JESUS CHRIST Turns Enemies Into Friends, By HIS GRACE!

The MASTER Coal Heaver!
(Frank Hall)

"If your enemy is hungry, give him bread 
to eat; and if he is thirsty, give him water 
to drink; for so you will heap coals of fire 
on his head, and the LORD will reward you." 
Proverbs 25:21-22 

What a strange and exotic principle! 

Feed our enemies? Give water to those who 
hate us? Certainly this teaching is not from 
below, but from above! 

This is the doctrine of CHRIST, 
the doctrine of free grace--
the formula that transforms 
inveterate enemies into faithful friends. 

These coals of fire are not coals 
of judgment, but coals of grace by 
which the hearts of our enemies are 
melted and won. Our SAVIOR preached 
this doctrine with great clarity in HIS 
Sermon on the Mount when HE said, 

"You have heard that it was said: 
You shall love your neighbor and 
hate your enemy. But I tell you: 
Love your enemies and pray for those 
who persecute you." Matthew 5:43-44.

Nothing is more contrary to the flesh 
than exercising kindness and love toward 
those who hate us, but if we would honor 
our SAVIOR and subdue our enemies--
we dare not resort to the sinful practice 
of revenge. We must conquer the hearts 
of our enemy's the same way that 
CHRIST conquered our hearts--
by relentlessly heaving the coals 
of unmerited grace upon their heads. 

Coals of Grace
A mighty king may very well use angry 
force to subjugate his enemies, but they 
will never love him or serve him willingly. 

Willing service, heart commitment, 
and life-loyalty--
can only be accomplished 
by grace, mercy, and love. 

The LORD JESUS CHRIST does not 
win sinners to HIMSELF with threats 
of punishment or promises of reward. 
HE wins sinners to HIMSELF by 
HIS free grace! 

HE turns enemies into friends, by HIS grace! 

HE converts hard-hearted adversaries 
into faithful disciples, by HIS grace! 

HE causes rebels to surrender their 
hearts to him, not with brute force 
and overwhelming power--
but with tender, irresistible love 
and grace!

HE is the only MASTER of the universe, 
the sovereign MASTER of hearts, and  
the MASTER Coal Heaver as well. 

With the gospel shovel in HIS hand, 
HE sovereignly heaves the covenant 
coals of free grace onto the heads 
of HIS enemies, and in so doing HE 
melts their hearts of stone into soft, 
pliable, elastic masses of wax--
putty in the hands of the MASTER!

Calvary's Coals
No chosen sinner can successfully 
withstand the melting effects 
of Calvary's coals! 

When the coals of effectual blood 
redemption, free forgiveness, and 
perfect righteousness begin to stack 
up, coal upon coal, on the sinner's heart, 
and the heat of CHRIST'S indescribable 
love grows warmer and warmer--
that unbreakable, adamantine 
heart of stone is eventually smitten, 
smelted, and liquefied into a puddle 
of love for the crucified Coal Heaver! 

   ~  ~  ~  ~ 

GraceGems has published Archibald Brown's outstanding sermon on spiritual depression, 
"David's Malady and Medicine!" If you have no evening sermon today, this would be a great read.