Friday, February 06, 2004
Righteousness and Predestination
A quote I read of Spurgeon goes...
"It is perfectly obvious that God chose me, because I know I would never have chosen him, and it is equally clear that he must have chosen me before I was born, for i know that he would not have chosen me afterwards!"
That is a delightfully succinct and meaningful quote. However, there is a little more to predestination than that. Some day I hope to understand it a little better.
John Bunyans (well known for writing "Pilgrims Progress") autobiography "Grace Abounding" is recommended. Our minister quoted from it both on Sunday evening and on Thursday evening also. I like it very much.
"But one day, as I was passing in the field, and that too with some dashes on my conscience, fearing lest yet all was not right, suddenly this sentence fell upon my soul, Thy righteousness is in heaven; and methought withal, I saw, with the eyes of my soul, Jesus Christ at God's right hand; there, I say, is my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was a-doing, God could not say of me, He wants my righteousness, for that was just before Him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse; for my righteousness was Jesus Christ Himself, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever (Heb. 13.8). Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed, I was loosed from my affliction and irons, my temptations had fled away; so that, from that time, those dreadful scriptures of God left off to trouble me now; now went I also home rejoicing, for the grace and love of God."
Now if you are Christian reading this, that has to be of some comfort to you...
"It is perfectly obvious that God chose me, because I know I would never have chosen him, and it is equally clear that he must have chosen me before I was born, for i know that he would not have chosen me afterwards!"
That is a delightfully succinct and meaningful quote. However, there is a little more to predestination than that. Some day I hope to understand it a little better.
John Bunyans (well known for writing "Pilgrims Progress") autobiography "Grace Abounding" is recommended. Our minister quoted from it both on Sunday evening and on Thursday evening also. I like it very much.
"But one day, as I was passing in the field, and that too with some dashes on my conscience, fearing lest yet all was not right, suddenly this sentence fell upon my soul, Thy righteousness is in heaven; and methought withal, I saw, with the eyes of my soul, Jesus Christ at God's right hand; there, I say, is my righteousness; so that wherever I was, or whatever I was a-doing, God could not say of me, He wants my righteousness, for that was just before Him. I also saw, moreover, that it was not my good frame of heart that made my righteousness better, nor yet my bad frame that made my righteousness worse; for my righteousness was Jesus Christ Himself, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever (Heb. 13.8). Now did my chains fall off my legs indeed, I was loosed from my affliction and irons, my temptations had fled away; so that, from that time, those dreadful scriptures of God left off to trouble me now; now went I also home rejoicing, for the grace and love of God."
Now if you are Christian reading this, that has to be of some comfort to you...
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