Brothers and sisters in Christ, there is no room for pride in our lives. For what have we that we did not receive (1 Cor. 4:7)? What have we contributed to our salvation other than the sin that made it necessary?

Believer, God called you and chose you out of the world (Jn. 15:19). This is the essence of the Greek word translated “church” in the Scriptures. This word, ἐκκλησία (ekklesia), is a combination of two words: ἐκ (ek), meaning “out” or “out of”, and καλέω (kaleo), meaning “to call.” We are those who have been called out of the world.

As such, we shall be hated by the world, because we are no longer of the world (Jn. 15:19). Why are we no longer of the world? Because he chose us out of the world (Jn. 15:19). This was not our doing - it was His.

As we’re told in Titus 3:5, it was not on the basis of any deeds which we have done in righteousness that He saved us, but because of His mercy. Ephesians 2:8-9 confirms this, telling us that our salvation is not a result of our works, which is why we have no room to boast. Paul reaffirms this in Rom. 3:27 where he tells us that boasting is excluded by the law of faith.

Brethren, let us always be humble and sober-minded regarding ourselves, and consider others more important (Phil. 2:3-4). This is the attitude of Christ (Phil. 2:5), the one who called us and chose us, and so it should be our attitude as well.

The world may hate us because we were chosen out of it, but the God who chose us loves us. Therefore, let us live in, by, and exemplifying that love as we live in this world from which we’ve been redeemed.

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, October 28

"I have chosen you out of the world." John 15:19

Here is distinguishing grace and discriminating regard; for some are made the special objects of divine affection. Do not be afraid to dwell upon this high doctrine of election. When your mind is most heavy and depressed, you will find it to be a bottle of richest cordial. Those who doubt the doctrines of grace, or who cast them into the shade, miss the richest clusters of Eshcol; they lose the wines on the lees well refined, the fat things full of marrow. There is no balm in Gilead comparable to it. If the honey in Jonathan's wood when but touched enlightened the eyes, this is honey which will enlighten your heart to love and learn the mysteries of the kingdom of God. Eat, and fear not a surfeit; live upon this choice dainty, and fear not that it will be too delicate a diet. Meat from the King's table will hurt none of His courtiers. Desire to have your mind enlarged, that you may comprehend more and more the eternal, everlasting, discriminating love of God. When you have mounted as high as election, tarry on its sister mount, the covenant of grace. Covenant engagements are the munitions of stupendous rock behind which we lie entrenched; covenant engagements with the surety, Christ Jesus, are the quiet resting-places of trembling spirits.

"His oath, His covenant, His blood,
Support me in the raging flood;
When every earthly prop gives way,
This still is all my strength and stay."

If Jesus undertook to bring me to glory, and if the Father promised that He would give me to the Son to be a part of the infinite reward of the travail of His soul; then, my soul, till God Himself shall be unfaithful, till Jesus shall cease to be the truth, thou art safe. When David danced before the ark, he told Michal that election made him do so. Come, my soul, exult before the God of grace and leap for joy of heart.

Brethren, Paul said it is a trustworthy statement that, if we died with Christ, we surely shall also love with Him (2 Tim. 2:11). But can Paul be trusted to attest his own teaching?

Yes! Because He is not alone. Peter attests that what Paul has written was according to the wisdom given him [by God] (2 Pet. 3:15). Peter also then gives Paul’s writings place among the Scriptures (2 Pet. 3:16).

And as we know, “all Scripture is God-breathed” (2 Tim. 3:16), and no Scripture came about by men’s own understanding, but by men carried along by the Holy Spirit spoke that which is from God (2 Pet. 1:20-21).

Let us take heed then, when Paul said what he writes is trustworthy, to attend to the teaching given and to have faith in its veracity. For this provides assurance, and there is great hope in the assurance that, if we have died with Christ, we shall surely live with Him (2 Tim. 2:11)!

