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D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (selected by Frank Cumbers)
God gives His blessing when He finds an empty vessel
(Thomas a Kempis)
There is no entry into the kingdom of heaven ... [for one] who is not poor in spirit. It is the fundamental characteristic of the Christian and of the citizen of the kingdom of heaven, and all the other characteristics are in a sense the result of this one; ... it really means an emptying, while the others are a manifestation of a fullness.
We cannot be filled until we are first empty. You cannot fill with new wine a vessel which is partly filled already with old wine until the old wine has been poured out.... There are always these two sides to the gospel; there is a pulling down and a raising up.
You remember the words of the ancient Simeon concerning our Lord and Savior when he held Him as an Infant in his arms. He said, "This child is set for the fall and rising again of many." The fall comes before the rising again. It is an essential part of the gospel that conviction must always precede conversion; the gospel of Christ condemns before it releases.
Now that is obviously something which is fundamental. If you prefer me to put it in a more theological and doctrinal form, I would say that there is no more perfect statement of the doctrine of justification by faith only than this Beatitude: "Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs (and theirs only) is the kingdom of heaven." Very well, then, this is the foundation of everything else.
Studies in the Sermon on the Mount, i, p. 42
Comments on D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, A First Book of Daily Readings
"These gems of evangelical truth, biblically based, help the reader to understand this world in the light of the Word." —Church Herald
"Christ-honoring, thought-provoking discussions" —Presbyterian Journal
"Few daily devotional books offer as much substantial insight as this one." —Christian Bookseller
"...will help to either open or close your day." —Evangelize
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