Recovering the Gospel #2

Q: What does the Bible say about salvation being a gift or an offer?

The Bible teaches that salvation is a gift of God, not merely an offer to be accepted. In Romans 6:23, it clearly states, 'For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.' This indicates that salvation is not something we achieve or earn, but rather a gift bestowed upon us by God. Furthermore, in John 10:27-28, Jesus emphasizes that He grants eternal life to His sheep, who are defined by their relationship with Him. The Scriptures collectively reinforce the reality that true salvation is a gift given by God's grace, rather than a proposition waiting for our acceptance.

Q: Why is the doctrine of regeneration important for Christians?

Regeneration is crucial because it signifies that believers are spiritually born again, enabling them to have faith. The significance of regeneration comes from the truth that a person must be made new before they can truly believe in Christ. As highlighted in 1 John 5:1, 'Whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God.' This means that faith is a result of being born again, not the cause of it. It underscores the sovereign grace of God in our salvation, indicating that we are incapable of coming to Christ without first being regenerated by His Spirit. This reshaping of our spiritual state is essential for understanding the fuller scope of God's plan for redemption and the transformation of believers' lives.

Q: How do we know that salvation is by God's choice and not ours?

The Bible states that salvation is God's choice, as seen in passages like John 15:16. Scripture makes it clear that the relationship between God and individuals regarding salvation is founded on God's sovereign choice. In John 15:16, Jesus states, 'Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you.' This highlights that God's election precedes our faith. Similarly, in 2 Thessalonians 2:13, Paul writes, 'God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation.' These scriptures affirm that our coming to faith is a response to God's prior action of choosing us for salvation, reinforcing the Reformed understanding of divine sovereignty and grace in the salvation process.

Q: What is the relationship between the law of God and the death of Christ?

The death of Christ satisfies God's law and justice, making forgiveness possible for believers. The relationship between God's law and the death of Christ is foundational to understanding the gospel. Christ's death was necessary to satisfy the demands of God's law and to uphold His justice. Romans 3:24-26 explains that through Christ, we are justified freely by grace, and His death serves as a propitiation that declares God's righteousness. This illustrates that Christ's sacrifice was not merely for our benefit, but fundamentally for God's glory and justice, allowing Him to be both just and the justifier of those who believe. Therefore, the act of Christ dying is deeply entwined with God's unchangeable law and His purpose to redeem His people.

Q: Is the gospel a command or an invitation?

The gospel is fundamentally a command from God, calling all to repentance and faith. The gospel should be understood primarily as a command rather than a mere invitation. In Acts 17:30, it declares that God 'commandeth all men everywhere to repent.' This indicates not a casual invitation, but a divine edict requiring obedience. Throughout Scripture, we see the authority of God's commands in the proclamation of the gospel. When Christ calls people to follow Him, it is presented as a command reflective of His sovereign authority, rather than an optional invitation. Our approach to the gospel should reflect this reality, emphasizing the urgency and imperative nature of responding to God's call.

