Christ's Silence, Part 1

By Andrew Bonar

'A time to keep silence and a time to speak' Eccles. 3:7

We can draw a great deal of instruction from Christ's silence.

'Let Christ's word and silence too
Dwell in thy heart,'

a Moravian hymn says. Silence as to things we would like to know about Christ is a different thing from Christ Himself keeping silence. Do we ever in the four Gospels find Christ calling any man Lord? Never. He carried about with Him the constant consciousness of His divinity. Isaac is the type of the silent Christ. Let us notice two instances of Christ's silence.

I. His silence at Nazareth for thirty years.--There was no noise made about His coming into the world. He slipped into it we may say, until a choir of angels made it known. A few weeks after, we hear the tramp of Herod's horsemen, and we see the babe fleeing into Egypt. Then we hear nothing of Him (with one exception) for thirty years. This Plant of renown grew up silently before the Lord, and spread out His branches to be suffused with divine fragrance. He did all for God only, and this is true service for child or man. He broke the silence once that He might tell us what He was engaged in. 'Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business?' Christ never refers to these thirty years. 

Why did He keep silence? 

To teach us the real nature of obedience. Is it not doing everything under God's eye and for Him, not drawing the attention of others to what we are, and to what we are doing? He was teaching us to be content with the Father's approval, that the way to please the Lord is by our obedience. Is God's approval enough for you though all men should ignore you or even despise you? Christ lived for thirty years with the two tables of the law unbroken. Learn to take in much of Christ's obedience into your thoughts. It claims for us merit, and we have by it a claim to the favour of God. 

There is a lesson here for afflicted ones. What if they are giving the best obedience by their quiet suffering? They are doing the hardest thing that any one can be sent to do. These thirty years ended at Christ's baptism, when the heavens were opened and the voice said, 'This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased' --the Father's seal to His thirty years' obedience.

II. His silence at the marriage in Cana.--He says nothing to the guests, as we would have expected Him to do. Sitting in the midst of them the first of His miracles is done in silence. He spoke by His presence. A good man's presence in a company may be a great blessing, if his presence is also the presence of the Master. As Christ sat there He silently changed the water into wine.

'God spake once when He all things made,
But saved us when He nothing said.'

We may apply these words to this miracle. What a ray of divinity there was in it! He can think and it is done, as well as speak and it is done. There is no noise in the sunrise in the morning, but there is a burst of light! Christ was teaching the secret of power. It is the presence of the Lord that is the secret of power. It is that we need in order to have blessing. In providence He likes to work in silence. 

There is no voice in the affliction, but there is in the very silence of it. It is the Lord's way to make us think upon divine things when He means to give us blessing. 'He has made His wonderful works to be thought upon.' He works in this way still in convincing of sin and righteousness. 

Real conviction comes when the soul is quietly alone with God. No one in the church knows what you are feeling, but the Lord is working in the might of His divinity. We are to stand under the cross and look at the Crucified One. 'Behold Me! Behold Me!' A striking picture makes us silent while looking at it, but what after-thoughts it may rouse in us! So looking quietly on the Lord Jesus the water may be changed into wine, the hard heart will be melted!

Transcribed from Reminiscences of Andrew A. Bonar D.D.


See Also:
Christ's Silence, Part 1
Christ's Silence, Part 2
Christ's Silence, Part 3

Deal Gently

By Samuel Logan Brengle


Recently in my regular Bible reading I came to that tender appeal of King David to his generals as they were going forth to fight with Absalom: "Deal gently for my sake with the young man, even with Absalom" (2 Sam. 18:5), and my heart was touched with its likeness to Jesus.

Absalom was in rebellion against David the king, his father, and had driven him forth from his throne, had outraged his father's marital ties, had sacrificed filial affection and trampled upon filial and civic duty, and was now seeking his father's life. But David knew him only as his wayward boy, loved him still, and commanded his warriors to deal gently with him in the coming battle. He would have the rebellion crushed, but the rebel saved; the sin destroyed, but the sinner rescued.

How like Jesus that is! Is not that the way Jesus feels toward the most desperate backslider, the most careless sinner? Does not His heart yearn over them with unutterable tenderness? And is not this written for our admonition? Does He not say to us, "Deal gently for my sake"?

