Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. I believe we live in one of the
most religious ages that the world has ever known. Pseudo-Christianity
has reached epic proportions around the globe, and there is
a virtual smorgasbord of quasi-Christian doctrines and practices from
which to choose. Churches of all stripes have
sprung up, which have the biggest and best of everything. One can
find churches that cater to every sort of need, desire, and appetite.
It is not difficult to find one that suits a person's lifestyle
and degree of devotion, from the casual to the formal, from
the superficial to the fanatical, and all levels in between. The
common denominator of all of them is that each one considers
that men have the ability to choose to follow Christ and be
as faithful as they desire. They believe that God is hoping
that they will love and obey Him and that He is willing to
bless each one who makes a commitment to be faithful. They are convinced
that the more faith one exhibits, the greater God's blessing will
be towards each one. Conversely, they believe one
will forfeit these blessings by disobedience, most especially
the neglect of tithes and offerings. Most view heaven as a gigantic
vending machine into which each Christian, so-called, deposits
their good deeds, faith, and money, and can expect to hold
their bag to the slot out of which much abundance will flow.
The multitude is convinced that their mission work, visitations,
and various forms of ministry will count for something in the
treasury of heaven. The Lord Jesus put the axe to
the root of human religion when he said, Therefore said I unto
you that no man can come unto me except it were given unto
him of my father. It is impossible that any man
can ever know the Lord Jesus Christ in saving faith apart
from such knowledge and faith being bestowed on him according
to the sovereign grace and electing love of the Father. Doth this
offend you? Men are by nature totally dead
in trespasses and sins and cannot even seek the Lord or have any
desire thereunto. They are every one helpless sinners
with not one shred of any righteousness which might appease the wrath
of God. Even more egregious is the supposed goodness that each
one would dare to entertain the thought that such filthy rags
might be pleasing in the eyes of God. Every righteous activity
of men, as well as their sin, is hated by him who is of purer
eyes than to look upon it. Doth this offend you? Christ
came into the world to save his people from their sins. He shed
his precious blood to obtain eternal redemption for those
elect heirs of grace which were given to him before the foundation
of the world. Everyone for which he shed that
blood shall inherit eternal glory, being made heirs and joint heirs
with Christ. He did not shed his blood in
vain, nor has he attempted and failed to save every man in the
earth. His blood was not shed for those who were appointed
under wrath. Doth this offend you? Christ Jesus does effectually
and irresistibly call every one of his sheep which he knows by
name. They hear his voice and follow him, and another shepherd
they will not follow. All that the Father giveth me
shall come to me, and him that cometh to me I will in no wise
cast out. This is a certain number which
cannot be increased or diminished. It is sheer folly for men to
think that they can come to Christ according to their own volition.
Doth this offend you? Christ Jesus does everlastingly
preserve His elect unto the final day. They shall never perish,
neither shall any pluck them out of His hand. He loved them
before the foundation of the world, and shall present them
faultless before His Father's face in the ages to come. In
the present time they are kept by His power, and cannot in any
wise fail, perish, or be ultimately deceived according to the good
pleasure of His will and His faithfulness to preserve them.
Does this offend you? Christ Jesus does presently work
in His people, and they are only able to manifest good works according
to His performance in them. For it is God which worketh in
you both to will and to do of his good pleasure. I am crucified
with Christ. Nevertheless I live, yet not
I, but Christ liveth in me. And the life which I now live
in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved
me and gave himself for me. There is nothing in our lives,
past, present, or future, that is of any value that is not the
product of His mercy and grace, revealed towards us by Jesus
Christ our Lord. 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? Doth this offend you? Those who
are the true followers of Christ are made to be so by the grace
of God. They are made to confess that they have no place to glory
except in that which Christ Jesus the Lord has accomplished in
their behalf. But God forbid that I should glory, save in
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified
unto me and I unto the world. Does this offend you? If you
would like a free transcript of this broadcast, email us at
forthepoor at windstream.net.