Truth For Life Program
Alistair Begg Devotional
C. H. Spurgeon Devotional
One-Year Bible Reading Plan
Audio PlayerThe apostle Paul encouraged believers to be on guard against temptation, stand firm in the faith, and be strong and courageous. Find out how you can do the same and what ingredient is key. Listen to Truth For Life with Alistair Begg.
From the Sermon
Stability, Maturity, and Charity
1 Corinthians 16:13–14 Sermon • Includes Transcript • 41:07 • ID: 1807
Cowardly Compromise
Whose praise will you live for?
When Christ was put on trial before Pilate, the Roman governor repeatedly declared His innocence—and yet he paired his declarations with dreadful acts against Him.
Pilate said, “I find no guilt in him”—and then handed Jesus over to be brutally flogged, a beating so intense that it sometimes caused gashes and lacerations where veins, arteries, and internal organs would be exposed.
Pilate said, “I find no guilt in him”—and then let the soldiers humiliate Jesus with a mock coronation, placing a crown of thorns upon His head, dressing Him up, and scornfully “worshiping” Him.
Pilate said, “I find no guilt in him”—but did he release Jesus? No, he surrendered Jesus to a vicious execution squad to be killed.
There was never a more tormented individual that met Christ than Pilate. Here was a man of great power but who lacked the courage to stand by his convictions. Here was a man of great success but who compromised, showing himself under the trappings of his position to be a coward. Here was a governor who was governed by his own weaknesses.
We cannot be passive or indecisive regarding who Christ is to us. Is He the Savior or is He no one? To abstain from a decision about this, as Pilate sought to do, is to abstain from Christ altogether.
Pilate stands as a challenge to each of us. His conduct compels us to ask ourselves: In what situations do I, like Pilate, know the right thing to do in some way and yet fear what other people will say if I do it? Are there ways in which my words or conduct are governed more by the expectations and reaction of others, or by considerations of wealth, position, or promotion, than by the commands of Christ?
Let’s not compromise on our position regarding Christ. If we let the opinions of our colleagues, our neighbors, or our families concern us too much, we may find ourselves giving up forgiveness, peace, heaven, and Christ Himself in exchange for an easier life now. Instead, let’s be brave.
Look again at Christ: flogged, mocked, and killed out of love for you. Then look at those who, perhaps vociferously or perhaps politely, scoff at His truth. Who would you rather offend? Whose “well done” would you rather hear?
Christ is beckoning us to Him so that we might go out and live for Him. Will you come, and will you go?
How is God calling me to think differently?
How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?
What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?
Jesus Delivered to Be Crucified
1Then Pilate took Jesus and qflogged him. 2rAnd the soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head and arrayed him in a purple robe. 3They came up to him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” and struck him with their hands. 4Pilate went out again and said to them, “See, I am bringing him out to you that you may know that sI find no guilt in him.” 5So Jesus came out, wearing tthe crown of thorns and the purple robe. Pilate said to them, u“Behold the man!” 6When the chief priests and the officers saw him, they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, v“Take him yourselves and crucify him, for wI find no guilt in him.” 7The Jews1 answered him, “We have a law, and xaccording to that law he ought to die because yhe has made himself the Son of God.” 8When Pilate heard this statement, zhe was even more afraid. 9aHe entered his headquarters again and said to Jesus, b“Where are you from?” But cJesus gave him no answer. 10So Pilate said to him, “You will not speak to me? Do you not know that I have authority to release you and authority to crucify you?” 11Jesus answered him, d“You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore ehe who delivered me over to you fhas the greater sin.”
12From then on gPilate sought to release him, but the Jews cried out, “If you release this man, you are not Caesar's friend. hEveryone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.” 13So when Pilate heard these words, he brought Jesus out and sat down on ithe judgment seat at a place called The Stone Pavement, and in Aramaic2 Gabbatha. 14Now it was jthe day of Preparation of the Passover. It was about the sixth hour.3 He said to the Jews, k“Behold your King!” 15They cried out, l“Away with him, away with him, crucify him!” Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your King?” The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.” 16mSo he ndelivered him over to them to be crucified.
The Crucifixion
So they took Jesus,
Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg, published by The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with permission. Copyright © 2021, 2022, The Good Book Company.
It Is Well…
Tell the righteous that it shall be well with them.
It is well with the righteous ALWAYS.
If it had said, "Tell the righteous that it is well with them in their prosperity," we would be thankful for so great a blessing, for prosperity is an hour of peril. It is a gift from heaven to be safe from its snares. If it had read, "It is well with them when under persecution," we would be thankful for such a comforting assurance, for persecution is hard to bear; but when no time is mentioned, all time is included.
