Incapable Faith:

According to the plain statements of Holy Scripture, no one has the will or the ability to come to Christ by faith (John 5:40; 6:44). This is the real issue at hand. Modern day religion, for the most part, professes to believe in original sin and total depravity. Very few people openly teach that man can save himself by his own works. Yet, most people do teach that man by nature does have the ability to come to Christ and be saved, that he has the ability in himself, by his own free-will, to believe on Christ.

By such teachings, they make salvation to rest ultimately upon man’s free-will. According to the commonly received heresy, man’s free-will makes the blood of Christ effectual, man’s free will controls the operations of God, and man’s free-will determines who shall populate heaven.

The Scriptures declare that man is not only morally depraved and sinful, but that he is also spiritually impotent, unwilling and incapable of coming to Christ by faith. The Lord Jesus Christ says, “Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life” (John 5:40). “No man can come to me except the Father which hath sent me draw him” (John 6:44). He also declares that if the Father draws a man, that man will come to him; and he says, “I will raise him up at the last day.”

In the Scriptures the idea of “Coming to Christ,” simply means believing on him. C. H. Spurgeon said, “It is used to express those acts of the soul wherein, leaving at once our self-righteousness and our sins, we fly unto the Lord Jesus Christ, and receive his righteousness to be our covering and his blood to be our atonement.”

Today we are told that coming to Christ is the easiest thing in all the world. But here our Lord himself tells us that – It is utterly and entirely impossible for any man to come to Christ, unless the Father draws him by effectual and irresistible grace. Man by nature is spiritually impotent, and helpless, utterly without strength. Indeed, man is altogether dead spiritually. Man’s inability does not lie in any physical defect. Man’s inability is not a lack of mental power. I am just as capable of believing on Christ mentally as I am of believing in Abraham Lincoln. The mind is just as capable of seeing the moral guilt of sin as it is of seeing the moral guilt of murder. Man’s inability lies deep within his nature. A wolf cannot be domesticated and tamed into a trusted pet. A loving mother cannot stab her nursing baby to death. She has no ability to do so, because it is contrary to her nature. And no man can ever come to Christ of his own accord, because of the obstinancy of the human will.

The Arminian, the will worshipper, cries, “Any man can be saved who will.” That is certainly true. But that is not the issue. The issue is this, – Are men ever found naturally willing to submit to the humbling terms of the gospel of Christ? The Son of God answers that question with an emphatic, “No!” The human will is so desperately set on evil, so thoroughly depraved, so inclined toward evil, and so disinclined toward good, that without the powerful, supernatural, irresistible grace and call of God the Holy Spirit, no human being will ever come to Christ by faith.

No man will ever, of his own accord, come to Christ, because his understanding is darkened (John 3:3). He cannot see the exceeding evil of his own heart. He cannot see the strict justice of God’s law. He cannot see the glory of electing grace. He cannot see the glory of our Lord’s incarnation. He cannot see the glory of Christ’s obedience unto righteousness. He cannot see the glory of Christ’s substitutionary redemption. He cannot see the glory of Christ’s intercession.

No man will ever, of his own accord, come to Christ, because his affections are corrupt. We love what we ought to hate. And we hate what we ought to love. “Men love darkness rather than light.”

No man will ever come to Christ of his own voluntary accord, without the power of God, because his conscience is depraved. Conscience may tell me that such and such a thing is wrong. But how wrong it is conscience does not know. The unenlightened conscience of man will never tell him that he deserves eternal damnation, that he must abhor himself, that he must have a perfect righteousness, or that he must have a perfect atonement.

It is true that men will not, and it is true that man cannot, by their own power, come to Christ – “No man can come.” Man by nature is dead, spiritually dead. Certainly, if words mean anything, that means that man is without any spiritual power or ability whatsoever. If it is true that the Holy Spirit only gives me a will to come to Christ, and that the power to come is mine, then certainly I would have a right to share in the glory of my salvation.

Because man is guilty of sin, and because he sinfully refuses to believe on Christ, he remains under the wrath of God, and eternal damnation will be his just reward. But I cannot conclude this study with such a sad and gloomy picture. It is a terribly black scene that I have set before you. Man by nature is fallen. Our hearts are evil. Our works are evil. We are spiritually impotent. And we are justly condemned. But there is a bright ray of hope for such creatures as we are.