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, October 27

"It is a faithful saying." 2 Timothy 2:11

Paul has four of these "faithful sayings." The first occurs in 1 Timothy 1:15, "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners." The next is in 1 Timothy 4:6, "Godliness is profitable unto all things, having the promise of the life that now is, and of that which is to come. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation." The third is in 2 Timothy 2:12, "It is a faithful saying- If we suffer with Him we shall also reign with Him"; and the fourth is in Titus 3:3, "This is a faithful saying, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works." We may trace a connection between these faithful sayings. The first one lays the foundation of our eternal salvation in the free grace of God, as shown to us in the mission of the great Redeemer. The next affirms the double blessedness which we obtain through this salvation- the blessings of the upper and nether springs- of time and of eternity. The third shows one of the duties to which the chosen people are called; we are ordained to suffer for Christ with the promise that "if we suffer, we shall also reign with Him." The last sets forth the active form of Christian service, bidding us diligently to maintain good works. Thus we have the root of salvation in free grace; next, the privileges of that salvation in the life which now is, and in that which is to come; and we have also the two great branches of suffering with Christ and serving with Christ, loaded with the fruits of the Spirit. Treasure up these faithful sayings. Let them be the guides of our life, our comfort, and our instruction. The apostle of the Gentiles proved them to be faithful, they are faithful still, not one word shall fall to the ground; they are worthy of all acceptation, let us accept them now, and prove their faithfulness. Let these four faithful sayings be written on the four corners of my house.

Ruth went into the field of Boaz to pick the gleanings after it had been reaped (Ruth 2:3). She sought the leftovers from those reaping, but what she found was so much more - her redeemer himself. Boaz, for Ruth, was a type of Christ; he represented the one who saves us.

Likewise, we should be going out into our Redeemer’s field, not to reap what is left behind, but to bring in His bounty. Jesus informed His disciples, “lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest” (Jn. 4:35). This He spoke regarding those whose hearts were prepared to receive the gospel, as He continued, “already he who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for life eternal” (Jn. 4:36).

Ruth did not sow, but she received of the harvest, and also received redemption. So too, we who have received redemption should be going out to harvest that which we did not sow (Jn. 4:37-38).

Brethren, are you working to harvest the Lord’s field? Or even to reap the gleanings? If not, why not? Are you ashamed of the gospel? Is it not God’s power for salvation? (Rom. 1:16) Did not God choose “the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe” (1 Cor. 1:21)?

Let us then, as His workers, work to bring in His harvest as He commanded those who would follow (Mt. 28:18-20).

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Evening, October 25

"She gleaned in the field after the reapers: and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elimelech." Ruth 2:3

Her hap was. Yes, it seemed nothing but an accident, but how divinely was it overruled! Ruth had gone forth with her mother's blessing, under the care of her mother's God, to humble but honourable toil, and the providence of God was guiding her every step. Little did she know that amid the sheaves she would find a husband, that he should make her the joint owner of all those broad acres, and that she a poor foreigner should become one of the progenitors of the great Messiah. God is very good to those who trust in Him, and often surprises them with unlooked for blessings. Little do we know what may happen to us tomorrow, but this sweet fact may cheer us, that no good thing shall be withheld. Chance is banished from the faith of Christians, for they see the hand of God in everything. The trivial events of today or tomorrow may involve consequences of the highest importance. O Lord, deal as graciously with Thy servants as Thou didst with Ruth.

How blessed would it be, if, in wandering in the field of meditation tonight, our hap should be to light upon the place where our next Kinsman will reveal Himself to us! O Spirit of God, guide us to Him. We would sooner glean in His field than bear away the whole harvest from any other. O for the footsteps of His flock, which may conduct us to the green pastures where He dwells! This is a weary world when Jesus is away- we could better do without sun and moon that without Him- but how divinely fair all things become in the glory of His presence! Our souls know the virtue which dwells in Jesus, and can never be content without Him. We will wait in prayer this night until our hap shall be to light on a part of the field belonging to Jesus wherein He will manifest Himself to us.

Brethren, Jesus told us that He would be with us always, even to the end of the age (Mt. 28:20). As such, the truth also is with us, and shall be forever (2 Jn. 2).

Remember, the truth isn’t simply facts we know or something we tell, as opposed to a lie - no, the Truth is a Person, and that Person is our Lord Jesus Christ. As He explained to His disciples, He is the way, and the truth, and the life (Jn. 14:6). And His Spirit dwells in us (1 Cor. 3:16), to draw us close, and to lead us into all truth (Jn. 16:3).

Therefore, we are to walk in truth, and in love, for Jesus’ sake. If anyone claims to know Jesus but does not keep Jesus commandments, such as to love one another, then he is a liar and the truth is not in him (1 Jn. 2:4). If we say we have no sin, the truth is not in us (1 Jn. 1:8).

Let us then walk in truth, and love in truth, as He commanded that those who love God should love one another (1 Jn. 4:21). This is how the world will know we are His disciples (Jn. 13:35).

