The most glorious and comforting
message to those who find themselves in captivity and without strength
is that there is one who is not only willing to save them but
is mighty to perform the task of their deliverance and does
in fact procure their salvation from all that would destroy them.
That which masquerades as the gospel in the present day is
a message which presents a Savior who is willing enough to save
men, yet does not actually save any, but merely makes it possible
for them to be saved if they fulfill certain requirements.
This sort of salvation is not any different from the law which
was presented to the Jews, which promised them life, health, and
blessings if they would fulfill its requirements, yet which ultimately
brought them under condemnation. Is the law then against the promises
of God? God forbid, for if there had
been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness
should have been by the law. Yet the inability of the law
to bring life to those under it is not a fault in the law,
nor because it demanded an unholy principle, for what the law could
not do in that it was weak through the flesh. It is impossible for
a man to keep the law, because all men are by nature the children
of wrath, born in sin, under its curse, and willing slaves
to their own lusts. The Lord summed up the law in
two principles. Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.
Only an ignorant fool would confess that he has ever done either
perfectly. Paul testifies that when he was walking among the
Jews as a Pharisee of the Pharisees, claiming to adhere to the law,
he was yet ignorant of what the law's demands fully entailed,
and the depths of his own corruption and rebellion against that law.
When by the grace of God the Lord opened his eyes to see the
law in its stark reality, he found himself without hope. But
when the commandment came, sin revived, and I died. He could
then see the corruption of his own sinful flesh and was slain
by that which he at one time thought would be his deliverer.
There are multitudes who think that they have within themselves
the ability to believe the gospel whenever they feel like it. The
man who thinks that it is his own faith that saves him is yet
deluded and unacquainted with the corruption of his own heart
and the fact that he is dead in trespasses and sins. Apart
from the gift of faith being granted by the grace of Him who
is mighty to save, a man will never approach unto the Lord
for mercy, let alone be granted a conscience which is void of
offense. So it is true that those who are truly lost, undone, and
in total captivity to their own sin need a mighty Deliverer if
they are ever to be set free from that captivity and live
as free men. This is exactly what the Lord
Jesus came into the world to perform. He is indeed a mighty
Savior, who is perfectly suited for his people's needs. For such
a high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled,
separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens. Who
needeth not daily as those high priests to offer up sacrifice,
first for his own sins, and then for the people's. For this he
did once, when he offered up himself. A mighty Savior possesses
the necessary strength to accomplish his purpose. Who is this that
cometh from Edom with dyed garments from Basra, this that is glorious
in his apparel, travelling in the greatness of his strength?
I that speak in righteousness, mighty to save. A mighty Saviour
is one who depends upon his own strength and not that of another.
For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly. A mighty Savior will not fail
to accomplish His purpose. And you being dead in your sins
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together
with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses, blotting out
the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was
contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to His
cross. And having spoiled principalities and powers, He made a show of
them openly, triumphing over them in it. A mighty Savior will
rejoice in the spoils of his victory, yet it pleased the Lord
to bruise him. He shall put him to grief when
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. He shall see his seed,
he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall
divide the small with the strong, because he hath poured out his
soul unto death, and he was numbered with the transgressors. And he
bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
and he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written,
King of kings and Lord of lords. Do you see your need of a mighty
Savior, or can you be saved by your ability to believe? If you
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forthepoor at windstream.net.