Would God force anyone to be
saved? Would He force sinners to believe
on His Son? No one, now listen to me, no
one ever has or ever shall be saved by the grace of God. until he is forced by grace to
be saved by grace. But blessed be God, there are
some people in this world of whom this is written, Thy people
shall be willing in the day of thy power. If this hour you are
willing to believe on the Son of God. It is because and only
because He has made you willing to believe. O blessed force of
free grace, were you wise, you would pray for God to force His
grace upon you. For Christ Jesus to force Himself
into your heart, for God the Holy Spirit to force you to believe
on the Son of God. You would cry out, Oh my God,
what can I do? You alone can mercy show. You can save my soul this hour. I have neither will nor power. Sovereign over all you are, even
of my sinful heart. Make your saving power known. Take away this heart of stone. Come, subdue my lust obscene. Make this filthy sinner clean.
Make me willing to believe. Life eternal, Savior, give. Force me. Make me willing now. Force my stubborn will to bow.
Grace Almighty Savior show, make this wretched creature new. Nothing is too hard for you.
Work in me your will and do. Let my prayer not be denied. Grant repentance. Break my pride. Stop the madness of my will. Speak and bid my heart be still. Your salvation let me see. Jesus
Crucified for me. Bow to heavens. Lord, come down. Take me, Savior, for your own.
Wretched unbelief or throw, lay the highest mountain low. Conquer
me. O, conquer me. Get yourself the
victory. Save the vilest of the race.
Force me to be saved by grace. Oh, may God graciously force
you to be saved by grace for Christ's sake. I want to talk
to you tonight by way of a great example about the sweet force
of omnipotent mercy. The title of my message is A
Passerby Compelled. Three times in the book of God
we are told about one specific man who as he passed by was compelled
to take the cross of Jesus and bear it after him. Look with
me first at Luke chapter 23 and verse 26. Luke 23 and verse 26. And as they led him away, they
laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenaean, coming out of the country. And
on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. Turn back a few pages to Mark
15 and verse 21. The other day going down the
road, Shelby was reading the book of Romans to me as we were
driving down the road, and she got to Romans 16 and read Paul's
salutations and greetings that he wanted to give folks there,
and named among them a fellow named Rufus and his mother, chosen
of God and beloved, helpers in the gospel. And that's what got
me thinking about this man here mentioned in the Gospels. Look
at Mark 15 verse 21. And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian
who passed by coming out of the country, the father of Alexander
and Rufus to bear his cross. Back in Matthew chapter 27. Matthew
gives us just a slightly different account. Matthew 27 and verse 32. And as they came out, came out
of the city, for the Lord Jesus must bear our reproach outside
the gates, sacrificed as the Passover lamb on our behalf.
As they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name,
him they compelled to bear his cross. Who was this man? His name is Simon. That's a very
common name in those days among the Jews. The name Simon means
hearkening and obedient. None will ever bear the cross
of Christ except those who hearken to his voice and are obedient
to his call. Those whom he makes to hear his
voice. whom he makes willing in the
day of his power, causing them to be obedient to the call that
he gives. This man, Simon, was a Cyrenian,
a native of Cyrene, an African, a black man. In all likelihood,
he was a Jewish proselyte. There were a number of Jewish
proselytes in the area of Cyrene. There was a synagogue in Jerusalem
specifically for these Jewish proselytes from that part of
Africa. There were a good many of them
apparently. And this man is coming up from Cyrene to observe the
Passover as was commanded by the law, to keep the feast that
God required. Luke tells us that he was coming
up out of the country. Mark tells us he was simply passing
by. Let me see if I can draw the
picture for you. Apparently he had come to the
city of Jerusalem to worship God according to the law, to
keep the Feast of the Passover as a Jewish proselyte. But he
found no place in Jerusalem where he was welcomed to lodge. There
were no inns with vacancies in the city. Or perhaps, as is more
likely the case, There were no ends with vacancies for a black
man, for a fellow from Africa. You see, racial prejudice is
not something that started yesterday. It has been with our plagued,
corrupt race since the beginning, and it will be until the end.