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, October 25

"For the truth's sake, which dwelleth in us, and shall be with us for ever." 2 John 2

Once let the truth of God obtain an entrance into the human heart and subdue the whole man unto itself, no power human or infernal can dislodge it. We entertain it not as a guest but as the master of the house- this is a Christian necessity, he is no Christian who doth not thus believe. Those who feel the vital power of the gospel, and know the might of the Holy Ghost as He opens, applies, and seals the Lord's Word, would sooner be torn to pieces than be rent away from the gospel of their salvation. What a thousand mercies are wrapt up in the assurance that the truth will be with us for ever; will be our living support, our dying comfort, our rising song, our eternal glory; this is Christian privilege, without it our faith were little worth. Some truths we outgrow and leave behind, for they are but rudiments and lessons for beginners, but we cannot thus deal with Divine truth, for though it is sweet food for babes, it is in the highest sense strong meat for men. The truth that we are sinners is painfully with us to humble and make us watchful; the more blessed truth that whosoever believeth on the Lord Jesus shall be saved, abides with us as our hope and joy. Experience, so far from loosening our hold of the doctrines of grace, has knit us to them more and more firmly; our grounds and motives for believing are now more strong, more numerous than ever, and we have reason to expect that it will be so till in death we clasp the Saviour in our arms.

Wherever this abiding love of truth can be discovered, we are bound to exercise our love. No narrow circle can contain our gracious sympathies, wide as the election of grace must be our communion of heart. Much of error may be mingled with truth received, let us war with the error but still love the brother for the measure of truth which we see in Him; above all let us love and spread the truth ourselves.

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Believer, imagine the thoughts that ran through the minds of Christ’s disciples, when He asked, “You do not want to go away also, do you?” (Jn. 6:67). Jesus had just spoken of Himself as the bread of life, saying that His body was true bread and His blood true drink, and the Jews, taking Him literally, were dumbfounded. They could not comprehend how they could possibly eat Jesus flesh and drink His blood. Their eyes were not able to see, nor were there ears able to hear, so they turned and left.

Thus, Jesus questioned His close associates, “do you want to leave too?” But they had eyes to see and ears to hear. Peter responded, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have words of eternal life” (Jn. 6:68).

What a wonderful recognition. It is not, however, simply recognition, but revelation! Jesus explained, again (Jn. 6:65), to His apostles, when many walked away, that this was why He had told them earlier no one could come to Him unless the Father first draws him (Jn. 6:44). He even goes on to say that those who were with Him were with Him, not because they chose Him, but because He chose them (Jn. 6:70).

How humbling a situation! The author of life, the one who came to lay His down as a ransom (Mk. 10:45), chose and opened the eyes of those who walked with Him. Jesus affirms this when He tells Peter that flesh and blood did not reveal to Peter that Jesus is the Son of the living God, but that God Himself revealed it to Peter (Mt. 16:15-17).

No one can receive the gospel unless God first opens their heart. All others have been blinded to the truth of the gospel by the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4), and such natural men can neither receive nor understand the things of God because they do not have His Spirit (1 Cor. 2:14).

Christian, be grateful and humbled that the God who created you did so with a vision to save you and adopt you into His family, calling you a child of God (Eph. 1:3-6). There is no room for boasting or arrogance; for we have nothing that we did not receive (1 Cor. 4:6-7).

Therefore, with humility of mind, remember the condition in which you were when Christ called you, and turn not away from the One who affected your salvation, but instead, preach Him boldly, that others He calls might also come and not be turned away.

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, October 23

"Will ye also go away?" John 6:67

Many have forsaken Christ, and have walked no more with Him; but what reason have YOU to make a change? Has there been any reason for it in the past? Has not Jesus proved Himself all-sufficient? He appeals to you this morning- "Have I been a wilderness unto you?" When your soul has simply trusted Jesus, have you ever been confounded? Have you not up till now found your Lord to be a compassionate and generous friend to you, and has not simple faith in Him given you all the peace your spirit could desire? Can you so much as dream of a better friend than He has been to you? Then change not the old and tried for new and false. As for the present, can that compel you to leave Christ? When we are hard beset with this world, or with the severer trials within the Church, we find it a most blessed thing to pillow our head upon the bosom of our Saviour. This is the joy we have today that we are saved in Him; and if this joy be satisfying, wherefore should we think of changing? Who barters gold for dross? We will not forswear the sun till we find a better light, nor leave our Lord until a brighter lover shall appear; and, since this can never be, we will hold Him with a grasp immortal, and bind His name as a seal upon our arm. As for the future, can you suggest anything which can arise that shall render it necessary for you to mutiny, or desert the old flag to serve under another captain? We think not. If life be long- He changes not. If we are poor, what better than to have Christ who can make us rich? When we are sick, what more do we want than Jesus to make our bed in our sickness? When we die, is it not written that "neither death, nor life, nor things present, nor things to come, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord!" We say with Peter, "Lord, to whom shall we go?"

