Jerry Bridges

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THE SPIRIT, OUR PROVISION

“Jesus cannot come as long as there is anything in the way either of goodness or badness. When He comes am I prepared for Him to drag into the light every wrong thing I have done? It is just here that He comes. Repentance does not bring a sense of sin, but a sense of unutterable unworthiness. ‘He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost and fire.’ John does not speak of the baptism of the Holy Ghost as an experience, but as a work performed by Jesus Christ. ‘He shall baptize you.’ The only conscious experience those who are baptized with the Holy Ghost ever have is a sense of absolute unworthiness” Oswald Chambers (ref#7, Aug 22nd).

“God has made provision for our holiness and He has also given us a responsibility for it. God’s provision for us consists in delivering us from the reign of sin, uniting us with Christ, and giving us the indwelling Holy Spirit to reveal sin, to create a desire for holiness, and to strengthen us in our pursuit of holiness. Through the power of the Holy Spirit and according to the new nature He gives, we are to put to death the misdeeds of the body” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p78).

“The saving work of the Spirit in the heart of God’s elect is a gradual and progressive one” A.W. Pink (ref#269, p78).

“It is not the work of the Spirit to tell you the meaning of Scripture, and give you the knowledge of divinity, without your own study and labour. To reject study on the pretense of the sufficiency of the Spirit, is to reject the Scripture itself” Richard Baxter (ref#225, July 22nd).

“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him” (Rom 8:16 ESV).

“Weakness is a reproach when such a might is at our service. Defeat is dishonor when the partnership of God is rejected” Samuel Chadwick (ref#195, p73).

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GOAL OF SANCTIFICATION

“It is God’s work, wrought in the heart by the Holy Spirit who makes Christ our sanctification. Generally there is an awakening of heart and mind in which there comes vision and persuasion. There is a conviction of need and a revelation of grace, a hunger and a search, a process and a crisis, an act of faith and an assurance of cleansing. It is as distinctly a second work of grace as regeneration is a new birth” Smauel Chadwick (ref#195, p115-116).

“[T]his is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thes 4:3 ESV).

“[A Christian] is in a partnership with God, and he will reap its benefits only when he has fulfilled his own responsibilities. He cannot do what God must do, and God will not do what [He] should do. No one can attain any degree of holiness without God working in his life, but just as surely no one will attain it without effort on his own part. God has made it possible for us to walk in holiness. But He has given to us the responsibility of doing the walking” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p9).

“[God] first ‘counsels and directs’ as to what is to be done, and then He ‘excites and effectually inclines’ to the doing thereof” Thomas Jacombe (ref#225, July 20th).

“The aim is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith” (1 Tim 1:5 ESV).

“Weak, unskillful, and unfaithful, as I am in practice, the Lord has been pleased to give me some idea of what a Christian ought to be, and of what is actually attainable in the present life, by those whom he enables earnestly to aspire towards the prize of their high calling” John Newton (ref#322, p135).

“[W]hoever does what is true his works have been carried out by God” (John 3:21 ESV).

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 DYING TO SIN

“[B]aptism. Going under the water was a burial of your old life; coming up out of it was a resurrection, God raising you from the dead as he did Christ. When you were stuck in your old sin-dead life, you were incapable of responding to God. God brought you alive—right along with Christ! All sins forgiven, the slate wiped clean, that old arrest warrant canceled and nailed to Christ’s cross” (Col 2:11-15 MSG).

“[O]ur dying to sin is the result of our union with Christ. Because He died to sin, we died to sin. Therefore, it is apparent that our dying to sin is not something we do, but something Christ has done” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p52).

“The life of the renewed soul, springing from the indwelling of Christ by the Spirit, includes the crucifixion of self (Gal 2:20). We do not plead for its utter annihilation in this life; that would be looking for something the Word of God never warrants. But we do insist upon its mortification: we plead for its subjection to Christ” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Mar 16th).

“We are to consider—ourselves dead to sin, but our reckoning does not make it true. Because we are dead to sin through our union with Christ, we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies. Our daily experience with regard to sin is determined—not by our reckoning, but by our will—by whether we allow sin to reign in our bodies” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p53).

“The more we say no to sin, the more we are inclined to say no. Therefore, in dependence on the Holy Spirit, we must systematically work at acquiring the habit of saying no to the sins that so easily entangle us” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p133).