But this man couldn't find a place of lodging in Jerusalem, so he
goes outside the city to one of the country villages and lodges
in that place. And now, on the morning of the
Passover, he gets up early to come into the city. And as he's
making his way into the city, he passes by this reprobate mob
of religious, bloodthirsty, murderous people. who are leading the Son
of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, up to Calvary to crucify Him,
to see His blood spilt, to watch and to laugh and play as they
watch Him tormented. And as He passed by this crowd
of people, the Roman soldiers who were leading the procession
officially saw it. Luke tells us on him they laid
the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. Both Matthew
and Mark tell us that him they compelled to bear the cross. That word compelled, interesting
word. It means forced into service. When most of us were young men,
we were at the height of the Vietnam War and about everybody
was compelled to serve. They were drafted into service,
drafted by the authority of law. This word means compelled into
royal service, forced into the service of the king. These Roman
soldiers, being under the authority of Caesar, had absolute authority
to compel this man because he was not a Roman. to compel him
into Caesar's service to carry the cross of the Lord Jesus.
And so they forced him. But there was another king who
graciously forced him in his heart, making him willing to
carry the Savior's cross. And that king is the Savior whose
cross he carries. Hey now, Brother Don, aren't
you stretching this just a little? Let's see. Let's see. Is this
the intent of God the Holy Spirit in giving us these records? Three
times, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, all three tell us that Simon
was compelled to carry the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ. John
tells us that the Lord Jesus bore his own cross. There's no
contradiction. Simon carries the cross, but
the master began carrying the cross. And here, Simon picks
it up. But why are we told three times,
and twice told specifically, that he was compelled to carry
the cross? This man, Simon, is one who truly
followed Christ by faith. In Acts chapter 13, in verse
1, you don't need to turn to these passages, This man Simon
is called Simeon. Simon, the same name. He is called
Simeon who is called the Niger. That is Simeon the Black One. His name is named among those
who were the teachers in the church at Antioch. By the time
Mark wrote his gospel, Mark tells us that he was the father of
two very well-known, eminent men in the Church of Christ,
Alexander and Rufus. Alexander, in Acts chapter 19,
this man Simon's son, is named among those who were with Paul
during the upward Ephesus. And his son Rufus, as I've already
mentioned, is named along with his mother, Simon the Cyrenian's
wife. named among God's elect, beloved
of God, chosen of God, and made useful by God for much good in
his kingdom. There can be little doubt that
their father was the instrument by whom God was pleased to teach
them the gospel of his free grace. What a rare blessing. What a rare blessing. God frequently
saves one or two in a household, seldom the whole household. Few
of our entire families are in the fold of God's grace. But
this man, this man, this black man from Africa, This man, being
compelled to carry the cross of the Lord Jesus, became a faithful
witness of the Savior, walking in the way of faith, confessing
Christ. How his heart must have beamed
with gratitude and joy, with thanksgiving to God and praise,
when first he beheld his wife, converted by God's grace, confessing
Him. And then one son, and another,
following Christ in the way. Oh, what a rare, rare blessing. Now, what lessons should be learned
from the picture? This picture that God the Holy
Spirit gives us of this man. I read everything I could find
on this in the last week and a half. And most everybody makes
some reference to the papal tradition, that the Lord Jesus, after being
through such a long night of agony and torment, beating, His
body bleeding from head to toe was weak physically and stumbled
along the way. The papers tell us that he stumbled
three times. They have a tradition. Now, I
have no problem with the declaration that our Lord Jesus was physically
weak. He was a real man. But because
the scriptures nowhere indicate such a thing, that clearly is
not the reason Simon was compelled to carry his cross. These Roman
soldiers did not compel him to carry the master's cross because
they felt sorry for poor Jesus. They didn't have the least compassion
for him. They were the ones who inflicted
his pain. Rather, I suspect, they were really fearful that
he might die before they got the pleasure of nailing him to
the tree and crucifying him. After all, the wise man says,
the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel. But what are we to
learn? Learn this. Oh, how we ought
to adore. How we ought to adore. Stand
in awe of and adore the wise good, adorable providence of
our God in all the minute details of the affairs of our lives. The very hairs of your head are
numbered. That's minute detail. That's minute detail. before
ever you were born, God Almighty numbered the hairs of your head. That is to say, He determined
from eternity before ever the earth was made exactly the number
of hairs on your head at any time. That is minute detail. I can't think of anything more
meaningless except in this world of vanity where Men forever determined
to try to look like they're 20 years old. I've been combing
my hair out for a long time. And you would think eventually
that would stop. But I combed some out this morning
and combed some out again this evening. And you know what I've
never done? When I clean the brush or clean
the coat, I've never bothered to count them. Never thought
about counting them. Who would do so? Only My Father,
who so cares for me, that He arranges the smallest, most insignificant
things for my everlasting good, and orders them exactly. Well,
where do you get this and this? Just suppose. Do you like to
suppose what might have been? Just suppose. Let's suppose what
could not have been because God ordered it otherwise, but just
suppose, just suppose this man had not been born into a race
of despised black people in Africa. If his face had been the color
of yours or mine, he could have found lodging in Jerusalem and
there would have been no need for him to pass by. Just suppose,
just suppose. He had not come by that way,
but had found lodging in another country village outside the city.