Believer, it is natural that we at times stumble. For though we are changed inwardly by the indwelling of God’s Spirit (1 Cor. 3:16; Tit. 3:5), our flesh is still indwelled by sin and wars against the Spirit (Rom. 7:14-24; Gal. 5:16-17). Jesus warned His disciples to be on guard, because the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak (Mt. 26:41).

Yet despite our imperfection in this life, God still loves us freely. All He asks is that we come to Him with humble hearts. And if we do, He will exalt us at the proper time (1 Pet. 5:6). If we come to Him and confess our sins, He is faithful and just, and will forgive us our sins, and cleanse us of all unrighteousness (1 Jn. 1:9).

What holds you back brethren? What is keeping you from God’s love which He so freely gives? Remember how much He loves us, so much so that, while we were yet sinners, He sent His Son to die for us (Rom. 5:8). This is why we are able to love Him at all; because He first loved us (1 Jn. 4:19).

Come into His presence today. Pray. Know His love and let that love flow through you to one another, that the world might know that we are Jesus’ disciples (Jn. 13:35).

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, October 22

"I will love them freely." Hosea 14:4

This sentence is a body of divinity in miniature. He who understands its meaning is a theologian, and he who can dive into its fulness is a true master in Israel. It is a condensation of the glorious message of salvation which was delivered to us in Christ Jesus our Redeemer. The sense hinges upon the word "freely." This is the glorious, the suitable, the divine way by which love streams from heaven to earth, a spontaneous love flowing forth to those who neither deserved it, purchased it, nor sought after it. It is, indeed, the only way in which God can love such as we are. The text is a death-blow to all sorts of fitness: "I will love them freely." Now, if there were any fitness necessary in us, then He would not love us freely, at least, this would be a mitigation and a drawback to the freeness of it. But it stands, "I will love you freely." We complain, "Lord, my heart is so hard." "I will love you freely." "But I do not feel my need of Christ as I could wish." "I will not love you because you feel your need; I will love you freely." "But I do not feel that softening of spirit which I could desire." Remember, the softening of spirit is not a condition, for there are no conditions; the covenant of grace has no conditionality whatever; so that we without any fitness may venture upon the promise of God which was made to us in Christ Jesus, when He said, "He that believeth on Him is not condemned." It is blessed to know that the grace of God is free to us at all times, without preparation, without fitness, without money, and without price! "I will love them freely." These words invite backsliders to return: indeed, the text was specially written for such- "I will heal their backsliding; I will love them freely." Backslider! surely the generosity of the promise will at once break your heart, and you will return, and seek your injured Father's face.

Christian, when you are in need or in dire straits, or just in general, do you call out to God your Maker? Do you acknowledge Him as your Maker?

God is creator of all and by His will all things exist (Neh. 9:6; Rev. 4:11). The earth and all that is in it belong to Him (Deut. 10:14; Ps. 24:1). What shall man give to or do for God, or what do we have to offer Him that we did not first receive from Him (Acts 17:25; Rom. 11:34-35).

We are but vessels of clay, made for the Potter’s good pleasure (Rom. 9:19-24). Should we not then look to Him in and for all things? It is He who gives us joy. It is He who causes us to sing. It is He who gives songs in the night.

Let us lift up our voices with the songs He gives, that He might be glorified as He desires and deserves.

