Well last week we were considering
Rahab in Joshua, Joshua chapters 2 and 6. And Rahab was an Amorite,
Gentile woman, who in the conquest of Canaan, the promised land,
by the children of Israel, Joshua their savior at the head of them,
In that, Rahab the Gentile, who was amongst Gentiles who were
under the condemnation of God and destined for complete destruction,
Rahab was saved. Rahab we saw was saved by the
grace of God. Rahab was saved by blood atonement
of which the scarlet cord in the window was a sign. Blood
shed for his people, particular redemption. Rahab the Gentile
when everybody else, as Hebrews 11 tells us, around her was unbelieving
and perishing in their unbelief. She, by faith, believed and didn't
perish with those who perished in unbelief. She trusted God's
promises, for God promised, you stay there in that house under
the red cord, under the cord which was the symbol of the blood
of Christ, you stay there in that house And when Jericho is
miraculously destroyed in the judgment of God, and by all accounts
if this had been a rational earthquake, that house would have fallen
down, God preserved it. God preserved it. She didn't
die in that judgment, nor did her family who were in that house
with her, so reminiscent of Noah in the ark and his family. Just
a small number, when all around in their unbelief and rebellion
against God, are perishing. She sought assurance of salvation. Give me your promise Give me
your promise that because I've done these things, you will preserve
us." And yes, they gave her their promise. She sought assurance
of salvation. She strove to be saved from destruction. She got out of bed and tried.
She strove to be saved from destruction. And she's in the record of faith
in Hebrews 11 verse 31. She strove to be assured that
she had salvation. Now, Many years ago, when we
were in, I suppose it was Armenian circles, they used to sing a
chorus, do not strive, do not, oh they used to love it, they
used to wave their arms in the air, do not strive, do not strive,
and I used to think something disturbs me about this chorus,
something disturbs me. If it means do not strive to
keep the law to be right with God, 100% agree. Absolutely. Absolutely agree
with that. We do not strive. We don't try
to keep the law. There was a little article by
Todd Niblett a couple of weeks ago that I saw. I should have
put it in the bulletin for you. It was, do we try to keep the
Ten Commandments? Of course we don't, Christ has
kept them. Do we make the law void through
our faith? God forbid. No, we establish
the law through faith. It's not by trying to keep it
that we establish, it's by faith in Christ that we keep that law,
that we establish that law. No, we don't strive to keep the
law for righteousness. But those that say do not strive
and put a full stop there without explaining further what they
mean, ignore what our Lord Jesus Christ said in Luke chapter 13
and verse 24. You see, they say do not strive,
do not strive. He says strive. We ought to listen
to what our Master says, shouldn't we? He says strive. He says strive
to enter in at the straight gate. Try to enter in at the straight
gate. Strive means agonize. Strive
means work hard, try. Strive means fight. When the
way ahead is straight, that word, S-T-R-A-I-T, means narrow, means
constricted, means the flow is against you. Strive to enter
in when everything is pushing against you. The world around
is pushing against us, trying to stop us. The devil and all
of his schemes are trying to stop us and trying to distract
us. And Jesus says, try. to get in to the Kingdom of God.
Now you'll say to me, this sounds like Arminian teaching, doesn't
it? You know, this is all down to you. Not at all, not at all. We'll see, it'll become clearer.
Strive to enter in at the straight gate. It seems so hard to enter
in. It's a bit like when Jesus said
it's harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven than
for a camel to go through the eye of a needle. You know how
tiny the eye of a needle is? You know where you put the thread
on a needle? And you know how big, us and the boys went to
a zoo a week ago, and we saw a camel. That was a big thing,
wasn't it? Timmy, can you imagine that camel
going through a tiny eye of a needle? Can't do it. Jesus said it's
harder for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven, one who's
rich in his own strength, than it is for a camel to go through
the eye of a needle. Strive to enter in at the straight
gate, labor hard, In fact, it seems so hard to get in that
in verse 23, somebody listening to the teaching of Jesus had
said this, Lord, are there few? Surely, who could be saved? You
know, the disciples said that with the camel and eye of a needle.
You know, who can be saved? It's impossible. Ah, said Jesus,
it's impossible with man, but with God all things are possible.
Are there few that be saved? It seems so hard. Are there few?