ONE HOPE

The only hope for fallen, guilty, depraved, helpless, and vile sinners, such as we are, is the free and sovereign grace of God in Christ. If salvation depends in any measure upon you or me, all hope is gone. But since it is entirely the work of God’s free and sovereign grace in Christ, there is hope even for fallen, helpless sinners. God says, “I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy” (Rom. 9:15-16).

This is what God does for sinners by his sovereign, eternal grace. He chose to save a great multitude from Adam’s fallen race. He determined to save his elect people by the sacrifice of his Son. He sent his Son into the world to accomplish eternal redemption for us. He sends his Spirit to regenerate his chosen people and effectually call them to Christ in faith. He gives life to the dead. He convicts (convinces) chosen, redeemed sinners of sin pardoned, righteousness brought in, and judgment finished by the obedience and blood of Christ. He reveals Christ. He causes the awakened sinner, by the power of his irresistible grace, to come to Christ, saying,…

Could my tears forever flow,
Could my zeal no languor know,
All for sin could not atone,
Thou must save and thou alone.

No man has any claim upon the grace of God. Any sinner who will come to Christ may freely come. All who come to Christ in true faith acknowledge most gladly that they were constrained to come. We who have been constrained by almighty, irresistible grace into the arms of Christ, do most gladly acknowledge and praise him for his matchless, free grace. The whole work of salvation, from start to finish, is due entirely to the grace of God.

All that I was, my sin, my guilt,
My death was all my own:
All that I am, I owe to Thee,
My gracious God, alone.
The evil of my former state
Was mine, and only mine:
The good in which I now rejoice
Is Thine, and only Thine.
The darkness of my former state,
The bondage – All was mine:
The light of life in which I walk,
The liberty is Thine.
The grace that made me feel my sin
It taught me to believe:
Then, in believing, peace I found,
And now I live, I live!
All that I am, even here on earth,
All that I hope to be,
When Jesus comes, and glory dawns,
I owe it, Lord, to Thee!

In the light of these things, every believer rejoices to declare, “By the grace of God I am what I am…Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.”  Amen.

– Don Fortner

Revelation 11:1-13

“The great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also our Lord was crucified,” has spoken. I can’t tell you how very heavy my heart is. On Friday morning June 26th 2015 the Supreme Court of the United Sates ruled that Sodomites must be protected by law in the practice and promotion of their vile perversity, not only with impunity, but under the protection of the law! June 26, 2015 shall forever mark in my mind the most infamous day in American history.

We have had some truly infamous days in our nation’s history. — On December 7, 1941 Japan attacked the United States by air and sea, killing 2400 people and launching us into World War II. — On January 22, 1973 the United States Supreme Court, in utter contradiction to our Constitution, ordered that abortion must be approved of, supported, and paid for by every State in our Union. Since then almost 60,000,000 babies have been butcherously ripped from the womb, making Herod’s slaughter of the innocents insignificant by comparison! — On September 2001 Muslim terrorists, following the long and black history of Islam, attacked the United States, murdering 3000 people, before the watching eyes of a stunned nation.

But no evil day in the history of this nation we love is more infamous than the very black Friday of June 26, 2015. The evil consequences of that day upon our nation and the world shall be such as none of us can imagine. June 26, 2015 will bring far more evil consequences upon our nation and the world than all those previous days of infamy combined. There is no crime against humanity so great, so vile, so evil, so destructive as Sodomy. This act by black robed reprobates is the just judgment of God upon a people who have, with willful determination, cast off the fear of God. These things are works of Divine judgment upon a people who have shut their eyes against the light God has given them and stopped their ears against his voice, determined not to bow to him as God.

My Contentment

Two things content my soul in the face of this sad, dark day of Divine judgment upon the nation we love…

1.     The fact that our God is on his throne. He always does right; and he “only doeth wondrous things.”

2.     The marvelous lovingkindness and tender mercy of our God. — Blessed be his name, in wrath he will remember mercy! I know he will, because I’ve experienced it (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

My Message

Heavy my heart has been; but, oh, what a message God has given me for this dark day. — “God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Blessed be his name forever, there is a people in this world loved of God, an elect remnant whom he loves with an everlasting love! We know that is so because, “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” The greatest possible display and commendation of God’s love is the substitutionary sacrifice of his Son. The Lord our God will save every one of those sinners for whom Christ shed his precious blood at Calvary. And when he has done so, though astonished with terror, even Sodom and Egypt will give God the glory!