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Evening, October 19

“God, my Maker, who giveth songs in the night." Job 35:10

Any man can sing in the day. When the cup is full, man draws inspiration from it. When wealth rolls in abundance around him, any man can praise the God who gives a plenteous harvest or sends home a loaded argosy. It is easy enough for an Aeolian harp to whisper music when the winds blow- the difficulty is for music to swell forth when no wind is stirring. It is easy to sing when we can read the notes by daylight; but he is skilful who sings when there is not a ray of light to read by- who sings from his heart. No man can make a song in the night of himself; he may attempt it, but he will find that a song in the night must be divinely inspired. Let all things go well, I can weave songs, fashioning them wherever I go out of the flowers that grow upon my path; but put me in a desert, where no green thing grows, and wherewith shall I frame a hymn of praise to God? How shall a mortal man make a crown for the Lord where no jewels are? Let but this voice be clear, and this body full of health, and I can sing God's praise: silence my tongue, lay me upon the bed of languishing, and how shall I then chant God's high praises, unless He Himself give me the song? No, it is not in man's power to sing when all is adverse, unless an altar-coal shall touch his lip. It was a divine song, which Habakkuk sang, when in the night he said, "Although the fig-tree shall not blossom, neither shall fruit be in the vines; the labour of the olive shall fail, and the fields shall yield no meat; the flock shall be cut off from the fold, and there shall be no herd in the stalls: yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation." Then, since our Maker gives songs in the night, let us wait upon Him for the music. O Thou chief musician, let us not remain songless because affliction is upon us, but tune Thou our lips to the melody of thanksgiving.

Dear brethren, do you long as newborns for the pure milk of God’s word (1 Pet. 2:2)? May it always be so.

Yet, we must not be content with milk only. We must grow and mature, we must advance to consume solid food as well (Heb. 5:12-14). We cannot remain fleshly (1 Cor. 3:2-3), but grow in faith, in grace, in holiness. For it is this to which we are called, when God exhorts, “you shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Pet. 1:16).

It is a battle, to be sure. For the flesh wars against the spirit (Gal. 5:17). Therefore, we must nourish and strengthen our spirits as the athlete nourishes and strengthens his body. And while the body is trained through diet and exercise, so it is with the spirit.

Nutrition for the spirit comes from the word of God. For every word of Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for correction, for training in righteousness, for reproof, and able to equip us for every good work (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Therefore, we must spend time in it, striving diligently to handle God’s word accurately (2 Tim. 2:15) and eschewing worldliness of all sorts (2 Tim. 2:16; 1 Jn. 2:15-16).

Let us, therefore, come to Jesus through God’s word, seeking His words which are spirit and life (Jn. 6:63), nourishing our spirits with not only the milk of the word, but the bread of life (Jn. 6:35), and the meat of God’s word.

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, October 19

"Babes in Christ." 1 Corinthians 3:1

Are you mourning, believer, because you are so weak in the divine life: because your faith is so little, your love so feeble? Cheer up, for you have cause for gratitude. Remember that in some things you are equal to the greatest and most full-grown Christian. You are as much bought with blood as he is. You are as much an adopted child of God as any other believer. An infant is as truly a child of its parents as is the full-grown man. You are as completely justified, for your justification is not a thing of degrees: your little faith has made you clean every whit. You have as much right to the precious things of the covenant as the most advanced believers, for your right to covenant mercies lies not in your growth, but in the covenant itself; and your faith in Jesus is not the measure, but the token of your inheritance in Him. You are as rich as the richest, if not in enjoyment, yet in real possession. The smallest star that gleams is set in heaven; the faintest ray of light has affinity with the great orb of day. In the family register of glory the small and the great are written with the same pen. You are as dear to your Father's heart as the greatest in the family. Jesus is very tender over you. You are like the smoking flax; a rougher spirit would say, "put out that smoking flax, it fills the room with an offensive odour!" but the smoking flax He will not quench. You are like a bruised reed; and any less tender hand than that of the Chief Musician would tread upon you or throw you away, but He will never break the bruised reed. Instead of being downcast by reason of what you are, you should triumph in Christ. Am I but little in Israel? Yet in Christ I am made to sit in heavenly places. Am I poor in faith? Still in Jesus I am heir of all things. Though "less than nothing I can boast, and vanity confess." yet, if the root of the matter be in me I will rejoice in the Lord, and glory in the God of my salvation.

Christian, Jesus came that we “may have life, and have it abundantly” (Jn. 10:10). How wonderful that He should be so generous in giving us life.

Are you following Him as He called us to? Are you denying yourself and daily taking up your cross (Lk. 9:23)? It is in following His steps (1 Pet. 2:21-25) that we find His paths dripping with fatness (Ps. 65:11).

If we walk with Him, we shall say with the Psalmist, “my cup overflows” (Ps. 23:5)! For “my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).

We have no reason to fear, nor to worry of the things of this life. The things of this world perish and are not to be loved (1 Jn. 2:15-16); but the things of His kingdom we are to seek earnestly (Mt. 6:33), and when we do, all our needs will be met.

Most importantly, when we seek Him with all our heart, our spiritual needs will be met beyond measure. But, in order to not hunger, we must go to the source and feast on the bread of life, and in so doing, find joy and abundance of life. Let us therefore come to Him and spend time in His presence, that our joy may be made full (Jn. 15:11).

