Mark 16:1-8

Mark 16:1-8

1. Let us observe the power of strong love to Christ.
2. Let us observe how the difficulties which Christians fear, will sometimes disappear as they approach them.
3. Let us observe that the friends of Christ have no cause to be afraid of angels.
4. Let us observe the exceeding kindness of God towards his backsliding servants.

"A large proportion of a saint's anxieties arise from things which never really happen. We look ahead to all the possibilities of the journey towards heaven. We conjure up in our imagination all kind of crosses and obstacles. We mentally carry tomorrow's troubles, as well as today's. And often, very often, we find at the end, that our doubts and alarms were groundless, and that the thing we dreaded most has never come to pass at all."

"We may well say when we read words like these, "this is not the manner of man." On no point perhaps are our views of religion so narrow, low, and contracted, as on the point of God's exceeding willingness to pardon penitent sinners. We think of Him as such an one as ourselves. We forget that "he delights in mercy." (Micah 7:18.)

Questions:

1. Do we see that love for God and knowing our debt toward God for forgiving our sins go together?

2. Ryle states that Christians are often anxious about things that never really happen. Have you found this experience to be true? Do we tend to bringing our cares and anxieties to the Lord or to fretting about them?

3. Are we living in such a way that even the angels will rejoice when the Lord calls us home?

4. Do we think of God as reluctant to forgive our sins when we confess and repent, or that he delights in mercy? Can we be accused of having a narrow, low, and contracted view of God’s desire to pardon our sins, or that He abundantly pardons?