Acts 17, 24. And what I'm contending today
in these messages is that the trouble... I hear preachers and
they're just so hard on the people out there in the pews. They're
so hard on the people in the pews. But my friend, the trouble
today The major problem and trouble is not in the few. That's not
where it is. It's in the pulpit. It's in the pulpit. Now, that's
where the major problem is today in churches. It's in the pulpit.
Now, you listen to this man preaching here. In Acts 17, 24, God that
made the world, and all things therein, seeing
that he is Lord of heaven and earth. He dwelleth not in temples
made with hands, neither is he worshipped with men's hands,
as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life
and breath and all things." When you read that, do you think about
these statements, God has no hands but your hands, no feet
but your feet? not worshipped with men's hands.
He doesn't need anything. God said, if I was hungry, I
wouldn't ask you. And he hath made of one blood all
nations of men, for to dwell on all the face of the earth.
We all came from the same man, Adam. And he hath determined
the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation,
nations and men, that they should seek the Lord. if haply they
might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from
every one of us. For in him we live, and we move,
and we have our being. As certain also of your own poets
have said, for we are also his offspring. For as much then as
we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the
Godhead is likened to gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art
and man's device. In the times of this ignorance,
God tolerated. That's what that means. It says
God winked at, God tolerated. God in his long suffering and
patience put up with man's ignorance. But now God commanded all men
everywhere to repent because he hath appointed a day in the
which he shall judge the world in righteousness. by that man
whom he hath ordained, Jesus Christ, whereof he hath given
assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead." Oh, that we might hear preaching
like that today, because today's religionists
in the Today's religion is those people
you work with, those neighbors who live around you, those religious people are products
of what they've heard preached. That's exactly right. You get
kind of provoked. Their talk is so shallow, so
empty, and you think, don't they know anything? No, they don't
know anything. what the average religionist
church member is and what he believes or what he doesn't believe
is a result of what he's heard from the pulpit. How shall they call on him in
whom they've not believed? And how shall they believe in
him of whom they've not heard? And how shall they hear without
a preacher? In our day, there's no fear or
reverence for God Almighty. Not like the fear that men of
old had for God. When you read Isaiah, and he
said, I saw the Lord and I fell on my face. I cried, I'm cut
off, I'm a man of unclean lips. You read David saying, come and
I'll teach you the fear of the Lord. You read the prophet saying,
the beginning of wisdom is the fear of the Lord. Where is the
fear of the Lord today? I'll tell you the reason church
members today do not fear God. It's because the God of the Bible
has not been preached. They don't know Him, they can't
fear Him. Job saw the Lord and fell before Him in fear and trembling. God is in His holy temple. Let
all the earth keep silence before Him. People today religious people. And this is distressing, and
I don't mean to offend anyone here, but people joke about spiritual
matters. That disturbs me. Preachers are
the worst offenders in this matter, but they joke. Everybody's got
to have something funny or smart to say about spiritual matters. You ever notice that? They make
light of, they trifle with, they joke about spiritual matters,
eternal matters, salvation, the new birth, heaven, hell, God,
the devil, death, judgment. They joke about it. And I tell you, the only people
that will make light of and joke about matters so serious are
those who do not see the seriousness of them. And that's right. And I'll tell you this, and I
try to tell the young preachers this, and the preachers who will
listen to some of the things I do have to say, a woman is not going to listen
to you deal with these serious matters unless he believes you
are serious about them. If he or she detects a foolishness,
or the least lightheartedness where these things are concerned,
they're not going to listen to you. You can always spend your
time laughing and cutting up and then come here and get serious
and then step out of here and act a fool. I've told you the story of the
young man that bounced up in the pulpit and he literally fell
on his face and he stepped down out of the pulpit weeping. And
one of the old men there said, well, if you'd have gone up there
like you came down, you'd have come down like you went up there.