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, October 18

"Thy paths drop fatness." Psalm 65:11

Many are "the paths of the Lord" which "drop fatness," but an especial one is the path of prayer. No believer, who is much in the closet, will have need to cry, "My leanness, my leanness; woe unto me." Starving souls live at a distance from the mercy- seat, and become like the parched fields in times of drought. Prevalence with God in wrestling prayer is sure to make the believer strong- if not happy. The nearest place to the gate of heaven is the throne of the heavenly grace. Much alone, and you will have much assurance; little alone with Jesus, your religion will be shallow, polluted with many doubts and fears, and not sparkling with the joy of the Lord. Since the soul-enriching path of prayer is open to the very weakest saint; since no high attainments are required; since you are not bidden to come because you are an advanced saint, but freely invited if you be a saint at all; see to it, dear reader, that you are often in the way of private devotion. Be much on your knees, for so Elijah drew the rain upon famished Israel's fields.

There is another especial path dropping with fatness to those who walk therein, it is the secret walk of communion. Oh! the delights of fellowship with Jesus! Earth hath no words which can set forth the holy calm of a soul leaning on Jesus' bosom. Few Christians understand it, they live in the lowlands and seldom climb to the top of Nebo: they live in the outer court, they enter not the holy place, they take not up the privilege of priesthood. At a distance they see the sacrifice, but they sit not down with the priest to eat thereof, and to enjoy the fat of the burnt offering. But, reader, sit thou ever under the shadow of Jesus; come up to that palm tree, and take hold of the branches thereof; let thy beloved be unto thee as the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, and thou shalt be satisfied as with marrow and fatness. O Jesus, visit us with Thy salvation!

Brothers and sisters, do you stand apart from the culture? Do others know you are different simply by observing your behavior, by listening to your speech? Or do you blend in, as if you belong?

Though we live in the world, we are not of the world; we are of Christ. If we our lives are indistinguishable from the culture, then we must ask, is Christ in us? We are not to love the world nor the things in the world; for if we do, then the love of the Father is not in us (1 Jn. 2:15).

Nor should we be loved by the world. As Jesus explained, “if you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you” (Jn. 15:19).

Therefore, let us not “not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind” (Rom. 12:2). Spend time in His word that your mind might be renewed, and that in so doing, that you become more like Him. Stand out, my brethren, as you stand for Christ. Do not be like the world, but be holy as He is holy (1 Pet. 1:16).

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Evening, October 14

"And be not conformed to this world." Romans 12:2

If a Christian can by possibility be saved while he conforms to this world, at any rate it must be so as by fire. Such a bare salvation is almost as much to be dreaded as desired. Reader, would you wish to leave this world in the darkness of a desponding death bed, and enter heaven as a shipwrecked mariner climbs the rocks of his native country? Then be worldly; be mixed up with Mammonites, and refuse to go without the camp bearing Christ's reproach. But would you have a heaven below as well as a heaven above? Would you comprehend with all saints what are the heights and depths, and know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge? Would you receive an abundant entrance into the joy of your Lord? Then come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, and touch not the unclean thing. Would you attain the full assurance of faith? You cannot gain it while you commune with sinners. Would you flame with vehement love? Your love will be damped by the drenchings of godless society. You cannot become a great Christian- you may be a babe in grace, but you never can be a perfect man in Christ Jesus while you yield yourself to the worldly maxims and modes of business of men of the world. It is ill for an heir of heaven to be a great friend with the heirs of hell. It has a bad look when a courtier is too intimate with his king's enemies. Even small inconsistencies are dangerous. Little thorns make great blisters, little moths destroy fine garments, and little frivolities and little rogueries will rob religion of a thousand joys. O professor, too little separated from sinners, you know not what you lose by your conformity to the world. It cuts the tendons of your strength, and makes you creep where you ought to run. Then, for your own comfort's sake, and for the sake of your growth in grace, if you be a Christian, be a Christian, and be a marked and distinct one.

Christian, when Jesus was preparing to return to glory, He promised His disciples that He would not leave them alone, but that He would send them a comforter, a helper, who would teach them and bring to remembrance all things He had taught them (Jn. 14:26). And just as they were not without this Helper, neither are we. For, “do you not know that you are a temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwells in you” (1 Cor. 3:16)?

We have within us the same comforter who indwelt those who walked daily with the Lord. And through Him, in all our afflictions, God comforts us that we may also comfort those who suffer similar affliction (2 Cor. 1:3-4).

