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Advantages of Knowing Christ (2)

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But those who know Christ are not only freed from the condemnation of sin; they are likewise delivered from its reigning power (Rom. 6:14). By nature they were engaged in the service of Satan and their own lusts, just like the Israelites under the bondage of Pharaoh and his taskmasters. They had then no higher aim than the gratification of their own vain desires, their pride and their ambition.  But it is an advantage connected with knowing Christ, that the covenant with death shall be disannulled, and the agreement with hell shall not stand. A new bent is thenceforward given to all the powers and faculties of the soul, and new objects of delight are sought after, however much the individual comes short in sensibly attaining to them. ‘Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony hear
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Advantages of Knowing Christ (1)

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We shall now state some of the advantages which result from knowing Christ, and him crucified; and the first we would mention is freedom from the condemnation of sin, and also from its reigning power in the heart.   The wages of sin is death, and that in its threefold form - death temporal, spiritual, and eternal. In consequence of sin, man is by nature a debtor to the justice of God, and exposed to his wrath; while he continues in sin, every threatening in the Bible is his rightful portion.  However ignorant he may be of this truth, his case is none the safer on that account. Nay, this ignorance makes his case all the more dangerous; for, while ignorant of the danger of his condition, he will never wish for deliverance from it. But when his eyes are open to see his danger, and his soul is pressed with the weight of his sins, which are ready to sink him under the wrath of God, surely he will then value the ransom that frees him from such an intolerable burden, and averts the v
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Implications of knowing Christ (3)

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To know Christ further implies that the soul who has attained this knowledge, in any degree, is always kept depending on the fullness of grace declared to be treasured up in him. It is not on the deliverance he may have formerly experienced he leans. These, indeed, are by no means to be lost sight of; for the Scripture already quoted says, ‘Bless, the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.’  The soul taught this knowledge must be daily a dependent creature on the grace and love of God for the supply of its wants. It is just with him as it was with the Israelites and the manna. They needed a new supply of it every day; and in like manner the true believer requires new supplies of grace every day of his life. He requires more and more to grow in grace, and in the knowledge of Jesus Christ; and we are told that ‘the path of the just is as the shining light, shining more and more until the perfect day’ (Prov. 4:18).  A knowledge of the desperate wickedness of his heart
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Implications of Knowing Christ (2)

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To know Christ implies that the sinner believes the redemption of his soul to proceed solely from the free grace and love of God, without any regard to merit or demerit on his part. God confers salvation as a gift through Christ.  The Father charged that adorable person with all the guilt which a believer incurred, and now pardons all his iniquities on his Redeemer’s account, and justifies him freely through his righteousness. This imputation of Christ’s righteousness to the sinner is followed by adoption into the family of God, by a sensible removal of guilt from the conscience, and buy a degree of that joy with a stranger does not intermeddle.  Accordingly, we read, ‘Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom’ (Luke 12:32). ‘Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits; who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and t
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Implications of Knowing Christ (1)

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Let it be observed, then, that to know Christ presupposes a firm belief of a real need of a Saviour. The gospel speaks of the errands upon which Christ came from heaven; and one of these is – to save his people from their sins. It is, however, plain that no man can value this declaration unless he believes himself to need redemption.    The things from which redemption is needed are not matters of mere hearsay in the experience of the person who is sensible of his need of a Saviour. He stands in need of nothing less than redemption from the guilt, dominion, and pollution of sin, and deliverance from the wrath and displeasure of God, which, by the fall, the whole race of man incurred. ‘The Scripture hath concluded all under sin’ (Gal. 3:22).    This sense of need by no means leaves the sinner contented in his condition. No; his language is, with the jailor of Philippi, ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ A sense of real need of a Saviour never allows a man to sit down in careless indiff
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Angus Mackintosh of Tain

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This brief biographical account of Dr. Angus Mackintosh of Tain is taken from the  Historical and Biographical Introduction  found in the volume about his son,  Memorials of The Life and Ministry of Charles Calder Mackintosh, D.D. of Tain and Dunoon . The Introduction was written by Rev. William Taylor of Stirling. Angus MacIntosh, D.D., was a native of Strathdearn, in Inverness-shire.(1) Early dedicated to God by devoted parents, and converted by his grace, he was ordained as minister of a Gaelic chapel in Glasgow in 1792, was translated to Tain in 1797, and died in 1831, leaving a reputation for piety and ministerial excellencies unsurpassed by any of the more recently departed worthies of the northern Highlands. His Glasgow ministry was brief, but largely blessed. To Tain he was called by the voice of the people prevailing over an attempt to impose on them, by force of patronage, a minister they did not esteem. The magistrates and elders of that town had, at every vacancy since
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A Highland Communion in 1843

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On Sabbath week (23d July, 1843) we enjoyed an opportunity of witnessing in the West Highlands one of those impressive spectacles which have been of frequent occurrence in the rural districts of the country since the disruption of the Church — the dispensation of the Lord’s Supper in the open air. The services were of such a peculiarly interesting character, and excited so much attention throughout an extensive tract of country, that, for the benefit of those who have never witnessed sacramental solemnities under similar circumstances, we shall endeavour to describe them. It was the communion at Ardchattan, a parish situated on the banks of Loch Etive, well known to tourists as one of the most beautiful lochs in Scotland. The Rev. Mr. Fraser, the excellent minister, has joined the Free Church with all his people, the exceptions being quite inconsiderable, and consisting only of a few lairds, and such of their dependents as their influence has retained in the bondage of the Establi
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