Throughout the Old Testament
we see the practice of building altars. The primary use of these
altars was to offer sacrifices to the Lord upon them. Yet they were also raised as
a testimony, memorial, or a commemorative monument marking some event which
the builders thereof wanted an indelible reminder of. Noah built
an altar when he emerged safely from the ark. Noah constructed
that altar to give thanks as he offered blood sacrifices.
Yet this altar was also built to commemorate the great display
of the mercy of God towards an unworthy creation. It would stand
as a testimony to Noah's heritage of the glorious deliverance which
they had received, totally without merit. We see Abram build an
altar to mark the fact that the Lord had appeared to him and
announced his gift of the land of Canaan to Abram's seed. He
built altars on five separate occasions, yet the most famous
altar that he constructed was that one which he built on Mount
Moriah where he would have offered his only son Isaac had not the
Lord provided himself a lamb for the burnt offering. Years
later, the Lord appeared to Isaac in Beersheba, and he too raised
up an altar to commemorate the event and the fact that the Lord's
mercies were ever present upon him. When Jacob came to Succoth,
he erected there an altar and called it Elohi Israel. This stood as a monument of testimony
to the faithfulness of God to the house of Israel. The final
monument which has been raised before men is the Declaration
of the Gospel. Paul told the Corinthians, For
I determined not to know anything among you save Jesus Christ,
and Him crucified. The preaching of the Gospel is
meant as a testimony or witness to the glory of the blessed God
who ordained it and supplied it. The preaching of the gospel
declares the immortality of the man, Christ Jesus, and manifests
the completed work which he has performed in the behalf of that
people which he has loved from the beginning. This is a living
monument, because this same gospel shall be preached as long as
the world stands, and can never be overturned, but shall manifest
the triumphs of Christ even in the ages to come, world without
end. Those who have received this
declaration, embracing its truth and falling down in worship of
the living Christ, have themselves become a monument to the grace
of God. For how could they believe in
Him of whom they had not heard? And how could they have heard
except that He should have both sent the message and given them
ears to hear it? A monument must have an enduring
quality about it, or it cannot be a true witness. Thus Paul
says of them, Ye are our epistle, that is, word of testimony or
a monument, written in our hearts, known and read of all men. Those
in whom the Lord is pleased to perform His perfect work shall
indeed stand in that truth which they have initially embraced.
To believe the gospel is more than simply the reception of
a few facts. It is to embrace that truth and
cling to it as a matter of life and death. Christ is our salvation. He is our righteousness. He is
our sanctification. If any man would preach another
Jesus than the one which Paul preached, then he would seek
to turn men aside from following him. Thus he declared that he
determined to know only one thing when he was among them, which
is the very essence of the gospel, Jesus Christ and Him crucified. True brotherly love is the evidence
or monument which the Lord would manifest in those whom He calls. This perfect love has been truly
demonstrated by one man born of a woman, the man Christ Jesus. Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. But God
commendeth His love toward us, and that while we were yet sinners,
Christ died for us. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream.net.