He guides us into truth, speaking what He hears from the Father and the Son, and taking from that which is the Son’s and revealing it to us (Jn. 16:13-14). He even intercedes for us when we know not how to pray (Rom. 8:26).

Believer, do not fail to avail yourself of this gracious gift, our seal and surety of our salvation, the One who reveals to us the things freely given to us by God (1 Cor. 2:12). He is not only beside us, but within us, and in all our troubles, He is able to comfort us.

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Evening, October 12

"The Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost." John 14:26

This age is peculiarly the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, in which Jesus cheers us, not by His personal presence, as He shall do by-and-by, but by the indwelling and constant abiding of the Holy Ghost, who is evermore the Comforter of the church. It is His office to console the hearts of God's people. He convinces of sin; He illuminates and instructs; but still the main part of His work lies in making glad the hearts of the renewed, in confirming the weak, and lifting up all those that be bowed down. He does this by revealing Jesus to them. The Holy Spirit consoles, but Christ is the consolation. If we may use the figure, the Holy Spirit is the Physician, but Jesus is the medicine. He heals the wound, but it is by applying the holy ointment of Christ's name and grace. He takes not of His own things, but of the things of Christ. So if we give to the Holy Spirit the Greek name of Paraclete, as we sometimes do, then our heart confers on our blessed Lord Jesus the title of Paraclesis. If the one be the Comforter, the other is the Comfort. Now, with such rich provision for his need, why should the Christian be sad and desponding? The Holy Spirit has graciously engaged to be thy Comforter: dost thou imagine, O thou weak and trembling believer, that He will be negligent of His sacred trust? Canst thou suppose that He has undertaken what He cannot or will not perform? If it be His especial work to strengthen thee, and to comfort thee, dost thou suppose He has forgotten His business, or that He will fail in the loving office which He sustains towards thee? Nay, think not so hardly of the tender and blessed Spirit whose name is "the Comforter." He delights to give the oil of joy for mourning, and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Trust thou in Him, and He will surely comfort thee till the house of mourning is closed for ever, and the marriage feast has begun.

Brethren, an unpopular doctrine among many Christian’s is that of election and predestination. Many believe the idea that God would choose those to be saved and leave the rest to condemnation contradicts their view of free will and man’s ability to choose God.

Popularity does not affirm truth, nor does lack of popularity refute it.

God’s word is replete with passages describing God’s foreknowledge of all people and events, and His choosing, according to His will and for His good pleasure.

Why did God choose Israel? Why did Jesus choose His apostles and tell them that they didn’t choose Him (Jn. 15:16)? Why did God choose Paul when Paul wasn’t seeking God but rather to kill Jesus’ followers?

Because it pleased Him to do so.

Ephesians chapter one and two make clear that God chooses. Paul details election in Romans 8-11. Jesus Himself said no one could come to Him unless the Father first draws him in the same way that one would draw water from a well. Does the water choose to be drawn up in the bucket?

Paul writes that “it does not depend on the man who wills” (Rom. 9:16), it is not a choice. Paul also writes, “What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened” (Rom. 11:7).

While offensive to some, this should be a sobering and humbling realization. We have nothing to offer God. Even our faith is a gift. The only thing we contribute to our salvation is the sin that makes it necessary.

If you are born anew, it was not of your will, but of God (Jn. 1:13). Be thankful, not boastful. Be humble, not proud. You deserve condemnation as much as anyone else. Your salvation is an unearned and undeserved gift.

Remember that God has a purpose for you. If you are saved, it is because He first predestined you and then He called you (Rom. 8:30). Therefore, be grateful and sober, and “walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace” (Eph. 4:1-3).

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Evening, October 11

"Whom He did predestinate, them He also called." Romans 8:30

In the second epistle to Timothy, first chapter, and ninth verse, are these words- "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling." Now, here is a touchstone by which we may try our calling. It is "an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace." This calling forbids all trust in our own doings, and conducts us to Christ alone for salvation, but it afterwards purges us from dead works to serve the living and true God. As He that hath called you is holy, so must you be holy. If you are living in sin, you are not called, but if you are truly Christ's, you can say, "Nothing pains me so much as sin; I desire to be rid of it; Lord, help me to be holy." Is this the panting of thy heart? Is this the tenor of thy life towards God, and His divine will? Again, in Philippians, 3:13, 14, we are told of "The high calling of God in Christ Jesus." Is then your calling a high calling? Has it ennobled your heart, and set it upon heavenly things? Has it elevated your hopes, your tastes, your desires? Has it upraised the constant tenor of your life, so that you spend it with God and for God? Another test we find in Hebrews 3:1- "Partakers of the heavenly calling." Heavenly calling means a call from heaven. If man alone call thee, thou art uncalled. Is thy calling of God? Is it a call to heaven as well as from heaven? Unless thou art a stranger here, and heaven thy home, thou hast not been called with a heavenly calling; for those who have been so called, declare that they look for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God, and they themselves are strangers and pilgrims upon the earth. Is thy calling thus holy, high, heavenly? Then, beloved, thou hast been called of God, for such is the calling wherewith God doth call His people.