Look at our situation in these days. Does it not look? What's
everybody doing? They're playing rugby, they're
doing gymnastics, they're doing everything they like. They're
shopping, they're just living in the world, they're just going
on as if nothing mattered whatsoever. The whole of worldly material
life goes on and entertains and satisfies. And you say, are there
few that be saved? Is there any? Even the nice people
that we know and we get on with so well, you know, are there
few that be saved? Yeah? It looks like that, doesn't
it? There are so few. But you say,
ah, but no, we're just in a small little enclave. There are big
churches around. There are big established churches
around, aren't there? There are churches that are there,
they've got nice buildings, and they've got full-time paid pastors,
and they've got all of the trappings, they've got several, you know,
congregations of a hundred or more, and they're all mutually
supportive, and surely, surely that's alright. They've got all
of these privileges of Christianity. Christ is named amongst them.
He's even preached in many of these places. Maybe not. Not
in the fullness of the Gospel, but Christ is preached. But I
tell you, many in those churches, I'd probably say most people
in those churches are not saved. They're not saved. They're under
a delusion. Look at this chapter 13 of Luke. Look at verse 26. This is Jesus
talking about the day of judgment, and he says that they're going
to be saying, open the door to us. And he says, you will begin
to say, we have eaten and drunk in your presence. We know all
about you. We've been in a Christian church.
We've heard your name proclaimed. You've taught in our streets.
But he shall say, I tell you, I know not whence you are. I
don't know you. I don't know where you come from.
You think you're mine, but you're not. Depart from me. All you
good Christians, no, all you workers of iniquity, because
you don't believe the gospel, truly, the true gospel. You're
living under the shadow of a refuge of lies. There shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth. You'll see, you'll see Abraham
and Isaac and Jacob and the prophets in the kingdom." He's speaking
to Jews at the time. He says, those that you revere
and you think you're in the path of them, you'll see them in the
kingdom of God and you yourselves thrust out. And he says, and
not only this, you Jews in Jerusalem and around there where he was
teaching, he says, I'm telling you, they'll come from the East.
Gentiles, non-Jews, from the West, from the North, and from
the South. These that you would never expect,
you Jews, and they'll sit down in the Kingdom of God. Those
that you think are going to be first will turn out to be last.
And those that you think are going to be last in the stakes
of the Kingdom of God will be first. Listen to what he says
in the Sermon on the Mount, in Matthew 7, verses 21 to 23. Not everyone that saith unto
me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven. Oh, how
many there will be, come the day of... I will go... Lord,
Lord, Lord! No, no, he says, not everyone
that says that will enter into the kingdom of heaven. Many will
say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied
in thy name? Haven't we preached? Haven't
we preached your gospel? And in thy name, haven't we cast
out devils? We've done miraculous things,
we've done wonderful works. And I will profess to them, he
says, I never knew you. Depart from me. ye that work
iniquity." They claimed to have believed, they professed that
they believed, they even preached what sounded like a gospel. They
said they worked for Christ, but they were still outside the
kingdom of God. What about me? What about me? Is that not the question we should
ask? You know, the hymn that we've just sung of John Newton?
"'Tis a point I long to know, Oft it causes anxious thought,
do I love the Lord or no? Am I his or am I not? And he goes on about the weakness
of the flesh, but praise God, towards the end of the hymn,
he knows the truth of the gospel of grace. Who will be saved? Who will be saved? Are there
few that be saved? Who will be saved? The scriptures
teach us exactly who will be saved. The elect of God. Who
are they? We don't know. They're known
only to God. The elect of God. Foreknown of God before time
began. Chosen in Christ before the foundation
of the world. Given to Christ before the foundation
of the world. Put in union with him. betrothed
to the Son of God. The Son of God, Christ, is portrayed
in scripture as the bridegroom, and the church, his people, is
portrayed as the bride. And you know, in these days of
broken promises, it doesn't mean what it used to mean, but betrothal,
engagement, used to be, and those of you that saw us in the choir
in the summer, we were singing Trial by Jury, which was a case
that not very long ago was in English law, breach of promise
of marriage. Christ promised to marry his
people before time began. And English law used to reflect
that. Hence you could be sued for breach
of promise of marriage. No, we were putting Christ before
the foundation of the world. Saved by the substitutionary
work of Christ. Standing in the place of his
people where they need to be justified before the law of God.
Where they need to be made holy before the law of God. He has
done that miraculously for his people. He has redeemed, he has
paid the price of debt. The first hymn that we sung was
about debts that need to be paid. Christ has paid the debts of
his people. He has justified. You know when
a court of law justifies somebody that's accused, What a wonderful
sense of freedom and liberation there is. They come out onto
the steps of the court, and they could have gone to prison that
morning. They woke up that morning, and if the jury had come in and
found them guilty, they would have gone to prison. And the
jury finds them not guilty, and they come out, and they're justified.