– Don Fortner

“If our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ.” 2 Corinthians 4:3

Satan blinds the minds of unbelievers through hiding the light of the Gospel of Christ, and he does this by substituting his own gospel.
The gospel of Satan is not a program of anarchy. It does not promote strife and war—but aims at peace and unity. It does not seek to drag down the natural man—but to improve and uplift him. It advocates education and cultivation, and appeals to the “best that is within us.” It endeavors to occupy man so much with this world—that he has no time or inclination to think of the world to come. It propagates the principles of self-sacrifice, charity and benevolence; and teaches us to live for the good of others, and to be kind to all. It appeals strongly to the carnal mind and is popular with the masses, because it ignores the solemn facts—that by nature man is a fallen creature, alienated from the life of God, dead in trespasses and sins, and that his only hope lies in being born again.

The gospel of Satan teaches salvation by works. It inculcates justification before God, on the ground of human merits. It is a bloodless gospel, and presents a crossless Christ, who is received merely, as the Ideal Man.

The apostles of Satan are not saloon-keepers and white-slave traffickers—but are for the most part ordained ministers! Their message may sound very plausible, and their aim appear very praiseworthy—yet we read of them, “For such men are false apostles, deceitful workmen, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. It is not surprising, then, if his servants masquerade as servants of righteousness.” (2 Corinthians 11:13-15).

In Proverbs 14:12 we read, “There is a way that seems right to a man—but in the end it leads to death.” This “way” which ends in “death” is the Devil’s Delusion—the gospel of Satan—a way of salvation by human attainment. It is a way which “seems right,” that is to say, it is presented in such a plausible way that it appeals to the natural man. It is set forth in such a subtle and attractive manner, that it commends itself to the minds of its hearers. By virtue of the fact that it appropriates to itself religious terminology, sometimes appeals to the Bible for its support (whenever this suits its purpose), holds up before men lofty ideals, and is proclaimed by those who have graduated from our theological institutions, countless multitudes are decoyed and deceived by it!
It as been said with considerable truth, that the way to Hell is paved with good intentions. There will be many in the Lake of Fire who lived with good intentions, honest resolutions and exalted ideals; who were just in their dealings and charitable in all their ways; men who prided themselves in their integrity—but who sought to justify themselves before God by their own righteousness; men who were moral and kind—but who never saw themselves as guilty, lost, hell-deserving sinners, needing a Savior. Such is the way which “seems right.” Such is the way that commends itself to the carnal mind and recommends itself to multitudes of deluded ones today. The Devil’s Delusion is that we can be saved by our own works, and justified by our own deeds!

“He saved us—not by works of righteousness that we had done, but according to His mercy.” Titus 3:5

– A.W Pink

“For we don’t have a high priest who can’t be touched with the feeling of our infirmities.” Hebrews 4:15

