Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. Quite often we hear some
say that there are competing truths found in the Scriptures.
They tell us that we must balance man's responsibility with the
sovereignty of God. Conditional blessings are juxtaposed
over against the unconditional promises of God to His elect.
Yet there are no conflicts in the message which the Lord is
pleased to bring unto men, only varying degrees of understanding,
as the Lord is pleased to give to every man the measure of faith
which pleases him. Those who have clearer understanding
cannot boast in it, because they are made to differ from others
only by the grace of God. Neither can those who find certain
aspects of Bible truth to be unpalatable to their own mind
and that of natural man find grounds upon which to neglect
to declare the whole counsel of God. May the Lord grant that
we might rejoice in the unvarnished truth of God, whether we like
it or not. In his letter to Timothy, Paul
sets forth what I would call an inevitable truth. The purpose
of God in the redemption of sinners is to bring glory to His name
in saving His people from their sin. If we believe that He does
all things according to His will, then we must recognize that He
will perform that which He has set out to do. Modern evangelicalism
has reduced salvation to a deliverance from the pit of hell, yet the
scriptures describe the salvation by Christ as from their sins
rather than from some future destination or era. Each one
of the sons of Adam were by nature dead in trespasses and sins,
and it is from this state that Christ came to deliver those
whom he loves. The Scriptures are abundantly
clear that he performs a work in the sons of God which will
be manifested in conjunction with this salvation which he
is determined to bring. Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold,
all things are become new. The Spirit of God works in the
sons of God to give them a love for the Word of God, quite in
contrast to those who receive not the love of the truth, that
they might be saved. He causes them to love the brethren.
We know that we have passed from death unto life because we love
the brethren. He that loveth not his brother
abideth in death. This same spirit wages war against
their sinful flesh within them. For the flesh lusteth against
the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh. And these are contrary
the one to the other, so that you cannot do the things that
you would. This is a conflict which is unknown to those who
are without spiritual life. This is not a simple sorrow over
having done wrong, but is a genuine longing to be made clean in the
inward parts. The Holy Spirit is a producer
of fruit in the children of God, but the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
meekness, temperance. Against such there is no law,
and they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the
affections and lusts. Ye have not chosen me, but I
have chosen you, and ordained you that ye should go and bring
forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain. Thus Paul describes
to Timothy those who are fitted for destruction and those who
are ordained to eternal life. Open and flagrant sinners prove
that they shall not escape the terror of the Lord. They despise
the way of God, blaspheme the word of God, and can be clearly
recognized. These are those whose sins are
opened beforehand. Then there are those who are
somewhat timid in their sin and may even be influenced by a tender
natural conscience. They often gravitate towards
religion and take comfort in their own supposed righteousness
compared to those whose sins are open beforehand. They consider
themselves to be morally upright. They are those who follow after,
ever learning and never able to come to a knowledge of the
truth. Then there are those in whom the Spirit of God works
mightily. They are described as those whose good works are
manifest before him. Good works do not influence God
in any way, but they are the evidence of his work in his people. Let your light so shine before
men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father
which is in heaven. For we are his workmanship, created
in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that we should walk in them. In this the children of God are
manifest, and the children of the devil. Whosoever doeth not
righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his
brother. Thus the Lord takes away the
hiding place of sinful men, and does demonstrate the hiding place
of those in whom he is pleased to work. Do you desire to walk
in the light of Christ, or do you prefer to walk in the light
of your religion? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net