‘Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that ye should abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit;’ (Rom 15:13)
Charles Coates 1862 – 1945.
God is the God of hope, and He would have His people to abound in hope. He is going to carry through without fail every purpose of His love in connection with those whom He has called. The Holy Spirit would give us power to hold it all in our souls as a matter of hope. God is going to carry His work through with all His saints, and is going to secure all that is in His purpose. If we abound in hope, as having before us what God has before Him, it will keep us bright, and sustain us even in the presence of all the weakness and departure that have manifested themselves in the Christian profession. Paul never wrote in a more encouraging strain than in 2 Timothy. When John wrote his Gospel the assemblies were in a sad state, but he wrote about the Son of God, and the Father, and the Comforter, and about the thoughts of divine love in relation to those given by the Father to the Son. He is a blessed example of one filled with all joy and peace in believing, and abounding in hope.
(C A Coates, Outline of Romans, p230)
en Nugget Number 387
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It is important to observe that there are no instructions to believers as to how they should exercise authority in the world. The Christians’ place is to submit themselves to authorities which exist. They have nothing to do with establishing the authorities; they recognise them as set up by God. We are exhorted to subject ourselves to the authorities and to pray for them (1 Timothy 2), but we have no instructions to vote for them. To vote is to take the place of deciding what the powers shall be; it is really to join with others in ruling the world. But the Christian is here to confess that all the rights of rule pertain to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to wait in patience for Him to come and take up His rights. And in the meantime to be in subjection to the powers that exist in the ordering of God, and to honour them as God’s ministers.
(C A Coates)
Golden Nugget Number 373
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If there were more service there would be less room for things that lead to envyings, jealousies, evil speaking, and personal differences and misunderstandings
Charles Coates 1862 – 1945.
“Let us occupy ourselves in service.” Rom.12:7
A very great deal of trouble and sorrow would be avoided if believers engaged themselves more in Christian activities. If there were more service there would be less room for things that lead to envyings, jealousies, evil speaking, and personal differencies and misunderstandings. Practically deliverance from what is of the flesh is found as we move in activities which are of the Spirit.
Golden Nugget Number 359
(C A Coates. Outline on Romans, p200)
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We come to this, — How much do we know of God when we are tested? There is an exercise that the soul has to go through in order to get every element of disquietude stilled in the soul. There may be a good many elements of disquietude even where there is peace of conscience. Psalm 32 would establish us in peace of conscience; every moral question settled and God known as an available source. It is one thing to know God as an available resource—we should all know that—but have we really got the living God? That is very experimental. This exercise has to be faced as to whether we have found such a satisfaction in God that all disquietude of soul is quelled.
In Psalm 42 you read of a man who can remember how he went to the house of God with the festive multitude and the voice of joy and praise. In matters of privilege you can go on with meetings and with the festive character of what goes on in the house of God you can have spiritual pleasure in that, but John and Paul both lost this privilege. Have you enough to go on with even if you lost it? I do not think any of us could say that we have not had some disquietude of soul when tested in this way.
(C A Coates, The Maschil Psalms, page 11. Nugget suggested by an English subscriber)
Golden Nugget Number 353
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This man [the malefactor, Luke 23], who was a reviler stands forth now amid the scenes of Calvary as giving a divine interpretation of all that was going on. He is one of the most remarkable men in Scripture. He came forward to declare Christ’s generation. There was no uncertainty or ambiguity about his own state; he judges that perfectly, for he says, “we indeed justly, for we receive the just recompense for what we have done; but this man has done nothing amiss.” That must have been divinely given. Everything that the Lord did was amiss in the estimation of the scribes and Pharisees, but the malefactor justifies the Lord in every way; to his soul He was the Christ, the chosen of God, and if He was in the place of judgment it must be in grace. The thief interpreted it perfectly. He felt that, if the One who was to have the kingdom was on the cross in grace, he could count on grace toward himself. He had light on the whole situation; he was in the light of the person. He was in the light of His death, of His resurrection, of His ascension, His kingdom and His coming again in glory. The eleven apostles might have sat at his feet andlearned wonders! It reminds me of the Lord’s own words, “the last shall be first.”
(C A Coates, Outline of Luke’s Gospel, pp290-291)
(Suggested by a subscriber. The Editor recommends reading the whole chapter on Luke 23 in the Outline.)
Golden Nugget Number 347
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It is most touching to see that it is “the bride, the Lamb’s wife”; she is seen in suitability to the One who suffered here. He has traversed the path of suffering love even into death, for it was as the Lamb He died; He brought in divine love in the way of redemption, and to do so He suffered and died. The saints acquire suitability to the Lamb by being found in the path of suffering here. They “follow the Lamb wheresoever it goes.”