The child of God, spiritually taught and convinced, is deeply
sensible of his infirmities. Yes, that he is encompassed with
infirmities—that he is nothing else but infirmities. And therefore
the great High Priest to whom he comes as a burdened sinner—to
whom he has recourse in the depth of his extremity—and at
whose feet he falls overwhelmed with a sense of his helplessness,
sin, misery, and guilt—is so suitable to him as one able to
sympathize with his infirmities.
We would, if left to our own conceptions, naturally imagine that
Jesus is too holy to look down in compassion on a filthy, guilty
wretch like ourselves. Surely, surely, He will spurn us from His
feet. Surely, surely, His holy eyes cannot look upon us in our
blood—guilt—filth—wretchedness—misery—and shame. Surely,
surely, He cannot bestow one heart’s thought—one moment’s
sympathy—or feel one spark of love towards those who are so
unlike Him. Nature, sense, and reason would thus argue, “I must
be holy, perfectly holy—for Jesus to love—I must be pure,
perfectly pure—spotless and sinless, for Jesus to think of. But that
I, a sinful, guilty, defiled wretch—that I, encompassed with
infirmities—that I, whose heart is a cage of unclean birds—that I,
stained and polluted with a thousand iniquities—that I can have
any inheritance in Him—or that He can have any love or
compassion towards me—nature, sense, reason, and human
religion in all its shapes and forms, revolts from the idea.”
It is as though Jesus specially address Himself to the poor,
burdened child of God who feels his infirmities, who cannot boast
of his own wisdom, strength, righteousness, and consistency—but
is all weakness and helplessness. It seems as if He would address
Himself to the case of such a helpless wretch—and pour a sweet
cordial into his bleeding conscience. We, the children of God—we,
who each know our own plague and our own sore—we, who carry
about with us day by day a body of sin and death, that makes us
lament, sigh, and groan—we, who know painfully what it is to be
encompassed with infirmities—we, who come to His feet as being
nothing and having nothing but sin and woe—we do not have a
High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our infirmities, but
One who carries in His bosom that sympathizing, merciful, feeling,              tender, and compassionate heart!

– J.C Philpot

‘True spiritual mortification does not consist in sin not being in thee, nor in its being put upon the cross daily, nor yet in its being kept upon it. There must be something more to establish perfect peace in thy conscience; and that is the testimony of God concerning the body of sin. He has provided for thy perfect deliverance from it in Christ. Everything needful for this purpose was finished by Him upon the cross. He was thy Surety. He suffered for thee. Thy sins were crucified with Him, and nailed to His cross. They were put to death when He died: for He was thy covenant-head, and thou wast legally represented by Him, and art indeed dead to sin by His dying to sin once. The law has now no more right to condemn thee, a believer, than it has to condemn Him. Justice is bound to deal with thee, as it has with thy risen and ascended Savior. If thou dost not thus see thy complete mortification in Him, sin will reign in thee. No sin can be crucified either in heart or life, unless it be first pardoned in conscience; because there will be want of faith to receive the strength of Jesus, by whom alone it can be crucified. If it be not mortified in its guilt, it cannot be subdued in its power. If the believer does not see his perfect deadness to sin in Jesus, he will open a wide door to unbelief; and if he be not persuaded of his completeness in Christ, he gives room for the attacks of self-righteous and legal tempers. If Christ be not all in all, self must still be looked upon as something great, and there will be food left for the pride of self-importance and self-sufficiency; so that he cannot grow into the death of Christ in sensible experience, further than he believes himself to be dead to sin in Christ. The more clearly and steadfastly he believes this, as the Apostle did — I am crucified with Christ — in proportion will he cleave to Christ, and receive from Him greater power to crucify sin. This believing view of his absolute mortification in Christ, is the true Gospel method of mortifying sin in our own persons. Read the sixth of the Romans, and pray for the Spirit of revelation to open it to thee. There thou wilt discover the true way to mortify sin. It is by believing that thou art planted together with Christ in His death; from thence only thy pardon flows, from thence thy daily victory.

“Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.” Colossians 3:2

Everything upon earth, as viewed by the eyes of the Majesty of heaven—is base and paltry. Earth is after all, nothing but a huge clod of dust, and as such, as insignificant in the eyes of its Maker as the small dust of the balance, or the drop of the bucket. What, then, are its highest objects—its loftiest aims—its grandest pursuits—its noblest employments—in the sight of Him who inhabits eternity, but base and worthless? Vanity is stamped on all earth’s attainments. All earthly pursuits and high accomplishments—wealth, rank, learning, power, or pleasure— end in death! The breath of God’s displeasure soon lays low in the grave all that is rich and mighty, high and proud. But that effectual work of grace on the heart, whereby the chosen vessels of mercy are delivered from the power of darkness and translated into the kingdom of God’s dear Son, calls them out of those low, grovelling pursuits—those earthly toys—those base and sensual lusts—in which other men seek at once their happiness and their ruin.

– J.C Philpot

“Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be
saved.” Jeremiah 17:14

Here is this sin! Save me from it!—Here is this snare! Break it to
pieces!—Here is this lust! Lord, subdue it!—Here is this
temptation! Deliver me out of it!—Here is my proud heart! Lord,
humble it!—Here is my unbelieving heart! Take it away, and give
me faith—give me submission to Your mind and will. Take me as
I am with all my sin and shame and work in me everything well
pleasing in Your sight.

