Octavius Winslow

HEAVEN

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A FINAL REST

“…we will always be with the Lord” (1 Thes 4:17 ESV).

“…eternity…is…called a perpetual now.  Christ’s presence now where we are, is a choice blessing.  Believers wish for it, when they are without it; and would wish to have more of it.  But they cannot always have His presence when they would; nor can they always keep it, when they have got it.  It may please Him to awake and leave them,(Canticles 3:5, 8:4) even when they are best pleased with His company….But in the state of glory above, when we shall be with Him where He is, no fears, no ground or suspicion of any such thing, shall ever enter into the heart of any of the glorified” Robert Traill (ref#225, p124).

“…departing to the Christian is not to die, but to sleep…In view of this truth, how chastened and cheered should be our sorrow when visiting the graves of the holy dead.  No wave disturbs their calm repose.  No painful sufferings, no convulsive throes, no affrighting dreams, no mental wanderings, no confused sounds, no imaginary thoughts disturb their peaceful slumber…The body rests in the tomb, the soul in the paradise of God…” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Oct 19th).

“…the souls of the righteous, after their warfare is ended, obtain blessed rest where in joy they wait for the fruition of promised glory, and that thus the final result is suspended till Christ the Redeemer appear.  There can be no doubt that the reprobate have the same doom as that which Jude assigns to the devils, they are ‘reserved in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great day’ (Jude 5-6)” John Calvin (ref#113, p659).

“And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan 12:2 ESV).

“…Daily expect the Day of God, eager for its arrival.  The galaxies will burn up and the elements melt down that day—but we’ll hardly notice.  We’ll be looking the other way, ready for the promised new heavens and the promised new earth, all landscaped with righteousness” (2 Pet 3:11-13 MSG).

HEAVEN

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REJOICING IN THE FUTURE

“…stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man” (Luke 21:36 ESV).

“…I do not read in so many words that the saints are predestinated to Paradise, but I do read that they are predestinated to be conformed to the image of His dear Son.  This is the end of the whole predestination of God: to make His elect like their elder Brother that He may be the first-born among many brethren” Charles Spurgeon (ref#232, p10).

FATHER, I think of Enoch who must have reached such perfect spiritual conformity that You took him to heaven before his bodily death (Gen 5:24; Heb 11:5).  What a smooth transition You have provided.  As You conform me to JESUS I gain eternal life on earth, then, just a small step to move to heaven.  Oh that I may be like kneaded clay in Your hands.

I thank You for Your unseen efforts to mold me into CHRIST’s image.  And, I thank You for the seen.  I rejoice in the future eternal life in heaven and I rejoice in the “now” eternal life.

“…as overpowering as a full unveiling of the majesty of the Lord Jesus would be to us in our present imperfect state, yet it ranks among our most prized and precious blessings that He sometimes so graciously manifests Himself to awaken the exclamation, ‘This is my beloved, and this is my friend!’ (Song 5:16)” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Dec 17th).

HEAVEN

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A PLACE OF REST BEFORE HEAVEN

“’Until the day break, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, and to the hill of frankincense.’ Song of Solomon 4:6…The Lord has fragrant places of safety and repose for His people until He comes to fetch them to glory.  What a ‘mountain of myrrh’ is Jesus” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Feb 2nd).

“…The promise of ‘arrival’ and ‘rest’ is still there for God’s people.  God himself is at rest.  And at the end of the journey we’ll surely rest with God…” (Heb 4:8-11 MSG).

“It is clearly God’s revealed will that His people should be comforted….The Spirit comforts the believer by unfolding to his eye the near prospect of the coming glory.  Heaven is near at hand.  It is only a step out of a poor, sinful, sorrow-stricken world, into the rest that waits for the people of God.  It is only a moment, the twinkling of an eye, and we are absent from the body and present with the Lord.  Then the days of our mourning will end and sin will grieve no more, affliction will wound no more, sorrow will depress no more, and God will hide Himself no more. There will be the absence of all evil, and the presence of all good…” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Nov 23rd).

“…that promise of resting in him pulls us on to God’s goal for us, we need to be careful that we’re not disqualified….If we believe, though, we’ll experience that state of resting….” (Heb 4:1-3 MSG).

FATHER, I thank You for JESUS the Rock where I can retreat to anytime and find unchangeable grace in my time of need.  What comfort!

ELECTION

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CHOSEN

“It pleased God in His eternal purpose, to choose…a company of lost sinners to be saved by and through Christ; therefore, He is said to predestinate them to be conformed to the image of His Son….’That we should be to the praise of his glory’ (Eph 1:12)” Thomas Boston (ref#236, p31-32).

“…you are a chosen race…a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light” (1 Pet 2:9 ESV).

It is my due and privilege to return to Him a display of His excellencies that He has created within me.  Thomas Boston (ref#236, p33).

FATHER, thank You not only for choosing me but also giving me what I need to declare Your excellencies.