We've got to approach these things for the seriousness that is there. We're talking about eternal matters. And I'll tell you this, the third
thing, there's no fear or reverence for God demonstrated today like
men of old feared God. You know, the word worship at
one time was synonymous with fear. Fear of God. You read about
the old-timers. Jacob feared the Lord. That meant
he worshipped God. He worshipped God. And nobody
loves you more than I do. You know, the Word of God says,
a merry heart doeth good like a medicine. A bitter spirit dryeth
the bones. I don't want to be bitter and
hard and long face and give Him, we have a joyful message. But
these matters are not matters for lightheartedness. They're
serious. But the third thing is this.
Preachers in churches today have made a beggar out of God. They
leave the impression that God is a beggar. All of these appeals
for money and these telethons and this sort of approach gives
the impression God's a beggar. They leave the impression that
God is sort of waiting over here in the wings for us to do something,
to help Him out, that He's in love with everybody and He's
powerless to do anything about His will unless we supply the
means or let Him. We have God waiting on men instead
of men waiting on God. And is this not the case? We
have a weak God pleading with men to accept mercy instead of
an almighty God being approached by men pleading for mercy. We
have a weak God pleading with men to accept mercy instead of
men pleading with an almighty God to show them mercy. Let me,
I want to present to you some questions, and you can write
them down, you can study them later. This is what I want you
to do. I want you, would you consider
these questions in the light of these scriptures? I'm going
to give you some scriptures, and I want you to consider these
questions in the light of the scriptures I'm going to give
to you. Now, I'll ask you to turn to
the scriptures, some of them. Not all of them, but some of
them. Now, here's the first question. Is salvation, eternal life, redemption,
deliverance, is that a gift or is it an offer? Now, how do you
answer that in the light of these Scriptures? First of all, Romans
6, verse 23. Romans 6, verse 23 says this,
"...for the wages of sin is death." But the gift of God is eternal
life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now back to the book of
John. John chapter 10. The 10th chapter
of John verse 24. Now listen. Then came the Jews
round about him, and said unto him, How long do you make us
doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. And Jesus answered
them, I told you, and you believe not. The works that I do in my
Father's name, they bear witness of me, but you believe not because
you are not of my sheep. As I said to you, my sheep hear
my voice, I know them, they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life. And they shall never perish,
neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." Don't turn to
this, just write it down. 1 John 5, 11, what does that
say? This is the record. God hath given us eternal life. This life's in His Son. What
about John 17, 2? Write that down. John 17, 2.
Christ said, Thou hast given me power over all flesh, that
I should give eternal life to as many as Thou hast given me.
Now, is salvation a gift or an offer? It's a gift. Alright,
here's the second question. Now think about this. Is salvation a reformation of
character by faith? In other words, we believe and
we reform our character and that's salvation. Now is that true or
is this true? Or is salvation a new creation
which produces faith? I'm asking this. Is a man born
again because he believes or does he believe because he's
born again? Now think about it. This is what's preached today. He's born again because he believes.
I'm saying the Bible teaches that he believes because he's
born again. He's regenerated and regeneration produces life
and faith. Now turn to 1 John 5.1. 1 John
5.1. Now listen to this. 1 John 5.1. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ, do you believe that Jesus is the Christ? Do
you fall at His feet? Do you worship Him? Do you see
Him in all of His glory, His incarnate glory, His righteous
glory, His resurrected glory, His exalted glory? Do you see
Him? Well, I'll tell you why, because you're born of God. Whosoever
believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. A man who is not born again does
not have eyes to see Christ, or ears to hear Christ, or a
heart to love Christ. The first act in salvation is
not on the part of the sinner. We choose God because He chose
us. We love Him because He loved
us. We call on Him because He called
us. We seek Him because He sought
us. Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. The Lord didn't
find grace in Noah's eyes. Noah found grace in the eyes
of the Lord. Here's the third question. Is salvation by choice
or by chance? Well, nobody here would say salvation
is by chance. You'd say it's by choice. Salvation