The battle went against Absalom that day, and hardhearted, willful, stubborn old Joab slew him deliberately in spite of the king's wish. And so it often is today. Joab's tribe has increased, and while Jesus would have the backslider and sinner dealt with gently, Joab rises up and thrusts him through with reproaches and bitter words and sharp looks, slays him utterly, and the heart of Jesus is broken afresh, as was the heart of David. The elder brother, with his ungenerous jealousy and cruel words and hardness of heart, as surely grieved the loving old father as did the prodigal with his riotous living.

There are many reasons why we should deal gently.

1. That we may be like Jesus. When Peter denied Jesus and cursed and swore, Jesus loved him still, and turned and gave him a tender look that broke his heart, and he went out and wept bitterly. And after the resurrection Jesus did not rebuke and reproach Peter, but tenderly asked him, "Lovest thou Me?" and then commissioned him to feed His lambs and sheep.

Should we, then, who at our best are only "sinners saved by grace," despise the example of our Lord and deal roughly with His sheep that have gone astray? Since He has freely forgiven us our ten thousand talents, shall we not forgive our brother a hundred pence? (Matt. 18:23-35.)

2. We should deal gently with them lest we ourselves grieve the Spirit and become backsliders. Paul wrote to the brethren in Galatia, saying, "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in fault, ye which are spiritual restore such an one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." (Gal. 6:1.) 

I have noticed that when professing Christians bear hard upon backsliders it is usually only a question of time when they themselves shall backslide. In fact, it is pretty certain that they are already backsliders in heart. In the very act of killing the rebellious Absalom Joab himself rebelled against the expressed wish and command of his king, though he did it under the cloak of loyalty.

And so men today who are severe in their dealings with sinners and backsliders under the cloak of zeal for righteousness and loyalty to truth are themselves rebelling against the example and spirit of Jesus, and unless they repent, the world shall surely soon witness their fall.

I have in mind now two prominent religious leaders who were unsparing in their criticisms and judgment against a notorious backslider until their spirit became as surely un-Christlike as was his in spite of their loud profession and fair outward appearance. At last one of them fell through gross immorality and the other was caught in the same snare, and practically followed in the footsteps of the man he had so fiercely condemned. "Let him that thinketh he standeth take heed" to his way and spirit in dealing with those who are away from Jesus, "lest he fall" We can only save ourselves as we keep the sweet spirit that impels us to "deal gently" for Jesus' sake.

3. We should deal gently that we may save the backslider. Jesus loves him still, is married to him, seeks him continually and waits to forgive him and cleanse him and restore to him the joy of salvation the moment he returns, and we must not hinder, but help. But we shall not do so unless we deal gently. Harsh dealing would not win us, nor will it win him.

Paul wrote to Timothy, "The servant of the Lord must not strive, but be gentle toward all men, apt to teach, patient; in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves, if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil." (2 Tim. 2:24-26.) But this gentleness is not inconsistent with great firmness and unswerving loyalty to the truth. In fact, it is only when it is combined with these sturdy virtues that it commends itself to the judgment and conscience of the wrongdoer, and is likely to really win him from the error of his ways.

Firmness of manner may unite with great gentleness of spirit. I may be as tender in spirit in warning and commanding my child to beware of the fire, as I am in soothing him after he is burned.

While harshness and severity will only harden the wanderer from God on the one hand, a gospel of gush will fill him with indifference or contempt on the other. The soul-winner, then, must not have the hardness and brittleness of glass or cast iron, nor the malleability of wrought iron or putty, but rather the strength and flexibility of finest steel that will bend but never break, that will yield and yet retain its own form.

It is generally true that holy mothers have more influence with and win more willful boys and girls than do the fathers, not because the mothers are more ready to compromise principle and sacrifice truth, but rather because while unwavering in their fidelity to righteousness, they mingle mercy with judgment and a passion of gentle, unfailing love and tenderest solicitude with firmness and loyalty to the claims of God's perfect and holy law.

But how shall one who has not this spirit of perfect gentleness secure it? There is but one way. It is a fruit of the Spirit, and is to be had only down at Jesus' feet.

Jesus is like a "lamb slain," mutely gentle, and yet again He is "the Lion of the tribe of Judah" -- firm and strong. He combines the strength of the lion with the gentleness of the lamb.

