WHEN THE LORD GIVES MEN OVER TO THEIR TRANSGRESSIONS

BY JOSEPH CARYL (1602--1673)

A child is sent away, sent to himself, or put into his own hands. A child sent away to himself, brings shame, that is, will certainly run into vile and enormous courses to the shame of her that bear him. A child left, or sent to himself is one that has no guide, no governor, no instructor but himself. A man that will learn only of himself hath but a fool to his Master, How much more than a weak child, what a master, what a tutor hath a child, if he have none but himself. To be left or sent to themselves is to have none to counsel or advise them the right way, or to give them any stop and check in an ill way. The c character that Paul and Barnabas gave of the former times, when they preached to the Heathens at Lystra, was this (Acts 14:16). WE exhort you to turn unto the living God that made heaven and earth, who in times past suffered all Nations to walk in their own ways. He let them go, and never stayed them at all, they had no bridle, no restraint, not so much as  a word to bring them back; he suffered all nations, as if he had said, He left them in the hand of their transgression, that their own evil hearts should do what they would with them. In which sense we may also understand that place (Acts 17:30).

When Paul at Athens disputed with the philosophers, he tells them that now God began to look towards them, and had sent them knowledge of Christ, he times of that ignorance winked at; but now he called all men everywhere to repent. The words undergo a twofold interpretation. Some thus, to note the indulgence of God, The time past of that ignorance God winked at; that is, he did not deal severely and strictly with them, when they sinned, because they had no means, or so little means to keep them from sin. And there is a truth in it, for though ignorance does not totally excuse sin, yet it does abate the degree and measure of sin.

But there is another sense which I rather embrace, The times of that ignorance God winked at; that is, in those times wherein there was so much darkness, and blindness in the world, God let me go on in their sin: they sinned, and he never called upon them, he never opposed them, or sent any to teach them better. God did not manifest his will to them as unto the Jews, Psalm 147:19, 20. He sheweth his word unto Jacob, his statutes and judgments unto Israel; he hath dealt so with any Nation &c. So that this winking is opposed to favour than to justice. To have the eye upon a place, or upon a person, is to show them favour, 1 King 8:29. The later branch clears this meaning, But now he called all men everywhere to repent: now he does not leave men in the hands of their transgressions: he does not wink and let them do what they like; now Gospel light has risen to the world, and there are many sent tout to call in and reclaim wandering prodigals, many to cry, Return, return.

He speaks of it as of the mercy and privilege of that age, beyond what the former ages enjoyed. That of the same Apostle hath a parallel sense (Rom 1:20 & 26) where describing the dealings of God with the gentiles, which sinned against the light of nature, he concludes, therefore God left them in the darkness of nature, in the worst of nature: they came not up so high as the principles of nature in the things of man, He gave them up to vile affections which is as much to say, He put them in the hands of their transgression. And ver., 28. He gave them over to a reprobate mind, to a mind that could not judge aright, which had not a true understanding of anything: hence they elected the worse and reprobated the best things. The like we have (psalm 81:11) of God's own people the Jews, so I gave them up to their own heart lusts; and they walked in their own counsels. The Hebrew is, I sent them into the pertinancy of their hearts, because I had so often called upon them, and they would not hearken, not return unto me, therefore I said, forasmuch as you will not hear, you shall not hear; because you will not obey, you have none to call you to obedience; follow the counsels of your own hearts, as long as you will.

TRUTH UNPOPULAR--W. F. BELL

                                                                             

            A Commentary on the Times (But not aired on CNN)

   "Any pastor desiring to carry the torch of truth today need not expect to have many friends."  So wrote Chuck Baldwin in a recent article for The Covenant News.  Baldwin also said, "It has never been harder to continue to carry the torch of truth than it is today," and "Truth has been replaced with entertainment."  Well said, absolutely true.  (Note, these very words are not popular.)

