There is no greater blessing
to the sons of God than to see and be reminded of the centrality
of Christ in the gospel, yea, even in the whole revelation
of God's word and purpose unto men. If any man fails to see
that centrality, then he cannot preach the true gospel, regardless
of what else he might know and declare. A lack of understanding
of this truth is at the heart of all false doctrine, which
necessarily centers itself in the free will of men. When men
would present the salvation of sinners as being a joint effort
by the Savior and the saved, they have departed from the truth
and have preached a message which would rob God of the rightful
place of glory that he has in providing for the complete salvation
of those he has ordained unto eternal life. Paul was clearly
consistent in the message which he declared, saying, Christ is
all and in all. He desired to preach nothing
but Jesus Christ and Him crucified. It is not uncommon to hear Jesus
Christ and Him crucified being preached here and there. But
it is very rare in this age in which we live to hear nothing
but Jesus Christ and Him crucified being preached. Most preachers
that we hear feel compelled to make the efficacy of the redemption
which Christ has performed to be dependent on man's reception
or decision to believe it. Thus they offer Christ upon an
auction block and seek to persuade men to allow Him to save them. This is totally contrary to the
scriptural declaration of what the gospel is, and also would
go contrary to the words of Christ concerning the work of His Spirit.
Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide
you into all truth, for He shall not speak of Himself. But whatsoever
He shall hear, that shall He speak, and He will show you things
to come. He shall glorify Me, for He shall
receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you. Jesus Christ came
into the world to save sinners, not to simply make their salvation
possible or even probable. He is the Savior of those whom
he came to save, and of all which the Father has given him, he
shall lose none. There are probably no three chapters
of the scriptures that are more neglected, unread, and unpreached
upon than the ninth through the eleventh chapters of Romans.
Except for a few verses in the 10th and 11th chapters, those
passages are usually ignored. To do so is to miss the whole
purpose of God in the creation of the world and to overlook
the unfolding of His grace in the salvation of that elect remnant
which was given to Christ before the foundation of the world.
Paul concludes the 11th chapter of Romans with these words, For
of him, and through him, and to him, are all things to whom
be glory for ever. Amen. This is the summation of
all that he has said thus far in his epistle to the Romans.
If a man fails to see the glory which is found in this summation,
then he has missed the gospel and all else that he might declare
is vain jangling. Christ is the subject of each
one of these prepositions, of, through, and to. Each one connects
to him. Jesus Christ is the one name
which is above every name. There can be no higher power,
no greater glory, nor any more worthiness to be worshipped than
Him who is the fullness of the Godhead bodily. Of Him, the eternal
Son of God is the originator of all things. In the beginning
was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning
with God. All things were made by him, and without him was not
anything made that was made through him. There is no other way in
which men could have ever known the true and living God, except
he was pleased to reveal himself in Jesus Christ. It is through
Jesus Christ that redemption is brought to the sons of God,
to him. It is unto Jesus Christ that
all glory is to be given, both now and in the ages to come.
To Him all creation shall bring their praise. Fear God and give
glory to Him, for the hour of His judgment is come, and worship
Him that made heaven and earth and the sea and the fountains
of water.