You, then, that would have His Spirit, confess wherein you have it not. Are you hard, harsh, critical, severe and unrelenting? Tell Him and ask Him to destroy this carnal mind and give you His mind. (Phil. 2:5.) And as you ask, believe. "All things are possible to him that believeth."

To maintain this spirit you must walk in the footsteps of Jesus and feed on His words. Only to those who seek Him day by day with the whole heart, and that with joy, is it given to be like Him in these heavenly tempers and dispositions.

"Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." Amen!

WORTHY - OR UNWORTHY?

By A.W. Tozer


The love of Jesus is so inclusive that it knows no boundaries. At the point where we stop loving and caring, Jesus is still there-loving and caring! The question may be asked: "How does the living Christ feel today about the sinful men and women who walk our streets?" There is only one answer: He loves them! 

We may be righteously indignant about the things they do. We may be disgusted with their actions and their ways. 

We are often ready to condemn and turn away from them. 

But Jesus keeps on loving them! It is His unchanging nature to love and seek the lost. He said many times when He was on earth, "I have come to help the needy. The well do not need a doctor-but the sick need attention and love." 

We are prone to look at the needy and measure them: "Let us determine if they are worthy of our help." 

During all of His ministry, I do not think Jesus ever helped a "worthy" person. He only asked, "What is your need? Do you need My help?"

Even More on David and the Lord's Lovingkindness

By Bob Hoekstra

How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God! Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings. They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house. (Psalm 36:7-8a)

We have been meditating from Old Testament passages upon God's lovingkindness (a term very much like the word grace in the New Testament). We have been considering verses from David's life and testimony. David treasured the lovingkindness of the Lord. "How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!" An understanding of the far-reaching implications of the Lord's lovingkindness gave him this perspective. David learned that the Lord's lovingkindness (His zealous, steadfast love for His people) drew hearts to seek God for His gracious protection. "Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings." David also knew that God's lovingkindness fully satisfies hungry hearts that seek the Lord's fullness. "They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house."

Man is so needy, and God has so much to give. The needs of man could hardly be overstated. The resources of God could only be understated. Words like emptiness and deficiency describe humanity. Words like fullness and abundance describe our God.

Man begins his human existence in spiritual bankruptcy (born in sin and ready to pursue ungodliness). "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, And in sin my mother conceived me . . . The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies" (Psalm 51:5 and 58:3). For these desperate needs, the Lord has forgiveness and salvation. "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered . . . The LORD is . . . my salvation" (Psalm 32:1 and 18:2). Yet, once redeemed, man still must not look to himself, nor to the world from which he came.

"My soul thirsts for You . . . in a dry and thirsty land where there is no water" (Psalm 63:1). The Lord must be the new supply for the new man. Like David, we must find what we need from "the fullness of [God's] house." When we look to God's fullness to replace our inadequacy, we will find today the same spiritual satisfaction that David testified about long ago. "My soul shall be satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth shall praise You with joyful lips" (Psalm 63:5). We also will rejoice, because we will be "abundantly satisfied."

Dear God of spiritual abundance, I am so blessed to be in Your family. Please remind me often that the world and the flesh are spiritually bankrupt. Teach me to draw upon the fullness of Your house through humble dependence upon You. Every time I have ever done that, my heart has been fully satisfied!

Do You See Your Calling?

By Oswald Chambers


'Separated unto the Gospel.'
Romans 1:1

Our calling is not primarily to be holy men and women, but to be proclaimers of the Gospel of God. The one thing that is all important is that the Gospel of God should be realized as the abiding Reality. Reality is not human goodness, nor holiness, nor heaven, nor hell; but Redemption; and the need to perceive this is the most vital need of the Christian worker to-day. As workers we have to get used to the revelation that Redemption is the only Reality. Personal holiness is an effect, not a cause, and if we place our faith in human goodness, in the effect of Redemption, we shall go under when the test comes.

Paul did not say he separated himself, but - "when it pleased God who separated me. . ." Paul had not a hypersensitive interest in his own character. As long as our eyes are upon our own personal whiteness we shall never get near the reality of Redemption. 

