Spurgeon on when we should tolerate evil

We shall, as we ripen in grace, have greater sweetness towards our fellow Christians. Bitter-spirited Christians may know a great deal, but they are immature. Those who are quick to censure may be very acute in judgment, but they are as yet very immature in heart. He who grows in grace remembers that he is but dust, and he therefore does not expect his fellow Christians to be anything more; he overlooks ten thousand of their faults, because he knows his God overlooks twenty thousand in his own case. He does not expect perfection in the creature, and, therefore, he is not disappointed when he does not find it.... I know we who are young beginners in grace think ourselves qualified to reform the whole Christian church. We drag her before us, and condemn her straightway; but when our virtues become more mature, I trust we shall not be more tolerant of evil, but we shall be more tolerant of infirmity, more hopeful for the people of God, and certainly less arrogant in our criticisms.” 

― Charles Spurgeon, in a sermon he delivered on Sunday Morning, August 14, 1870, at the Metropolitan Tabernacle. For the full text of the sermon go here

Atheist epitaph?

Sad eh? Truth is they're going somewhere but tragically it'll be too late to change!

How many Christians [sadly] choose a church

Dear husbands, you are responsible for all your wife does!

The Old Testament basis:

Numbers 30 says that if a man takes a vow before the Lord, he is responsible to fulfill the vow, pure and simple (Num. 30:2). However, if a woman “in her father’s house in her youth” makes a vow, her vow is subject to her father’s confirmation or nullification (Num. 30:3-5). Now one striking thing to note is that this passage does not single out young men still residing in their father’s house. It only references the young women...

The New Testament basis:

...we see the same principles showing up elsewhere in Scripture, namely the New Testament: the husband is to take responsibility for his wife (Eph. 5:25-29). Paul says that the husband is to imitate Christ who loved the Church and gave Himself for her. Jesus took all our liabilities on Himself. He pays the debts that we owe, and He cancels the debts we should have never promised to pay with His perfect wisdom and justice [...] The husband is to view his wife as occupying the same position as his own body. This means that her troubles are his troubles, her actions are his actions, her vows are his vows. 

Some applications:

In other words, if the wife decides to shoplift she is guilty of sins and crimes personally, but the moment her husband finds out about it, he incurs responsibility to act to put things right. In fact, he is arguably already responsible for the act before he knows about it because he is covenantally united to his wife. When she acts, he is acting. But he has a duty to respond, to lead her out of this situation the moment he hears of it. But the same principle applies to less lurid scenarios: a man is responsible before God to lead his wife. He leads by initiating discussion, planning, directing, and affirming some decisions of his wife and children and vetoing others.

For more, check out this helpful + biblical post

Should Christian infants receive communion?

Here is St. Augustine's answer:

“Those who say that infancy has nothing in it for Jesus to save, are denying that Christ is Jesus for all believing infants. Those, I repeat, who say that infancy has nothing in it for Jesus to save, are saying nothing else than that for believing infants, infants that is who have been baptized in Christ, Christ the Lord is not Jesus. After all, what is Jesus? Jesus means Saviour. Jesus is the Saviour. Those whom he does not save, having nothing to save in them, well for them he is not Jesus. Well now, if you can tolerate the idea that Christ is not Jesus for some persons who have been baptized, then I am not sure your faith can be recognized as according with the sound rule. Yes, they’re infants, but they are his members. They’re infants, but they receive his sacraments.They are infants, but they share in his table, in order to have life in themselves.” (From Sermon 174)

Agreed?

Spurgeon on how to start and end the day

On how to start the day:

“The morning is the gate of the day and should be well-guarded with prayer.” 

“If we felt the majesty of life more, we would be more careful of its mornings. He who rushes from his bed to his business and does not wait to worship is as foolish as if he had not put on his clothes or washed his face. He is as unwise as one who dashes into battle without being armed.”

On how to end it:

“It is dangerous to fall asleep till the head is leaned on Jesus’ bosom.”

“He surely never prays at all who does not end the day as all men wished to end their lives—in prayer. . . . To breakfast with Jesus and to sup with him also is to enjoy the days of heaven upon the earth.”

More of that can be found here

Why evolution is utterly opposed to Christianity

When we think about defining the “kingdom of God,” do we spend too much time thinking about “kingdom” and not enough about God? 

“Kingdom” suggests castles and soldiers, ruffles and flourishes—but those impressive things are drops in the ocean of time. Jesus taught often that the last shall be first and the least shall be greatest. He made that teaching graphic by washing Peter’s feet. In many kingdoms, only the fittest survive. For His kingdom, God chooses the weak and despised, not the great. 

Mary the mother of Jesus sang of God, “He has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate. He has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he sent away empty.” 

In the kingdoms we create, we are like reception attendees scanning the crowd so as to snag moments with those who can aid our ascent. In the kingdom of GOD, we go to talk with the person showing his unfitness by staring at a wall. In our kingdoms we yearn to meet the powerful. In God’s kingdom we look for teenage mums surprised by pregnancy. 

Emphasizing the most important part of the phrase—kingdom of GOD—provides one more indication of why evolution is a dogma utterly opposed to Christianity. All of us who hope in Christ are unworthy, but while we were yet sinners He saved us by grace. The story of evolution, though, is graceless: It is a prosperity-gospel survival of the fittest, with the strong winning out. 

Read the rest at The last shall be dead? 

What you should aim for this New Year

The object of a new year is not that we should have a new year but rather that we should have a new soul.

– G K Chesterton.