There is no better test as to whether a man is really preaching the New Testament gospel of salvation than the fact that some people might misunderstand it and misinterpret it to mean that it really amounts to thisโthat because you are saved by grace alone it does not matter at all what you do, that you can go on sinning as much as you like because it will abound all the more to the glory of grace. That is a very good test of gospel preaching. If my preaching and presentation of the gospel of salvation does not expose it to that misunderstanding, then it is not the gospel.
MartynThe most urgent need in the Christian Church today is true preaching; and as it is the greatest and most urgent need in the Church it is obviously the greatest need of the world also.
MartynThe ultimate test of my understanding of the scriptural teaching is the amount of time I spend in prayer. As theology is ultimately the knowledge of God, the more theology I know, the more it should drive me to seek to know God. Not to know about Him but to know Him! The whole object of salvation is to bring me to knowledge of God. If all my knowledge does not lead me to prayer there is something wrong somewhere.
MartynThe man who is meek is not even sensitive about himself. He is not always watching himself and his own interests. He is not always on the defensiveโฆ To be truly meek means we no longer protect ourselves, because we see there is nothing worth defendingโฆ The man who is truly meek never pities himself, he is never sorry for himself. He never talks to himself and says, โYou are having a hard time, how unkind these people are not to understand you.
MartynThe Christian must abstain from sin. It is as simple and direct as that. You have no right to say, 'I am weak, I cannot, and temptation is very powerful.' The answer of the New Testament is, Stop doing it!
MartynIf we believe that Jesus of Nazareth is the only begotten Son of God and that He came into this world and went to the cross of Calvary and died for our sins and rose again in order to justify us and to give us life anew and prepare us for heaven-if you really believe that, there is only one inevitable deduction, namely that He is entitled to the whole of our lives, without any limit whatsoever.
Martyn