“[T]he sweep of New Testament teaching is that it is the sun of Christ’s heart, not the clouds of my sins, that now defines me” Dane Ortland (ref#382, p187).

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MAGNITUDE OF FORGIVENESS

“Such an awareness of my sinfulness does not drag me down, but actually serves to lift me up by magnifying my appreciation of God’s forgiving grace in my life. And the more I appreciate the magnitude of God’s forgiveness of my sins, the more I love Him and delight to show Him love through heart-felt expressions of worship” Milton Vincent (ref#60, p33).

“It is when we come to the end of self and are utterly undone and then realise what God has done for us that we begin to realise that the love of God is in us. In other words, mere abstract thoughts upon God as love will never do it” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#332, p524-525).

“Repentance is one of the Christian’s highest privileges. A repentant Christian focuses on God’s mercy and God’s grace. Any moment in our lives when we bask in God’s mercy and grace is our highest moment” Jerry Bridges (ref#192, p27).

“He isn’t like you. Even the most intense of human love is but the faintest echo of heaven’s cascading abundance. His heartful thoughts for you outstrip what you can conceive. He intends to restore you into the radiant resplendence for which you were created. And that is dependent not on you keeping yourself clean but on you taking your mess to him” Dane Ortland (ref#382, p160).

“[S]ince we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God” (Rom 5:1-2 ESV).

“The gospel encourages me to rest in my righteous standing with God, a standing which Christ Himself has accomplished and always maintains for me. I never have to do a moment’s labor to gain or maintain my justified status before God! Freed from the burden of such a task, I now can put my energies into enjoying God, pursuing holiness, and ministering God’s amazing grace to others” Milton Vincent (ref#60, p20).

“For the love which Christ has [for me] presses on me from all sides, holding me to one end and prohibiting me from considering any other, wrapping itself around me in tenderness, giving me an impelling motive” (2 Cor 5:14 Wuest).

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LEAN UPON CHRIST

“If you would not be taken in any of Satan’s snares, then engage not against Satan in your own strength, but be every day drawing new virtue and strength from the Lord Jesus” Thomas Brooks (ref#379, p36).

“[Y]our strength to stand and overcome must not be expected from graces received, but from the fresh and renewed influences of heaven. You must lean more upon Christ than upon your duties. You must lean more upon Christ than upon spiritual tastes and discoveries. You must lean more upon Christ than upon your graces, or else Satan will lead you into captivity” Thomas Brooks (ref#379, p36).

“Believers are compared to earthen vessels, liable in themselves to be destroyed by a small blow; but they are so strengthened and tempered by the power and supply of divine grace that the fiercest efforts of their fiercest enemies against them may be compared to the dashing of waves against a rock. And that this may be known and noticed, they are exposed to many trials. But the united and repeated assaults of the men of the world and the powers of darkness afford but the more incontestable demonstration that the Lord is with them” John Newton (ref#376, p20).

“Christ will not fail you. He may permit, for wise and holy ends, the messenger of Satan to buffet you; but He will restrain the enemy, permitting him to go so far and no farther, and will make good His promise: ‘My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness’ (2 Co 12:9). This very temptation of your soul may make you better acquainted with Christ than ever. For this end, doubtless, He permits it” Octavius Winslow (ref#381, p45).

“God does deal with us as a loving but firm father deals with his children. He accepts us unconditionally because we are His sons and daughters in Christ, but He disciplines us for our good. And in the administering of His discipline He withholds the assurance of His forgiveness until we, through repentance, are ready to receive it” Jerry Bridges (ref#192, p206).

“In a little while, He will come and complete the victory begun in Paradise, continued in the wilderness, renewed on the cross, carried on through the long history of His church, and consummated in the day of His personal, glorious, and triumphant appearing. Tempted child of God! Take heart! Look up” Octavius Winslow (ref#381, p46)!

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NO MORE BONDAGE TO SIN

“The contented heart is satisfied with the Giver and is therefore freed from craving the next gift” Paul David Tripp (ref#190, Jan 6th).

“We cannot take the name Christian upon us, we cannot say that we belong to the children of God and are of his church, unless we have been delivered from our filthiness” John Calvin (ref#164, Nov 10th).

“Though God has delivered us from the reign of sin, our sinful natures still reside within us. Even though sin’s dominion and rule are broken, the remaining sin that dwells in believers exerts a tremendous power, constantly working toward evil” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p55).

