Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of the Moses for Zion's 4. There's an old conundrum which
asks which came first, the chicken or the egg? Of course, anyone
who has even a small knowledge of the scriptural record of creation
understands the folly of such human reason, since he who made
the worlds out of nothing created the chicken immediately, just
exactly like he intended it to be and not by some natural process. There are some who believe the
Lord created the earth and all living creatures over a long
period of time through the process of evolution. Such theories are
designed by men who seek to make the scriptural record more palatable
to the natural thinking of men, seeking to have a mixture of
the science of the worldly wise and the revealed truth of the
scriptures. In so doing, they wind up denying both and only
proving the confusion and rebellion that is in the heart of man by
nature. A man actually has to deny his
own personal observations of the intricacies of the world
around him in order to deny the work of the creation by a sovereign
God. While a man can be taught the
facts of such a creation, it is only by grace that this same
man can be brought to embrace the glory which surrounds his
creator and to bow before him as he worships in spirit and
truth. This faith is the gift of God
and cannot be arrived at by natural reason or understanding. Ye must
be born again. The true gospel springs from
one source. Paul says that he received it
by the revelation of Jesus Christ. Now surely he is speaking of
his own personal experience as an anointed apostle. Yet every
man who has ever received any understanding of the gospel has
gotten it from the exact same source. The Lord does indeed
use human instrumentality in the declaration of the gospel,
but all knowledge of it and the calling thereto comes directly
from him who is the author and finisher of our faith. The primary
purpose of preaching the gospel is not the salvation or benefit
of mankind, but rather to testify of the glory of the grace of
the blessed God who sent his only begotten Son into the world
to redeem his people, justifying them in the sight of the law.
The gospel of His grace, as He is pleased to make it known,
is completely at odds with the thinking of the natural man and
his worldly religious pursuits. By nature, men are convinced
that they can choose to follow the way of God by an action of
their own free will and by their own efforts cause Him to take
notice of them. Thus the natural man will grow
angry and rebel against the truth of God's sovereign and unconditional
election of a people in Christ. The fact that he shows mercy
to the undeserving and those who do not measure up to the
standards which men regard as being worthy of his favor is
galling to the man who entertains notions of his own worthiness. Man in his natural religious
state desires to raise a certain standard of moral behavior which
would make a man to be accepted before the Lord. If such were
the case, who among us could stand? A sinner would have no
grounds to hope in his mercy. The subject of this gospel is
a stone of stumbling to the natural man. While man is in natural
revolt against the laws and precepts of God, his greatest point of
rebellion is seen in his hatred of Jesus Christ. The natural
religious tendencies of men cause some of them to pay lip service
to him, but in reality they will not have this man to rule over
them. They will observe times and seasons
and supposed worship of him, but they receive not the love
of the truth that they might be saved. By nature, men will
often have regard and respect unto religion of one sort or
another, and its requirements as a means of making peace with
God. Yet the Lord was quite clear
that it is impossible that any man could know or approach unto
God apart from believing the gospel. To believe the gospel
is not simply to endorse the moral teachings of Christ, but
rather is to see His glory and embrace His Lordship. That man
who believes the gospel despises and rejects any other ground
of hope but that which he finds in Christ. For the success of
Christ in no way rests upon the ability and action of those who
are by grace the recipients of faith. Are you a believer? If
you would like a free transcript of this broadcast, email us at
4the4 at windstream.net.