is by choice. I think even the most Arminian
man would say salvation is not by chance, it's by choice. But
my question is, whose choice? Our Lord said in John 15, 16,
He said to His disciples, drop that Scripture down, read it
later. He said, you didn't choose Me, I chose you. I chose you. He said this, he said in John
6, 36, he said to these religious people, he said, you've seen
me, you've heard me, but you don't believe me. In the next
verse he said, but all that my Father giveth me will come to
me. They'll come. 2 Thessalonians
2, 13, whose choice? We're bound to give thanks for
you, brethren, beloved of the God, because God hath from the
beginning chosen you to salvation. Salvation is by choice, but it's
God's choice. And Acts 13.48 says this, as
many as were ordained to eternal life believe. All right, here's
the third question. Now listen to me. And think about
these. Are sinners truly dead spiritually? Are they really dead in trespasses
and sin? You know, one day, and I believe
this is for our learning in the book of Ezekiel, the Lord came
to the prophet Ezekiel and he said, Ezekiel, go down here to
a certain place. I want to show you something.
And Ezekiel went down to a valley. There was a great valley. And
there'd been a battle fought there years before, and looked
over the valley, and there is a valley full of dry, bleached,
barren, parched bones. There'd been many slain in that
valley, and the bones were lying there. They've invented or written
a song about that, the ankle bone joined to the leg bone,
leg bone joined to hip bone, so forth, so you've heard that
song. But there they were. And God said to Ezekiel, can
these bones live? Can these bones live? And Ezekiel
replied, Lord, thou knowest. And the Lord said, well, preach
to them. Preach to them, thus saith the Lord. And he told him to preach to
him what God would do. God said, I will bring flesh
upon you. I will bring life into you. I'll do this." And he said, as
I preached, they stood up a great army. And I cried to the Spirit
of the Lord, O Spirit, come upon these drive-holes. And they left. Now what's that all about? Well,
here's what it's all about. Turn to Ephesians 2. Ephesians
2. Ephesians 2, verse 1. Now is this true? Ephesians 2 verse 1, "...and
you hath he quickened..." What is the word quickened? I know
that's in italics, but it's repeated later on. "...you hath he quickened
who were dead in trespasses and sin." We were like these bones,
very dead, lifeless, without God. We've been dead a long time. And he goes on and tells what
we were in times past. We walked according to the course
of this world, according to the prince of the pious air, the
spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, among
whom also we all had our conversation, citizenship, behavior in times
past in the lust of our flesh, the desires of our flesh and
of the mind. We were by nature children of
wrath, just like everybody else, but God. And that's this valley of dry
bones. Ezekiel didn't have any power to give them life. They
didn't have any power to give themselves life. Nobody else.
But God, who is rich in mercy, listen, for His great love wherewith
He loved us. We didn't love Him. He loved
us. Even at the same time when we were dead in sin, He quickened
us together with Christ by grace, or you say. That's what I'm asking. Do sinners retain some spiritual
ability to which we can appeal? In other words, when Ezekiel
was preaching these bones, was there in every bone left a little
life, a little amoeba or something that when he preached, he set
off something and it stirred and it responded and it developed
and grew and the character came out and they lived. That's not
true. Lifeless. And I'm saying when
we go out forth and preach, we're preaching. I know men are not
dead physically or morally or mentally, but they're dead spiritually.
Just like those bones. And God, but God has to move
upon men. And God's Spirit is the agent
in regeneration and God's Word is the seed. It says this, now listen to this
scripture in James 1.18. Of his own will begat he us with
the word of truth. It says we are begotten or born
again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible seed by
the word of God. Now is that, do you answer that
question in the affirmative? Are sinners really dead, dead,
dead, dead? Well, the word says they are.
God moves on them like He moves on dry bones. So there's no need
for me to give a 20-minute invitation to him at the close of the service. What I do is what Ezekiel did. I preached the Word of God. And
life is in the hands of the Lord. He's the Lord of life. Alright,
here's the fifth question. The obedience and death of Christ.
When I was growing up, I grew up like nearly all here, in church. And when you live in the Bible
Belt, in Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, or even Kentucky, you
just go to church. Now, church is a way of life.
And I grew up in church, and I heard about Christ died on
