Thy mercy, my God, is the theme
of my song. Now, gifted speakers who masquerade
as preachers of truth can sometimes cause men to be stirred up in
an emotional state, which is often mistaken for true conviction
of sin. When a man's conviction arises
out of the ability of the preacher to turn a phrase, perhaps causing
the hearers to fear the consequences of sin, then that man will likely
also be readily convinced that his deliverance from this fearful
state of burning in hell forever rests in his own ability to complete
some evangelical formula called the plan of salvation. One so
convinced can be perfectly satisfied for these preachers to pronounce
him as one of the saved because of his actions. He is easily
persuaded that this decision to be saved has caused all of
heaven to rejoice and that his name is now recorded among the
redeemed. In some circles, one must also add the act of baptism
or vain babbling to really seal the deal, all of which such men
are ready to do and take comfort therein. Much that is labeled
as faith in many evangelical circles today is really nothing
more than presumption. God is pictured as being much
like the genie in Aladdin's magic lamp. All one has to do is rub
on the lamp and voila, God appears ready to grant our wish. In fact,
he is unable to resist coming out of the lamp and is so relieved
that men have rubbed on the lamp that he grants salvation on pre-printed
cards prepared for the event. In the natural thinking of men,
they believe that they have both the right and the ability to
be acquainted with the God of heaven and earth. They are convinced
that they can learn about Him by studying the scriptures, going
to church, or hearing men preach, just like you would learn about
any subject which one is inclined to pursue. Many are inclined
to think that they can know the Lord because they are persuaded
that He is in need of something which only they can provide,
rather than vice versa. Many presume that they can help
God fulfill his desires by their decision to accept an offer of
salvation from his hand as if he was running a lemonade stand
and is overjoyed when he gets a customer. Salvation is not
an offer, nor is Christ on the auction block waiting to be accepted
or approved. God cannot in any wise be aided
by men. But our God is in the heavens.
He hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. Men presume that they
can believe. Men presume that God is bound
by their formulas and their religion. Men presume that they can gain
something from Him by their obedience. Men presume that God ought to
come to their aid. Men presume that their presumptions
constitute faith. Job was a man who actually did
have some understanding of the truth of God. Yet he was stripped
naked and bare before Him when the Lord was pleased to visit
Job in power, bringing Job to declare, I have heard of thee
by the hearing of the ear, but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore
I abhor myself, and I repent in dust and ashes. When the Holy
Spirit is pleased to convince a man of his depraved heart and
his wicked actions, he will be caused by him to cry out in deepest
distress, like the Philippian jailer or the men on the day
of Pentecost who heard Peter preach Christ. The purpose of
the preaching is not simply to produce despair in those who
are given ears to hear it, but rather to bring life and immortality
to light, apprising them of the reconciliation which Christ has
procured. Man in his natural state has
no appreciation for this message of redemption and is unable to
either hear it or believe it. Therefore, in order for a man
to hear this truth proclaimed and then to believe what he hears,
his heart, mind, and soul must be prepared to receive it. Those
whom the Lord has ordained unto eternal life or also those whom
the Holy Ghost performs the work of repentance, being made a new
creature, not by the will of the flesh, but by the power of
the eternal God. None has ever believed the gospel
of the redemptive work of Christ, who has not first been convinced
that he is a sinner, worthy of destruction, and his utter inability
to correct that situation. This scenario could only result
in total despair, were it not that the same Lord who administers
the wound is also the one who applies the healing balm of the
Redeemer, granting faith to both hear and believe. That faith
which he has been given causes him to cling to an abiding hope
in Christ, having no ability to depart from those things which
his soul has been made to believe. So while the man who has presumption
says, I can tell you the exact time and place where I decided
to be saved, the man whom the Lord has given hope says, pass
me not, O gentle Savior, here my humble cry, while on others
thou art calling, do not pass me by. Nothing in my hand I bring,
simply to thy cross I cling, naked come to thee for dress,
helpless look to thee for grace. Foul I to the fountain fly, wash
me, Savior, or I die. Behold, the eye of the Lord is
upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy.
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