Just suppose he had come by five minutes earlier, five minutes
later. Just suppose the soldiers had
not stopped him as he was passing by and, we're told, laid hold
on him. They arrested him. They took
him and forced him. Come over here, black boy! You're going to carry this man's
cross. forced into this humiliating
service that no Roman could be forced into, forced to carry
the cross of a condemned man as he's paraded through the streets.
Just suppose. But the suppositions are impossible.
For surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, and the remainder
of wrath wilt thou restrain. God moves in a mysterious way
his wonders to perform. He plants his footsteps in the
sea and rides upon the storm. Deep in unfathomable minds of
never failing skill, he treasures up his bright designs and works
his sovereign Why is that so important? You
fearful saints, fresh courage take. The clouds you so much
dread are big with mercy and shall break in blessing on your
head. Here's something else. It is
often, I think it is safe to say, most commonly, it is God's
pleasure to use the most unlikely men as his messengers in this
day of his grace. God always does things just opposite
the way we think they ought to be done. And I'm glad he does. Who would have imagined? Who
would have imagined? Here, the Lord God is establishing
his kingdom in the earth. The gospel must be carried into
all the world for the gathering of God's elect, for the salvation
of God's Israel scattered among the nations. Who would ever have
imagined? The way you ought to do this
is you go down to Africa and you find a despised man in a
despised race, a man down yonder in Cyrene whose nickname will
forever be Black. Go down there and find him, and
use him to carry the gospel, not just back to Africa, but
through the Gentile world. Who would ever think of doing
such a thing? Only God our Savior. You see your calling, brethren?
How that not many wise, not many mighty, not many noble are called,
but God hath chosen to base things. of the world, to confound the
things that are. Now, what was the irresistible
force that compelled Simon's heart? What made the humiliating,
degrading, providential experience of being compelled to carry the
cross, of the condemned Christ, a blessed experience of grace
for his soul? Let's see. Turn to John chapter
12. John the 12th chapter. Verse 31. The Lord Jesus speaks in anticipation
of his crucifixion. And it says, Now is the judgment
of this world. The word might be translated
now is the condemnation of this world. For when Christ was crucified,
the world was judged and condemned. The word might be now is the
hinge or the turning point of the world. Here is the hinge
upon which everything turns. Here is the hinge of history. Here is that upon which everything
hangs. Now is the judgment of the world.
Now shall the prince of this world be cast out. You have a
picture of it in Revelation chapter 20. Christ, the angel of the
Lord, is seen coming down from heaven with a mighty strong chain
and he binds Satan and cast him out. Cast him out of where? Cast
him out of the seat of power among the Gentiles. He is cast
out and bound during this gospel age so that he deceives the nations
no more, so that the light of the gospel may go not to the
Jews only, but to God's elect scattered around the world until
that time when Satan is loosed, that he may again deceive the
nations. Now is the prince of this world
cast out. And I, and I, if I be lifted
up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. Not every man. Not every man, no. Can't possibly
mean every man, for some were already in hell. Can't possibly
mean every man, for many have never heard his name. What he
is saying is he will draw men of all kinds, in all positions,
in all places, throughout the ages. I will draw my elect unto
me throughout the world." And this, he said, signifying what
death he should die. If I'd be lifted up, like Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, this will be the
irresistible that draws chosen sinners to me. This and only
this. Oh, would to God I could get
the ear of preachers everywhere. Hear what God says. The only
thing that will do the souls of eternity bound men and women
any good at all Did you hear me? Any good at all is the preaching
of the gospel of Jesus Christ, our crucified substitute, lifted
up that we might be lifted up to glory. God forbid that I should
glory save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. All other
preaching, all other devices, All other wood, hay, and stubble
by which men try to build the church. And they're not trying
to build the church, they're trying to build their name and
nothing else. It's just wood, hay, and stubble.
