Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. We live in a day when men
speak of faith as if it is a commodity which all men possess and exercise
according to the dictates of their own free will. Carnival
barkers masquerading as gospel preachers seek to stir up men
to have faith, demonstrate faith, and especially sow seeds of faith,
which is a catch word to extort money from those easily duped
by their banter and deceptions. These prophets of Baal would
presume to speak in the name of the Lord. They presume that
the Lord must need money to enable him to accomplish His work, just
as they presume that He needs men to perform the same. They
presume that the Lord is trying to teach them things if they
will just listen and give Him permission to lead. The Hebrew
word for presume and presumptuously means to be insolent or to deal
proudly. Pride is at the root of presumption,
as men value their own thoughts above the truth. Paul struck
a blow at the men who take pride in their knowledge. And if any
man think that he knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet as he
ought to know. Presumption has been the downfall of man since
the beginning, as he, 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 and his offering. He presumed
he was justified in being angry with the Lord's favor shown to
Abel. Once again Paul admonishes the brethren concerning this
very attitude. For if a man think of 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 presuming 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. 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, Likewise ye, when ye have done all these things
which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants.
We have done that which was our duty to do. Men presumed 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 the
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. 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. Thus they presume that He only
made salvation a possibility, and presume that men have the
wherewithal to complete that work which Christ only attempted. 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 those things are so? For a free
CD containing 15 of these radio broadcasts, send an email to
forthepoor at windstream.net.