The law has no more to say to them. They've been found not
guilty of that. We, in Christ, are justified
from everything that the law of God would say against us. We're made holy in Him, for He
is unto us wisdom from God, and righteousness, and sanctification,
and redemption. And who is it for? It's particularly
for the elect. It's only for the elect. Only. In eternity, that's all, all
whom he has saved. And not one of them will be lost.
They asked Jesus, what was he doing? He said, this is the will
of my father, that of all he has given me, all his people,
given to Christ before the foundation of the world, I should lose nothing. I'm not going to lose one of
them. Everyone given to Christ before the foundation of the
world will be raised up in that last day, will be saved. How
many? How many? Well, we read it's
a multitude that no man can number. In Revelation, when you look
at the end of things, it's a multitude that no man can number. As this
verse said, from the east and the north and the south and the
west, from everywhere, every tribe and kindred. But in every
situation in time, like our situation in time, and the situation of
many others who are completely alone who listen to this, It
seems like there are very, very few. It seems like the mustard
seed of verse 9 in Luke 13. It is like a grain of mustard
seed. It's like the smallest grain of dust. In any one place,
the kingdom of God seems like a grain of mustard seed. Oh,
you know, surely numbers is the vindication of whether you're
preaching the truth. If you've got a huge congregation, that's
a vindication of the truth. Not necessarily so. In every
single place, individually, it is often like a grain of mustard
seed. so that there's no support in
numbers, so that there's no comfort in numbers. I tell you, there
are places where there are significant numbers who believe the truth,
but in most places that claim to be Christian churches, where
they've got large numbers, I tell you, they're the places that
will say, Lord, Lord, and he will say, depart from me, I never
knew you. Very few, like a grain of mustard
seed. Like us here, like Noah, Noah,
in the days of Noah. you know giving and receiving
and doing their trade and getting married and everything going
on as normal completely ignoring God and Noah was a preacher of
righteousness and he preached for a hundred years and the day
came when they were going about thinking that Noah was absolutely
stupid what's he doing building that boat in the middle of nowhere
and God took him in and it says God shut the door him and his
family eight souls eight souls And all the rest were swept away.
They perished. Sodom and Gomorrah. Sodom and
Gomorrah. The society we live in is reminiscent
of Sodom and Gomorrah. I'll probably be arrested by
the thought police if any of them ever listen to this. Sodom
and Gomorrah. It's everywhere, isn't it? It's
rampant. Thirty years ago, it was barely named in polite society,
but now it's everywhere. It's absolutely rampantly everywhere.
Do you know how many people came out Lot and his two daughters. Lot and his two daughters, that's
all that came out of there. God destroyed those places. Egypt,
the children of Israel, I don't know how many, hundreds of thousands,
maybe a million or more, I'm not sure. They came out of Egypt,
and of the men, the leaders of their families, do you know how
many actually entered the promised land? How many entered the promised
land? A grain of mustard seed. Two,
Joshua and Caleb. All the rest? For unbelief, they
perished in the wilderness. And God waited until every last
one of them had perished before the new generation under Joshua
and Caleb came into the promised land. It's always like this.
Elijah, Elijah, grain of mustard seed. What did Elijah say? There
on Mount Carmel, there's hundreds of prophets of Baal going along
with the world's religion. Don't think this world isn't
religious. This world is utterly religious. This world bows down
to its immaterial force of nature, its principle. Don't think this
world isn't religious. This world is extremely religious.
Man is extremely religious. And there were all these prophets
of Baal, and Elijah, what did he say? I, even I only, am left. God had to tell him that, no,
he'd reserved 7,000, his perfect, complete number, seven, number
of perfection, 10, number of completeness, times 10 to make
sure, times 10, again, 10 cubed, times 7, 7,000, perfect completeness,
who have not bowed the knee to Baal. We think we're alone. We
think I, even I only, am left. But God has his 7,000 who haven't
bowed the knee to Baal. Jeremiah 42 verse 2, we are left
but a few of many. Is this not the case? How big
is the kingdom of God? mustard seed. Narrow is the way,
said Jesus, which leadeth to life. Do you hear this? Narrow
is the way that leads to life, and few there be that find it. Oh, I'm not in with a great majority.
