Octavius Winslow

TRUE CHRISTIAN OR FAUX?

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EMPTY PROFESSORS

“Every bird that hath fine feathers hath not sweet flesh; all that shine with the golden feathers of profession are not saints.  How devout were the Pharisees” Thomas Watson (ref#48, “The Counterfeits of the New Creature”)!

 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord! Will enter the Kingdom of Heaven.  Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter” (Matt 7:21 NLT).

“Our blessed Lord foresaw and forewarned men of the danger that an outward profession of the gospel may exist though the heart be yet a stranger to its power….There may be a deep and clear knowledge of divine truth, a strongly enlightened judgment, and a sound and scriptural creed.  There may be a strong attachment to and zealous maintenance of some of the distinguishing doctrines of grace—even a desire to hear of Christ and an ability to judge between sound and unsound preaching. And all the while, the heart is encased in the hardness of impenitence and unbelief, a stranger to the regenerating influence of the Spirit of God” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, June 9th).

“…for a man to get out of the carnal life into the spiritual life…is when a man utterly breaks with the flesh, when he gives up the flesh into the crucifixion death of Christ, when he sees that everything about it is accursed and that he cannot deliver himself from it, and then claims the slaying power of Christ’s cross within him” Andrew Murray (ref#272, p21).

“According to the Westminster Shorter Catechism (Q. 35), sanctification is ‘the work of God’s free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness’” The Reformation Study Bible(ref#56, p1650).

FATHER, in 1 John 5:15 You say you will give me what I ask for and then follow it with: “If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life…” (1 John 5:16 ESV).  I do not know where the names of the people on my prayer list are in their spiritual life, because I only see the outward signs, but, I pray for their spiritual welfare with all “hope and expectation of success” Matthew Poole (ref#21, p941, [1 John 5:16]).

TRUE CHRISTIAN OR FAUX?

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BACKSLIDERS – LOST THEIR FIRST LOVE

CHRIST warned the church at Ephesus for they had abandoned their love for Him.  They toiled and patiently endured, and could not bear those who were evil, and judged those who were false.  They did not grow weary in their work, but they had forgotten CHRIST, which made it impossible to continue growing spiritually (Rev 2:1-4).

“’Remember from whence thou art fallen’—revert to your past history, your former spiritual state; remember your first sorrow for sin, the first joy of its pardon; remember the springtime of your first love.  How precious Jesus was, how glorious was His person, how sweet was His cross, how fragrant was His name, how rich was His grace.  Remember how dear to you was the throne of grace, how frequently you resorted to it….’Repent, and do the first works’….[backsliding] is a sin of peculiar magnitude; it is a sin against God in the character of a loving Father, against Jesus in the character of a tender Redeemer, against the Holy Spirit in the character of a faithful Indweller and a Sanctifier.  It is a sin against the most precious experience of His grace, against the most melting exhibitions of His love, and against the most tender proofs of His covenant faithfulness” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Oct 23rd, brackets mine.)

“A Christian living in the daily neglect of self-examination must not marvel if, at a certain period of his religious course, he finds himself trembling on the brink of gloomy despondency, his evidences gone, his hope obscured, and all the past of his Christian profession appearing to his view as a fearful delusion” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Oct 10th).

FATHER, as we end the subject of backsliders, (since we all fit into that category occasionally), certainly we should take a moment and contemplate if we still love CHRIST as much as we did at first.

“Search me, O God, and know my heart!  Try me and know my thoughts!  And see if there be any grievous way in me, and lead me in the way of everlasting” (Ps 139: 23-24 ESV)!

“Conscience is read, motives are studied, principles are sorted out, actions are examined, the heart is searched, sin is confessed, and iniquity is acknowledged, as can only be done alone in the presence of Jesus” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, May 17th).

TRUE CHRISTIAN OR FAUX?

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BACKSLIDERS – CONTENT IN THEIR STATE

“A believer may fall into a drowsy state of soul—not so profoundly as to be entirely lost to the voice of his Beloved speaking by conscience, by the Word, and by providence; yet his grace may have decayed so far, his love may have grown so cold, and his declension may have been so hardened, that he is content in this state.  Oh, alarming symptom of soul-declension: the indulgence of laziness and self is preferred to a visit from Jesus” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, July 28th)!

