My readers have noticed that, some mornings, I have been reading gradually through the Puritan Thomas Brooks’s classic, Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices. My theological mentor F. Leroy Forlines died yesterday around 3:30 p.m. at ninety-four years of age, and it was fitting that when I sat down to read this morning, my eyes fell on the following words from Thomas Brooks about truth.
Mr. Forlines’s favorite passage of Scripture was John 8:32, “And you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” Another passage from the gospel of John aptly describes Leroy Forlines’s life: “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.” Mr. Forlines patterned his life after Christ. So it was characterized by truth but also by grace. Another text that he was fond of along these lines was Ephesians 4:14–15: “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ.” Mr. Forlines always bore witness to the truth, but he always spoke it in love.
These texts came vividly to my mind early this morning when I opened Precious Remedies and saw the words below from Brooks. They describe the man who, outside my wife, children, parents, and grandparents, has shaped me more than any other living human being.
Brooks is discussing the eleventh device of Satan “to draw the soul to sin”: “By polluting and defiling the souls and judgments of men with . . . dangerous errors.” Leroy Forlines valiantly spent his life helping us battle this device of Satan. Brooks’s fifth remedy is “Hold fast the truth,” and his sixth is “keep humble.” This is the remedy Leroy Forlines modeled before us, and it is the gospel remedy that holds the cure for our souls and for the ills of our secular age—for believers in Christ to hold fast the truth and keep humble.
Meditate with me on this passage from Brooks that Leroy Forlines would smile on because it is so saturated in the wisdom of Holy Scripture. And meditate on it with the total-personality zeal with which Mr. Forlines would want you to read it—to think deeply, to feel deeply, and to ponder how this truth can transform you. And with it, reminisce about the way in which Mr. Forlines lived out for us and taught us and modeled before us these verities that alone can set us free.
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Remedy (5). The fifth remedy against this device of Satan is, To hold fast the truth. As men take no hold on the arm of flesh—until they let go the arm of God (Jer. 17:5); so men take no hold on error until they have let go their hold of truth; therefore hold fast the truth (2 Tim. 1:13, and Titus 1:9). Truth is your crown, hold fast your crown, and let no man take your crown from you. Has not God made truth sweet to your soul, yes, sweeter than honey, or the honeycomb? and will not you go on to heaven, feeding upon truth, that heavenly honeycomb, as Samson did of his honeycomb. Ah, souls, have you not found truth sweetening your spirits, and cheering your spirits, and warming your spirits, and raising your spirits, and corroborating your spirits? Have not you found truth a guide to lead you, a staff to uphold you, a cordial to strengthen you, and a medicine to heal you? And will not you hold fast the truth? Has not truth been your best friend in your worst days? Has not truth stood by you when friends have forsaken you? Has not truth done more for you than all the world could do against you, and will you not hold fast the truth? Is not truth your right eye, without which you cannot see for Christ? And your right hand, without which you cannot do for Christ? And your right foot, without which you cannot walk with Christ? And will you not hold truth fast? Oh! hold fast the truth in your judgments and understandings, in your wills and affections, in your profession and conversation.
Truth is more precious than gold or rubies, “and all the things you can desire are not to be compared to her” (Prov. 3:15). Truth is that heavenly mirror wherein we may see the luster and glory of divine wisdom, power, greatness, love and mercifulness. In this mirror you may see the face of Christ, the favor of Christ, the riches of Christ, and the heart of Christ—beating and working sweetly towards your souls. Oh! let your souls cleave to truth, as Ruth did to Naomi (Ruth 1:15, 16), and say, “I will not leave truth, nor return from following after truth; but where truth goes I will go, and where truth lodges I will lodge; and nothing but death shall part truth and my soul.” What John said to the church of Philadelphia I may say to you, “Hold fast that which you have, that no man take your crown” (Rev. 3:11). The crown is the top of royalties: such a thing is truth: “Let no man take your crown.” “Hold fast the faithful word,” as Titus speaks. Hold fast as with tooth and nail, against those who would snatch it from us. It is better to let go of anything, rather than truth! It is better to let go, of your honors and riches, your friends and pleasures, and the world’s favors; yes, your nearest and dearest relations, yes, your very lives—than to let go of the truth. Oh, keep the truth, and truth will make you safe and happy forever. Blessed are those who are kept by truth. “Though I cannot dispute for the truth, yet I can die for the truth,” said a blessed martyr.
Remedy (6). The sixth remedy against this device of Satan is, To keep humble. Humility will keep the soul free from many darts of Satan’s casting, and erroneous snares of his spreading. As low trees and shrubs are free from many violent gusts and blasts of wind which shake and tear the taller trees, so humble souls are free from those gusts and blasts of error which shake and tear proud, lofty souls. Satan and the world have least power to fasten errors upon humble souls. The God of light and truth delights to dwell with the humble; and the more light and truth dwells in the soul, the further off darkness and error will stand from the soul. The God of grace pours in grace into humble souls, as men pour drink into empty vessels; and the more grace is poured into the soul, the less error shall be able to overpower the soul, or to infect the soul. I have read of one who, seeing in a vision so many snares of the devil spread upon the earth, he sat down mourning, and said within himself, Who shall pass through these? whereupon he heard a voice answering, Humility shall pass through them.
That is a sweet word in Psalm 25:9, “The humble, he will guide in judgment, and the meek he will teach his way.” And certainly souls guided by God, and taught by God, are not easily drawn aside into ways of error. Oh, take heed of spiritual pride! Pride fills our fancies, and weakens our graces, and makes room in our hearts for error. There are no men on earth so soon entangled, and so easily conquered by error—as proud souls. Oh, it is dangerous to love to be wise above what is written, to be curious and unsober in your desire of knowledge, and to trust to your own capacities and abilities to undertake to pry into all secrets, and to be puffed up with a carnal mind. Souls that are thus asoaring up above the bounds and limits of humility, usually fall into the very worst of errors, as experience does daily evidence. The proud soul is like him who gazed upon the moon—but fell into the pit. You know how to apply it.
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Leroy Forlines would have loved these sentiments from the pages of Precious Remedies Against Satan’s Devices. He embodied this union of truth and humility in his own life and work and taught us to do the same. May we continue to emulate his example.
The above scripture texts are from the NASB.