No, you're not, because few there be that find it. Strive to enter
in at the straight gate. Revelation, the letters to the
churches, chapters two and three, the letter to Sardis, A letter
to Sardis. Here's a church you'd think,
oh, you know, these churches to which the risen Lord Jesus
Christ in glory wrote via his angel to these churches. In Sardis,
there are a few names. A few names. That's all. You
have a few names in amongst all your empty professors. A few
names which have not defiled their garments. Most who think
they are saved and safe in Christ and occupied in their religion,
listen, perish under a delusion, which is a refuge of lies. This
is what Isaiah 28, 17 says. A refuge of lies. A refuge is
a place where you go for safety. A refuge of lies is a place where
you think you're safe, but you're not. It says they have made a
covenant with death. They have an agreement with hell.
And what's it? I'm not going to fall into that
death and I'm not going to hell because I've got my religion.
And they've got this covenant with death and an agreement with
hell. But Isaiah tells us it's a worthless
covenant. It's a refuge of lies. So the
key question is this, is it not? Is it right that there are very
few that are going to be saved? Is it right? The question really
is not how many. That shouldn't concern us at
any one time. We know in the end there'll be
a multitude that no man can number. The how many here and now shouldn't
concern us. This is what should concern us.
Does it concern you? Does it concern me? This is it. Am I amongst those who are saved? Am I? Am I amongst them? Am I
his or am I not? Do I love the Lord or no? Am
I his or am I not? Jesus didn't answer how many,
but he did tell them to strive to enter in. What is it to strive? Or, to put it another way, how
can I have assurance of salvation? We're told to strive to get assurance
that you're among God's elect. Turn to 2 Peter chapter 1. Second
Peter, chapter one. These things are difficult to
balance. I can imagine somebody will write
to me and tell me that I'm preaching Arminianism, that I'm preaching
works, that I'm turning people's eyes away from Christ. I'm trying
to be scriptural. I'm trying to teach what the
Bible teaches. Our Lord Jesus Christ said to
people, strive to enter in, strive to enter in. That's what he told
him to do. That's all I'm saying. I'm just
saying, strive to enter in. Strive to enter in. So, look
at 2 Peter chapter 1. Simon Peter, a servant and an
apostle of Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious
faith with us through the righteousness of God and our Saviour Jesus
Christ. They've obtained it, they've
been given it. Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through
the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, according as his divine
power has given to us all things that pertain unto life and godliness
through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory
and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious
promises, that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature,
having escaped the corruption that is in the world through
lust." Now, is that not all of grace? Is that not wonderful? What God has done in saving his
people, who are sinners, giving them the divine nature, partakers
of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is
in the world through lust. Now look what he then says. All
of grace, not of works, lest any man should boast. He says,
and beside this, giving all diligence, strive, strive. Add to your faith
virtue, and to virtue, knowledge, and to knowledge, temperance,
and to temperance, patience, and to patience, godliness, and
to godliness, brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness, charity.
For if these things be in you and abound, They make you that
you shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of
our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things,
wherever else he thinks he stands, he that lacks these things is
blind, and cannot see afar off. He's like Laodicea. The church
there thought they were rich and had need of nothing, and
he said, I counsel you, come and see that you're blind and
you're poverty stricken, and you need to come to me and buy
without money and without price. I salve, I ointment that you
might see. Gospel ointment. He says, if you lack these things,
You know, being in a position of grace, if you don't do these
things, you lack these things, you can't see afar off. And you've
forgotten that you've purged from your old sins. Wherefore
the rather brethren, verse nine, sorry, verse 10. Wherefore the
rather brethren. Now, this sounds like a complete
contradiction, doesn't it? Give diligence, strive to make
your calling and election sure. How can your work Change what
God determined in eternity. It can't. But this, listen, this. Do these things. and you strive
to do these things, and you will have assurance that you are amongst
those that God chose in Christ before the foundation of the
world. For if ye do these things, ye shall never fall. Give diligence
to bear the Spirit's fruit, virtue, knowledge, temperance, patience,
godliness, brotherly kindness. The lack of these things is a
lack of any basis for assurance. Verse 10, be diligent, strive. It's your responsibility. And
that's not contrary to sovereign grace. It isn't contrary to sovereign
grace, your responsibility. Don't try and apply human fleshly
logic to this. Your responsibility to strive
is not contrary to the sovereign grace of God. This is an antidote
to fatalism. Those that say, oh well it doesn't
matter, it's so much in the hands of God that I just don't do anything,
I just lie here until he moves me to do something. No, it's,
I could echo it with what Joshua, thinking of him earlier, Joshua
in chapter 24 and verse 15 said to the people, he gave them a
challenge, he said this to them, choose you this day whom you
will serve, whether the gods of Baal or whether the true God.