God's shalls must always be understood in their largest sense. From the beginning of the year to the end of the year, from the first gathering of evening shadows until a new day dawns, in all conditions and under all circumstances, it will be well with the righteous. It is so well with him that we could not imagine it to be better, for he is well fed—he feeds upon the flesh and blood of Jesus; he is well clothed—he wears the imputed righteousness of Christ; he is well housed—he dwells in God; he is well married—his soul is knit in bonds of marriage to Christ; he is well provided for—for the Lord is his Shepherd; he is well endowed—for heaven is his inheritance. It is well with the righteous—well upon divine authority; the mouth of God speaks the comforting assurance.
O beloved, if God declares that all is well, ten thousand devils may declare it to be ill, but we may laugh them all to scorn. Blessed be God for a faith that enables us to believe God when the creatures contradict Him. It is, says the Word, at all times well with you, righteous one; then, beloved, if you cannot see it, let God's Word assure you; believe it on divine authority with more confidence than if your eyes and your feelings told it to you. Those God blesses are blessed indeed, and what His lip declares is truth most sure and steadfast.
Devotional material is taken from Morning and Evening, written by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003, Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org. Used by Truth For Life with written permission.
Daily Bible Reading for April 14
Unlawful Sexual Relations
1And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, 2“Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, qI am the Lord your God. 3rYou shall not do as they do in the land of Egypt, where you lived, and syou shall not do as they do in the land of Canaan, to which I am bringing you. You shall not walk in their statutes. 4tYou shall follow my rules1 and keep my statutes and walk in them. qI am the Lord your God. 5tYou shall therefore keep my statutes and my rules; uif a person does them, he shall live by them: I am the Lord.
6“None of you shall approach any one of his close relatives to uncover nakedness. I am the Lord. 7vYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your father, which is the nakedness of your mother; she is your mother, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 8wYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife; it is your father's nakedness. 9xYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your sister, your father's daughter or your mother's daughter, whether brought up in the family or in another home. 10You shall not uncover the nakedness of your son's daughter or of your daughter's daughter, for their nakedness is your own nakedness. 11You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's wife's daughter, brought up in your father's family, since she is your sister. 12You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's sister; she is your father's relative. 13You shall not uncover the nakedness of your mother's sister, for she is your mother's relative. 14You shall not uncover the nakedness of your father's brother, that is, you shall not approach his wife; she is your aunt. 15yYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your daughter-in-law; she is your son's wife, you shall not uncover her nakedness. 16zYou shall not uncover the nakedness of your brother's wife; it is your brother's nakedness. 17You shall not uncover the nakedness of a woman and of her daughter, and you shall not take her son's daughter or her daughter's daughter to uncover her nakedness; they are relatives; it is depravity. 18And you shall not take a woman as a arival wife to her sister, uncovering her nakedness bwhile her sister is still alive.
19c“You shall not approach a woman to uncover her nakedness while she is in her menstrual uncleanness. 20dAnd you shall not lie sexually with your neighbor's wife and so make yourself unclean with her. 21You shall not give any of your children to eoffer them2 to fMolech, and so gprofane the name of your God: I am the Lord. 22hYou shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination. 23iAnd you shall not lie with any animal and so make yourself unclean with it, neither shall any woman give herself to an animal to lie with it: it is jperversion.
24k“Do not make yourselves unclean by any of these things, lfor by all these the nations I am driving out before you have become unclean, 25and the mland became unclean, so that I punished its iniquity, and the land nvomited out its inhabitants. 26But oyou shall keep my statutes and my rules and do none of these abominations, either the pnative or the stranger who sojourns among you 27(for the people of the land, who were before you, did all of these abominations, so that the land became unclean), 28lest the land vomit you out when you make it unclean, as it vomited out the nation that was before you. 29For everyone who does any of these abominations, the persons who do them shall be cut off from among their people. 30qSo keep my charge never to practice rany of these abominable customs that were practiced before you, and never to make yourselves unclean by them: sI am the Lord your God.”
Why Have You Forsaken Me?
To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.
1uMy God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why are you so vfar from saving me, from the words of my wgroaning?
2O my God, I cry by xday, but you do not answer,
and by night, but I find no rest.
3Yet you are yholy,
zenthroned on athe praises1 of Israel.
4In you our fathers trusted;
they trusted, and you delivered them.
5To you they bcried and were rescued;
in you they ctrusted and were not put to shame.
6But I am da worm and not a man,
escorned by mankind and fdespised by the people.
7All who see me gmock me;
they make mouths at me; they hwag their heads;
8i“He trusts in the Lord; let him jdeliver him;
let him rescue him, for he kdelights in him!”
9Yet you are he who ltook me from the womb;
you made me trust you at my mother's breasts.
10On you was I cast from my birth,
and from mmy mother's womb you have been my God.
11Be not nfar from me,
for trouble is near,
and there is onone to help.
