Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. Presumption has been the
downfall of man since the beginning, as Eve, while being deceived,
nonetheless presumed to listen to the lies of Satan. Adam presumed
that she was probably right and that they would surely be better
off with the knowledge of good and evil than without it. Cain
presumed to bring an offering to the Lord of the labor of his
own hands. He presumed the Lord would be
pleased with him in his offering. He presumed he was justified
in being angry with the Lord's favor shown to Abel. Paul admonishes
the brethren concerning this very attitude which caused Cain
to stumble. For if a man think himself to
be something when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. For who
maketh thee to differ from another? And what hast thou that thou
didst not receive? Now if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it? When the
Lord is pleased to apply this truth to the heart, then presumption
is driven away, for it has no basis upon which to stand. There
is a natural tendency in man to presume that he has the right
and ability to call upon the Lord whenever he pleases, and
that the Lord is patiently and even expectantly waiting and
hoping that he will do so. Most men pray, especially in
times of distress and need, and presume that God hears them.
Yet most of this praying is of the same sort which the Pharisee
demonstrated. The Pharisee stood and prayed
thus with himself. God, I thank thee that I am not
as other men are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as
this publican. I fast twice in the week. I give
tithes of all that I possess." He presumed that God would be
impressed with his tithing and acts of devotion, not to mention
his holy living in comparison to extortioners and adulterers.
He was blissfully unaware that even his righteousnesses were
but dung in the sight of a holy God. By nature, men presume that
the Lord will reward them for doing what they presume are acts
of great sacrifice and duty. Yet the Lord said, So likewise
ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded
you, say, We are unprofitable servants. We have done that which
was our duty to do. Men presume that there are many
avenues through which a man might find a measure of acceptance
and commendation from the Lord. Yet the scriptures are quite
clear that there is but one way. As the Lord admonished Thomas,
Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life.
No man cometh unto the Father but by me. Even many who have
heard this message with their ears presume that they can find
this way by their own understanding and feel confident that they
are in this way because of some confession which they have made.
Yet the Lord plainly said, no man can come to me except the
Father which has sent me draw him, and I will raise him up
at the last day. True faith does not rely upon
presumption, but solely upon him who is the faith of God's
elect. True faith does not find comfort in its exercise, but
rather in the one who is the foundation of that faith. Even
as Peter confessed, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the
words of eternal life, and we believe and are sure that Thou
art that Christ, the Son of the living God. It is quite common
in the present day for men to presume that Christ died for
the sins of every individual upon the earth, since they read
that he loved the world. They presume that the world has
reference to every single person in it. They will disregard the
plain context of that which the Lord taught Nicodemus, as he
pointed out the Lord's determination to save men from every tribe
and tongue in the earth. When men presume that Christ
died for the sins of every individual, they must of necessity accuse
him of failing to secure the salvation of men by his redemptive
work, since it is clear in the Scriptures that not all men shall
be saved. Thus they presume that he only
made salvation a possibility, and they presume that men have
the wherewithal to complete that work which Christ only attempted. Such presumption is that which
marks out those false prophets which Moses describes as those
who presume to speak for the Lord when he has not sent them. To deny Christ's completed work
of obtaining eternal redemption for his elect is to speak a lie,
regardless of one's sincerity. It is to shatter the basis upon
which a sinner might hope for salvation. Do you presume to
know the truth, or are you like those noble Bereans who search
the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so? Christ
is the hope of sinners. For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.