And he said, as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. He was going to strive for that.
It's that sentiment, it's that spirit. In 1 Thessalonians, and
I want you to turn there now, chapter 1, 1 Thessalonians, chapter
1, verses 4 to 10, how do true believers strive to enter in? How do true believers, as Jesus
put it in the Sermon on the Mount, he said to them, seek first What
do you want? Let me ask you a question, all
of you. Let me ask you a question. What would you really like, above
all other things? And I would imagine you can think
of all sorts of material things. From the youngest of us, it might
be some new toy that you want. Or it might be the most fancy
Lego outfit, or it might be the new bike, or it might be a new
mobile phone, or some tablet, or some wonderful thing. It might
be all of these things, or it might be a nice easy retirement,
or your mortgage paid off, or whatever else it could be. All
of these things, but you know what Jesus said? He said, seek
first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness. And do you
know what he said to add to it? And all these other things, as
you need them, as you need them, will be added to you. Seek first
the kingdom of God, and all these other things will be added to
you. How do true believers strive to enter in? Well let's look
at the basis of Paul's confidence for these Thessalonians. In verse
4 of chapter 1 he says this, knowing, not thinking, not presuming,
knowing, brethren, beloved, your election of God. He says to these
people, I know that you are amongst the elect of God. Now how does
he do that? Verse 5. How? For, because, how
do I know you're elect? Because our gospel came not unto
you in word only. It wasn't just words that you
listened to, that you thought, oh they're nice words, you know,
you can listen to a poem and it can even move you to tears.
But then you go about your daily business as normal. No, our gospel
came not unto you in word only, but also in power, in dynamite,
in the Holy Ghost, in much assurance, as you know what manner of men
we were among you for your sake. They had heard and gladly received
the gospel. They'd heard it. They'd received
it. It had come into them. They'd
believed it. He says in the second epistle,
in chapter 2 and verse 13, that he knew that they were beloved
of God, for God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation
through sanctification of the spirit and belief of the truth.
What's he saying to us? True believers strive to enter
in. They strive to hear the word
of God. They give diligence to hear the
word of God. They give diligence to know it,
to live by it, to feed on it. Ask yourself the question. Me
too. Let's ask ourselves the question,
how much of the instruction of the Word of God and the learning
and the knowing and the growing in the Word of God do we do,
or do we seek to do, compared with what we do for everything
else in this life? The movies we watch, the books
that we read, the places we go, how much do we strive to enter
in? They'd given diligence to hear
the Word of God. Verses three and six, remembering
without ceasing your work of faith. They weren't passive. Your labor of love, your patience
of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ in the sight of God our Father.
Verse six, ye became followers of us, followed our example and
of the Lord, having received the Word in much affliction with
joy of the Holy Ghost. They followed Christ. Strive
to follow Christ. Strive to follow Him, in spite
of the opposition. Straight is the gate, narrow
is the way, it's against the tide of this world. This is what
was commended in those letters to the churches in Revelation
2 and 3, those that worked diligently, not for their works to earn them
righteousness, but striving, striving to follow Christ. Verse
8, For from you sounded out the word of the Lord, not only in
Macedonia and Achaia, but also in every place. Your faith to
God is spread abroad, so that we do not need to speak in it.
They were committed to Christ, their faith to God. Was their
faith just a Sunday morning thing? Just an occasional thing to be
picked up? Just a ten minute daily reading? No, their faith
to God would. Committed to Christ. Seven days
a week. In everything that they did.
This is why Paul says, in all things, whatever you do in all
things, do as unto the Lord. Verse nine. For they themselves,
the witnesses around, show of us what manner of entering in
we had unto you." You know, that's how they'd received the word
of God. Because the Holy Spirit had opened their hearts. And
how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true
God. They've repented. They've thought again. They've
turned around. They turned to God from idols. It was active
repentance. It was repentance that acts.