12Many bulls encompass me;
pstrong bulls of qBashan surround me;
13they ropen wide their mouths at me,
like a ravening and roaring lion.
14I am spoured out like water,
and all my bones are tout of joint;
it is melted within my breast;
15my strength is wdried up like a potsherd,
and my xtongue sticks to my jaws;
you lay me in the dust of death.
16For ydogs encompass me;
a company of evildoers zencircles me;
they have apierced my hands and feet2—
17I can count all my bones—
they bstare and gloat over me;
18cthey divide my garments among them,
and for my clothing they cast lots.
19But you, O Lord, ndo not be far off!
O you my help, dcome quickly to my aid!
20Deliver my soul from the sword,
my precious life from the power of ethe dog!
21Save me from fthe mouth of the lion!
You have rescued3 me from the horns of gthe wild oxen!
22hI will tell of your name to my ibrothers;
in the midst of the congregation I will praise you:
23You who jfear the Lord, praise him!
All you offspring of Jacob, kglorify him,
and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel!
24For he has not despised or abhorred
the affliction of lthe afflicted,
and he has not mhidden his face from him,
but has heard, when he ncried to him.
25From you comes my praise in the great ocongregation;
my pvows I will qperform before those who fear him.
26rThe afflicted4 shall seat and be satisfied;
those who seek him shall praise the Lord!
May your hearts tlive forever!
27All uthe ends of the earth shall remember
and turn to the Lord,
and all vthe families of the nations
shall worship before you.
28For wkingship belongs to the Lord,
and he rules over the nations.
29All xthe prosperous of the earth eat and worship;
before him shall ybow all who go down to the dust,
even the one who could not zkeep himself alive.
30Posterity shall serve him;
it shall be told of the Lord to the coming ageneration;
31they shall bcome and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet cunborn,
that he has done it.
All Is Vanity
1The words of athe Preacher,1 the son of David, bking in Jerusalem.
2cVanity2 of vanities, says athe Preacher,
cvanity of vanities! dAll is vanity.
3eWhat fdoes man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
4A generation goes, and a generation comes,
but gthe earth remains forever.
5hThe sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens3 to the place where it rises.
6iThe wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
7All jstreams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
8All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
kthe eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
9lWhat has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
10Is there a thing of which it is said,
“See, this is new”?
It has been malready
in the ages before us.
11There is no nremembrance of former things,4
nor will there be any remembrance
of later things5 yet to be
among those who come after.
The Vanity of Wisdom
12I othe Preacher have been king over Israel in Jerusalem. 13And I papplied my heart6 to seek and to search out by wisdom all that is done under heaven. It is an unhappy qbusiness that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. 14I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is rvanity7 and a striving after wind.8
15sWhat is crooked cannot be made straight,
and what is lacking cannot be counted.
16I said in my heart, “I have acquired great twisdom, surpassing all who were over Jerusalem before me, and my heart has had great experience of wisdom and knowledge.” 17And I uapplied my heart to know wisdom and to know vmadness and folly. I perceived that this also is but ra striving after wind.
18For win much wisdom is much vexation,
and he who increases knowledge increases sorrow.
Qualifications for Overseers
1The saying is vtrustworthy: If anyone aspires to wthe office of overseer, he desires a noble task. 2Therefore xan overseer1 must be above reproach, ythe husband of one wife,2 zsober-minded, self-controlled, respectable, ahospitable, bable to teach, 3not a drunkard, not violent but cgentle, not quarrelsome, dnot a lover of money. 4He must manage his own household well, with all dignity ekeeping his children submissive, 5for if someone does not know how to manage his own household, how will he care for wGod's church? 6He must not be a recent convert, or he may fbecome puffed up with conceit and fall into the condemnation of the devil. 7Moreover, he must be well thought of by goutsiders, so that he may not fall into disgrace, into ha snare of the devil.
Qualifications for Deacons
8iDeacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued,3 jnot addicted to much wine, knot greedy for dishonest gain. 9They must lhold the mystery of the faith with ma clear conscience. 10And nlet them also be tested first; then let them serve as deacons if they prove themselves blameless. 11oTheir wives likewise4 must be dignified, not slanderers, but sober-minded, pfaithful in all things. 12Let deacons each be qthe husband of one wife, qmanaging their children and their own households well. 13For rthose who serve well as deacons gain a good standing for themselves and also great confidence in the faith that is in Christ Jesus.
The Mystery of Godliness
14I hope to come to you soon, but I am writing these things to you so that, 15if I delay, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God, which is the church of the living God, a pillar and buttress of the truth. 16Great indeed, we confess, is the mystery of godliness:
sHe5 was manifested in the flesh,
tseen by angels,
uproclaimed among the nations,
vbelieved on in the world,
wtaken up in glory.
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