Chad Coleman

The Mercy of God

From the standpoint of the redeemed, the punishment of the wicked is an act of unspeakable mercy. How dreadful would it be if the present order of things should continue forever, when the children of God are obliged to live in the midst of the children of the Devil. Heaven would at once cease to be Heaven if the ears of the saints still heard the blasphemous, filthy language of the reprobate. What a mercy that in the New Jerusalem “there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination” (Rev 21:27) ~ A.W. Pink 1886 – 1952

On Good Works

For a work to be considered good it must not only conform outwardly to the law of God, but it must be motivated inwardly by a sincere love for God.” (RC Sproul, Chosen By God, 107).

This means that we, in ourselves, are entirely unable to do any good. When I say ‘good’, I am not referring to what the world deems to be ‘good’. We are talking about a righteous goodness. Even God says that our good works are still as filthy rags to Him.

In Isaiah 64:6 we read “We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.”

And so, all truly good works come from the Father working through us.

Quoting Charles Spurgeon

When one is full of health and vigor, and has everything going well, you might, perhaps, live on the elementary truths of Christianity very comfortably; but in times of stern pressure of spirit, when the soul is much cast down, you want the marrow and the fatness. In times of inward conflict, salvation must be all of grace from first to last.