“…I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds’…I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more” (Heb 10:16-17 ESV).

Also, LORD, thank You not only for carrying out Your work but perfecting it and giving me the assurance of my salvation.  “…the feeblest signs of grace in the soul are indisputable evidences of the inward and effectual call of the Spirit….He who has begun the good work will carry it on and perfect it in glory” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Dec 18th).

FATHER, since I do not know who You save, and who You will not, You have commissioned me to “preach the Gospel” to everyone, for how can they believe if they have not heard (Rom 10:14).  Thank You for the privilege to declare Your excellencies.   I will declare the good news and You save who You will.

ELECTION

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EFFECTUAL CALLING

“Before I formed you in the womb I knew you…” (Jer 1:5 ESV).

“Salvation transforms a person’s nature, giving him or her the ability and the desire to serve and obey God.  The unresponsive heart of stone is changed into a sensitive heart of flesh that responds readily to God’s voice (Ezekiel 36:25-27) and desires to glorify Him out of gratitude for the indescribable gift of salvation” Carol J. Ruvolo (ref#228, p147-148).

“The foundation is laid in the death of Christ; it commences in the effectual calling of the Spirit; and by all the precious assurances of grace, wisdom, and strength…it is carried forward to glorious completion” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, March 20th).

“All of those who are thus effectually called by God will eventually believe and be saved, even though they may resist for a time (John 6:37).  They cannot forfeit the salvation they have received (John 10:27-30; Romans 8:31-39)” Carol J. Ruvolo (ref#228, p147).

“…the gifts and the calling of God are irrevocable” (Rom 11:29 ESV).

“…the eternal purpose of God, revealed and provided for…is that all who are chosen, called, and justified will be ‘partakers of his holiness’ in order to prepare for complete sanctification.  Heaven is a holy place and its inhabitants are holy people…The very election of the believer to eternal life provides for and secures his holiness” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, March 20th).

FATHER, You knew me and chose me before I was born.  The HOLY SPIRIT is making me holy.  He teaches me the right method of holiness where my inclinations, will and affections are interested in the spiritual only with no more self-interests.  Richard Sibbes (ref#311, p89).  Thus, I happily obey You, FATHER (1 Pet 1:2).  Hallelujah.

2ND COVENANT

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THE SECOND COVENANT

“Fallen man was to be raised, lost man was to be recovered, sin was to be pardoned, the sinner was to be saved, and God was to be eternally glorified.  Now the treasures of wisdom, hid in Christ for ages, were brought out…It brings to Him the richest glory and secures for its subjects the rich bequest of grace and eternal happiness, inconceivably great” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, July 2nd).

“The law in its morality was blameless…but in saving us is was defective…” Robert Jamieson, A.R. Fausset, David Brown (ref#284).  “If the first covenant had made a provision for and actually conferred pardon and purity, and given a title to eternal life, then there could have been no need for a second; but the first covenant did not give these things, therefore a second was necessary…” Adam Clarke (ref#285).

“God…foretold the abrogation of the old covenant and had from the first intended to abolish it….true and total forgiveness was likewise a foreordained purpose of the new institution….consequences of sin are threefold: debt which required forgiveness, bondage which requires redemption, and alienation which requires reconciliation.” All of these, forgiveness, redemption, and reconciliation are found in Jesus Christ” James Coffman (ref#286).

“The greatest change will be in regard to the administrator of the covenant.  No longer will this one be a Moses, a David, a high priest, or a great prophet like Isaiah.  Jesus Christ who had been typified by these Old Testament mediators, will be the Mediator of the covenant.  He will inaugurate, fulfill, and permanently establish the renewed covenant” Baker’s Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology (ref#287). “…the obedience rendered will not be external.  The law of the new system will have living power, and bind the faculties of the soul to obedience” Albert Barnes (ref#288).

“…We know very well that we are not set right with God by rule-keeping but only through personal faith in Jesus Christ….Convinced that no human being can please God by self-improvement, we believed in Jesus as the Messiah…” (Gal 2:15-16 MSG).

“We can’t get too much of God…But religion—the well-intended efforts…can very well get in the way of what God is doing for us.  The main and central action is everywhere and always what God has done, is doing, and will do for us.  Jesus is the revelation of that action.  Our main and central task is to live in responsive obedience to God’s action revealed in Jesus.  Our part in the action is the act of faith” MSG Bible (ref#262, p538, “Introduction to Hebrews”).

REDEMPTION

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REGENERATION—THE SOLE WORK OF THE SPIRIT

“In regeneration one of God’s elect is the subject, and the Spirit of God is the sole agent.  The subject of the new birth is wholly passive; he does not act, but is acted upon” A.W. Pink (ref#269, p54).

“’No man can come to Me, except the Father which hath sent Me draw him’ (John 6:44).  No sinner ever knocks (Matt 7:7) at His door for mercy, by earnest and importunate prayer, until Christ has first knocked (Rev 3:20) at his door by the operations of the Holy Spirit” A.W. Pink (ref#269, p88)!