Useless! Does nothing for the souls of
men. Christ crucified is the magnet. If God reveals Him in
your heart, He has seized you forever. But what was it that
Simon the Cyrenian saw and heard as he passed by? Allow me to
speculate a little. Perhaps, as he took up the cross,
he couldn't help but to notice, this is Jesus of Nazareth. Remember, he's a Jewish proselyte.
This is Jesus the Nazarite. This is Jesus the Nazarite. There's only one. Only one of
whom the law spoke. The true Nazarite. The branch. This is Jesus of Nazareth. The King of the Jews. Perhaps he heard the jeering
cry of the crowd. He saved others. Himself he cannot
save. Perhaps he heard the Savior's
own words from the cross, and knowing, being familiar with
and knowing the Old Testament Scriptures, he remembered the
plaintiff's cry spoken by him in the Psalms, My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? Perhaps he heard him cry, Father,
forgive. Perhaps. Perhaps. He saw the graves opened and
many of the dead rise in their graves and remembered the prophecy
saying, thy people shall live with thy dead body. Perhaps he
heard quickly how the veil in the temple had been rent from
top to bottom. Perhaps he heard the centurion's
confession. This is the Son of God. Truly, this man was the Son of
God. Perhaps it was a combination
of all these things that he heard and witnessed that were made
effectual to his soul by the grace of God. But I can't help
thinking There must be some specific reason why the Holy Spirit tells
us that he was compelled as he passed by to take up the cross
and bear it as he followed the Lord Jesus in the way. Turn back
to Lamentations, the book of Lamentations. It's alright to
cheat a little bit if you need to use your table of contents. Right smack dab between Jeremiah
and Ezekiel. Lamentations chapter 1. Lamentations chapter 1. Now there
can be no question that the words we are about to read are the
words of our Savior. In chapter 1 of Lamentations
verse 12. Is it nothing to you, all ye
that pass by? Behold and see, if there be any
sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the
Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger. Now others may think that there
is no sorrow like their sorrow. We're guilty, you and me too.
But the book of God doesn't speak in exaggeration. These words
could never have fallen from the lips of Jeremiah, and could
never have been written by the pen of inspiration, if they were
the words of Jeremiah himself. They could only fall from his
lips by inspiration, and be recorded by inspiration, if they are exactly
and precisely true. And they are, as they fall from
the lips of Jeremiah as the type. and representative and picture
of the Lord Jesus, if he speaks prophetically, now they're true.
Now, Jeremiah can say these things, and he spoke prophetically. Like
the words of the prophets in Psalm 22, Psalm 40, Psalm 69,
These are words spoken by the Son of God, our Savior, our great
substitute, when He was made to serve with our sins and made
weary with our iniquities. Carrying the cross up Golgotha's
hill, Simon must have been present when they nailed him to the tree. the cross and dropped it in the
socket in the ground. Hanging him up between heaven
and earth. And perhaps, perhaps, I don't know. Who knows what
goes on in the heart of a man as God deals with him in grace.
Perhaps he turned and started to walk away. And suddenly he
heard the heart-piercing, life-giving cry of the Son of God. Is it nothing to you? O ye that
pass by, behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow,
which is done unto me, wherewith the Lord hath afflicted me in
the day, and there is only one, the day of his fierce anger. Did he hear the voice audibly?
