. Let no
man in this respect domineer over you, but let Christ be your Master,
and look to His smile.
So not only with regard to your course of action, but also with
reference to your confidence, let no man domineer over you. If you put
your trust in Jesus Christ, there are some who will say it is
presumption. Let them say it is presumption! "Wisdom is justified of
all her children," and so shall faith be. If you take the promise of
God and rest upon it, there will be some who will say that you are
hare-brained fanatics. Let them say it! They that trust in Him shall
never be confounded. The result will honor your faith. You have but to
wait a little while and, perhaps, they that now censure you will have
to hold up their hands in astonishment and say with you, "What has God
worked?" Your confidence in Christ, especially my dear young Friend, I
trust does not depend upon the smile of your relatives. If it did, then
their frown might crush it. Walk with your Savior in the lowly walk of
holy confidence, and let not your faith rest in man, but in the smile
of God!
Let no man domineer over you, again, byjudging your motives. Men will
always give as bad a reason as they can for a good man's actions. It
seems to be innate in human nature never to give man credit for being
right if you can help it, and often tender minds have been greatly
wounded when they have been misrepresented and their actions have been
imputed to sinister and selfish motives–when they have really desired
to serve Christ. But do not let your heart be broken about that. You
will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ–do not care about the
petty judgment seats of men! Go on with your Master's work dauntlessly
and fearlessly. Let them say, as David's brothers said of him, "Because
of your pride and the naughtiness of your heart have you come to see
the battle." You go and get Goliath's head and bring it back–and that
shall be the best answer to these sneering ones. When they see that God
is with you and that He has given you the triumph, you shall have
honor, even in the eyes of those who now ridicule you! I think
sometimes the Christian should have very much the same bravado against
the judgment of men as David had when Michal, the daughter of Saul,
came out and said, "How glorious was the King of Israel, today, who
uncovered himself today in the eyes of the handmaids of his servants."
And he said, "It was before the Lord, and I will yet be more vile than
thus." Let your eyes be to God and forget the eyes of men! Live so that
whether they know what you do, or do not know, you will not care, for
your conduct will bear the blaze of the great Judgment Day and,
therefore, the criticisms of earth do not affect you! Let no man
domineer over you.
So may I put it in another light–let no man sway your conscience so as
to lead you. I am always anxious, my dear Hearers, that whatever
respect I may ever win from you–and I trust I may have your esteem and
your affection–yet
that you will never believe a Doctrine simply because I utter it!
Unless I can confirm it from the Word of God, away with it! If it is
not according to the teaching of the Lord and Master, I beseech you
follow me not. Follow me only as far as I follow Christ! And so with
every other man. Let it be God's Truth, God's Word, the Holy Spirit's
witness to that Word in your soul that you are seeking after! And rest,
I pray you, never short of that, for if you do, your faith will stand
merely in the wisdom of men–and when the man who helped you to believe
is gone, perhaps your faith may be gone, too– when you most need its
comforting power! No, let no man domineer over you, but press forward
in the Christian race, looking unto Jesus, and looking unto Jesus only!
But now a third meaning belongs to the text. A happy circumstance it
is, this dark night, that the preacher does not need to use his
manuscript, for if he did, his sermon would certainly come to an end
right now. But here is this point, "Let no man beguile you of your
reward." It may mean this–
III. LET NO MAN ROB YOU OF THE PRESENT REWARD WHICH YOU HAVE IN BEING A
CHRISTIAN.
Let no man deprive you of the present comfort which your faith should
bring to you. Let me, just for a few minutes, have your attention while
I speak upon this. Dear Brothers and Sisters, you and I, if we are
believers in Christ, are this day completely pardoned. There is no sin
in God's book against us. We are wholly and completely justified! The
righteousness of Jesus Christ covers us from head to foot and we stand
before God as if we had never sinned! Now let no man rob you of this
reward. Do not be tempted by anything that is said to doubt the
completeness of a believer in Christ. Hold this, and as you hold it,
enjoy it! Do not let the man whom you have most to fear, beguile you.
