6 FEBRUARY (1859) | Hypocrisy

“Beware ye of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.” Luke 12:1
SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Matthew 23:23–28

Some people I know of are like inns, which have an angel hanging outside for a sign, but they have a devil within for a landlord. There are many men of that kind; they take good care to have an excellent sign hanging out; they must be known by all men to be strictly religious; but within, which is the all-important matter, they are full of wickedness. But I have sometimes heard persons mistake this matter. They say, “Ah! well, poor man, he is a sad drunkard, certainly, but he is a very good-hearted man at bottom.” Now, as Rowland Hill used to say, that is a most astonishing thing for any man to say of another, that he was bad at top and good at bottom. When men take their fruit to market they cannot make their customers believe, if they see rotten apples at the top, that there are good ones at the bottom. A man’s outward conduct is generally a little better than his heart. Very few men sell better goods than they put in the window. Therefore, do not misunderstand me. When I say we must attend more to the inward than the outward, I would not have you leave the outward to itself. “Make clean the outside of the cup and platter”—make it as clean as you can, but take care also that the inward is made clean. Look to that first. Ask yourself such questions as these—“Have I been born again? Am I passed from darkness to light? Have I been brought out of the realms of Satan into the kingdom of God’s dear Son? Do I live by private communion near to the side of Jesus? Can I say that my heart panteth after the Lord, even as the hart does after the water-brooks?”

FOR MEDITATION: A true work of God both starts on the inside and shows on the outside (Philippians 2:12–13). The Christian is one who is “inside out”; the hypocrite is only “out”.

SERMON NO. 237

Spurgeon, C. H., & Crosby, T. P. (1998). 365 Days with Spurgeon (Volume 1) (p. 44). Day One Publications.

October 23 | Burned Up

As a flower of the field, he will pass away. For no sooner has the sun risen with a burning heat than it withers the grass; its flower falls, and its beautiful appearance perishes. So the rich man also will fade away in his pursuits.

James 1:11

Wealthy people usually do not realize that they can’t take their riches with them. Only those who have been humbled before God know that life is “a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away” (James 4:14).

In today’s verse, James writes about the blooming grasses and flowers of Palestine that flourish with beautiful color in February and dry up by May. James also borrows part of his illustration from Isaiah 40:6–8. The burning heat, which could refer to the scorching wind known as a sirocco, destroys the vegetation in its path. It is illustrative of the fury of death and divine judgment that put an end to the rich man’s earthly life and his material possessions.

When the rich man’s possessions are burned up, he will have the true riches, just as the poor man does. If you are wealthy, make sure you have a true spirit of humility and don’t trust in the possessions of life.¹

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¹  MacArthur, J. (2001). Truth for today : a daily touch of God’s grace (p. 320). J. Countryman.

7 october (1855) | Conversion

“Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him; Let him know, that he which converteth the sinner from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude of sins.” James 5:19: 20

suggested further reading: 2 Corinthians 2:5–11

The poor backslider is often the most forgotten. A member of the church has disgraced his profession; the church excommunicated him, and he was accounted “a heathen man and a publican.” I know of men of good standing in the gospel ministry, who, ten years ago, fell into sin; and that is thrown in our teeth to this very day. When you speak of them you are at once informed, “Why, ten years ago they did so-and-so.” Brethren, Christian men ought to be ashamed of themselves for taking notice of such things so long afterwards. True, we may use more caution in our dealings; but to reproach a fallen brother for what he did so long ago, is contrary to the spirit of John, who went after Peter, three days after he had denied his Master with oaths and curses. Nowadays it is the fashion, if a man falls, to have nothing to do with him. Men say, “he is a bad fellow; we will not go after him.” Beloved, suppose he is the worst; is not that the reason why you should go most after him? Suppose he never was a child of God—suppose he never knew the truth, is not that the greater reason why you should go after him? I do not understand your excessive pride, that won’t let you go after the chief of sinners. The worse the case, the more is the reason why we should go. But suppose the man is a child of God, and you have cast him off—remember, he is your brother; he is one with Christ as much as you are; he is justified, he has the same righteousness that you have; and if, when he has sinned, you despise him, in that you despise him you despise his Master. Take heed! You also may be tempted, and may one day fall.

for meditation: Discipline should not be lax or non-existent (1 Corinthians 5:1–2). But it is possible to go to the other extreme and overdo it.

sermon no. 45¹

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¹  Spurgeon, C. H., & Crosby, T. P. (1998). 365 Days with Spurgeon (Volume 1) (p. 287). Day One Publications.