  

    It's hard to write truth today.  (Try it sometime.)  It's even harder to live truth.  Friends and family leave us one by one when we stand firm for truth.  Congregations dwindle.  Readers move on to something more soothing and comforting.  We're called "unloving."  In a word, truth is very unpopular.

  

    Let's get specific.  The truth about God makes us unpopular, for few really seem to care for biblical theology.  "Theology" is even a word that turns people off today.  What about the glory of Christ?  Another unpopular subject.  What about personal holiness, or proving that we are justified by sanctified living?  (Bad question.)  Shouldn't we just be mostly concerned with church growth, accommodating our message to the masses, being friendly, being emergent-minded, being entertaining, concerned with the overall numbers -- isn't this what matters?     No, not really. (And no apologies.) 

  

   Anyone ever read the Bible?  (Bad question.)  Well, though unpopular, here it is:  "Buy the truth, and sell it not" (Proverbs 23:23).  We "buy" truth by believing it, living it, honoring it.  And we must never "sell" it, no matter how tempted we are to do so.  Proverbs 23 contains particular instructions for children to know how to "be wise" in life, by "listening" to fathers and mothers who "guide" them "in the way" (verses 19-22).  Don't Christians in general need this also?  Truth is built on the solid foundation of God Himself, and His infallible Word.  The modern church needs to get back to this solid ground, for apart from the truth of Christ, "all other ground is sinking sand."   And there goes my popularity.  But no matter, "a remnant" shall hear!  Selah. 

FOR GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD-- WILLIAM CAREY

‘For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son…’John 3:16

How big is your God? Is He bound by the limitations of what you can see, hear, and think? Or do you have a God who can do anything at any time? Today, let’s consider a great man who believed in a great God—William Carey, the father of modern missions. Carey lived by the motto “Attempt great things for God. Expect great things from God.”

  For centuries, worldwide missions had come to a virtual standstill. But William Carey, a cobbler who lived in England in the eighteenth century, explored God’s Word and became increasingly convinced that God was concerned about the whole world—“For God so loved the world.” This conviction began a burning in Carey’s heart. He envisioned millions of people perishing throughout the earth, people who needed to hear about Jesus Christ. Being a man of action, Carey convinced a group of ministers in 1792 to form the first foreign missionary society. But that was not enough. Carey himself felt led to the mission field, so he traveled to India. He mastered more than a dozen Indian languages then translated the entire Bible or portions thereof into those languages. Every day, he preached to the natives. The result? Not one single convert among the Indians for seven years. But Carey persevered, believing that God could and would do great things. Finally, in 1800, Kirshna Pal was the first convert of the modern missionary movement. Soon hundreds, thousands, and millions followed!

  In the thirty-five years after Carey went to India, missionary societies sprang up all over Britain, Europe, and America. The result was an outpouring of missionary activity, labor, and zeal, the likes of which had not happened since the first century! All of this came about through the hard work of a humble cobbler who believed in God’s greatness and obeyed God’s call. When ordinary people with ordinary talents yield fully to God, He uses them to accomplish extraordinary things

What can you do for God today?

When I am gone, speak less of Dr. Carey and more of Dr. Carey’s Saviour.
WILLIAM CAREY

        (From Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church, Fort Lauderdale, FL)

TAKE IT SERIOUSLY----ARTHUR W. PINK

 Here are some wise words for us from Arthur Pink. Heeding these words will help us greatly. Let's do it! May God help us here!

Oh, my friends, we are playing at things. We have not begun to take religion seriously, any of us. We profess to believe in the coming of Christ, and we profess to believe that the one reason why Christ has not come back yet is because His Church, His Body, is not yet complete. We believe that when His body is complete. 

He will come back. my friends, His "body" never, never, will be complete until the last of His elect people will be called out, and His elect people are called out under the preaching of the gospel by the power of the Holy Spirit, and if you are really anxious for Christ to come back soon, then you had better be more wide awake to your responsibility in connection with taking or sending the gospel to the heathen!