“Habit is defined as the ‘prevailing disposition or character of a person’s thoughts and feelings. Habits are the thought and emotional patterns engraved on our minds” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p132).

“Christians tend to sin out of habit. It is our habit to look out for ourselves instead of others, to retaliate when injured in some way, and to indulge the appetites of our bodies. [W]e will spend the rest of our lives putting off these habits and putting on habits of holiness. [T]hough sin no longer reigns in us, it will constantly try to get at us. Though we have been delivered from the kingdom of sin and its rule, we have not been delivered from its attacks” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p56).

“[W]hen we undertake anything at God’s bidding, we should beware that nothing should hinder our perseverance. None are fitted to act rightly but those who are well prepared to endure the assaults of temptation” John Calvin (ref#164, Jan 12th).

“We can stand up to sin and say no to it. Before we had no choice; now we have one. When we sin as Christians, we do not sin as slaves, but as individuals with the freedom of choice. We sin because we choose to sin” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p57).

“I can never do too much for Him that hath done so much for me. And I will labour to be like my Saviour, by making humility lovely in the eyes of all men, and by following the merciful and meek example of my dear Jesus” George Herbert (ref#333, p153).

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FORGIVENESS OF SINS

“The gospel message consists of two parts: forgiveness of sins and repentance” John Calvin (ref#164, June 8th).

“Folly is bound up in hearts, but the sanctified rod of correction reveals it, and the discovery proves one of the costliest blessings in the experience of the disciplined child. [L]et us not then shrink from the probing nor be afraid at its discovery, if it leads us nearer to holiness, nearer to Christ, nearer to God, nearer to heaven! Past backslidings—unnoticed, unsuspected, and unconfessed—are recalled to memory when God is dealing with us” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Jan 25th).

“Forgiveness, received freely from the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, acts as a spring, an impulse, a stimulus of divine potency. It is more irresistible than law, or terror, or threat” Jerry Bridges (ref#192, p207).

“It is forgiveness that sets a man working for God. He does not work in order to be forgiven, but because he has been forgiven, and the consciousness of his sin being pardoned makes him long more for its entire removal than ever he did before” Jerry Bridges (ref#192, p207).

“Inheriting the kingdom of God is a great gift that involves both forgiveness and repentance. These two are to be distinguished but never separated. Examine yourself today: are you both forgiven and penitent? If so, thank God today for these priceless gifts that lead to eternal life” John Calvin (ref#164, June 8th).

“The sum of the gospel is that God through his Son takes away our sins and admits us to fellowship with him, so that we, in denying ourselves and our own nature, may ‘live soberly, righteously, and godly.’” John Calvin (ref#164, June 8th).

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HOLINESS

“God demands more than that we acknowledge His holiness. He says to us, ‘Be holy, because I am holy.’ God rightfully demands perfect holiness in all of His moral creatures. It cannot be otherwise. He cannot possibly ignore or approve of any evil committed” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p26).

“God, being God, cannot simply forgive sin. Now the common idea about God, the one that we have instinctively is that when we admit we have sinned, all that is necessary is that we should come to God, say we are very sorry, and God will forgive us. But according to the Bible that is impossible. God, because He is God, cannot just forgive sin like that. If God could have forgiven sin just by saying, ‘I forgive,’ He would have done so, and Christ would never have been sent into this world. The work that was given to Him to do was given to the Lord Jesus Christ because without it God cannot forgive sin. He must not only justify the ungodly—He must remain just. The way of salvation must be consistent with the character of God. He cannot deny Himself; He cannot change Himself; He is unchangeable. He is absolutely righteous and holy and just. He cannot remain that and simply forgive sin” Martyn Lloyd Jones (ref#189, Feb 17th).

“[W]ithout holiness no one will see the Lord” (Heb 12:14 NIV).

“The work of Christ was essential because of the character of God, and it was essential because of man being in sin; something had to be done to render man fit for God” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#189, Feb 17th).

“Pray not only against the power of sin, but for the power of holiness also. A wicked heart may pray against his sins, not out of any inward enmity to them, or love to holiness, but because they are troublesome guests to his conscience. His zeal is false that seems hot against sin, but is cold to holiness” William Gurnall (ref#225, Aug 26th).