Workers break down because their desire is for their own whiteness, and not for God. "Don't ask me to come into contact with the rugged reality of Redemption on behalf of the filth of human life as it is; wbat I want is anything God can do for me to make me more desirable in my own eyes." To talk in that way is a sign that the reality of the Gospel of God has not begun to touch me; there is no reckless abandon to God. God cannot deliver me while my interest is merely in my own character. Paul is unconscious of himself, he is recklessly abandoned, separated by God for one purpose - to proclaim the Gospel of God (cf. Rom. 9:3.)

The Unchanging Flesh Nature

By Theodore Epp

2 Samuel 11:6-15

David's scheme was to bring Uriah home on a military furlough, hoping that he would be considered the father of Bathsheba's child. Uriah was much more righteous than David in this. He would not permit himself to relax until the war was over.

David then resorted to extreme measures. To the sin of adultery he added the sin of murder. He wrote a letter to Joab and sent it with Uriah. It contained instructions that Uriah must meet death in battle. Uriah--honest, upright and fully dedicated to his nation and to his king--was given a letter with his own death warrant in it to be handed to Joab, the leader of Israel's army. If David could not cover up his sin by his plots, then he would seal Uriah's lips so that he could not accuse David of being the father of Bathsheba's child.

Some of us think that when a person such as David falls into such terrible sin, the reason must be that he was not a true believer. We must never forget that the evil nature inherited from Adam, or the flesh, in the believer is no different than in the unbeliever. Until we see this, we will never understand the sovereign grace of God and God's sovereignty in the methods He uses in our lives.

"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9).

Tension Between the Old Nature and the New

By A.W. Tozer

Christ in a believer's heart will act the same as He acted in Galilee and Judea. His disposition is the same now as then. He was holy, righteous, compassionate, meek and humble then, and He has not changed. He is the same wherever He is found, whether it be at the right hand of God or in the nature of a true disciple. He was friendly, loving, prayerful, kindly, worshipful, self-sacrificing while walking among men; is it not reasonable to expect Him to be the same when walking in men?

 Why then do true Christians sometimes act in an un-Christlike manner? Some would assume that when a professed Christian fails to show forth the moral beauty of Christ in his life it is a proof that he has been deceived and is actually not a real Christian at all. But the explanation is not so simple as that. 

The truth is that while Christ dwells in the believer's new nature, He has strong competition from the believer's old nature. The warfare between the old and the new goes on continually in most believers. 

This is accepted as inevitable, but the New Testament does not so teach. A prayerful study of Romans 6 to 8 points the way to victory. If Christ is allowed complete sway He will live in us as He lived in Galilee.

True Christian Love

By A.W. Pink

Love is the Queen of the Christian graces. It is a holy disposition given to us when we are born again by God. It is the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. True spiritual love is characterized by meekness and gentleness, yet it is vastly superior to the courtesies and kindnesses of the flesh.

We must be careful not to confuse human sentimentality, carnal pleasantries, human amiability and affability with true spiritual love. The love God commands, first to Himself and then to others, is not human love. It is not the indulgent, self-seeking love which is in us by nature. If we indulgently allow our children to grow up with little or, no Scriptural discipline, Proverbs plainly says we do not love them, regardless of the human sentimentality and affection we may feel for them. Love is not a sentimental pampering of one another with a loose indifference as to our walk and obedience before the Lord. Glossing over one another's faults to ingratiate ourselves in their esteem is not spiritual love.

The true nature of Christian love is a righteous principle which seeks the highest good of others. It is a powerful desire to promote their welfare. The exercise of love is to be in strict conformity to the revealed will of God. We must love in the truth. Love among the brethren is far more than an agreeable society where views are the same. It is loving them for what we see of Christ in them, loving them for Christ's sake.

The Lord Jesus Himself is our example. He was not only thoughtful, gentle, self-sacrificing and patient, but He also corrected His mother, used a whip in the Temple, Severely scolded His doubting disciples, and denounced hypocrites. True spiritual love is above all faithful to God and uncompromising towards all that is evil. We cannot declare, 'Peace and Safety' when in reality there is spiritual decay and ruin!

True spiritual love is very difficult to exercise because it is not our natural love. By nature we would rather love sentimentally and engender good feelings. Also many times true spiritual love is not received in love, but is hated as the Pharisees hated it. We must pray that God will fill us with His love and enable us to exercise it without dissimulation toward all.