( C A Coates, Paignton, 1926. Extracted from The Believer’s Friend Volume 18 )
Golden Nugget Number 326
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The One who was there! (on the cross). Think of Jesus, the blessed Vessel of divine grace…He was God’s salvation for sinful men
Charles Coates
Think of the One who was there! (on the cross). Think of Jesus, the blessed Vessel of divine grace…He was God’s salvation for sinful men; the One anointed to preach glad tidings to the poor; the One who said that He came not to call the righteous but sinners to repentance! He was indeed the Creditor, but here to announce a frank forgiveness to all His debtors! The Samaritan freely expending divine wealth and resources in compassion on the misery of man ruined by sin and Satan! The One who told of the great supper of grace, and of the blessed inviting and compelling of divine love! The Shepherd who would go after the sheep which was lost until He found it! The One who as the Vessel of all the grace of heaven told of the joy of God in receiving a repenting prodigal! The One who by the grace of God tasted death so that the river of that grace might flow forth for worldwide blessing through a channel of divine righteousness.
Golden Nugget Number 305
(C A Coates, Letters, pp384-5)
Just a thought. This morning (our time) I was at what they call the South Pacific Zoom Reading. Jeremy from Auckland set the reading on, on various scriptures on sight. One was Bartimeus (Mark 10). He said ‘It was a greater thought that the Creator of the Universe could stop in mercy to give sight to a blind beggar, than that the sun could stop for a day.’
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Why are you indifferent to that which is of vastly greater importance than plagues like coronavirus — your eternal salvation?
Please God, the worst of Corvid-19 may be over. The death rate is falling; in many countries lockdown is being eased – hopefully soon in Britain where at the time of writing over 30,000 people have died. But there is a deadening plague which continues and by its very nature is ignored – spiritual apathy. How many millions have it – and those of us who have a living relationship with the Lord, how many of us just acquiesce?
This is an abridged version of a paper by Charles Coates[i]. It is undated, but indications are that it was in the late 1930’s. Britain had come through the great depression and things were pretty good. There were worrying developments in Germany, but they were not causing problems in Britain. Chamberlain had a meeting with Hitler, signed a treaty and said, ‘It’s peace in our time’ (See 2 Kings 2:19). How can you make peace with an evil man? Yesterday we celebrated the 75th anniversary of VE Day. Coates was taken to be with the Lord five months after VE Day; I was born four weeks after that day.
Coates said:
Charles Coates
It has been estimated that over seventy-five per cent of the inhabitants of this country have no concern about the salvation of their souls. They are not atheists or infidels, nor do they make any profession of being saved; they are simply indifferent to the whole matter. If the thought of having to do with God comes into their minds, they solace themselves by a comparison of their own state with that of their fellows, and they conclude that as they are not worse than others, and perhaps better than many, there is no reason why they should have any concern as to their spiritual state. Any occasional alarm is speedily stilled by the thought that God is merciful — a sentiment which in the mind of an indifferent sinner means that he likes to think of God as One whose judgment of sin is not much more severe than his own. It is to this large body of people, and to each individual in it, that the following plain words are addressed.
Then why so indifferent to that which is of vastly greater importance than all these things put together — your eternal salvation? A friendly voice asks you the question which once rang on the startled ear of Jonah — ‘What meanest thou, O sleeper?’ (Jonah 1:6).
Beware!
Beware! The signals of Holy Scripture are all against you, and another warning reaches you now as you speed along to eternity. ‘When they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them … and they shall not escape’ (1 Thessalonians 5: 3).
In the year of the Great Plague (1665) 90,000 persons died in London. With the earliest symptoms of the disease all indifference fled. Many went mad with terror and ran screaming through the grass-grown deserted streets, as if to escape from the pursuit of death. Have you no symptoms that might justly fill your conscience with alarm? ‘The thought of foolishness is sin’ (Proverbs 24:9). ‘To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin’ (James 4:17). ‘God shall judge the secrets of men’ (Romans 2:16). The plague of sin is in your heart; your members are yielded as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin; and the end of these things is death. Have you never been astounded at the evil thoughts of your own heart? or are you so thoroughly accustomed to them as to be ‘abominable and filthy’, and to drink ‘iniquity like water’? (Job 15: 16). In any case it is high time for indifference to be thrown off as a dangerous and deadly thing.
Sad, sad, that bitter wail — ‘The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved’ (Jeremiah 8:20).
‘God now commandeth all men everywhere to repent’ (Acts 17: 30).
‘God … will have all men to be saved’ (1 Timothy 2: 4). It is at an infinite cost that God has secured for Himself in righteousness the title of SAVIOUR GOD. The Son has been given; Jesus has died; and the whole universe can see at the cross of Christ that God is neither indifferent to sin, nor to the need of His poor creature who has fallen under its power. Then let indifference be banished from your heart. Turn in true repentance to God, and receive by faith the Lord Jesus Christ as your Saviour. For your life hangs on a thread; the record of your sins is on high; and the blackest midnight is brighter than the darkness of a Christless grave. ‘If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved’ (Romans 10: 9).
My Comments
If 75% of Britons were not concerned about salvation in the 1930’s. What is the percentage of spiritual apathy now?
What word is going out to people? Are they hearing the gospel? We don’t hear much, but then almost all the media is secular, liberal and anti-Christian. But concerned Christians are speaking out. They see the gospel under attack, and they are not afraid to say so. Of course, I have not seen or read every message, but a surprisingly large group of voices are from within the Church of England – even from bishops and members of the Synod. Others are from evangelicals – Baptists and Free Church. What I don’t see are similar messages from charismatics and community churches. Like Sardis (Protestantism) – ‘Thou hast a name that thou livest, and art dead’ (Revelation 3:1) – concerned with form, liturgy, organisation and outward works. I have just listened to a well-known American preacher[ii]. describing the Church of Scotland as an ecclesiastical corpse. Thank God that in Sardis there were a few genuine Christians who had not defiled their garments.
We hear platitudes. Yes, by all means talk about the love of God. But first lay the conviction of the need of man – lost, sinful and deserving eternal judgment. Met by the One who died – not just a sacrifice for our sins, but to settle the whole question, knowing that man in the flesh cannot please God.
Some preacher pointed out – Preachers say ‘Chose for Jesus and pray’ – No! ‘Cry to Jesus in faith and repent’. ‘There is joy is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth’ (Luke 15:10).
Beliefs and stand of Rod Thomas, Bishop of Maidstone – I have spoken to Mr Thomas personally. He told me of his early life – see Wikipedia.
– See also. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpo8Z8SwwLo – Revd. Stephen Rae explains why in a context of increasing theological liberalism, he posted the Southwark Declaration on Canterbury Cathedral.
More Christians worshiped, prayed, and shared Scripture online in the past week than ever before, as COVID-19 precautions shut down in-person church gatherings across the US and around the globe. – When God Closes a Church Door, He Opens a Browser Window – Christianity Today 15 March 2020
In the thick of COVID-19 concerns, Bible publishing companies report increased sales . . . yndale reports that engagement on its New Living Translations Facebook page – home to Bible verse memes – has tripled since last March and is up 72% from just last month. LifeWay Christian Resources also saw an increase in sales of 62 percent last week compared to the previous year. “We believe this is no accident, as people often go to the Bible as a source of hope in times of crisis and uncertainty,” said Ben Mandrell, LifeWay CEO. “People draw hope from Scripture because in it they see a God who is with us during our suffering – Christian Headlines 8 April 2020
Christian Zoom Meetings
In these very unusual times, we cannot gather together normally. But the Lord
loves His church and will not let His sheep go unfed. My wife and I have found blessing in attending ‘Zoom meetings’. They cannot be regarded as formally constituted assembly occasions according to 1 Cor 14:23 – ‘The whole church be come together into one place’ – (of course, due to the breakdown it can only be a few Christians gathering in the light of the whole). We enjoy bible readings with up to 20 screens, or larger scale preachings. Many recipients of this letter attend a preaching of the gospel (16:30 BST Lord’s Days) arranged by some in Warrenpoint, Northern Ireland where last week about 120 screens (maybe 300 persons) streamed in, and we were able to see one another over several pages. Some we had not seen for a few years, from the UK and Continental Europe, North America and even Australia and New Zealand. Also audio only – Preachers Corner, arranged by some in Worthing, Sussex (18:00 BST Lords Day. If you are interested in the ‘Zoom meetings, please send me a private email (daniel@roberts.at).
I trust you have found these thoughts encouraging – and comforting. May you be kept well, and free of Covid 19.
Moral Realities: The glad tidings in power in our souls would completely separate us morally from corrupt and fallen man, and set us on the line of pursuing all that belongs to the Man of glory and honour and incorruptibility…
God deals with moral realities; He is concerned with what we are much more than about what we say.
No creature will ever know the full value of the blood of Christ, but it is known to God.
We can thank God that there are indications that Covid 19 is causing some to turn to God. Here are a few snippets from, the press