As a young man I often heard
the saying, the Lord helps those that help themselves. This is
a commonly received thought which permeates the natural mind of
men. It is also the very substance
of what the average person believes the preaching of the gospel to
be. From the very beginning, man has sought out his own devices,
whereby he might seek to better himself and bring his offerings
to the Lord. We see this demonstrated first
in Adam and Eve, as they sewed fig leaves together to hide their
nakedness. They passed on this very trait
to Cain, who brought an offering to the Lord of his own labor.
Time would fail us to tell of the likes of the builders of
Babel's tower. Nadab and Abihu offered strange
fire before the Lord. of Uzzah who steadied the ark
and was slain, of King Saul who saved the sheep from slaughter
in direct disobedience to the Lord's command, strangely that
he might offer them to the Lord. They all had good intentions
and perhaps did the best they could, but none of this was acceptable
in God's sight, and not just unacceptable, but reprehensible.
Thus we see the Lord speaking through Malachi to the nation
of Israel, saying, I have no pleasure in you, saith the Lord
of hosts, neither will I accept an offering at your hand. When
the Lord gave the law to Moses, he specifically said that whatever
was to be offered to the Lord must be of the very best. It
was to be the firstfruits, those lambs which were without any
spot or blemish. Not only that, but only those
priests which were ordained by God could make the offering,
and even those priests could not have any blemish, disease,
or weakness. In this, the Lord would demonstrate
three things. One is that He receives only
one offering for sin, because everything which is of the earth
is corrupted in some fashion. Secondly, he has only one priest
who is fit to make such an offering before him. Thirdly, that sacrifice
was completely sufficient of itself to accomplish the redemption
and atonement for which it was given. There is a principle which
is taught in the scriptures which I call the law of supersession.
Paul speaks of it to the Corinthians when he says, But when that which
is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done
away. He illustrated this then in the next verse, saying, When
I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought
as a child. But when I became a man, I put
away childish things. He also spoke of it quite clearly
to the Philippians, saying, Yea, doubtless, and I count all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do
count them but done. that I may win Christ, and be
found in Him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of
the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness
which is of God by faith, that I might know Him, and the power
of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings,
being made conformable unto His death. The purveyors of the freewill
gospel which we hear so plainly declared in our day Tell men
that the Lord Jesus has done all that He could possibly do
to save every man on the face of the earth. According to them,
He has left the final decision as to whether or not these men
will be saved up to them. All that they must now do is
bring their faith to the Lord, and when He sees that, then He
will be pleased. Thus they teach that men hold
the key to salvation in their hands and can worship the Lord
when they please. Great effort, eloquent and touching
orations, and limitless amounts of money are spent in an effort
to bring this to pass. This concept flies in the very
face of all that we learn in the scriptures concerning the
state of man by nature, and despises the absolute payment for sin
which Christ, the Lamb of God, has made. Nothing that a man
can bring unto the Lord is acceptable in his sight. In fact, he hates
the efforts of men to worship him upon some other basis than
that which is perfect and untainted. For every effort of man is a
rejection of the one true offering for sin that was made by Jesus
Christ the righteous. He alone helps those who cannot
help themselves. If you would like a free transcript
of this broadcast, email us at 4the4 at windstream dot net.