“They are converted; they know what it is to have assurance and faith; they believe in pardon for sin; they begin to work for God; and yet…there is none of the beauty of holiness or of the power of God’s Spirit in them” Andrew Murray (ref#272, p9).

FATHER, backsliders have walked in Your ways long enough to have “…seen the light, gotten a taste of heaven and been part of the work of the Holy Spirit…” (Heb 6:4-8 MSG).  They have personally experienced the sheer goodness of Your Word and the powers of the age to come (Heb 6:5) but have, at some point, turned away from CHRIST.  (These words in Hebrews may describe one who has never experienced regeneration but these Scriptures also fit the definition of a backslider.)

GOD…”would walk with them all the day long, and sun them with the unclouded light of His countenance.  But when He hides Himself for a little moment, He is driven from their embrace by their lukewarmness of heart and unkind resistance of His love” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, July 28th).

FATHER, You tell us to not grieve Your SPIRIT; we grieve You when we do that.  There are endless ways we injure You, GOD.  How continually You must discipline us to move us back into a right relationship with You.  We are constantly “high maintenance.”  But that shows Your longsuffering love and faithfulness.  Once we are reunited we possess much to praise and glorify You.

TRUE CHRISTIAN OR FAUX?

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BACKSLIDERS – ENDANGERED SOULS

“…so much as the flesh is gratified, so much is the soul endangered” A.W. Pink (ref#269, p111).

“Remember that, though your love has waxed cold, the love of your God and Father towards you never diminishes; it has never known even a shadow of change….God has never, not even for a moment, turned His back on you, though you have turned yours on Him times without number.  His face has always been toward you…” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Aug 22nd).

“If…children forsake my law and do not walk according to my rules,  if they violate my statutes and do not keep my commandments, then I will punish their transgression with the rod and their iniquity with stripes, but I will not remove from him my steadfast love or be false to my faithfulness” (Ps 89:30-33 ESV).

“All spiritual declension in the true believer necessarily implies the actual possession of grace….In the lowest condition of the believer, Christ never denies His own work in the soul….” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Oct 10th).

“True grace may suffer a shrewd decay, but not an utter loss.  In temptations it may be sorely shaken; the heel may be bruised, as Christ’s was, but ‘his seed remaineth in him’” Thomas Manton (ref#225, Sept 28th).

“If God says, “Return,” that is sufficient for you.  You need nothing more; if He is willing to receive you back, to pardon your sins, to forget your ingratitude, to heal your backslidings, and to restore your soul, you have the broadest warrant to return…He is on the eager lookout for your first movement towards Him…He sends His own Spirit to work that return in your soul, to break your heart, to waken your slumbering spirit, and to draw you and win you to His arms” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Sept 10th).

FATHER, in the Apostle Paul’s writing to the Corinthian church he calls them all “saints.”  They have much to learn in their walk of sanctification, and despite their unloving activities, Paul is sympathetic toward them.

Paul “…takes them by the hand and goes over all the old ground again, directing them in how to work all the glorious details of God’s saving love into their love for one another” MSG Bible (ref#262, p398, “Introduction to 1 Corinthians”).

TRUE CHRISTIAN OR FAUX?

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BACKSLIDERS – CARNAL-LIKE BUT SAVED


“…Better not to have started out on the straight road to God than to start out and then turn back…” (2 Pet 2:20-22 MSG).

“All backsliding has its commencement in the neglect of prayer…do you tremble at the possibility of ever becoming a backslider?  Do you dread the thought of wounding Jesus?  Then do not restrain prayer before God….A distant walk from God will induce distant thoughts of God….The more we know of God, the more we love Him; the more we try Him, the more we confide in Him….In order to reap the proper fruit of the Lord’s dealing with the soul, it is necessary that they should be viewed in the light of His faithfulness and love.  The moment they are interpreted otherwise, the soul heads away from God and wraps itself up in gloomy and repulsive views of His character, and government, and dealings” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Oct 5th, underlining mine).

