I would like very much for you
to listen most carefully to my message today. I believe the
message would be considered a little controversial, maybe to some
people very controversial, but I'm going to speak on this subject
and I want you to listen carefully and reserve your comments or
opinion until I've completed the message. Now here's the title,
More Than an Invitation. That's what I'm speaking on,
more than an invitation. And my text is taken from the
book of Mark, chapter 1, verse 14. Now listen carefully. Now
after John was put in prison, Jesus came into Galilee preaching
the gospel of the kingdom of God and saying, the time is fulfilled
and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent ye, and believe
the gospel. Repent ye, and believe the gospel. Now we hear a lot of talk today
about the gospel invitation. You hear that on every hand,
the gospel invitation. And we hear a lot about inviting
men to believe God, and inviting men to receive Christ. But I
strongly suggest, very strongly, I declare unto you that the gospel
of Jesus Christ our Lord is more, much more than an invitation. The gospel of Jesus Christ is
a command. Now that's what I'm talking about,
the gospel, and I want you to listen. If you're a preacher,
this may change your whole ministry. If you're a teacher, a Sunday
school teacher, if you're trying to be a soul winner, Whatever
you may be in the kingdom of God, it may change your whole
attitude and outlook, and certainly your methods. But I'm saying
that the gospel of Jesus Christ is more than an invitation. It
is a command. Now listen to these scriptures.
We're not invited to repent. Certainly not. We're commanded
to repent. In Acts chapter 17, verse 30,
you listen to this. God commandeth all men everywhere
to repent. Now, do words mean anything at
all? God doesn't invite men to repent. He doesn't suggest that
men repent. It says, God commandeth all men
everywhere to repent. We're not invited to believe
God. We're commanded to believe God.
The scripture says, he that believeth not shall be damned. We're not
invited to believe God. The apostles didn't suggest,
now you ought to believe God's word. You should believe God. Don't refuse to believe God.
The apostles declared, he that believeth not shall be damned.
He that believeth not hath made God a liar. We're not invited
to love God and to love one another. The Lord Jesus Christ said, this
is my commandment. This is my commandment that you
love one another. This is a commandment of God.
It's not an invitation. Actually, my friend, and I've
received a lot of static through the years on this subject, the
word invitation is not in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation. It's not even there one time.
The word invite is not in the Bible. I challenge you to find
the word invitation or the word invite In God's Word, anywhere
in 66 books, it does not appear one time. Now the word invited,
invited, past tense, appears three times, but it never refers
to God. Three times the word invited
appears in the Bible. Once in 1 Samuel 9, 24. And Samuel
told Saul, Samuel the prophet told King Saul, that he had prepared
a meal and invited the people to share it. And then in 2 Samuel
13, Absalom said he invited the king's sons to eat with him. Absalom invited his brothers
and half-brothers to come eat with him. And then in Esther
5, verse 12, Haman said he had been invited by the queen to
appear before her. You see what I'm saying? The
word invitation is not in the Bible. The word invites not in
the Bible, and the word invited is there three times, but never
refers to any spiritual blessing extended to men from the hand
of God. Now before you get angry, let
me say this. We may invite men to hear us
preach We may persuade men to look to Christ. Paul said that.
I persuade men. Knowing the terror of the Lord,
I persuade men. And we, you and I, frail creatures,
may beseech men, beseech men to be reconciled to God. But
the King of kings and Lord of lords never merely invites men
to believe his word. He commands them to believe his
word. That's not even characteristic of a king to invite men to give
credit to his word. The Lord of the universe does
not merely invite his subjects to obey him. He commands them
to obey him. And the sovereign Lord does not
invite men to bow to Christ. He commands them to bow to Christ. He said in Philippians chapter
2, God hath highly exalted him. and given him a name which is
above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee shall
bow, shall bow, shall confess every tongue, shall confess that
he's Lord to the glory of God. That's not an invitation, that's
a commandment. Now the scriptures that we call
invitations, and I want you to listen carefully to me, I'm saying
that the gospel is a whole lot more than an invitation. It's
a whole lot more than going out here begging people to repent,
and begging people to give God a chance, and begging people
to let God have His way. The King of kings and Lord of
lords does not beg sinners. He does not negotiate with criminals.
He commands men. He commands men. Now, the Scriptures
that we call invitations are more than invitations. You listen
to Isaiah 45, and somebody says, In Isaiah 45, 22, look unto me,
and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth. For I am God, and
there is none else. Is that not an invitation in a sense? But
it's a commandment. And it's more than an invitation,
it's direction. Now look at verse 20. This is
what the Lord said in verse 20 of Isaiah 45. He says, people
are foolish and ignorant who look to idols and false gods
and pray to a God that cannot save. He said they're ignorant.