the cross, Christ came to the earth, born of a virgin. I knew
He was... I believed in the blood, the
book, and the blessed hope before I ever knew the gospel. I knew
Christ was virgin-born and would have fulgified before I knew
wine. I knew He died on the cross and was buried in rose again
before I ever knew wine. That's right. I was preaching
before I ever knew wine. And what I'm asking you is, does
everybody here know why He died on that cross? Well, He died
for our sins. Well, I know that. But let me ask you this. His
blood and His death, was it toward us? Or was it toward God? Now think
about that a minute. Was His death on the cross, and
though it's for us, He was wounded for our transgressions and for
our iniquities and for our chastisement, but His death, why was it necessary? For your sake, alone? Oh no. For God's sake. The offering
of His blood was toward the Father, not toward you at all. Christ
didn't die to win your sympathy or your friendship. He died to
enable a holy God to save your soul. That's exactly right. He died to enable God to be just
and justify you and me. That's true. His death was not
a pattern, it was a payment. His death was not an example,
it was an expiation. Now this is important, this is
the heart of the gospel. His death was not to revive us,
it was to redeem us. We were in bondage to the law
and the law wouldn't let us go until somebody came and paid
the law. We were in the clutches of justice and justice wouldn't
let us go until somebody came and satisfied justice. There's a bum sitting on skid
row in Chicago. You walk by and look at him.
You can buy him for a quarter. He'll kill for a quarter. He's not worth anything. I mean,
you could hire him to do anything for a dollar. He'd cheat his own mother for
two dollars. He's cheap. But you let him commit
a crime and the police come pick him up and put him in jail. Now
you try to buy him. You try to buy him now. You say,
I want that man to serve me. The laws say he's ours. But I'm
willing to pay for him. I'm sorry, he's ours. And he's
going to be ours until this debt's paid. And that's the law, and
God's law and God's justice held us in captivity. We weren't the
captives of Satan. The average preacher sounds like
that we're in captivity to Satan, and God's over here wanting us
to come to Him, so if we come to God, Satan will let us go.
No! We're in captivity to the law,
to the justice of God, and it won't let us go till somebody
pays a bill we owe. See what I'm saying? And then
God can righteously and justly let us go. In fact, He has to
let us go. Of course, He's willing to. Turn to Romans. In Romans chapter 3, now listen
to this. This is what most preachers do not see. Romans 3 verse 24. Being freely,
being justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that's in Christ Jesus. Christ Jesus. Whom God hath set
forth for ordain. to be a propitiation, a mercy
seat, through faith in His blood, to declare His blood and His
death and His righteousness was to declare God's righteousness
for the remission of sins that have passed, even for the sins
of those in the Old Testament who were already dead when Christ
died. But God, through His forbearance
and through His long-suffering, through His patience, looked
to the death of Christ even to pay for their sins. To declare,
I say, Christ Jesus came to this earth and lived and died to declare,
I say at this time, God's righteousness that God might be just and the
justifier of him who believes in Jesus Christ. God was in Christ reconciling
the world to Himself. Let me see if I can put that
right down where we live. Because of Adam's transgression,
because of our transgressions, because of our sins, sinful nature,
heart, mind, everything about us, sins of omission, commission,
whatever, we're in bondage. God has a law that's unchangeable
and must be obeyed. God's justice must be satisfied. We're held in captivity to the
law, to the justice of God. Christ came down here, and as
a man in the flesh, He perfectly obeyed every law. He did what
we can't do. He did what God commanded us
to do. He did all that the law required, representing a people.
And He honored that law. And He went to the cross, and
there the very, the justice and wrath of God fell on Him. and
slew him, and he was buried, and he rose again. And you say,
well, how could one person pay the sin debt of so many because
of who he is? He's infinite, and his blood
is infinite. And now God Almighty can accept
us, receive us, and forgive us Because Christ paid it all. There's
nothing against us. And God can be just and justify. And do you understand that? You
say, well, how's that man? By believing Him. By believing
Him. That's what he says there, that
he might be just and the justifier of them that believe. Now, here's
the next question, the last question, and I'm going to comment on it
a little more, a little more fully. All right, salvation's
a gift. It's a gift of God. And here's