Even though conscience should upbraid you and you should have many
grave reasons for doubt, as you imagine, yet if you believe in Jesus,
stand to it–"There is, therefore, now no condemnation to me, for I am
in Christ Jesus! He that believes in Him is not condemned! I have
believed and I am not condemned. Neither will He permit condemnation to
be thundered against me, for Christ has borne my sin for me and I am
clear in Him." Let no man beguile you of the reward of feeling that you
are complete in Christ!
Further, you who have believed in Jesus Christ aresafe in Christ.
Because He lives, you shall live also. Who shall separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord? He has said, "I give
unto My sheep eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall
any pluck them out of My hands." Now there are some who will tell you
that you are not safe and that it is dangerous for you to believe that
you are. Let no man beguile you of this reward! You are saved. If you
are believing on Him, He will keep you, and you may sing, "Now unto Him
who is able to keep us from falling, and to present us faultless before
His Presence with exceedingly great joy, unto Him be glory." Hold to
that blessed Truth of God that you are in Jesus–safe in Jesus Christ!
There is a third blessed Truth, that not only are you pardoned and safe
in Christ, but you are accepted at this moment in the Beloved. Your
acceptance with God does not rest upon anything in you. You are
accepted because you are in Christ, accepted for Christ's sake. Now
sometimes you will get robbed of this reward if you listen to the voice
which says, "Why, there is still sin in you! Your prayers are
imperfect! Your actions are stained." Yes, but let no men beguile you
of this conviction that, sinner as you are, you are still accepted in
Christ Jesus!
The Lord grant that you may feel this within and let no man beguile you
of your reward as long as you live! May you live and die in the
enjoyment of it, Beloved, for Christ's sake. Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: EPHESIANS 4; 6:1-15.
EPHESIANS 4.
Verses 1, 2. I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that
you walk worthy of the vocation wherewith you are called. With all
lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in
love. It is a loving call. Walk lovingly. It is the condescension of
God that called you. Be, therefore, lowly. It is God in tenderness who
has loved you. Be, therefore, meek, "forbearing one another in love."
3-6. Endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.
There is one body, and one Spirit, even as you are called in one hope
of your calling. One Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father
of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.Therefore,
strive for unity. Woe unto those who divide Believers–who rob them of
love to one another–who set up another Gospel which is not another, or
in any way detract from the unity of the body of Christ.
7. But unto everyone of us is given Grace according to the measure of
the gift of Christ It does not mean that God gives stingingly, but that
He gives according to our capacity to receive. We are not all made with
the same measure of capacity because we are not all intended to fill
the same office–and God gives everyone of us as much Grace as we are
prepared to receive. The Lord enlarge our hearts that we may hold more
of His Grace, "according to the measure of the gift of Christ."
8-10. Therefore He said, When he ascended up on high, He led captivity
captive, andgave gifts unto men. Now that He ascended, what is it but
that He also descended first into the lower parts of the earth? He that
descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that
He might fill all things. Now what were the gifts He gave? He rode up
to Heaven in triumph. And in Roman triumphs they scattered gold and
silver among the people to show the greatness of the trophies which the
warriors had brought home. So Christ, when He ascended up on high,
scattered gifts among the sons of men. And what were these? Why they
were men, for men are God's possession–the Man, Christ Jesus, first,
and then those whom He uses for Himself afterwards.
11-13. And he gave some, Apostles, and some, Prophets; and some,
evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the
saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of
Christ: Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the
knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of
the stature of the fullness of Christ.We have not come to that yet.
Therefore we need instruction. We need edifying or building up, and so
the Lord gives to His Church according to His own mind and will,
evangelists, pastors and the like. Sometimes there are pastors whom God
never sent–and a man may take upon himself the voice of an evangelist
who was never called–and consequently they are not gifts of God to the
churches and is a waste of their strength. But if we have those whom
God gives, we shall find a priceless gift in the bestowal of such men
upon the Church of God!