“…back of our turning, and believing, and accepting of Christ, there was God’s almighty power doing its work—inspiring our will, taking possession of us, and carrying out its own purpose of love in planting us into Christ Jesus” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p44).

“The Spirit of God undertakes the achievement of an amazing work.  He enters the soul, and proposes to restore the empire of grace, the reign of holiness, and the throne of God.  He works to form all things anew, to create a revolution in favor of Christ and heaven.  He undertakes to change the heart, turning its enmity into love; to collect all the elements of darkness and confusion, changing them into perfect light and perfect order; to subdue the will, bringing it into harmony with God’s will; to explore all the recesses of sin, turning its very impurity into holiness; in a word, to regenerate the soul, restoring the divine image and fitting it for the full and eternal enjoyment of God in glory” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, July 4th).

FATHER, the SPIRIT regenerates; that is His first assignment in converting the soul.  This act is not gradual.  “It is a secret, inscrutable operation that cannot be directly perceived…” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#189, Jan 16th).  After that initial operation He begins restoring me back to Your divine image.  FATHER, I give You praise for I am Your child slowly gaining a holiness like Your holiness.

FAITH

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WEAK FAITH

“Faith has its trials as well as its temptations….The faith of a child of God may not only be severely assailed, but there are times when that faith may waver greatly….Nothing but the divinity that dwells within that grace keeps it….David: in the strength of faith slaying Goliath, and in the weakness of faith fleeing from Saul!…Nothing but the power of God and its own incorruptible and imperishable nature preserve it” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, June 2nd).

“You don’t have to hide in guilt when weak faith gets you off the path, because your hope in life isn’t your faithfulness, but his.  You can run in weakness and once again seek his strength.  And you can know that in zealous grace he will not leave his craftwork until faith fully rules our heart unchallenged.  He always gives freely what we need in order to do what he has called us to do” Paul David Tripp (ref#190, Feb 12th).

“…this direct faith; it is simply resting upon Christ…realizing our utter weakness and helplessness and hopelessness….” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#189, Dec 10th).

FATHER, when I recognize weak faith my first reaction is to rely on myself to rise to the occasion.  Misguided, I think I own faith and it is my responsibility to make it better.  But, no; I own nothing; I have given my life to CHRIST.  Now that I know, continually remind me that my strength of faith comes from You.  If I dislike my weak faith let me turn to You and plead and not think twice of trying to raise faith myself.

FAITH

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FAITH IN SUFFERING

“…Pure gold put in the fire comes out of it proved pure; genuine faith put through…suffering comes out proved genuine…” (1 Pet 1:6-7 MSG).

“…Paul…had a thorn in the flesh, and he could not understand it.  It seemed all wrong to him.  He wanted to preach the Gospel, but the thorn was a hindrance to him” Martyn Lloyd-Jones (ref#189, May 6th).

“Let us trust this love.  Trust it when veiled, trust it when it threatens to slay, trust it when it seems to frown, trust it even when we cannot trace it” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Sept 6th).

“Jesus…is a…Brother born for your adversity.  His grace and sympathy are sufficient for you….You are now to walk by faith and not by sight.  This, then, is the great secret of a life of faith: to hang on Jesus daily, to go to Him in every trial, to cast every burden on Him, to take the infirmity, the corruption, the cross, as it rises, simply and immediately to Jesus” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Nov 4th).

“According to the degree of our faith will be the degree of our peace, our hope, our strength for duty, and our patience in trial” J.C. Ryle (ref#273, p195).  “…your faith may be sharply tempted or severely tried, but it shall never, never quite fail; for Jesus lives in you, and lives in you forever” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, July 3rd).

“…I am suffering…But I am not ashamed…for I know the one in whom I trust, and I am sure that he is able to guard what I have entrusted to him until the day of his return” (2 Tim 1:12 NLT).

FAITH

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FAITH IN CHRIST NOT IN THINGS

“…Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith…” (Heb 12:2 ESV).

“Would you have more faith?  Then seek to become more acquainted with Jesus Christ” J.C. Ryle (ref#273, p196).

“Is there anything in the true Church of God that would…indicate a proneness to substitute for Christ something in the experience of the believer?  Indeed.  Examples are…only too common.  When the act of faith is substituted for the object of faith…Faith is only the channel through which…blessings are received.  And yet, who has not detected in his heart a tendency to look to faith for the evidence of his Christianity instead of to Christ, thus making the act of believing a substitute for the object in which we believe” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, April 29th)?

“…where there is true faith, Christ will always be known and realized, as an actual living personal Friend.  He that knows nothing of Christ as his own Priest, Physician, and Redeemer, knows nothing yet of believing” J.C. Ryle (ref#273, p191)!

“We glorify God when our service comes from faith in his strength, because the one who gives the strength gets the glory….1 Pet 4:11” John Piper (ref#220, p212).