“[S]inful habits make us feel guilty and defeated. The absence of Christlike character usually doesn’t have a similar effect on us, so there is less motivation to seek change in our lives. We need to work at ensuring that our commitment to holiness is a commitment to God, not to our own self-esteem. When we sin we are more vexed at the lowering of our self-esteem than we are grieved at God’s dishonor” Jerry Bridges (ref#192, p149).

“God, being God, cannot simply forgive sin” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#189, Feb 17th).

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GRACE

“[O]ur hearts are so like a tinderbox and sparks are so plentiful, we need to use all diligence in all places to prevent a blaze. Satan can climb housetops and enter prayer closets. Even if we could shut out that foul fiend, our own corruptions are enough to work our ruin unless grace prevents it” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Jan 17th PM).

“Satan does not tempt God’s children, not because they have sin in them, but because they have grace in them. Had they no grace, the devil would not disturb them. Where he has possession all is at peace. His temptations are to rob the saints of their grace” Thomas Watson (ref#225, p278).

“Satan will not often temp a believer to gross crimes: our greatest snares and sorest conflicts are usually found in things lawful in themselves, but hurtful to us by their abuse, engrossing too much of our time, or of our hearts, or somehow indisposing us for communion with the Lord” John Newton (ref#322, p156).

“Although to be tempted is a trouble, yet to consider why you are being tempted is a comfort. Godly temptation causes the increase of grace” Thomas Watson (ref#225, p278).

“If we would make peace with the world, the world would let us alone; if we could be content to walk in the ways of sin, Satan would give us no disturbance; but because grace has rescued us from his dominion, and the love of Jesus constrains us to live to him alone, therefore the enemy, like a lion robbed of his prey, roars against us. He roars, but he cannot devour; he plots and rages, but he cannot prevail; he disquiets, but he cannot destroy” John Newton (ref#322, p96-97).

“Deceit of the mind is carried on by degrees, little by little. We are first drawn away from watchfulness, then from obedience. We are drawn away from watchfulness by overconfidence. We are often drawn away from obedience by the abuse of grace” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p65).

It is easier to sin and then ask forgiveness than to resist temptation in the first place. “We abuse grace when we think we can sin and then receive forgiveness. We abuse grace when, after sinning, we dwell on the compassion and mercy of God to the exclusion of His holiness and hatred of sin” Jerry Bridges (ref#244, p65).

“Christ succors the tempted. [W]hen a soul is most assaulted, it shall be most assisted” Thomas Watson (ref#225, p278).

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CONFESSION

“God commands all men to repent. Christians have enough to repent of daily” Edward Payson (ref#333, p328).

“[O]ur transgressions are multiplied before you, and our sins testify against us; for our transgressions are with us, and we know our iniquities” (Isa 59:12 ESV):

“Those who have been forgiven much love much. [T]he extent to which we realize and acknowledge our own sinfulness, and the extent to which we realize the total forgiveness and cleansing from those sins, will determine the measure of our love to God” Jerry Bridges (ref#192, p126).

“People who cover over their sins will not prosper, but if they confess and turn from them, they will receive mercy” (Prov 28:13 NLT).

“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV).

“We must by faith in God’s Word lay hold on the fact that we have died to the reign of sin and are now alive to God, under His reign of grace. Unless we do this we will find ourselves seeking to pursue holiness by the strength of our own wills, not by the grace of God. God has given us all the resources we need to pursue holiness” Jerry Bridges (ref#192, p77).

“We no longer live in the realm of sin” Jerry Bridges (ref#192, p71).

“Every person in the world who is a true believer has died to sin. We are not to ‘die more and more unto sin.’ We cannot possibly die to sin any more than we have. [W]e died to sin through our union with Christ. When Christ died to sin, we died to sin also” Jerry Bridges (ref#192, p64-65).

“Lord, like the publican I stand,

And lift my heart to Thee;

Thy pardoning grace, O God, command,

Be merciful to me.

I smite upon my anxious breast,

O’erwhelmed with agony;

O save my soul by sin oppressed,

Be merciful to me.

My guilt, my shame, I all confess,

I have no hope nor plea

But Jesus’ blood and righteousness;

Be merciful to me.

Here at Thy cross I still would wait,

Nor from its shelter flee,

But Thou, O God, in mercy great,

Art merciful to me.”

(LORD, LIKE THE PUBLICAN I STAND,

Words: by Thomas Raffles, Music: “Avondale,” by Charles H. Gabriel).