Holiness

Self-Love is Self-Hatred – Thomas Watson

Exercise great self-denial: “Let him deny himself” (Matthew 16:24). Self-ease, self-ends, whatever comes in competition with (or stand in opposition to) Christ’s glory and interest must be denied. Self is the great snare; self-love undermines the power of godliness. The young man in the Gospel might have followed Christ, but something of self-hindered (Matthew 19:20-22). Self-love is self-hatred. The man who cannot get beyond himself will never get to heaven.

– Thomas Watson –
from The Godly Man’s Picture, 1666

Lord, Make Me As Holy As You – Oswald Chambers

Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful; he will surely do it. (1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 ESV)

The majority of us are too indifferent, too religiously sentimental to be caught up in the sweep of the Apostle Paul’s intercession. Have we a lesser idea than that God should do in us what He wants to do? Are we prepared to pray with Murray McCheyne, “Lord, make me as holy as Thou canst make a sinner saved by grace”?

– Oswald Chambers –
from If You Will Ask

The Day I Died – George Müller

There was a day when I died, utterly —died to George Müller, his opinions, preferences, tastes, and will; died to the world, its approval or censure; died to the approval or blame even of my brethren and friends— and since then I have only to show myself approved to God.”

– George Müller –

Empty vs Spirit-Filled Christian – John T. Hatfield

An empty Christian talks out of his head, but a Spirit-filled Christian talks out of his heart. The Holy Spirit does not live in our brains but in our heart. A head religion will talk anything, but a heart religion talks Jesus and the Holy Spirit.

– John T. Hatfield –

Absolutely Abandoned to Jesus Christ – Oswald Chambers

Whenever our Lord talked about the relation of a disciple to Himself it was in terms of mystical union: “I am the vine [not the root of the vine, but the vine itself], ye are the branches.” We have not paid enough attention to the illustrations Jesus uses. This is the picture of sanctification in the individual, a completeness of relationship between Jesus Christ and myself. Pharisaic holiness means that my eyes are set on my own whiteness and I become a separate individual. I have the notion that I have to be something; I have not, I have to be absolutely abandoned to Jesus Christ, so one with Him that I never think of myself apart from Him. Love is never self-conscious.

– Oswald Chambers –
from Biblical Ethics