“…the great difficulty in a backsliding soul is to bring it to the necessary, spiritual duty of self-scrutiny….Perhaps nothing tends more to unhinge the soul from God and engender distrust, hard thoughts, and rebellious feelings than to doubt thus His loving-kindness and faithfulness in the discipline He is pleased to send” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Sept 16th).

“Trouble is often the means whereby God delivers us.  God knows that our backsliding will soon end in our destruction, and, in mercy, He sends the rod….our trouble has been the means of delivering us from far greater evil” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Jan 24th AM).

“…faith…anchoring itself on divine truth and the unchangeable love of God, is sure to strengthen and increase by every storm that beats on it….Is it the enchantment of the world that…caught you with its glitter, and overwhelming you with its crushing cares?…He was never known to cast out anyone who in lowliness and brokenness of heart sought His compassionate grace” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Sept 16th).

TRUE CHRISTIAN OR FAUX?

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SPIRIT CHECK_3

“Make sure that the light you think you have is not actually darkness” (Luke 11:35 NLT).

In church do I have the fear of GOD?

“Guard your steps when you go to the house of God.  To draw near to listen is better than to offer the sacrifice of fools…Be not rash with your mouth, nor let your heart be hasty to utter a word before God, for God is in heaven and you are on earth….” (Eccl 5:1-2 ESV).

Do I love to hear about JESUS on Sunday but forget about Him during the week?

“It is not enough to hear about Jesus; mere hearing may tune the harp, but the fingers of living faith must create the music” Charles Spurgeon (ref#34, Jan 28th PM).

Do I find keeping GOD’s commands difficult?

“…The proof that we love God comes when we keep his commandments and they are not at all troublesome” (1 John 5:1-3 MSG).

Have I trembled sometimes under the powerful exhibition of the truth? “So did Felix, and yet he never truly repented” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, April 7th)!

Have I heard the gospel gladly and, under its momentary influence, done many things?

“So did Herod, and yet he kept Herodias and beheaded John” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, April 7th)!

Do I testify to others and say, “I believe in JESUS?”

“…with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Rom 10:10 ESV).

Do I judge myself better than others?

“…some…were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else…” (Luke 18:9 NIV).

TRUE CHRISTIAN OR FAUX?

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INTRODUCTION TO SPIRIT CHECKS

“My eyes shed streams of tears, because people do not keep your law” (Ps 119:136 ESV).

FATHER, CHRIST doing His work through the SPIRIT has caused me to cry out like the Apostle Paul did for his fellow countrymen:  “…I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.  For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers…” (Rom 9:2-3 ESV).

The SPIRIT floods my mind with thoughts to challenge pew-sitters to search their hearts to see if they really are true Christians.  I dreadfully fear satan has lulled many to sleep with the comforting words that they have saving faith and can rest assured when in reality they have fallen short of that goal.

Reader, “…look well to your religion.  Take nothing for granted.  Think less of polishing your lamp than of having a large supply of oil, so that when the Lord sends or comes, you will not be found in darkness, not knowing where you are going.  Without converting grace in your heart, your relationship to the Church is but the union of a dead branch to a living stem” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Apr 7th).

TRUE CHRISTIAN OR FAUX?

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ONCE SPIRITUAL NOW FLESHY

“How foolish can you be?  After starting your new lives in the Spirit, why are you now trying to become perfect by your own human effort” (Gal 3:3 NLT)?

The reason so many think the above is they have never been told of the intimacy GOD has in His plan after regeneration.  Actually, most churches don’t teach regeneration, but simply stop at a person’s consent to the facts of a saving JESUS.  They are all about making sure the congregation knows that JESUS saves them from their sins, but then say nothing of how to become sanctified, holy and Christlike.

“The idea they have of grace is this—that their conversion and pardon are God’s work, but that now, in gratitude to God, it is their work to live as Christians, and follow Jesus.  There is always the thought of work that has to be done, and even though they pray for help, still the work is theirs” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p24).

“…These people make a big show of saying the right thing, but their heart isn’t in it.  They act like they are worshiping me, but they don’t mean it.  They just use me as a cover for teaching whatever suits their fancy…” (Mark 7:6-8 MSG).