Psalms
Chapter 149

1 Praise ye the LORD. Sing unto the LORD a new song, and his praise in the congregation of saints.

2 Let Israel rejoice in him that made him: let the children of Zion be joyful in their King.

3 Let them praise his name in the dance: let them sing praises unto him with the timbrel and harp.

4 For the LORD taketh pleasure in his people: he will beautify the meek with salvation.

5 Let the saints be joyful in glory: let them sing aloud upon their beds.

6 Let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a twoedged sword in their hand;

7 To execute vengeance upon the heathen, and punishments upon the people;

8 To bind their kings with chains, and their nobles with fetters of iron;

9 To execute upon them the judgment written: this honour have all his saints. Praise ye the LORD.





Psalms
Chapter 150

1 Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.

2 Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.

3 Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.

4 Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.

5 Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.

6 Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.

Beloved brethren, we may often be tempted to focus on our faults and shortcomings. Indeed, to recognize our own need for salvation, we must admit that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

Paul laments even his post-justification condition, bemoaning, “wretched man that I am! Who will set me free from the body of this death” (Rom. 7:24)?

Yet we have reason, as did Paul, for not only hope but rejoicing! For “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). Why?

Because He “is able to…make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless” (Jud. 1:24).

Hallelujah! We were cleansed with “the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit” (Tit. 3:5). Jesus was made a sin offering for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 Cor. 5:21). When God looks upon us, He no longer sees our sinful past, but instead looking through a Christ-filtered lens, He perceives us as holy and righteous with Jesus.

How humbled we should be to know that “the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him” (Isa. 53:6). How grateful we should be that our transgression is forgiven, that our sin is covered, and that our iniquity not taken into account (Psalm. 32:1-2). How amazed we should be in knowing that our hearts have been sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, and that our bodies have been washed clean with pure water (Heb. 10:22).

Let us then, remembering our debt, sing joyfully with the hymnist:

“Jesus paid it all,
All to Him I owe,
sin had left a crimson stain,
He washed it white as snow.”

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Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening Devotions

Morning, October 10

"Faultless before the presence of His glory." Jude 24

Revolve in your mind that wondrous word, "faultless"! We are far off from it now; but as our Lord never stops short of perfection in His work of love, we shall reach it one day. The Saviour who will keep His people to the end, will also present them at last to Himself, as "a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but holy and without blemish." All the jewels in the Saviour's crown are of the first water and without a single flaw. All the maids of honour who attend the Lamb's wife are pure virgins without spot or stain. But how will Jesus make us faultless? He will wash us from our sins in His own blood until we are white and fair as God's purest angel; and we shall be clothed in His righteousness, that righteousness which makes the saint who wears it positively faultless; yea, perfect in the sight of God. We shall be unblameable and unreproveable even in His eyes. His law will not only have no charge against us, but it will be magnified in us. Moreover, the work of the Holy Spirit within us will be altogether complete. He will make us so perfectly holy, that we shall have no lingering tendency to sin. Judgment, memory, will- every power and passion shall be emancipated from the thraldom of evil. We shall be holy even as God is holy, and in His presence we shall dwell for ever. Saints will not be out of place in heaven, their beauty will be as great as that of the place prepared for them. Oh the rapture of that hour when the everlasting doors shall be lifted up, and we, being made meet for the inheritance, shall dwell with the saints in light. Sin gone, Satan shut out, temptation past for ever, and ourselves "faultless" before God, this will be heaven indeed! Let us be joyful now as we rehearse the song of eternal praise so soon to roll forth in full chorus from all the blood-washed host; let us copy David's exultings before the ark as a prelude to our ecstasies before the throne.

If ever there was a verse that was very straightforward in asserting God's election in salvation, it is Romans 11:7 -

"What then? What Israel is seeking, it has not obtained, but those who were chosen obtained it, and the rest were hardened"