{"id":24837,"date":"2025-05-04T23:31:48","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T23:31:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/?p=24837"},"modified":"2025-05-04T23:31:48","modified_gmt":"2025-05-04T23:31:48","slug":"intervening-occurrences-seem-to-contradict-the-truths-of-god","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/2025\/05\/intervening-occurrences-seem-to-contradict-the-truths-of-god\/","title":{"rendered":"Intervening Occurrences Seem To Contradict The Truths Of God"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u201dJesus said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.\u201d\u2014John 11:4<\/strong><\/p>\n

It frequently happens, that intervening occurrences seem to contradict the truths of God. Therefore if we judge from sight and appearance, we shall often be deceived. God\u2019s word alone is the rule of faith; what he has declared shall certainly come to pass, however repugnant it may seem to carnal reason. Thus our Saviour declares of Lazarus, \u2018This sickness is not unto death.\u2019 Yet he afterwards told his disciples plainly, \u2018Lazarus is dead and Jesus found him in the grave, where he had lain four days. But Jesus, who had power over death and the grave, knew his own intention of raising him, both for the glory of the Father, as well as the glorifying of himself. This was the great end of his coming into the world; therefore in the life, and by the death of Jesus, glory redounds \u2018to God in the highest, peace on earth, and good-will to men.\u2019\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Did Jesus love Lazarus? Did his compassionate eye drop a tear of affection over his friend\u2019s grave? Oh what an innumerable company of poor sinners did his loving eyes behold, who, like Lazarus, were not only to all appearances past hope, but actually \u2018dead in trespasses and sins.\u2019 But he says of them also, \u2018This sickness is not unto death.\u2019 Eternal death shall not have the dominion over them; but he would get glory to God, and glorify himself in quickening and raising all God\u2019s chosen ones, all his dearly beloved members.<\/p>\n

On the death of Lazarus \u2018Jesus wept: he groaned within himself,\u2019 and cried to his Father. How must the heart of Lazarus be inflamed with love to his dear Lord for giving him a second life! Oh believer, the raising thy soul from a death of sin to a life of righteousness, cost thy Saviour not only a sigh, a tear, a groan, a prayer; but agonies, sweats of blood, tortures beyond thought, sufferings beyond expression. His immaculate heart\u2019s blood he freely poured forth for our sins, to procure the life, and to obtain the salvation of our souls. Canst thou think of this love without reflecting on thy misery? Oh hard heart, oh cruel unbelief. How little affected with such love as none but God could shew. Is this thy pain and sickness? Come then, that the Son of God may be yet more glorified in thee; bring thy hard heart to the feet of Jesus, and confess thy unbelief to him with this humble cry, \u2018Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief.\u2019 Mark 9:24.<\/p>\n

Come, happy souls, approach your God<\/p>\n

With new melodious songs;<\/p>\n

Come, tender to almighty grace<\/p>\n

The tribute or your tongues.<\/p>\n

So strange, so boundless was the love<\/p>\n

That pity\u2019d dying men.<\/p>\n

The Father sent his equal Son<\/p>\n

To give them life again.<\/p>\n

<\/div><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

It frequently happens, that intervening occurrences seem to contradict the truths of God. Therefore if we judge from sight and appearance, we shall often be deceived. God\u2019s word alone is the rule of faith; what he has declared shall certainly come to pass, however repugnant it may seem to carnal reason. Thus our Saviour declares of Lazarus, \u2018This sickness is not unto death.\u2019 Yet he afterwards told his disciples plainly,<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":325,"featured_media":20656,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_vp_format_video_url":"","_vp_image_focal_point":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[1571],"tags":[1197],"class_list":["post-24837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-william-mason","tag-spiritual-growth"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/325"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=24837"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24837\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24862,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24837\/revisions\/24862"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/20656"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=24837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=24837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.baptists.net\/history\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=24837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}