Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Everything about the kingdom
of God is quite contrary to the natural thinking of men. It makes
perfect sense to men that they should seek revenge for those
who have wronged them. Yet the Lord said, but I say
unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully
use you and persecute you. But I say unto you that ye resist
not evil, for whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek,
turn to him the other also. It is not surprising that we
hear many churchgoers say, I just don't understand the Bible. Unless
the Lord is pleased to give a man understanding, he will never
get it. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit
of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know
them, because they are spiritually discerned. We live in a highly
religious society and the religion of choice in our society is Christianity. Its basic precepts have been
taught quite openly and continually for many years. Vast numbers
of fine folk have learned what the Bible says and are able to
defend their particular brand of Christianity, as they would
call it, against the other brands. One looks at all of these brands
and is made to wonder if the apostle was right when he said
one Lord, one faith, one baptism. Of course, each brand is quick
to step up and say, ours is the one. Some more vehemently than
others, and some even more credible than the next. There is no shortage
of prophets and their followers. There is no lack of fine facilities
that have been built in the name of the Lord, nor folks to fill
them up. We see many in their zeal who
are willing to give their bodies to be burnt and to sacrifice
their worldly goods to the voracious appetites of those who preach
about a God who needs their money to get things done or a Savior
who would save everybody if He can just get enough of the world's
goods to pay men to convince folks to let Him or finance the
latest gimmick in that quest. The vast majority of those who
call themselves Christians are convinced that God is dependent
on them in some way. Some of these same folks, unbeknownst
to themselves, have changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped
and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed
forever. Deceivers have been loosed in
the midst, for there are certain men crept in unawares who were
before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning
the grace of our God into lasciviousness and denying the only Lord God
and our Lord Jesus Christ. Most preaching today is a mixture
of man's free will with a dose of God's mercy and just a dash
of human endeavor. This is a fine recipe for the
natural man's thinking, who believes that God helps those who help
themselves, and that he has made salvation a possibility if we
can somehow convince men to take advantage of it, by either scaring
them with the horrors of hell, drawing them a roadmap through
Romans, or enticing them with the sheer bliss of heaven, which
must surely be a place filled with all sorts of carnal delights
that will keep them satisfied through the ages to come. Yet
that man who is convinced of his own depravity and utterly
hopeless condition by the operation of the Holy Ghost can find absolutely
no comfort in this contrived formula, which depends on his
ability to do anything. Such a man as that is convinced
that such a recipe spells his doom rather than his deliverance. If he must supply faith, then
he will despair, for all he can do is lament his lack of faith.
If he must take the first step, he faints, for he knows that
he is lame in both feet. Hell is real enough to him without
the need for someone to rub salt into his wounds. He stands in
need of a physician and not a taskmaster. He can hardly find any enjoyment
in a consideration of eternal bliss because he finds himself
to have no hope of ever entering such a place. But oh, when all
hope in any human merit or endeavor is extinguished, the Lord is
pleased to cause him to hear the sweet sound of this message
and ultimately apply its healing balm to his despairing heart.
This man receiveth sinners. Oh, could it be possible? Could
such a wretch as I be made whole by him? He cannot help but cry
out with blind Bartimaeus, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy
on me. He must join with the publican
in saying, oh God, be merciful to me, a sinner. And can it be
that I should gain an interest in the Savior's blood? Died He
for me who caused His pain, for me who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love, how can it be that Thou, my God, shouldst die for
me? Do you believe in Him? If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at forthepoor at windstream.net.