Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. Paul admonished the Galatians
concerning the apparent departure of many of them from the truth
of the gospel, concerning their reliance upon the law. He said,
O foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you that ye should
not obey the truth, before whose eyes Jesus Christ hath been evidently
set forth crucified among you? A man cannot be persuaded simply
in mind by rote recitation of the scriptures, but he must be
called to obey the truth, or in other words, to walk in light
of that which one recognizes to be true. Paul upbraided Peter
over this very matter when he told him, But when I saw that
they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I
said unto Peter before them all, If thou being a Jew livest after
the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compelst
thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews? A man is not persuaded
of his freedom from the law, if he is compelled to put the
saints under the law. David wrote, Behold, how good
and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. Paul
followed this up by saying, Now I beseech you, brethren, by the
name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing,
and that there be no divisions among you, but that ye be perfectly
joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment. To
be persuaded by the Spirit of God is to love the brethren and
seek peace among them, with all lowliness and meekness, with
long-suffering, forbearing one another in love, endeavoring
to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Let this
mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." The Lord often
uses the scriptures preached by men, sent by the power of
the Holy Ghost, to break down the walls of their rebellion
and to bring life and immortality to light in their soul. This
is that faith which comes by hearing. A man cannot be persuaded
apart from the gift of faith and cannot follow Christ except,
he believes, as one follows the other. Paul speaks of this persuasion
that the Lord will be faithful to those whom he calls, being
confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good
work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ. But
the Lord is faithful, who shall establish you and keep you from
evil. And we have confidence in the Lord touching you, that
ye both do and will do the things which we command you. He was
persuaded that the Lord would indeed work in them both the
will and to do of his good pleasure. Even as David of old testified,
I will cry unto God most high, unto God that performeth all
things for me. John writes, and hereby we know
that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before
him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart
and knoweth all things. Beloved, if our heart condemn
us not, then have we confidence toward God. The assurance of
faith comes from the same source as the faith itself. A man must
be persuaded by the Holy Ghost in order to be assured, even
as Peter confessed, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon
Barjona, for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee,
but my Father which is in heaven. This is the same confession that
he made later when he said, And we believe and are sure that
thou art that Christ, the Son of the living God. This is that
assurance or persuasion that comes to those who are given
the gift of faith. Luke's introduction to his gospel
describes his account as those things which are most surely
believed among us. Paul describes Abraham as being fully persuaded.
There is no shadow of turning in this sort of persuasion, for
it is not built upon the ability of men to believe according to
an action of their own free will, but it is that which is engraved
in the heart by the power of the Holy Ghost. Paul admonishes
Timothy to faithfully declare the Word of God, despite those
who turn from it. But watch thou in all things,
endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof
of thy ministry. He clearly testified of his own
persuasion when he said this is a faithful saying and worthy
of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners, of whom I am chief. I know whom I have believed,
and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed
unto him against that day. Religious men may learn and teach
many doctrines which support various traditions which undergird
their belief system, but only the Spirit of God can write the
truth upon a man's heart in such fashion as the Scripture describes
as being fully persuaded. Peter was fully persuaded of
Christ when he said, 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. Are you thus
persuaded? For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.