– J.C Philpot

I hear men talk of becoming less and less sinful and progressively holier from day to day.  I hear men talk about their “progressive sanctification” a great deal.  But the more they boast of their progressive holiness, the more harsh, judgmental and mean-spirited they become towards their ‘lesser brethren’.  Their doctrine is this: ‘God’s children,’ they say ‘grow in righteousness and personal holiness until they are ripe for heaven.’  They actually teach that glorification is the end result of their own progressive attainments in ‘personal holiness’.  If their doctrine is true, if it is possible for men gradually to become less sinful and more holy, then it is possible for men, by diligence, self-denial and mortification of the flesh, eventually to attain sinless perfection in this life.

Such doctrine, of course is contrary to Holy Scriptures (1John 1:8, 1John 1:10).  Any man who says that he is without sin, even for a fleeting second, is deceived, the truth is not in him and he makes God a liar.  And honesty compels me to acknowledge that this doctrine of ‘progressive sanctification’ is totally contrary to my own experience.  I have, I believe, over the past nineteen years, grown in grace.  My love for, faith in and commitment to Christ have grown, increased and matured by the grace of God.  But my sin has not diminished.  My outward acts of sin are more restricted and controlled than before, but the inward evil of my flesh has not lessened.  If anything, it is worse now than ever.  With aching heart, I confess my sin.  Though I am redeemed, justified and sanctified in Christ, I am still a man in the flesh, and my flesh is full of sin.  By painful experience, I have learned that ‘I am carnal, sold under sin. . . For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) dwelleth no good thing.’  Christ alone is my redemption.  Christ alone is my righteousness. Christ alone is my acceptance with God.  And Christ alone is my sanctification.

– Don Fortner

1 Corinthians 1: 30

This declaration gives me four glorious things to contemplate.

First:  If it is of the eternal God that I am in Christ Jesus; then there was never a time when I was not in Him.  My birth, life and preservation were all considered according to my union with Him. God did not allow me to go too far or turn me over to myself.  But He watched over me and when it pleased Him brought me to Christ.

Second:  If it is of God that I am in Christ Jesus than it cannot come to naught.  No principality or power can snatch me from the hands of my Savior or the hands of my Father who put me there.  Our Lord said, “My Father which gave them me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” (John 10: 29)

 Third:  If it is of God that I am in Christ Jesus than all that He has accomplished is for me.  There would be nothing significant about being in Christ if he were not my representative and substitute.  All of His glory, greatness, and victory would be meaningless to me if we were not one by divine union.

Lastly:  If it is of God that I am in Christ Jesus then there is nothing left to glory in except the Lord.  “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.”

– Darvin Pruitt

“I find then, the law that, to me, while I desire to do good, evil is present.” Romans 7:21

Are you not often a mystery to yourself? Warm one moment— cold the next! Abasing yourself one hour—exalting yourself the following! Loving the world, full of it, steeped up to your head in it today—crying, groaning, and sighing for a sweet manifestation of the love of God tomorrow! Brought down to nothingness, covered with shame and confusion, on your knees before you leave your room—filled with pride and self-importance before you have got down stairs! Despising the world, and willing to give it all up for one taste of the love of Jesus when in solitude—trying to grasp it with both hands when in business! What a mystery are you! Touched by love—and stung with hatred! Possessing a little wisdom—and a great deal of folly! Earthly minded—and yet having the affections in heaven! Pressing forward—and lagging behind! Full of sloth—and yet taking the kingdom with violence! And thus the Spirit, by a process which we may feel but cannot adequately describe—leads us into the mystery of the two natures perpetually struggling and striving against each other in the same bosom—so that one man cannot more differ from another, than the same man differs from himself. But the mystery of the kingdom of heaven is this—that our carnal mind undergoes no alteration, but maintains a perpetual war with grace. And thus, the deeper we sink in self-abasement under a sense of our vileness, the higher we rise in a knowledge of Christ, and the blacker we are in our own view—the more lovely does Jesus appear.

– J.C Philpot