“The heart occupied with its own plans and efforts for doing God’s will, and securing the blessing of abiding in Jesus, must fail continually.  God’s work is hindered by our interference.  He can do His work perfectly only when the soul ceases from its work” Andrew Murray (ref#266, p120-121).

“If there were more diligent and prayerful study of God’s Word, more regular and constant attendance at a stated ministry…frequent seasons of retirement, consecrated to meditation, self-examination, and secret prayer, there would be less superficial Christianity…We need more depth of knowledge, more spirituality, more experience, more of the life and power of true godliness; in a word, we need more of the anointing and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit in the Church” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, June 9th).

TRUE CHRISTIAN OR FAUX?

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OUTWARD PROFESSION

“…in whose righteousness do you stand at this moment?…Many have lived in an outward profession; they have put on Christ with external garb, have talked well of Him, have been baptized in His name, have given liberally for His cause…” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Aug 10th).

How perilous it is to know how to act like a Christian.  I fool others and myself.

“They never give Christ any honor on account of His glory and excellency.  They may, and often do, pay Christ an external and seeming respect, but they do not honor Christ in their hearts.  They have no exalting thoughts of Christ, no inward respect of reverence towards Him” Jonathan Edwards (ref#229, p50).

“Take away from me the noise of your songs; to the melody of your harps I will not listen.  But let justice roll down like waters, and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream” (Amos 5:23-24 ESV).

“…’I prefer a flexible heart to an inflexible ritual’…” (Matt 12:6-8 MSG).

“…Compassion doesn’t originate in our bleeding hearts or moral sweat, but in God’s mercy….God has the first word, initiating the action in which we play our part…” (Rom 9:14-18 MSG).

“A biblical Christian is a person who manifests in his life that his claims to repentance and faith are real….Wherever there is true faith in Christ, genuine love to Christ will be implanted.  And where there is love to Christ there will be obedience to Christ….(John 14:21-24).  We are saved by trusting Christ, not by loving and obeying Christ; but a trust that does not produce love and obedience is not true saving faith” Albert N. Martin (ref#221, p20).

“…go ahead with what you’ve been given.  You received Christ Jesus, the Master; now live him….do what you’ve been taught….quit studying the subject and start living it…” (Col 2:6-7 MSG).

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ENTHUSIASTIC SPECTATORS

“A man may go to hell with baptismal water upon his face” John Trapp (ref#225, Aug 21st).

“Because the story of Jesus is so impressive—God among us!  God speaking a language we can understand!  God acting in ways that heal and help and save us!—there is a danger that we will be impressed, but only be impressed.  As the spectacular dimensions of this story slowly (or suddenly) dawn upon us, we could easily become enthusiastic spectators, and then let it go at that—become admires of Jesus, generous with our oh’s and ah’s…” The MESSAGE Bible, “Introduction to Acts” (ref#262, p278).

“Do not satisfy yourself with external ceremonies, with the observance of days and frequent communions, with tithing and charities.  Is Christ dwelling in your heart by His Spirit” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Feb 3rd)?

“It is not enough to make use of ordinances, but we must see if we can find God in them.  There are many that hover about the palace, and yet do not speak with the prince; so possibly we may hover about ordinances, and not meet with God there…come to the ordinances with the desire of finding the living God” Thomas Manton (ref#225, Aug 21st).

“There can be no true following of Christ as our example if we lose sight of Him as a suffering Christ and a cross-bearing Savior.  There must be fellowship with Him in His sufferings.  In order to enter fully and sympathetically into the afflictions of His people, He stooped to a body of suffering; in like manner, in order to have sympathy with Christ in His sorrows, we must tread the path He trod in some degree.…mutual sympathy…The afflicted child of God who is led to view his Father’s discipline in the light of a privilege will be happy….They…know the honor of suffering with Christ or being made conformable to His death” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Sept 25th).

“Look honestly and fairly at your condition.  Discouraging and repelling as it may appear, look it fully in the face, and lay it open before God exactly as it is…” Octavius Winslow (ref#135, Oct 10th).

“…if you just use my words in Bible studies and don’t work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach….” (Matt 7:26-27 MSG).