Heavenly Springs

Holding Fast The Doctrines of Grace

A.W. Pink On Private Judgement

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Arthur Pink

“Every man has the right to think for himself and express or aver his thoughts on political, moral and spiritual matters, without being subject to any civil or ecclesiastical penalty or inconvenience on that account. Conversely, no man is entitled to force his ideas upon others and demand that they subscribe thereto, still less to propagate them to the disturbing of the public peace. This is a truth which needs proclaiming and insisting upon today, not only because of the widespread apathy towards taking a firm stand for the same, but because the dearly bought liberties which have for so many years been enjoyed by those living in the English-speaking world are now in danger of being filched from them. On the one hand is the steady growth of what is termed “Totalitarianism,” under which the minds and bodies of its subjects are little more than robots; and on the other hand is the rapidly increasing power and arrogance of Rome, in which the souls of its members are the slaves of a rigid and merciless tyranny.”

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This is why I am content to just let God be God

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I must confess, I am so far away from understanding this kind of grace.  Truly, who can comprehend it?

Listen as A.W. Pink summarizes his discussion on the total depravity of man.

“Not only is the triune God more honored by redemption than He was dishonored by the defection of His creatures, but His people also are greatly the gainers. That too magnifies the divine wisdom. It would have been wonderful indeed had they been merely restored to their original state; but it is far more wonderful that they should be brought to a much higher state of blessedness—that the fall should be the occasion of their exaltation! Their sin deserved eternal wretchedness, yet everlasting bliss is their portion. They are now favored with a greater manifestation of the glory of God and a fuller discovery of His love than they would have had otherwise, and in those two things their happiness principally consists. They are brought into a much closer and endearing relation to God. They are now not merely holy creatures but heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. The Son having taken their nature upon Him, they have become His “brethren,” members of His body, His spouse. They are thereby provided with more powerful motives and inducements to love and serve Him than they had in their unfallen condition. The more of God’s love we apprehend, the more we love Him in return. Throughout eternity the knowledge of God’s love in giving His dear Son to and for us, and Christ’s dying in our stead, will fix our hearts upon Him in a manner which His favors to Adam never could have done.”

A.W. Pink on The Total Depravity of Man

“Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Romans 5:20).

It’s all sacred!

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When a ministry or church takes a low view of the preaching of the Word, or does not preach the whole counsel of God, people are led astray. More precisely, they are led into the ditch! Even subtle or implicit teaching  that is inconsistent with scripture will manifest itself in unbecoming behavior. Right doctrine, right living; sloppy doctrine, sloppy living. One area where bad teaching can be evident in the life of a Christian is the manner in which a Christian relates to his or her employer.

In his book, Practical Christianity, A.W. Pink states, “Nowhere has the hollowness of professing Christians been more apparent…Nowhere has more reproach been brought upon the cause of Christ than by the majority of those employees who bore His name. Whether it be in the factory, the mine, the office, or in the fields, one who claims to be a follower of the Lord Jesus should stand out unmistakably from his fellow employees who make no profession.” (page 183)

Too many Christians wrongly view their place of employment as a place where God is removed.  Their understanding of Christian service is that it is strictly relegated to those areas commonly referred to as “ministry” or “missions”.  Just because an activity does not take place underneath the umbrella of the local church, or on Sunday, within the confines of the four walls of a church building, doesn’t mean that our work is  not “unto the Lord”.  On the contrary.  Christianity encompasses the whole of our being and existence.  We don’t act like Christians on Sunday in the company of believers, and then behave like heathens on Monday in the work place.  Quite simply, any area where Christ does not rule is a place of rebellion for which He alone can subdue and take over.

Of the Christian employee, Pink explains, “ His punctuality, his truthfulness, his conscientiousness, the quality of his work, his devotion to his employer’s interests, ought to be so apparent that there is no need for him to let others know by his lips that he is a disciple of Christ. There should be such a marked absence of that slackness, carelessness, selfishness, greed and insolence which mark the majority of the ungodly, that all may see he is motivated and regulated by higher principles than they are.” (page 186)

Given that the workplace is where so many spend such large quantities of time, doesn’t it make sense that God would be honored here?  We should seek to glorify God in such a way that, as Pink puts it, we “adorn the doctrine we profess.”

Lastly, as I thought through all of this, it occurred to me that there are a couple of extremes worth noting.  There are work situations where the workload is so light you feel if something doesn’t change, you will start to climb the walls.  Or, there are work situations where the ability to work as meticulously as you would like is compromised by the sheer volume.  I have been in both.  In these situations we do what we can, by God’s grace, to honor Him, and we have faith that one way or the other, He will deliver us.  But wherever you are, the point is, magnify the Lord with all your strength!

“Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men,” (Colossians 3:23)

Arthur W. Pink on Licentious Preaching

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In Matthew 10:28, Jesus told his disciples: “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” In other words, the one with the power to sentence body and soul to eternal damnation is God.  If you are going to be afraid of anyone, it should be Him.

Question: Why is it then, that so many Christians would sooner trust an unlearned pastor with the supreme task of watching over and giving an account for their souls (Hebrews 13:7), than they would a doctor with no formal education, but who happens to be really good in biology?

A.W. Pink has something to say about these kinds of shepherds and their preaching.

“It is because so many untaught men, unregenerate men, now occupy the pulpits that “another gospel” (Gal. 1:6) is being so widely and generally disseminated. Multitudes who have neither “tasted that the Lord is gracious” nor have “the fear of the Lord” in them, have from various motives and considerations invaded the sacred calling of the ministry and out of the abundance of their corrupt hearts they speak. Being blind themselves, they lead the blind into the ditch. Having no love for the Shepherd they have none for the sheep, being but “hirelings.” They are themselves “of the world” and therefore “the world heareth them” (1 John 4:5), for they preach that which is acceptable unto fallen human nature and as like attracts like, they gather around themselves a company of admirers who flatter and support them. They will bring in just enough of God’s Truth to deceive the unwary and give an appearance of orthodoxy to their message, but not sufficient of the Truth, especially the searching portions thereof, to render their hearers uncomfortable by destroying their false peace. They will name Christ but not preach Him, mention the Gospel but not expound it.”

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