14-16. That we henceforth are no more children, tossed to and fro, and
carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and
cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive, but speaking
the truth in love, may grow up into Him in all things, which is the
Head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and
compacted by that which every joint supplies, according to the
effectual working in the measure of every part, makes increase of the
body unto the edifying of itself in love. You see then, Brothers and
Sisters, where we are. We are each one put into his place to do
something for the entire body. No limb of the body lives to itself. It
is only healthy when it ministers to the health of the whole body. We
are nothing, except as we are joined to the rest of God's people, and
especially joined to Him who is our glorious Head.
17-19. This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you
henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their
mind. Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life
of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness
of their heart Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto
lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.This, the
member of the body of Christ will never do! The Head is holy, so will
the members be by that Holy Spirit who sanctifies us!
20. But you have not so learned Christ.What a beautiful expression this
is! It does not say, "Learned the Doctrine of Christ," or, "the precept
of Christ," though that were a grand Truth, but we learn Christ,
Himself! Our school book is Christ! The copy by which we write is
Christ! The image to which we desire to be conformed is Christ! "You
have not so learned Christ."
21, 22. If so be that you have heard Him, and have been taught by Him,
as the truth is in Jesus: That you put off concerning the former
conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful
lusts–You have done with it. You put it off as a beggar puts off his
rags when he has fresh garments given him!
23-25. And be renewedin the spirit ofyour mind; And thatyouput on the
man, which after Godis createdin righteousness and true holiness.
Therefore putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbor:
for we are members one of another You know the eye will not deceive the
head. There is no part of the body that will deceive the rest. If the
foot perceives that there is a trap, it tells the body and it does not
lead it astray. If the nostril perceives an evil smell, it tells the
body, that it may escape from the noxious odor. The body is true to
itself. So if we are members, one of another, lying must be abhorrent.
Every thought of it in any shape must be detestable to us.
26. Be you angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath.
Be angry sometimes. A man that is never angry, surely has no strong
convictions in him, for he that is not angry at evil can scarcely be
thought to rejoice in that which is good. But anger is a dog that is
very apt to bite the wrong persons. Therefore, be you angry, and sin
not. Anger is like fire. Let it always be put out at night. "Let not
the sun go down upon your wrath," but if it lights during the day, keep
it in the grate–keep it in its proper place, for if fire takes hold
where it should not, the house may be destroyed and the man, himself,
may perish in the fire. If you are angry, as you sometimes must be, "be
angry and sin not. Let not the sun go down on your wrath." They say
that the stings of some obnoxious creatures will not die until the sun
goes down. Well, let the sting of anger die when the sun goes down.
Rake out the fire when the sun is down. Do not keep it blazing all
night long, ready for the morning. Let it go out, lest our anger become
hatred and become malice.
27. Neither give place to the devil.He is standing at the door. If you
give him a seat, he will come in and it is very easy to do so–to make
an opportunity for the devil to come in. "Neither give place to the
devil." Idle persons tempt the devil to depart by being busy–by being
prayerful, and by being much with God. Give no place to the devil.
28. Let him that stole, steal no more: but rather let him labor–Honest
industry is the cure for dishonesty.
28. Working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to
give to him that needs.What a splendid change from a thief, up to one
that gives to him that needs! Now, between them, we should have put,
"Let him that stole steal no more, but rather let him labor with his
hands"–a thing which is good–"that he may be able to provide things
honest for himself." A very good idea, too, but the like Christian
thought is that he may labor, working with his hands that he may have,
to give. I wonder how many, even of professing Christians, think of
this–that the objective of labor should be that they may have to give?
There are some who think the objective is that we may have, to
keep–that we may have, to hoard–but I say Christ, by His Apostle,
teaches us that we should labor that we may have, to give to him that
needs.
29. Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth.Putrid is
the word–"no putrid communication"– no word, therefore, which tends
to do harm to the purest mind–nothing which is unsavory. Therefore,
also, nothing that is untrue–nothing that is slanderous–nothing that
would injure my neighbor. "Let no corrupt communication proceed out of
your mouth." "You may as well say it as think it," says one. By no
manner of means! If you think it, it will do you harm–if you say it,
it will do hurt to others! You may have a bottle of poison and it is
much better to keep the cork in, for if somebody should drink it, then
they will die. No, "let no corrupt communication proceed out of your
mouth."
30-31. But that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may
minister Grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God,
whereby you are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness,
and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking be put away from
you, with all malice. Why does the Apostle say "clamor"? Why, because
when people are angry they generally talk very loud, and I believe that
if persons would correct their tone of voice and resolve, they will not
speak above their usual tone! When they feel heated and provoked, it
would greatly assist to check the abolition of passion. So the Apostle
puts in, "Let all bitterness and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and loud
talking–all clamor and evil speaking–be put away from you with all
malice."
32. And be you kind, one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one
another, even as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you.
EPHESIANS 6.
Verse 1. Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right.
Fitting by nature and pleasing in the sight of God.
2-4. Honor your father and mother; which is the first commandment with
promise: that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the
earth. And you fathers, provoke not your children to wrath, but bring
them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.For the duties are
like birds with two wings, or like a pair of scales–balance for each
side. There is the child's duty, but there is the parent's duty, too.
5-9. Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to
the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness ofyour heart, as unto
Christ. Not with eye service, as men pleasers, but as the servants of
Christ, doing the will of God from the heart. With good will doing
service, as to the Lord, and not to men: Knowing that whatever good
thing any man does, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he
is bond or free. And, you masters, do the same things unto them. Mind
that! We may hear a good deal about the duties of servants. Let us hear
something about the duties of masters and mistresses. "You masters, do
the same things unto them."
9. Forbearing threats: knowing that your Master also is in Heaven;
neither is there respect of persons with Him. Very beautifully balanced
is the whole system of Gospel morals. There is no undue advantage given
by the fact of our being rendered equal in Christ, so that the servant
is to be less obedient to the master, or the child to the
parent–neither is there any undue power given to those who are in
authority! But the Grace of God teaches all to do unto all as we would
that they should do unto us.
10. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord. You cannot do right if
you are not strong. Unless you have the backbone of principle–unless
you have spiritual muscle and sinew by the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit in you, you cannot continue to do that which is right. "Finally,
my brethren, be strong in the Lord."
10, 11. And in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of
God.First, be strong, and then put on armor. It is no use putting armor
on a weak man, or else it will be what James I said it was–a capital
invention, he said, because he who wore it would come to no harm and
certainly do no harm, for he could not stir in it. Now you must be
strong, first, but then not trust in your strength, but put on the
armor which is here described. And yet it would be useless to have the
armor unless you are first strong. "Put on the whole armor of God."
11-13. That you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil For
we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places. Therefore take unto you
the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil
day, and having done all, to stand.To keep your ground, not to give way
in any respect! And blessed is that man whose name is Stand-Fast, and
whose practice is to hold fast–"having done all to stand."
14. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth.Nothing
will so tighten up your garments and keep them right as a belt of
sincerity and truthfulness. If we are not true, whatever else we are,
we are but loosely arrayed. We shall come to mischief. "Having your
loins girt about with truth."
14. And having on the breastplate of righteousness.A grand protection
when God has given you to be holy, and when the principle which covers
your heart and shields your members is righteousness!
15. And your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace.
Peace in your own heart, peace with God, peace with man. Peacefulness
and peace. No shoes like these! A man that has a merry heart makes many
a mile fly beneath him, but a heavy heart is a slow traveler. "Your
feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace."