It was because of his persuasion of Timothy's faith, and perhaps of the apprehension that the young disciple had been depressed by his own long imprisonment, that he addressed him in this manner.

I. THE SPIRITUAL GIFTS POSSESSED BY TIMOTHY. "Wherefore I put thee in remembrance to stir up the gift of God which is in thee by means of the laying on of my hands."

1. He refers to the special gift received by Timothy with a view to his niece as an evangelist. It was not anything either natural or acquired, but something bestowed by the Spirit of God which would fit him for teaching and ruling the Church of God.

2. It was conferred by the hands of the apostle along with the presbytery (1 Timothy 4:14).

II. THE NECESSITY OF STIRRING UP THIS SPIRITUAL GIFT.

1. It is possible there may have been some slackness or decline of power on Timothy's part, arising from various causes of discouragement, to make this injunction necessary.

2. The gift was to be stirred up by reading, meditations, and prayer, so that he might be enabled, with fresh zeal, to reform the abuses of the Church and endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. - T.C.

And here we must all learn a double lesson. First, to get this fire; and next, to keep it from quenching. This is that one thing necessary; and how should we rejoice if it be already kindled! For without it we are blind, corrupt, cold, yea, stark dead. We must make our hearts the hearth to uphold it, and our hands the tongs to build it; it must lodge with us daily, send out flame from us, and our lamps must be continually burning; then shall we glorify our God, give light to others, walk safely, as walled about with a defence of fire, in this pilgrimage; and the Lord, at length, shall send us fiery chariots to carry us to heaven, where our lamps shall burn day and night, and shine as the sun in the clear firmament for ever and ever.

(J. Barlow, D. D.)

For if they be not, will they not perish? Have you not heard that they are of a fiery quality, and therefore subject, without stirring, blowing, to decay and be extinguished? The things that put out the fire of the spirit in us, are — first, evil cogitations; as smoke weakeneth the eye, cold frosts nip the tender bud, and stinking smells damp and dull the purest spirits, so do bad thoughts disturb, impoverish, and enfeeble the gifts of God that be in us. [Secondly, corrupt speech; that troubleth the fountain, and stoppeth the spirit's spring; it shakes the young plants of grace, as the boisterous winds do the late grafted scions: this will cause the new man to die before his time, and the best fruits he beareth to become blasted. Thirdly, wicked works; they raze the foundation, and, like the boar of the wood, root up all; when these break forth into action, then falls grace suddenly into a consumption; for they do not only wither the branches and change the complexion, but also kill the body, devour the juice of life, and destroy the constitution. Fourthly, loud company; this doth press down and keep under the gifts of God, that they cannot shoot up and spring; as water to fire, green wood to dry, this quencheth all; one grain of this leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Let the Israelites live among the Egyptians, though they hate the men, yet they will learn their manners; and Peter will grow cold if he warm his fingers at Caiaphas' fire. Fifthly, the prosperity of the wicked; that will buffet the soul, wound the very spirit, and make grace to look pale and wan. How have the faithful fainted to see this, and the strongest foot of faith reeled, staggered! This mud hath made the men of God almost to turn out of the way. Sixthly, and finally, the pampering of the flesh. It will impoverish the spirit, and make it look lank and lean. If the one be cherished, the other will be starved. When one of these buckets is ascending the other is descending. Paul knew it well, therefore would beat down his body, and keep it in subjection. These be the greatest impediments that hinder the gifts of grace from stirring, growing.

(J. Barlow, D. D.)

First, reading either the Scriptures or other holy writings. This being done in a corner will refresh the spirit. It is like food to the fainting passenger. Secondly, meditation. He that sits long by the fire shall have his body to grow hot, and his cold spirits to become active, nimble. Let this be done thoroughly, and it will make grace to stretch itself beyond its ordinary wont, and the Christian to be rapt out of himself. Thirdly, prayer. Who ever in his secret chamber went to God by earnest prayer but he was ravished in mind, and in the strength of that action spent all that day without weariness? God giveth the greatest gifts in secret; and, like man, revealeth Himself apart. Yea, private prayer doth both stir up and increase grace mightily; and as secret meals make a fat body, so doth that a well-liking mind. Fourthly, observation, and that of the daily acts of God's providence. Fifthly, examples: not the worst, but the most excellent. Set before thine eyes the cloud of witnesses, that have far outstripped thee. Think what a shame it is for thee to come so far behind them. Will not a comely suite make some leap into the fashion? Sixthly, resolution; which must consist in propounding to ourselves a higher pitch of perfection. He that would shoot or leap further than before will cast his eye and aim beyond the mark. But if all these will not stir up this fire, then consider what a loss it is to be a dwarf and bankrupt in this grace. How God may forsake us, an evil spirit possess us, and Satan seek about to apprehend us, as the Philistines did Samson; so shall we pluck up our spirits, stir up our strength, rise out of this lethargy, and fly for our lives.

(J. Barlow, D. D.)

It is not a trade, but the well using of it; not a farm, but the well husbandry of it, that will enrich the one and the other. Wherefore, be steadfast, immoveable, and abundant in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

(J. Barlow, D. D.)

First, there may be an increase of grace in the best Christians. For Timotheus was an excellent man before this time; and were not his gifts now augmented? Secondly, that a minister hath need of more grace than a common Christian. This is the reason his gifts were increased. Thirdly, that the more worthy calling God sets us in, the greater portion of His spirit will He pour upon us. He did so by Timothy. Fourthly, that preachers may (above others) depend upon God for a blessing. For, are they not consecrated with great care and solemnity? enriched with extraordinary gifts and graces? Think on this, O ye, men of God, and in contempt of the world let the honour of your calling, and hope of good success in the faithful execution, comfort your souls, and breed an un-daunted resolution in you.

(J. Barlow, D. D.)

The letter is a striking but thoroughly natural mixture of gloom and brightness... The thought which specially oppresses (the apostle) is "anxiety about all the Churches" — and about Timothy himself. Dark days are coming. False doctrine will be openly preached and will not lack hearers; and utterly un-Christian conduct and conversation will become grievously prevalent. And, while the godly are persecuted, evil men will wax worse and worse. This sad state of things has already begun; and the apostle seems to fear that his beloved disciple is not altogether unaffected by it. Separation from St. Paul or the difficulties of his position may have told on his over-sensitive temperament, and have caused him to be remiss in his work, through indulgence in futile despondency. The words of the text strike the dominant chord of the Epistle and reveal to us the motive that prompts it. The apostle puts Timothy in rememberance "that he stir up the gift of God which is in him." Again and again he insists on this and similar counsels (see vers. 8, 14, 2:8, 15, 3:14). And then, as the letter draws to a close, he speaks in still more solemn tones of warning (2 Timothy 4:1, 2, 5). Evidently the apostle is anxious lest even the rich gifts with which Timothy is endowed should be allowed to rust through want of use. Timidity and weakness may prove fatal to him and his work, in spite of the spiritual advantages which he has enjoyed. The apostle's anxiety about the future of the Churches is interwoven with anxiety about the present and future conduct of his beloved delegate and successor.

(A. Plummer, D. D.)

In encouraging Timothy to stir up the gift that is in him, and not suffer himself to be ashamed of the ignominy, or afraid of the hardships, which the service of Christ entails, the apostle puts before him five considerations. There are the beautiful traditions of his family, which are now in his keeping. There is the sublime character of the gospel which has been entrusted to him. There is the teaching of St. Paul himself, who has so often given him a "pattern of sound words" and a pattern of steadfast endurance. There is the example of Onesiphorus with his courageous devotion. And there is the sure hope of "the salvation which is in Christ Jesus with eternal glory." Any one of these might suffice to influence him: Timothy cannot be proof against them all.

(A. Plummer, D. D.)

The Greek word rendered "stir up" literally means to kindle up, to fan into flame. We know that St. Paul frequently uses for his illustrations of Christian life scenes well known among the Greek heathen nations of the Old World, such as the Greek athletic games. Is it not possible (the suggestion is Wordsworth's) that the apostle while here charring Timothy to take care that the sacred fire of the Holy Ghost did not languish in his heart, while urging him to watch the flame, to keep it burning brightly, to fan the flame if burning dimly — is it not possible that St. Paul had in mind the solemn words of the Roman law, "Let them watch the eternal flame of the public hearth"? (Cicero, De Legibus 11:8). The failure of the flame was regarded as an omen of dire misfortune, and the watchers, if they neglected the duty, were punished with the severest penalties.

(H. D. M. Spence, M. A.)

Dr. Paley's great talents were first called into vigorous exercise under the following circumstances: — "I spent the first two years of my undergraduate-ship," said he, "happily, but unprofitably. I was constantly in society, where we were not immoral, but idle and rather expensive. At the commencement of my third year, however, after having left the usual party at rather a late hour in the evening, I was awakened at five in the morning by one of my companions, who stood at my bedside, and said, 'Paley, I have been thinking what a fool you are. I could do nothing, probably, were I to try, and can afford the life I lead; you could do everything, and cannot afford it. I have had no sleep during the whole night on account of these reflections, and am now come solemnly to inform you, that if you persist in your indolence, I must renounce your society.' "I was so struck," Dr. Paley continued, "with the visit and the visitor, that I lay in bed great part of the day and formed my plan. I ordered my bed-maker to prepare my fire every evening, in order that it might be lighted by myself. I arose at five; read during the whole of the day, except during such hours as chapel and hall required, allotting to each portion of time its peculiar branch of study; and just before the closing of gates (nine o'clock) I went to a neighbouring coffee-house, where I constantly regaled upon a mutton-chop and a dose of milk-punch. And thus on taking my bachelor's degree, I became senior wrangler."

(Life of Paley.)

What if God should command the flowers to appear before Him, and the sunflower should come bending low with shame because it was not a violet, and the violet should come striving to lift itself up to be like a sunflower, and the lily should seek to gain the bloom of the rose, and the rose the whiteness of the lily; and so, each one disdaining itself, should seek to grow into the likeness of the other? God would say, "Stop foolish flowers! I gave you your own forms and hues, and odours, and I wish you to bring what you have received. O sunflower, come as a sunflower; and you sweet violet, come as a violet; let the rose bring the rose's bloom, and the lily the lily's whiteness." Perceiving their folly, and ceasing to, long for what they had not, violet and rose, lily and geranium, mignonette and anemone, and all the floral train would conic, each in its own loveliness, to send up its fragrance as incense, and all wreathe themselves in a garland of beauty about the throne of God.

(H. W. Beecher.)

Every man has two educations — that which is given to him, and that which he gives himself. Of the two kinds, the latter is by far the most valuable. Indeed, till that is most worthy in a man, he must work out and conquer for himself. It is this that constitutes our real and best nourishment. What we are merely taught seldom nourishes the mind like that which we teach ourselves.

(A. Tynman.)

I. It seems worth our while to remind ourselves that the source of all holy or vicious conduct is a virtuous or a depraved WILL.

II. Next, in the review of our daily practice, it may be regarded as certain that we are wanting in our use of the most ordinary helps to a holy life, IF WE ARE INFREQUENT AND IRREGULAR IN PRAYER, AND IN OUR STUDY OF THE BIBLE.

III. The present may further be a very fitting season for A STRICT EXAMINATION OF OURSELVES WITH REFERENCE TO ALL THOSE SEEMINGLY INDIFFERENT HABITS, ON WHICH (as a very little attention shows) THE VIGOUR OF OUR SPIRITUAL, LIFE MAINLY DEPENDS. It is a point often overlooked by thoughtless persons, that a slow and undecided manner — habits of procrastination — sloth — want of punctuality and method — that these things, and the like of these, are fatal to the operations of the best-regulated will.

(J. W. Burgon, M. A.)

We must infer from this language that Timothy had become somewhat remiss since the departure of St. Paul, and needed a word of admonition and rebuke. But we must remember also, in justice to Timothy, that his position in Ephesus was an unusually trying one for a man of his age. He had been left in the city for the purpose of checking the outgrowth of heresy add licentiousness which had just begun to manifest itself. His ordinary duties were anxious and heavy: he had to rule presbyters, most of whom were older than himself; to assign to each a stipend in proportion to his work; to receive and decide on charges that might be brought against them; to regulate the almsgiving and the sisterhoods of the Church, and to ordain the presbyters and deacons. But, in addition to all this, there were leaders of rival sects in the city — Hymenaeus, Philetus, and Alexander — men, probably, of considerable intellectual power, and certainly wielding great influence in the Christian community, who would exert themselves to oppose and to thwart the youthful bishop, and who would find in the absence of St. Paul their best opportunity of doing so with effect and success. Now Timothy, as it appears, was a man of a gentle and sensitive temperament. Lacking in the sterner fibre of character, he shrank from opposition and conflict. But although no mistake was made, as the sequel proved, the weaker nature of Timothy required on occasions the support and stimulus which the robust mind of the great apostle of the Gentiles was calculated to afford. One such occasion we have before us now. There came a visible slackening in the energy and vigour with which the youthful disciple held the reins of ecclesiastical government. St. Paul beard of this declension, and immediately spoke. The old man, ready to be offered, standing just on the confines of martyrdom, and just within reach of his crown, might well speak to his younger associate. And very touching are his words, The first thought ell which we shall enlarge will be this — that there is a "gift of God" abiding in every one who names the name of Christ, and that this gift is "a spirit of power, and of love, and of a sound mind." The second thought will be this — that the gift in question may be permitted, through carelessness and neglect, to fall into decay; and that when this is the case, measures must immediately be taken to "stir up the gift" — to impart to it, by the use of suitable means, the vitality and vigour which it seems to have lost.

I. Now, according to St. Paul, A CHRISTIAN IS ONE IN WHOM THE SPIRIT OF GOD — the personal Spirit, God the Holy Ghost — HAS TAKEN UP HIS ABODE, AND BECOME, AS IT WERE, A RESIDENT AND INMATE. What constitutes a temple is the inhabitation of Deity. It is just so with ourselves. Excellence of character and beauty of disposition are not things to be despised, but they only constitute the empty habitation; and the man is not a Christian unless the Spirit of God is dwelling within him. But, again, according to St. Paul, the Spirit of God does not supply to us the place of our spirit; but leaving the man in his completeness, pervades, animates, directs, that part of. his nature by which he holds communion with the Divine. This gift of God "which is in us" is in the direction of "power, and of love, and of a sound mind." What does he mean? He means this. The office of God the Holy Ghost is to take of the things of the Lord Jesus Christ, and to "show" them to the true disciple. In other words, the Holy Ghost imparts to the soul a right understanding, a correct perception of Christian truth, and enables us to realise our own personal concern and interest in the things that are explained.

II. The apostle tells us THAT THIS GIFT OF GOD WITHIN US MAY BE ALLOWED TO WANE — may require to be "stirred up." Yes; interest abates; novelty ceases to be novelty; variety is sought for; the first flush of early love passes away; the impulse which set us a-going is expended; duties become wearisome; regularity is monotonous. And are we always aware of the process that is going on within us? Not always. We attribute it to others — to causes that are outside ourselves. I have frequently visited consumptive patients. The poor fellow, with his wasted frame, and hectic flush, and racking cough, tells you that he is a little worse to-day — A little feebler; but then he knows how to account for it — he sat inadvertently in a draught yesterday. On the occasion of your next visit he is worse; but then — he took something at one of his meals which disagreed with him. The next time he is still worse; but he sat up too late — he overstayed his usual hour of retiring to rest. He has always a reason to assign that is not the real, the right, the true one. You, watching him pityingly, can give a better account of the matter. You know that the bodily frame is decaying, — that death is stretching on with rapid strides to claim his victim. So with the symptoms of spiritual declension. The man has one excuse or another to account for his decaying interest, for his waning spirituality, for his neglect of Bible study, for his less frequent attendance at the house of God or at the table of the Lord. "Business has increased"; "his health is not what it used to be"; "the preaching is not so interesting as it once was." Well, that is his account of the matter, as the poor consumptive patient has his account of the matter. You, looking on, know that the chill torpor of worldliness has seized upon the soul, and is threatening to bring it into the icy stillness of spiritual death. I fear we are all of us subject to the waning of the life within us. Let us be on our guard, then. The "gift of God" may be in us still; but it may need "stirring up."

(G. Calthrop, M. A.)

I suppose that Timothy was a somewhat retiring youth, and that from the gentleness of his nature he needed to be exhorted to the exercise of the bolder virtues. His was a choice spirit, and therefore it was desirable to see it strong, brave and energetic. No one would wish to arouse a bad man, for, like a viper, he is all the worse for being awake; but in proportion to the excellence of the character is the desirability of its being full of force. There are many kinds of gifts. All Christians have some gift. Some have gifts without them rather than within them — gifts, for instance, of worldly position, estate, and substance. These ought to be well used. But we must go at once to the point in hand; — "the gift that is in you," we have now to speak of.

I. First, then, WHAT GIFT IS THERE IN US? In some there are gifts of mind, which are accompanied with gifts of utterance. The stones in the street might surely cry out against some religious professors who make the Houses of Parliament, the council-chamber, the courts of justice, the Athenaeum, or the Mechanics' hall ring with their voices, and yet preach not Jesus — who can argue points of politics and the like, but not speak a word for Christ — eloquent for the world, but dumb for Jesus. If you have the gift of the pen, are you using it for Christ as you ought? I want to stir up the gift that is in you. Letters have often been blessed to conversions; are you accustomed to write with that view? Another form of gift that belongs to us is influence. What an influence the parent has. Many of the elder members of the Church have another gift — namely, experience. Certainly, experience cannot be purchased, nor taught; it is given us of the Lord who teacheth us to profit. It is a peculiar treasure each man wins for himself as he is led through the wilderness. May you be of such a sort as a certain clergyman I heard of the other day. I asked a poor woman "What sort of man is he?" She said, "He is such a sort of man, sir, that if he comes to see you you know he has been there." I understood what she meant: he left behind him some godly saying, weighty advice, holy consolation, or devout reflection, which she could remember after he had left her cottage door. Another gift which many have is the gift of prayer — of prayer with power, in private for the Church and with sinners. There is another gift which is a very admirable one. It is the gift of conversation, not a readiness for chit-chat and gossip — (he who has that wretched propensity may bury it in the earth and never dig it up again) — but the gift of leading conversation, of being what George Herbert called the "master-gunner"; when we have that, we should most conscientiously use it for God.

II. And this brings us, secondly to the consideration of — HOW WE ARE TO STIR UP OUR GIFTS.

1. First, we should do it by examination to see what gifts we really have. There should be an overhauling of all our stores to see what we have of capital entrusted to our stewardship.

2. The next mode of stirring up our gift is to consider to what use we could put the talents we possess. To what use could I put my talents in my family?

3. But, next, stir it up not merely by consideration and examination, but by actually using it.

4. And then, in addition to using our gift, every one of us should try to improve it.

5. And then pray over your gifts: that is a blessed way of stirring them up — to go before God, and spread out your responsibilities before Him.

III. WHY IS IT THAT WE SHOULD STIR UP THE GIFT THAT IS IN US?

1. We should stir up the gift that is in us, because all we shall do when we have stirred ourselves to the utmost, and when the Spirit of God has strengthened us to the highest degree, will still fall far short of what our dear Lord and Master deserves at our hands.

2. Another reason is that these are stirring times. If we are not stirring everybody else is.

3. And then, again, we must stir up our gift because it needs stirring. The gifts and graces of Christian men are like a coal fire which frequently requires stirring as well as feeding with fuel.

4. If we will but stir our selves, or rather, if God's Holy Spirit will but stir us, we, as a church, may expect very great things.

(C. H. Spurgeon.)

What is in us or in our possession through the Divine benevolence? And what is the call made upon us in Divine providence and by the Divine Spirit, for the exercise of that gift, in order to the enlightenment and salvation of our fellow-men?

I. THE ETHNIC OR RACE GIFT. No people can have enjoyed a larger gift in this regard than our own. "God hath not so dealt with any nation." See how this island-race is spreading over the earth! God has said to this nation, "Stir up the gift which is in thee — in thee by the slow deposit of My providence, by the sewings of centuries — stir up that gilt, and use it for the world's good."

II. THERE IS ALSO THE FAMILY GIFT. All men receive from their ancestors something which goes into and becomes part of themselves, and this something has in it both help and hindrance. But to us, to most of this Christian assembly, the balance is largely on the side of help. It might have failed; for faith is not something mechanical, nor is it essentially and of necessity transmitted with the natural life. It might have failed, but it has not — "And I am persuaded that in thee also." "First in thy grand mother." Young men and maidens are apt to smile at the name of "grandmother." But the Scriptures glorify old age. So do the great poets. Seventy years ago some one lived, and loved, and was wedded, and listened to the music of her children's feet, from whom you have inheritance. Something lived in her which lives in you. "Stir up the gift which is in thee." Let the good thoughts of that far-off time live again. Let the tears then shed be a present tenderness in your breast. Let all the love of the old time have fulfilment and transmission, so that your children and your children's children may arise to call you blessed. In this life you are not atoms, units, severed personalities; but branches, links, conductors; receiving and giving, reaping and sowing, reaching back to the Eden behind you, and forward to the day of God that is coming.

III. THERE IS TO EACH ONE A GIFT FROM GOD DISTINCTLY PERSONAL. There is something given to each, inhering in his own nature alone, not diffused, not shared by others, not flowing through his life from lives behind to lives before — something that begins and ends with himself. It is himself — the inner real self which presides over all outer relations of hereditary and historical kind. Stir up this gift of immortal life that is in thee by the creating Spirit, by the personal inbreathing of God. Be thyself. When a man is born, God gives him power to be something for his fellow-creatures and his God. That something may be like treasure "hid in a field," but never found. We know how certain great men have lived; how they became great by developing the inward energy. How then can a man truly and in the highest sense stir up his personal gift? Attila the Hun, "the scourge of God," had from God the gift which he developed, so that his life became like a stream of scorching fire. Napoleon had all that was masterly in his spirit from the God who made him; but the apostle would not have allowed that he stirred up his gift aright. And now, society is vibrating through and through with the action of various human gifts; statesmen striving against each other, and serving their country in the strife; prolific writers, working up to the full bent of their genius; merchants, making a very science of their commerce, and reaping ample harvest of the same. But beyond the stir and strife lies the question of spiritual motive, aim, tendency. From what fountain springs all this activity? To what goal is it tending?

IV. THE CHRISTIAN GIFT. It is expressed in such a word as this: "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain." Or this: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me." Or this: "If any man be in Christ he is a new creature: old things are passed away, and all things are become new." And: "If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." Full religious development must take the form of Christian consecration. How much a mad — any one of you young men — might do, would, I believe, be a discovery even to yourself. Now and again God gives us to see this, to see how much one can do, not by great original powers, not by the help of favouring circumstances, but just by consecration, by stirring up the gift — it may be a gift composed of many gifts, a general capacity of service. What in you is its measure? How far will it reach? How long will it last? How much will it achieve? I cannot tell, no more can you, until you try. Timothy the lad in Lystra knows nothing of Timothy the bishop of Ephesus. We all go on to meet, and as we go we make, our future selves.

(A. Raleigh, D. D.)

What Timothy seems to have wanted most was fire. St. Paul could have no doubt as to his gifts, nor of the fidelity with which he would use them. But the work and the times demanded something more than talent and conscientiousness; they required enthusiasm. Hence the apostle urges his friend to "stir up the gift that was in him," or, as his words might be better rendered, "kindle the gift that is in thee into flame." For the want of this enthusiasm men of splendid parts prove splendid failures, and, although otherwise qualified to fill the highest places and to lead the grandest enterprises, are never heard of, from sheer inability to push their way. But our subject is not enthusiasm in general, hut Christian enthusiasm in particular; and our text, with its context, supplies us with some useful hints respecting its subject, its nature, and its motive.

I. ITS SUBJECT. To be enthusiastic it is obvious that we must have something to be enthusiastic about, and something worthy of our enthusiasm. The enthusiasm of the Christian worker, like that of the poet, may be "fine frenzy," but, like the poet's, again, it is not aimless frenzy. It gathers round a definite object, which has sufficient force o! attraction to draw towards it the whole interest and strength of the man over whom it throws its spell. In Timothy's case this subject was a gift for the office of bishop and evangelist. Notice, then, that this capacity is —

1. "The gift of God." We take the greatest pride in the products of our independent genius and industry, or in the purchases of our wealth. But here we have, as the bestowment of a generous benefactor, what all our money could not buy, and what all our skill could not fabricate. We serve God just because God has given us the ability to serve Him. In Christian work, therefore, boasting is shameful, and vanity ridiculous.

2. A constitutional gift. God has invested us with two classes of gifts — gifts external and gifts internal — gifts which go to make up what a man has; gifts which constitute him what he is. Our capacity for Divine service is one of the latter class. It is "in" us. It is a soul faculty. It entered into the original plan of our being. Further, this capacity —

3. Assumes different forms. It is a common gift, but the idiosyncrasies of the individuals to whom it is given invest it, in each case, with a peculiar shape. Thus painting and architecture, music and science, philosophy and poetry, statesmanship and wealth; that subtle thing called influence, and that dreadful thing called war, that prosaic thing called trade, and that humble thing called home, have each and all been pressed into the service of illustrating our text. And so Raffaelle in the Cartoons, Wren in St. Paul's, Handel in the "Messiah," Newton in the "Principia," Bacon in the "Novum Organum," Milton in the "Paradise Lost," Wilberforce in his Parliamentary achievements, Peabody in his munificent benefactions, Shaftesbury in the example he set before society, Gordon in the heroism with which he defended Khartoum, Moore in his work in the London warehouse, Susannah Wesley in hers in the Epworth rectory, and others in what they have done in the house, in the shop, or in the field, all seem to say, "There, that is what I mean by the gift that is in me." And that we should ascertain what our special talent is, and in what our capacity should be employed, is of the utmost importance for many reasons. How often do we hear the remark applied to some social failure — and true it is — "he has missed his calling." A man who might have made something out in a walk in life for which he was suitably endowed, makes nothing out, because he has chosen one for which he is totally unqualified. Once more, this capacity —

4. Is intended for and must find employment in the service of the Church. St. Paul's injunction carries with it the broad principle just laid down, but we must remember that the apostle had in view the interests of Christ's Church, and urged Timothy to promote those interests in the way for which he was Divinely qualified.

II. ITS NATURE. We have the gift; with what shall we kindle it?

1. Like the capacity it has to kindle into flame, Christian enthusiasm is the gift of God. No man ever purchased it; no man ever created it. It is not from beneath and human, it is from above, and Divine; "God hath given us the spirit... of power, of love, and of a sound mind." And that a Divine person should provide the materials for the kindling of a Divine gift arises out of the necessities of the case. Like produces like, and fire kindles fire. You have in your grates blocks of a cold black mineral, the last things in the world, as far as appearances go, from which you would expect light and heat. But you know that fire lies imprisoned and slumbering there. And you know, also, that neither the most careful arrangement of the coals, nor the most vigorous use of the fire irons, will be of the least service in awakening the element and setting it free. What you do, however, is to apply a light, and then the cold black mineral becomes fervent and radiant heat. Eighteen hundred years ago a few weak and unlettered peasants formed all that there was of the Christian Church. Who would have given them credit for a world-converting capacity? But within them lay dormant the Divine gift. They formed no elaborate organisation; they made no violent stir. They simply waited and prayed; and by: and by fire from without met its counterpart within. The Holy Ghost fell upon them, made them enthusiasts for Christ, and thus enabled them to kindle their gift into flame.

2. Christian enthusiasm is not "the spirit of fear." This is obvious. Until that spirit is laid there can be no enthusiasm. It can only be conquered by the Divine Spirit, who, as He subdues the craven or the diffident temper, will make us instinct with that Christian enthusiasm which is —(1) The spirit of power. And being this, it is distinguished from excite. merit, which is the spirit of weakness. The two may, indeed, be confounded for a time, just as a meteor may, at first, be mistaken for a star. No; Christian enthusiasm is not a transient spasm of excitement; it is power, and that means stability, persistence, inexhaustible resources, unwearied and inextinguishable force. The spirit of power, however, although the first and basal element in Christian enthusiasm, is not the only one. For power, by itself, will make a man not an enthusiast, but a fanatic. Fanaticism is by no means weakness, it is force, often of the most vigorous kind, but force without regulation and control. Christian enthusiasm is, therefore —(2) The spirit of love. We all know the mighty part that love has sustained in the purest human enthusiasms. Love of children; for what heroisms has that not qualified the weakest of mothers? Love of country; what flames has that not kindled in the most phlegmatic of citizens? Love of man; for what endurance and what effort has that not nerved some of the feeblest of our race? Analyse any given case of noble enthusiasm, and you will find the very life of it to be love; either the love which manifests itself in devotion to a person, or the love which finds expression in consecration to a cause. In Christian enthusiasm both of these loves find play, for it is first devotion to a person. Christian love is love to God, and if I love God I must cling to Him. But Christian enthusiasm is also(3) The spirit of a sound mind — A fact that is most frequently overlooked. Hence, by many, it is regarded as a symptom of goodness of heart, possibly, but certainly of weakness of head. In the world the enthusiast is not a mad speculator or simple dreamer; he is the man who, by the sagacity with which he lays his plans, the common sense lines on which he works them, the alertness with which he seizes every opportunity, and the tenacity with which he retains his hold on every advantage, builds up a colossal business and amasses a vast fortune. And we refuse to recognise as a Christian enthusiast the man who, by his wild vagaries neutralises the good of which he might have been otherwise capable, or the man whose sanguine temperament is imposed upon by impossible ideals. We claim for Christian enthusiasm rational as well as emotional qualities. It demands the consecration of the intellect at its freshest and its best, that it may help the body to render "a reasonable service." And what is this sound-mindedness? It is the self-control which conserves its energies, the patience which bides its time, the discernment which perceives that its time has come; it is the knowledge that understands its work, the judgment that determines where the work can be best done, the wisdom that suggests how to do it in the best way; it is the prudence which prepares for difficulties, the resolution which faces them, the tact which threads its way through them, or turns them to its own account. In one word, it is the mind in full health, in the health which consists of the wholeness, vigour, and harmonious activity of all the rational faculties; the intellect filled with the Holy Spirit of God.

III. ITS MOTIVES. We have the gift; by what considerations are we urged and encouraged to kindle it?

1. Timothy was reminded of his responsibility in the very terms of our text.

2. Timothy was reminded of his ancestral traditions. Men of noble lineage are supposed to have stronger motives to do nobly than those of meaner origin. They have a family as well as a personal reputation to sustain.

3. Timothy was reminded of his share in the great salvation. That we might kindle our gift, God, if I may so say, kindled His.

4. Lastly, Timothy was reminded that he had been honoured with a Divine call to stir up his gift. He was "called with a holy calling." There was nothing meritorious in him, as the apostle is careful to remind him, to occasion this call. It was of God's grace, and God, who had entrusted him with the gift, now laid formal claim to the use of His own.

(J. W. Burn.)

They that think that every Christian may be a preacher, and that the ministry, considered as a distinct calling or employ, is nothing but usurpation, and some ambitious men's affecting a superiority over their brethren, like the cynic of old trampling upon Plato's cloak, make themselves guilty of greater pride than that which they pretend to condemn. The church is called a building, and we know that every flint or pebble is not fit to be a foundation or corner-stone, much less to be set into the ephod, and there to shine in oracles and responses. It is called a body too, and this hath various members, and these various offices, which cannot be all eyes and overseers; if they were, where would be the hearing? An ecclesiastical jurisdiction lodged in Timothy, an overseer constituted and appointed by St. Paul, even by the laying on of his hands, whereof he puts him in mind in the text, and of the gift that was bestowed upon him by that imposition of hands, and of his duty to exercise it. And here, before I enter upon the apostle's exhortation, or the duty contained in it, I cannot but take notice of the softness and gentleness of his address, "I put thee in remembrance." Practical discourses and salutary admonitions to men of learning and good education are a refreshing of their memories rather than teaching or illuminating their understandings. Discourses of this nature may put you in remembrance of a duty, which multiplicity of business would not suffer you to think of, or contemplations of other matters tempted you to overlook.

I. WHAT THE GIFT IS WHICH WAS IN TIMOTHY, AND MAY STILL BE SUPPOSED TO BE IN ALL THOSE WHOM GOD CALLS TO THE SAME OFFICE. I shall particularise, the gift communicated to Timothy; and if we take St. Paul for our guide, we shall find this gift was a Divine power vouchsafed to this man of God, which enabled and disposed him to teach, and live, and act, and do, answerable to the duties incumbent upon him, as a governor of the house of God. The apostle in the following verse calls it the spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind; the spirit of Christian fortitude, of charity, and of sedateness and tranquillity of temper.

1. The spirit of fortitude, which consists in being undaunted at danger, fearless of the frowns of men while we do no more than our duty, and a steady freedom to vindicate the truth of the gospel and the honour of Christ Jesus, whatever may be the effect or consequence of it.

2. The spirit of love. It was not without very great reason that our Saviour asked St. Peter thrice, "Lovest thou Me?" and "Lovest thou Me more than these?"

3. The spirit of a sound mind. This seems to be a temper able to curb the passions, inordinate lusts, desires, and perturbations of the mind, an admirable spirit! To know when to be angry, and when to be calm; when to be severe, and when to be moderate and gentle. The mind is then sound when it keeps the lower faculties in good order, and it is an argument of wisdom to judge of things without heats, or prejudice, or prospect of self-interest, and to keep the wild desires of corrupted nature in awe, and to do things with prudence and moderation.

II. HOW THIS GIFT WAS ANCIENTLY AND IS STILL BESTOWED AND COMMUNICATED. By the putting on of my hands, saith St. Paul; and in 1 Timothy 4:14 he adds, by the laying on of the hands of the presbytery, i.e., of the whole apostolical college, or the greater part of the apostles, who it is like were present upon the place. This rite or ceremony of imposition of hands on a person designed for Church offices and the service of the tabernacle, Isidore and others derive from Isaac's blessing his son Jacob, which they suppose was done by the Patriarch's laying his hands upon Jacob's head; from Jacob's laying his hands on his grandchildren and blessing them; from Moses's laying his hand on Joshua, and communicating part of his spirit to him. The ancient Romans used to lay their hands upon their slaves when they made them free; and Numa Pompilius had hands laid on him when he was made High Pontiff; but it is probable that even these fetched it from the Jews. The Christian Churches, who retained what was good and praiseworthy among the Jews, seeing nothing in this rite but what was grave, and decent, and solemn, and serious, adopted it into their service. In sacrificing beasts to the honour of God the priest laid his hands on the victim's head, to show he dedicated it to God, and from common, separated it to a holy use, and dismissed it from the service of men into that of the most high God; all which significations did wonderfully well agree with the end of the ministerial function under the gospel, and therefore the Christians had no reason to reject this useful and decent custom. This imposition of hands was no physical cause of conveying the Holy Ghost, but an external assurance, that as surely as the hands were laid on the head of the person ordained, so surely would the spirit of power, of love, and of a sound mind, light upon his soul if he did not obstruct it by wilful departing from the living God. That this rite hath lasted in the Church from the apostles' time unto this day is what the concurrent testimonies of all ages witness.

III. HOW THIS GIFT IS TO BE STIRRED UP, AND WHAT IS THE BEST AND MOST PROPER WAY TO DO IT. In the original it is ἀναζωπυρε1FC0;ιν, which is as much as stirring up the fire, or blowing the coals, and making the fire burn that lies mingled with the ashes. So that the Spirit of God conferred upon sacred persons by the imposition of hands is lodged in the soul, as the treasure in the gospel was hid in the field, which required digging and searching to make it useful. It is like gold in the ore, which requires melting, and cleansing, and purifying; like a stock of money which requires improvement by trading; like seed sown in the ground, which requires watering and other labour and industry to make it come forth, and grow, and spread, and yield fruit, and strengthen man's heart. This stirring up of the gift of God respects either the means that are to be used, or the duty itself. The means hinted in this and the preceding Epistle are chiefly three — prayer, reading, meditating.

1. Prayer. Who can live without it? Who can act or do anything of moment without the assistance of this spiritual engine? Nature teaches mankind to begin their works of concernment with God; grace therefore must be supposed to press this duty infinitely more, on you particularly, the heirs of Timothy's office, in order to this stirring up the gift of God that is in you, by the imposition of hands. God that gives you talents intends not that you should bury them in the earth, or lay them up in a napkin, but occupy and traffic with them, and be gainers by them; and to do this His help is necessary, who gives strength to the weak and power to the feeble; and this help is not to be had without importunate cries and solicitations. These prayers must have fire; it is their fervour that unlocks the secret cabinet of the Almighty.

2. Reading. This the apostle expressly recommends to Timothy (1 Timothy 4:13) in order to his stirring up the gift of God. Reading what? No doubt the Holy Scripture, and therefore our Church proscribes, delivering a Bible into the hands of the person upon whom episcopal hands are laid. The great examples you meet with here, the industry of Moses, the zeal of Elijah, the fervour of St. Paul, the vigour of St. Stephen, the courage of St. Peter, the assiduity of Apollos, the sincerity of Barnabas, what are these but so many motives to stir up the gift of God that is in you? Add to all this the glorious, the precious, the large, the sweet, the wonderful promises, promises of Christ's assistance, promises of comfort, of support, of eternal life and glory, which will animate and enliven, and prompt you to blow up the fire of the sanctuary and the coal of the altar, that it may consume the dross and tin, not only that which cleaves to your own souls, but that also which sticks to others, that see and hear you, and converse with you.

3. Meditating. This is also urged among the means, not to neglect the gift of God. "Meditate upon these things, give thyself wholly to them" (1 Timothy 4:15). The bare reading will make no great impression. Meditation digests and rouses the soul from her slumber. This quickens the faculties, sets all the wheels a-going, incites to labour, prompts to industry, and moves and even compels us to imitate the great examples set down in the Word of God, and to follow their faith, and wisdom, and hope, and love, and charity. But in what doth the stirring up of the gift of God consist? Chiefly in these three particulars.

1. Feeding the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind, neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being examples to the flock. Ye are the captains, the generals in Christ's army, while you bear the heat and burden of the day, detract no labour, spare no pains, live like faithful stewards of the mystery of God, vindicate your Master's honour, act like persons who have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, and by manifestation of the truth commend yourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God; you make good the glorious titles and the names which are given you, such as angels, and stars, and lights of the world, and the salt of the earth, and a city set on a hill, etc.

2. Labouring and making it your business to reform abuses.

3. Enduring hardness as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, a duty very warmly recommended to Timothy (2 Timothy 2:3). In discharging your duty faithfully, you must expect obloquy, and slanders, and reproaches, and other inconveniences.

(A. Horneck, D. D.)

I. THAT THERE IS IN MAN SOME SPIRITUAL FORCE WHICH IS IN A SPECIAL SENSE "THE GIFT OF GOD." Indeed, our very existence, with all its physical and mental attributes, is His gift. But this spiritual force is something special, and it may be said to comprehend at least three elements.

1. The sentiment of religious worship.

2. The sentiment of moral obligation. He has an inbred feeling that there is an authority over him to which he owes allegiance, that there are laws which he should recognise and obey.

3. The sentiment of social love. The social love is something more than gregariousness, than mere animal sympathy, which seem to belong to all sentient life. It is benevolence, a well-wishing for the race. Indeed, our life, with all its attributes, is His gift, but this spiritual force is especially so. It is bestowed upon man only; it is something greater than intellect, imagination, genius. These it works as its instruments. It is in truth the substratum of his moral being, the former of his character, the controller of his destiny.

II. THAT THE URGENT DUTY OF MAN IS TO ROUSE THIS SPIRITUAL FORCE INTO RIGHT ACTION. To "stir up" into right action this spiritual force is every man's paramount self-obligation. He has to rouse up into right action the spiritual power that lies within him and which is God's greatest gift. The command implies —

1. That man has the power to do so. Every righteous obligation implies the existence of adequate power of obedience. But how can man do it?(1) How can he "stir up" the sentiment of worship into healthy action? By devout meditations on the moral excellencies of the one true and living God.(2) How can he "stir up" the sentiment of obligation? By contemplating the Divine will, which is the supreme law of life.(3) How can he "stir up" into right action the sentiment of holy love? By a devout study of the claims and needs of his fellow men. In this way every man can "stir up" this spiritual force, the gift of God that is within him.

2. On doing this depends his true dignity and bliss. Man can only become great by the right use of his great powers, by bringing out into right action all the great forces of his spiritual nature. The man who has not thus risen, has only risen as the stone has risen which has been hurled up into air, it must come down to the earth again. But he who rises by developing the spiritual forces of his nature, ascends heavenward, as the eagle that guides itself up from earth to heaven through clouds and sunshine. Conclusion: Man attend to thyself, not selfishly, and occasionally, but generously and constantly. There is an exhaustless field lying within thee fraught with countless germs of life and power. Throughout nature there are latent forces — fire mighty enough to burn up the universe sleeps in every atom of dust and drop of water. Powers sleep in the acorn sufficient to cover continents with majestic forests, and there is a spiritual force within us, rightly directed, that will build us into angels and lift us to the highest heavens of being. Let us, therefore, "stir up" this spiritual force, this "gift of God" within us.

(David Thomas, D. D.)

What is the course of the development of this spiritual gift, or, better, this gift of the Spirit? What is the manifestation and unfolding of this new energy of God in the highest branch of man's nature? It is quiet and gentle as all God's operations are in the hearts that yield to Him; only an earthquake does it become when opposed by rocky natures, a desolating whirlwind among the stubborn oaks and cedars. It unfolds in willing hearts as seed in congenial soil, always with a promise of more and more; the blade, the ear, the full corn in the ear; the full corn in the ear multiplied thirty, sixty, an hundredfold, and each corn the promise and potency by a similar method of a hundred more. See how it increases. A young convert begins in an unobtrusive way to speak to a few wild boys whom he gathers together, one and another of whom become Christians; the number grows, and with growth of responsibility the convert receives increase of power. The class becomes a congregation; the few trembling, kind words he managed to speak at first become the powerful address; the boys are joined by men and women; the address becomes a sermon. That may be one way in which the gift of God may be developed and displayed. It is only one. For I hold the gift of the Spirit, which comes at conversion, to be also a gift for service. It is the same grace working through us to produce in other hearts precisely the fruits He has produced in us — repentance through our repentance, faith through our faith, love through our love, hope through our hope. The regenerated soul brings forth graces after their kind, just as the earth grass, and herb, and tree, yielding fruit whose seed is in itself, after its kind. But if all require His presence and help, none so manifestly require them as the minister who has to feed the flock of God. His nature ought to lie open to Divine influence at every point, and every call of his ministry should be a call to try and prove what the Spirit of Christ which is in him can accomplish for him and through him. He sometimes finds out the vastness of his supernatural resources through being made painfully conscious of the inadequacy of his natural powers for the work to be done. He sees the truth dimly, and therefore seeks for the light of the Spirit to be shed upon it and irradiate it. And here I would say that I am free to admit, as has been always held by those who intelligently believe that the God who created our natural powers is the same as He who sanctifies them and works through them, "that the greater the gifts by nature and cultivation, the greater the number of points at which the Holy Spirit may move us, and that Divine power is conditioned by human receptivity." The gift of the Spirit to Timothy was the same as to Paul; and yet since Timothy's measure was not as capacious as Paul's, and, perhaps, because he did not so diligently stir up his gift as Paul, his lifo, beautiful and useful though it was, lacked the luxuriant fruitfulness of Paul's. The condition of our doing our best is that we allow God to do the best He can through us. And be our other gifts few or many, brilliant or humble, the reason for stirring up the flame of the great gift is just the same in all cases. For you would not have your poor gift without the fire that can make even it glow with fervour, as I have often seen the lips of poor, illiterate, feeble-minded men burn with rapture which gave beauty and charm to all they said. And you would not have your finer gifts, if you possess such, bereft of that energy which is a touch of omnipotence, nor left without that inspiration which is a pulse of the heart of infinite love. No one can tell the wealth of his gift in the possession of the Spirit of God. Let us put ourselves in remembrance that we may stir up the gift of God. Let us remember the day of our first submission, and how it ought to have implied a life-long submission, a continual yielding up of self and self-will. Let us remember the day of our consecration, the hopes which then gleamed in our heaven, the vows which then trembled on our lips. If the promise of these times has been blasted or dimmed, let us seek the renewing of our hearts by the Spirit which dwelleth in us. If the promise has been fulfilled, or even more than fulfilled, still let us honour the Spirit by whom we have been kept, sanctified, and used.

(J. P. Gledstone.)

The poet Keble said on one occasion that he wished he could attend an ordination service every year of his life, that he might be reminded of first principles.

There is a terrible penalty attached to the neglect of the higher faculties, whether intellectual or moral; a penalty which works surely and unerringly by a natural law. We all of us have imagination, intellect, will. These wonderful powers must have an object, must have employment. If we do not give them their true object, viz., the glory of God, they will find an object for themselves. Instead of soaring upwards on the wings supplied by the glories of creation and the mercies of redemption, they will sink downwards into the mire. They will fasten upon the flesh; and in an atmosphere poisoned by debasing associations they will become debased also. Instead of raising the man who possesses them into that higher life, which is a foretaste of heaven, they will hurry him downwards with the accumulated pressure of an undisciplined intellect, a polluted imagination, and a lawless will. That which should have been for wealth becomes an occasion of falling. Angels of light become angels of darkness. And powers which ought to be as priests, conseorating the whole of our nature to God, become as demons, shameless and ruthless in devoting us to the evil one God's royal gifts of intellect and will cannot be flung away, cannot be left unused, cannot be extinguished. For good or for evil they are ours; and they are deathless. But, though they cannot be destroyed, they can be neglected. They can be buried in the earth till they breed worms and stink. They call be allowed to run riot, until they become as wild beasts, and turn again and rend us. Or, in the spirit of power, of love and of discipline, they may be chastened by lofty exercise and sanctified to heavenly uses, till they become more and more fit to be the equipment of one, who is for ever to stand "before the throne of God, and praise Him day and night in His temple."

(A. Plummer, D. D.)

Christians, Eunice, Hermogenes, Lois, Onesiphorus, Paul, Phygellus, Timotheus, TimothyAsia, Ephesus, RomeAfresh, Cause, Fan, Flame, Gift, God's, Grace, Hands, Hence, Imposition, Kindle, Laying, Mind, Power, Putting, Reason, Rekindle, Remembrance, Remind, Stir, Wherefore, Within, Yours1. Paul's love to Timothy, and unfeigned confidence in Timothy himself, his mother, and grandmother.
6. He is exhorted to stir up the gift of God which was in him;
8. to be steadfast and patient in persecution;
13. and to persist in the form and truth of that doctrine which he had learned of him.
15. Phygellus and Hermogenes, and such like, are noted, and Onesiphorus is highly commended.

2 Timothy 1:6

     4826   fire
     5325   gifts
     7372   hands, laying on
     7745   ordination
     8145   renewal, people of God
     8150   revival, personal
     8349   spiritual growth, means of
     8437   giving, of talents
     8467   reminders

2 Timothy 1:6-7

     7967   spiritual gifts, responsibility

2 Timothy 1:6-8

     7758   preachers, call
     8359   weakness, spiritual

The Form of Sound Words
The Apostle most earnestly admonished Timothy to "hold fast the form of sound words which he had heard of him in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus." I do not suppose that by this it is intended that Paul ever wrote out for Timothy a list of doctrines; or that he gave him a small abstract of divinity, to which he desired him to subscribe his name, as the articles of the church over which he was made a pastor. If so, doubtless the document would have been preserved and enrolled in the canons …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 2: 1856

Christianity
WHAT IS CHRISTIANITY? WHAT is Christianity? The question seems a belated one. It never was more pertinent than now. Its pertinency rests upon two facts. First: the modern drift in Christianity and its absolute failure. Second: the phenomenal triumph of primitive Christianity. The modern drift is antagonistic to doctrine and repudiates the miraculous. It sets aside the virgin birth, has no toleration for atonement by sacrificial death, and positively refuses to accept the bodily resurrection of our …
I. M. Haldeman—Christ, Christianity and the Bible

The Seventh Word from the Cross
While all the words of dying persons are full of interest, there is special importance attached to the last of them. This is the Last Word of Jesus; and both for this reason and for others it claims particular attention. A noted Englishman is recorded to have said, when on his deathbed, to a nephew, "Come near and see how a Christian can die." Whether or not that was a wise saying, certainly to learn how to die is one of the most indispensable acquirements of mortals; and nowhere can it be learnt …
James Stalker—The Trial and Death of Jesus Christ

In Death and after Death
A sadder picture could scarcely be drawn than that of the dying Rabbi Jochanan ben Saccai, that "light of Israel" immediately before and after the destruction of the Temple, and for two years the president of the Sanhedrim. We read in the Talmud (Ber. 28 b) that, when his disciples came to see him on his death-bed, he burst into tears. To their astonished inquiry why he, "the light of Israel, the right pillar of the Temple, and its mighty hammer," betrayed such signs of fear, he replied: "If I were …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life

Abaelard had Defined Faith as an Opinion or Estimate: Bernard Refutes This.
Abaelard had defined faith as an opinion or estimate: Bernard refutes this. 9. It is no wonder if a man who is careless of what he says should, when rushing into the mysteries of the Faith, so irreverently assail and tear asunder the hidden treasures of godliness, since he has neither piety nor faith in his notions about the piety of faith. For instance, on the very threshold of his theology (I should rather say his stultology) he defines faith as private judgment; as though in these mysteries it …
Saint Bernard of Clairvaux—Some Letters of Saint Bernard, Abbot of Clairvaux

Perseverance Proved.
2. I REMARK, that God is able to preserve and keep the true saints from apostacy, in consistency with their liberty: 2 Tim. i. 12: "For the which cause I also suffer these things; nevertheless, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day." Here the apostle expresses the fullest confidence in the ability of Christ to keep him: and indeed, as has been said, it is most manifest that the apostles expected …
Charles Grandison Finney—Systematic Theology

Elucidations.
(Dinocrates, cap. ii. p. 701.) The avidity with which the Latin controversial writers seize upon this fanciful passage, (which, in fact, is subversive of their whole doctrine about Purgatory, as is the text from the Maccabees) makes emphatic the utter absence from the early Fathers of any reference to such a dogma; which, had it existed, must have appeared in every reference to the State of the Dead, and in every account of the discipline of penitents. Arbp. Usher [9011] ingeniously turns the tables …
Tertullian—The Passion of the Holy Martyrs Perpetua and Felicitas

Sixteenth Sunday after Trinity Paul's Care and Prayer for the Church.
Text: Ephesians 3, 13-21. 13. Wherefore I ask that ye may not faint at my tribulations for you, which are your glory. 14 For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 16 and that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that ye may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man; 17 that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; to the end that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, 18 may be strong …
Martin Luther—Epistle Sermons, Vol. III

"And this is his Commandment, that we Should Believe on the Name of his Son Jesus Christ, and Love one Another. "
1 John iii. 23.--"And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another." It is a common doctrine often declared unto you, that the most part of those who hear the gospel do run, in their pretended course to heaven, either upon a rock of dashing discouragement, or the sands of sinking presumption. These are in all men's mouths; and no question they are very dangerous, so hazardous, as many fools make shipwreck either of the faith, or a good …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Discerning Prayer.
INTRODUCTORY. BY D.W. WHITTLE. To recognize God's existence is to necessitate prayer to Him, by all intelligent creatures, or, a consciously living in sin and under condemnation of conscience, because they do not pray to Him. It would be horrible to admit the existence of a Supreme Being, with power and wisdom to create, and believe that the creatures he thought of consequence and importance enough to bring into existence, are not of enough consequence for him to pay any attention to in the troubles …
Various—The Wonders of Prayer

Assurance
Q-xxxvi: WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS WHICH FLOW FROM SANCTIFICATION? A: Assurance of God's love, peace of conscience, joy in the Holy Ghost, increase of grace, and perseverance therein to the end. The first benefit flowing from sanctification is assurance of God's love. 'Give diligence to make your calling and election sure.' 2 Pet 1:10. Sanctification is the seed, assurance is the flower which grows out of it: assurance is a consequent of sanctification. The saints of old had it. We know that we know …
Thomas Watson—A Body of Divinity

The Communion of Saints.
"The Saints on earth, and those above, But one communion make; Joined to their Lord in bonds of love, All of His grace partake." The history of the extension of the Church of Christ from one land to another, and of the successive victories won by the Cross over heathen races from age to age, gives by itself a very imperfect idea of the meaning of the words "The Holy Catholic Church." Because, with the outward extension of the Church, its influence upon the inner man needs always to be considered. …
Edward Burbidge—The Kingdom of Heaven; What is it?

Concerning God's Purpose
1. God's purpose is the cause of salvation. THE third and last thing in the text, which I shall but briefly glance at, is the ground and origin of our effectual calling, in these words, "according to his purpose" (Eph. i. 11). Anselm renders it, According to his good will. Peter Martyr reads it, According to His decree. This purpose, or decree of God, is the fountainhead of our spiritual blessings. It is the impulsive cause of our vocation, justification, glorification. It is the highest link in …
Thomas Watson—A Divine Cordial

The Secret Walk with God (I. ).
Pastor, for the round of toil See the toiling soul is fed; Shut the chamber, light the oil, Break and eat the Spirit's bread; Life to others would'st thou bring? Live thyself upon thy King. Let me explain in this first sentence that when in these pages I address "my Younger Brethren," I mean brethren in the Christian Ministry in the Church of England. Let me limit my reference still further, by premising that very much of what I say will be said as to brethren who have lately taken holy Orders, …
Handley C. G. Moule—To My Younger Brethren

Predestination and Calling
Eternal Father, who shall look Into thy secret will? None but the Lamb shall take the book, And open every seal. None but he shall ever unroll that sacred record and read it to the assembled world. How then am I to know whether I am predestinated by God unto eternal life or not? It is a question in which my eternal interests are involved; am I among that unhappy number who shall be left to live in sin and reap the due reward of their iniquity; or do I belong to that goodly company, who albeit that …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 5: 1859

Twelfth Day for the Spirit to Convince the World of Sin
WHAT TO PRAY.--For the Spirit to convince the World of Sin "I will send the Comforter to you. And He, when He is come, will convict the world in respect of sin."--JOHN xvi. 7, 8. God's one desire, the one object of Christ's being manifested, is to take away sin. The first work of the Spirit on the world is conviction of sin. Without that, no deep or abiding revival, no powerful conversion. Pray for it, that the gospel may be preached in such power of the Spirit, that men may see that they have …
Andrew Murray—The Ministry of Intercession

Pastor in Parish (I. ).
Master, to the flock I speed, In Thy presence, in Thy name; Show me how to guide, to feed, How aright to cheer and blame; With me knock at every door; Enter with me, I implore. We have talked together about the young Clergyman's secret life, and private life, and his life in (so to speak) non-clerical intercourse with others, and now lastly of his life as it stands related to his immediate leader in the Ministry. In this latter topic we have already touched the great matter which comes now at …
Handley C. G. Moule—To My Younger Brethren

"That which was from the Beginning, which we have Heard, which we have Seen with Our Eyes, which we have Looked Upon, and Our Hands Have
1 John i. 1.--"That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon, and our hands have handled, of the Word of life." It is the great qualification of a disciple, or hearer, to be attentive and docile, to be capable of teaching, and to apply the mind seriously to it. It is much to get the ear of a man. If his ear be gotten, his mind is the more easily gained. Therefore, those who professed eloquence, and studied to persuade men to any …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

"Now the End of the Commandment," &C.
1 Tim. i. 5.--"Now the end of the commandment," &c. We come now, as was proposed, to observe, Thirdly,(474) That faith unfeigned is the only thing which gives the answer of a good conscience towards God. Conscience, in general, is nothing else but a practical knowledge of the rule a man should walk by, and of himself in reference to that rule. It is the laying down a man's state, and condition, and actions beside the rule of God's word, or the principles of nature's light. It is the chief piece …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning

Prefatory Scripture Passages.
To the Law and to the Testimony; if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them.-- Isa. viii. 20. Thus saith the Lord; Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls.--Jer. vi. 16. That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. But …
G. H. Gerberding—The Way of Salvation in the Lutheran Church

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