It was repentance that proves its reality. It turns from idols. Oh, you say, we don't worship
idols. What about the idols of this world? What about the idols
that are all around us in this world? Yeah? Things of this world,
we have to come into contact with them. Do we treat them like
idols? Do we bow down and worship them? The idols of this world,
they turn to God. from idols to serve the living
and true God, to do his bidding. His bidding. It strives against
the popular flow to do his bidding. Verse 10, and to wait for his
son from heaven. It's a life looking. Striving
is a life looking. How often do you think of eternity? How often do I think of eternity? How often do I think? This isn't
going on forever. There's eternity that's coming
that's free from sin. when believing the gospel and
being found in him, my Lord Jesus Christ is going to say, come
you blessed of my father, enter into that which has been prepared
for you from before the foundation of the world. See, I'm not talking
about works to earn righteousness with God in any way, not at all,
not sanctification, nothing. Salvation is all of grace. It's not of works of any kind.
Boasting is excluded, but Christ exhorts his people to strive
to enter in. To not be amongst those who,
like those that surrounded Rahab, when she believed, by faith she
believed, and didn't perish with those that perished in unbelief. It's our responsibility. It is. Nobody in hell will accuse God
and say, the only reason I'm here is because you didn't elect
me. You say, ah, but that's human logic. Yes, that's all it is,
it's human logic. The fact that God has left some is not an excuse
for their own failure to take responsibility for belief of
the gospel. Nobody will blame God. If that's
where you end, you will not blame God for not electing you. You
will only blame yourself. for not heeding the warning,
to strive to enter in." It's a solemn warning, I know. You
know, preachers, and I'm amongst them, don't like to preach such
solemn warnings, but it's been burdening my heart all week.
I cannot help but look at this thing. It's a solemn warning.
In Genesis 6, before the flood, Genesis 6 verse 3, God says,
my spirit shall not always strive with man. Don't get the idea
that that's, that that's an excuse for Arminianism,
you know, as if God's trying to get everybody to believe him
and accept him. No, no. But what it is saying
is this. There is a time limit on the
open door to salvation. And the scripture has examples
for us of people that exceeded that time limit. Hosea chapter
4 verse 17. Ephraim was the tribe descended
from Joseph. You know, Ephraim and Manasseh
were the sons of Joseph. And Ephraim was lost. He didn't
strive to enter in. And it says, leave him alone.
Leave him to his idols. Don't try and persuade him. Don't
do anything. Just leave him alone. the time
had run out, the door was closed. Proverbs 29 verse 1, he that
being often reproved, hardeneth his neck, stubbornly refuses
to hear, says shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without
remedy. When is the right time to strive?
When is the right time? Let me just read, I love, rather
than spouting my own opinions, just to read the words of Scripture
to you. Listen to what this says, this is the Apostle Paul writing
in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 20 down to chapter 6 verse 2.
He says, we are ambassadors for Christ. As though God did beseech
you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made, why? Why should
I be reconciled to God? And then this verse, which so
summarizes the gospel. He hath made him to be sin for
us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness
of God in him. We then, as workers together
with him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God
in vain. Don't treat this thing lightly.
Don't treat this thing disrespectfully. For he said, I have heard thee
in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation I have succored
thee. Behold, now is the accepted time. Behold, now is the day of salvation. Each of us needs to examine ourselves,
especially as we prepare to take bread and wine. Are we in the
faith? Are we in Christ? Are we truly
discerning the Lord's body? Truly? Are we really trusting
Christ? committed to him above everything
and everyone else? This is why Jesus said, if a
man doesn't love me more than husband and wife and children
and everything else, he cannot be my disciple. Oh, that's harsh. How could he be so selfish? You
understand the gospel, you know what he meant. He's not telling
us not to love husband, wife, children, but he's saying this.
He must be loved above everything else. Above everything else.
Are we truly discerning his body? Are we truly committed to him?
Do we really love him? Peter, remember what Jesus said?
The risen Lord Jesus Christ, before he ascended, he cooked
them breakfast by the Sea of Galilee. Peter who had betrayed
him when he was so full of bravado and Jesus said before the cock
crows three times before the cock crows you will deny me three
times and Peter wept bitterly and there they are having breakfast
and Jesus says to him Peter do you love me more than these?
Do you love me? Do you truly love me more than
these? Yes Lord you know that I love
you And he asked him three times and he was grieved that he kept
asking, Peter, this is the question to do you love him more than
these other things and these other people? Do we desire in
all things to obey him despite the failings of the flesh? Do
we? You know you see examples of
Ruth, the Moabites. You go back to your people, you
go back to, when Naomi was going back to Bethlehem, she said,
no, no, your God is my God. Where you go, I will go. He will
be my God. I am striving to be amongst the
people of God. That was what Ruth said. That
was what she said. Strive, strive. Go against the
flow of the world to enter into eternal life by his grace and
by his mercy.