Did he hear those words audibly? I don't know. I don't know. Perhaps
he simply recalled the prophet's words. But He heard them. And He didn't just hear them
with an ear. He heard them from inside His
soul. He heard them from the King Himself
speaking from within, making Him willing in the day of His
power. Our Lord Jesus went to the cross
willingly. Voluntarily, He laid down His
life. So great is His love for us. that for the joy of saving our
souls, for the joy of cleansing us from sin, for the joy of saving
us from the wrath of God, for the joy of having us with him
in glory, he endured the cross despising the shame. But that
which he endured upon the cross was indescribable sorrow. Behold and see If there be any
sorrow, liken to my sorrow." Follow him as he makes his way
up to Jerusalem, going first through Gethsemane. And he bows
there as he anticipates being made sin for us, and he cries,
Oh my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me. He
cries like a broken-hearted child, My soul, is exceeding sorrowful,
even unto death. Now is my soul troubled. What
shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? And then he seems to brace himself,
to straighten his back, put his shoulder again to the work, and
he says, But for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify
thy name. That one who was nailed to the
tree, is described by the prophet Isaiah as the man of sorrows,
despised and rejected of men, cursed and forsaken of God, his
soul is filled with grief. The sorrow which our Savior endured
is incomparable. Behold and see if there be any
sorrow like unto my sorrow." What does that mean? That means that it is foolish to make any
attempt to compare what he suffered to anything except what he specifically
says. No sorrow like this. You've never
seen it. You've never heard of it. You've
never experienced it. Indescribable, incomparable sorrow. In the 18th Psalm, we read these
words. Our Savior says, the sorrows
of hell can pass me about. The sorrows of hell? Did he say the sorrows of hell? Who can talk about that? No language can describe that.
The sorrows of hell are the sorrows of a man under the wrath of God. Unmitigated. Unrestrained. Fully poured out. The sorrows
of hell are the sorrows of a conscience fully aware of guilt. Folks want to argue about whether
there's real fire in hell or not. I'll tell you this, it's something
worse than real fire. Something worse. It's called an undying
worm. Fire that's not quenched. It's the burning torment of a
guilty conscience. Fully aware of guilt. I don't know. I'm told that people
who have severe problems mentally, severe problems mentally with
depression, anxiety, their biggest problem is guilt. They have such a terribly keen
sense of guilt, they just go insane. So the psychiatrists
and psychologists and doctors and neighbors and friends and
relatives try their best to get them not to feel guilty. Oh,
no, you're not guilty. Not your fault. Nothing's your
fault. Nothing's your fault. Can't stand folks having guilt.
In hell, you're going to have it forever. And there will be
no silencing the torment. but only the increasing of guilt
before God. In verse 12 of Lamentations,
or verse 11, our Savior prefaces his cry in verse 12. Look at
it. See, O Lord, and consider, for I am become vile. Behold and see. All ye that pass by, if there
be any sorrow, liken to my sorrow which is done unto me, wherewith
the Lord hath afflicted me in the day of his fierce anger."
How can this be? Can this be the language of God's
Holy Lamb? The language of God's darling
Son? The language of Him who knew
no sin? Indeed. because it is the language
of our substitute. For he hath made him sin for
us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him. The sorrows of hell are the sorrows
of a soul forsaken, utterly abandoned of God. All the sorrow that our
Savior bore in His body, in His heart, and in His soul all the
sorrows of hell He endured in the day of God's fierce anger
were our sorrows. He was made sin for us that we
might be made the righteousness of God in Him. He suffered the
wrath of God due to our sins that we might ever enjoy the
blessing of His grace. He was forsaken, utterly abandoned
by His Father, that we might never be forsaken
of God. All this great sorrow was done
to Him by His Father in the day of His fearsaker, when God poured
out all His fury on His Son, all of it, until with one tremendous
draft of love He draped damnation dry. My soul, behold the sorrow
of the crucified Christ, and understand the enormous infinitely
enormous evil of my sin. So horrid, so horrid is what
I am, that when God made His Son to be what I am, God poured
all the fury of hell on His Son. Oh, what a price! is the price with which He redeemed
my soul. Oh, how great, how great, how
indescribably great is the love of my Savior for my soul. And now, now that all this sorrow is accomplished,
Now that he has been baptized with this baptism, and now that
he has drunk this cup dry, you and I, believing on his name,
are made the righteousness of God in him, forgiven of all sin,
made heirs of God's eternal salvation. What is the force? the compelling,
irresistible, effectual, omnipotent force by which sinners are compelled,
willingly, to take up His cross and follow Him. This one thing,
this one thing, is not the force of mere power. It's not the force
of human reason. It's not the force of logic. It's not the force of science. It is the force of revelation. Just that. The force of revelation. It is the revelation of Jesus
Christ crucified in you. That's it. Why was I made to
hear His voice and enter while there's room? While thousands
make a wretched choice and rather die than come? The love that
made Him die for me has sweetly forced me home. Else I would still with others
be a wretched soul undone. Oh, thank God for the sweet,
compelling force of Jesus Christ crucified. Amen. The song is graceful.