the sixth question. Is the glorious gospel of Jesus
Christ then a bare invitation? Or is it a command? In other
words, are you invited to believe this gospel, or are you commanded
to believe it? Does God invite men to repent
or does He command them to repent? Does God invite men to believe
His Word or does He command men to believe His Word? Is the glory
and preeminence of Christ, the fact that we shall bow to the
Lordship of Christ, is that an invitation or a command? Now
I know today it's insinuated as strictly an invitation. Turn
to Luke 14. Now this is very important here,
Luke chapter 14. While you're turning, let me
ask you this. Noah built an ark. Was that by
invitation or command, Bob? Abraham came out of his father's
house. By invitation or command? Moses offered a Passover lamb. By invitation or command? Matthew,
follow me. Is that an invitation or a command?
Zacchaeus, come down. Is that an invitation or a command?
Depends on who's speaking, doesn't it? I can invite men to come
hear me preach. I persuade men to look to Christ.
I beseech men to be reconciled to God, but I'm saying my Lord
doesn't invite anybody to do anything. He commands them to. Listen to this. You've read this
a hundred times, but let's read it again. Luke 14, 15. And when one of them sat at meat,
one of them that sat at meat, with him heard these things,
he said to him, Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom
of God. Then said he unto him, here's
Christ speaking, a certain man made a great supper and bad many. I looked up that word bad or
bid. It means invited. That's what that word means,
invite, invited many. And he sent his servant at suppertime
to say unto them that we're invited. Come, for all things are now
ready. Now here's the results of a bare invitation. And they
all, it's the results of a bare invitation,
they all without exception, with one consent, with one agreement,
in total unity. This is the only time sinners
in total unity against God. began to make excuse. And the
first said, well, I bought a piece of ground. I must need to go
and see it. I pray thee have me excused.
Another said, I bought five yoke of oxen. I go to prove them.
I pray have me excused. Another said, I've married a
wife and therefore I cannot come. So that servant came and showed
his Lord these things. And the master of the house,
being angry, said to his servant, go out quickly into the streets
and the lanes of the city." Now here's why you read that psalm
tonight, Brother Ronnie. and bring in the poor, and the
mean, and the haught, and the blind, and the needy, and the
weary. Go bring them in. And the servant said, Lord, it's
done as you've commanded, and yet there's room. And the Lord
said to the servant, go out in the highways and the hedges again,
and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled. He filled
his house, but not by invitation, by power. and by compelling them,
by commanding them. And you know, the first time
I looked into this years ago when somebody looked at me and
asked this very question. They looked at me and they said,
is the Gospel an invitation or a command? And I wanted to be
right on this, so I began to think about some Scripture. Now, I went to the concordance
and there weren't invitations, Only in the Bible three times. Never in the New Testament. The
word invite, invitation, is in the Bible three times. That's
all. Look it up. And every time it's
there, I'll give you where it's found. 1 Samuel 9.24, 2 Samuel
13.23, and Esther 5.12. And every time you find the word
invitation or invite in the Bible, it's somebody inviting somebody
to a dinner. Never a gospel preacher inviting
people to believe God. Never, never, never. God's prophets
commanded men to believe God. They never invited them. So I began to think about these
different verses. The first one that came to my mind was Isaiah
45. Look unto me and be ye saved.
Let's turn over there and let me look at that a moment. Look
unto me and be ye saved. All the ends of the earth, for
I am God, there's none else. That sort of reads like some
kind of invitation, but I tell you, it's really an instruction.
What's the preceding verses? Verse 20, Isaiah 45. Assemble
yourselves and come. Draw near to gather you that
are escaped of the nations." They had no knowledge that set
up wood, the wood of their graven image, and pray to a God that
can't say, tell me, tell ye, bring them near, let them take
counsel. Who had declared this from ancient
times? Who told it from that time? Have not I the Lord? There's
no God else beside me. I'm the only just God and Savior. There's none beside me, so look
to me and be your Savior. That's instruction. What God
is saying, there's no salvation in idols. If you're going to
be saved, you've got to look to a God that can save. Pray to
a God that can hear. Look to me. Matthew 11, I thought
about this. Matthew chapter 11, verse 27,
28. Bear with me a minute now. Let's look at this. Matthew 7,
28. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest. That sounds like an
invitation. without reading the preceding
verses. Go back and read verse 25. And our Lord had just talked
to this generation about, He said, Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! The
things that had been done in Sodom and Gomorrah that had been
done in you, they would have repented. Verse 25, And at that time Jesus
answered and said, I thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth,
because you have hid these things from the wise and prudent and
revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, it seemed good
in your sight. All things are delivered unto
me of my Father. And no man knows the Son, but
the Father neither knoweth any man. The Father saved the Son,
and He to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. So you come
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, I'll give you
rest. You find rest in me, nowhere else. And that's a command. I'm the only Redeemer. Only Redeemer. Now look at Acts 17, verse 30. In Acts 17, verse 30, and Paul
said, the times of this ignorance, God tolerated. God patiently,
long-suffering, tolerated. But now He what? He commandeth
all men everywhere to repent. I thought about this. Do parents
invite children to obey them? Do policemen invite men to obey
the law? Do generals invite privates to
obey their word? Well, does the king of kings
invite his subjects to obey him, or does he command them to obey
him? He said, this is my beloved son.
If you find it convenient, believe him. You believe him. You believe
him. It's not optional. Now, here's
my conclusion. Let me sum it up and close. Why
is our gospel a command? Why is it a command? Why do we
preach it as a command rather than a bare invitation? Well,
very quickly, four reasons why I preach the gospel as a command.
I preach it as a command to be in keeping with the character
of God. A sovereign ruler does not bargain with subjects. A
righteous judge does not negotiate with criminals. It's a command
in keeping with the character of God. Secondly, we preach it
as a command because our Lord told us to preach it that way.
He said to his disciples, now listen to this great commission.
He said to his disciples, all power is given unto me in heaven
and earth. Go ye therefore and preach the
gospel to every creature. All power in heaven and earth
is behind you. You go preach the gospel. That
gives us boldness. Boldness to command men. We come
in the name of God. Paul said, I'm an ambassador
of God. Thirdly, a bare invitation without the will to respond will
always find rejection. Our Lord said, you will not come
to me. Like that Luke 14 I read to you. They all with one consent. refused
an invitation, but not to command. And fourthly, now listen to this,
the command to believe the gospel gives encouragement to the genuine
sinner that if I am commanded to believe on Christ, then I'm
at full liberty to do so. You understand what I'm saying?
If God commands me to believe on Christ, then I'm at full liberty
to do so. For example, Lazarus come forth. Lazarus does not need to pause
for one moment and ask the Lord if he'd be alright if he came
out. He's commanded to. The man lying on the bed, 38
years he'd been there, the Lord said, take up your bed and walk.
With the command comes a permission. Stretch forth your hand. With
the command comes not only the permission, but the power. So
if God commands me to believe the gospel, I have every right
to believe it. I have assurance and confidence.
If He commands me to come to Him, then I have every right
to come, and every right to believe He'll receive me. Is that not
correct? That's the reason we preach the
gospel as a command. God has appointed a day in which
He's going to judge this world in righteousness by that man
whom He hath ordained, whereof He hath given assurance to all
men in that He raised Him from the dead. Believe the gospel. That's the
command of God. Can we do otherwise? He said to his disciples, will
you go away? They said, to whom? Thou hast
the words of life. All right, Mike's going to sing
for us a great song entitled, I Am. I Am.

Recovering the Gospel #2

What does the Bible say about salvation being a gift or an offer?

Why is the doctrine of regeneration important for Christians?

How do we know that salvation is by God's choice and not ours?

What is the relationship between the law of God and the death of Christ?

Is the gospel a command or an invitation?

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Recovering the Gospel #2

What does the Bible say about salvation being a gift or an offer?

Why is the doctrine of regeneration important for Christians?

How do we know that salvation is by God's choice and not ours?

What is the relationship between the law of God and the death of Christ?

Is the gospel a command or an invitation?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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