People are ignorant that look to false gods and statues and
idols, and false gods that cannot hear and cannot save. He says,
look to me, I'm God. Look to me and be you saved,
I'm God, for there's none else. Now that's not a plea, that's
direction. That's direction. He's saying these people who
look to a false god are foolish. If you want to be saved, you
look to me because I am the only true and living God. That's a
direction. That's a commandment to look
to me and be your saviour. In Matthew 11, listen to this.
You say, what about Matthew 11, 28? Come unto me all ye that
labour and are heavy laden, I'll give you rest. Did you ever take
the trouble to read verse 27? It does go with verse 28. Matthew
11, 27. Now listen to the Lord Jesus.
He said in verse 27, all things are delivered unto me of my Father. No man knoweth the Son, but the
Father. And no man knoweth the Father,
but the Son. And he to whomsoever the Son
will reveal it. You come unto me, all ye that
labour in a heavy laden, I'll give you rest. That's directions.
That's turning your eyes in the right direction. That's turning
your eyes upon the right person. I know the Father. I reveal the
Father. I have the power to give rest.
I have the power to give peace. So you come to me, that's still
a commandment. You're coming to me and I'll
give you rest. And if you'll take the time to
examine all the other so-called invitations, you'll find that
the gospel of Jesus Christ is more than an invitation. It's
a command. It's a command. As our Lord said,
repent ye and believe the gospel. Repent ye and believe the gospel. I'll tell you this, to believe
God, is to reap great blessings and benefits. For God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever
believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. What
benefits that come from believing! What blessings come from believing
God! What rich mercies come from believing
God! Believe God! He that believeth
on the Son hath light. He that believeth not the Son
shall not see light. To refuse to believe God is to
incur great sin. John said, if we receive not
the witness of God, which he hath testified of his son, we
make God a liar. That's a serious charge. A man
who does not believe the word of God makes God a liar. He's putting a question mark
on the record that God gave concerning his son. And my friend, to deny
the gospel is to be forever damned. Our Lord said, go into all the
world and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth
and is baptized shall be saved, and he that believeth not shall
be damned. See how serious it is? To believe God is to receive
great benefits and blessings. To refuse to believe God is to
incur great sin. We make God a liar. And to refuse
to believe the gospel is to be forever damned. But the gospel
is more than just an invitation. It's a commandment. It's a command
from the throne of a sovereign God. What I'm saying is this,
and I'm going to give you three things to think about. Number
one, we're not faced with a choice. I hear people talking about our
choice to believe or not to believe. I beg your pardon. We're not
faced with a choice. We're faced with a commandment.
We're faced with a commandment. Now, you listen to this scripture,
1 John 5 and 9. If we receive the witness of
men, And we do. We believe the word of men. You
go see your doctor, and your doctor says you have a certain
problem. He writes down a prescription, hands it to you. You believe
him. You believe what he wrote down. You go to the druggist.
He fills the prescription, hands it to you, and you swallow it.
You believe the witness of men. Now, if you believe the witness
of men, the witness of God is greater. And this is the witness
of God, which he hath testified of his Son. This is it. He that
believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. He that
believeth not God hath made God a liar, because he believeth
not the record that God hath given concerning his Son. And
this is the record that God hath given us eternal life, and this
life is in his Son. I'm saying it's not optional
whether you repent or don't repent. You're commanded to repent. God
commanded all men, everywhere, to repent. You have no option.
You have no option. And it's not optional for you
to believe God or not to believe God, to give credit to His Word
or to doubt His Word. It's commanded that you believe
God. Let me ask you some questions. How many of you parents out there
invite your children to believe you? You come in, you say, I
want you to go upstairs and get your clothes together. We're
going to get in the car and go down to grandmother's house and
spend the night. Do you invite your son to believe
you? Or do you expect him to believe
you? Do you command him to believe you? Do you invite your son to
obey you? Or do you command him? When you
tell that son to go upstairs and get his clothes and come
downstairs and get in the car, is that an invitation or is that
a commandment? Now, you mean to tell me that
the Heavenly Father simply invites men to believe Him, to give credit
to His Word, and you, being evil, expect people to believe yours
and expect your children to obey your Word? How many policemen
out there invite you to obey the law? You don't see any signs
along the highway, we invite you to go 55. We invite you not
to do this, that or the other. No, sir. Commandments. How many
generals, you suppose, would last in an army if they stood
out in front of the troops and said, now, we invite you men
to charge into battle. We invite you to get into your
airplanes and take off and fight for your country. Now, it's just
a suggestion. You don't really have to. It's optional. You can
obey our word or you could... That's foolishness. And yet we
talk about the living Lord of glory, who gave his only begotten
Son to redeem a people. who has purpose to populate heaven
with a new people like Christ, and he's simply out here inviting
rebels to obey him? He's inviting his subjects to
believe him? He's inviting men to give credit
to his word? That's a pack of foolishness.
It's not optional whether or not you believe God. And my friend,
it's not optional whether or not you bow to Christ. Peter
said on Pentecost, listen, God hath made that same Jesus whom
you have crucified, God made him Lord and Christ. And they said, well, what are
we going to do? We've crucified the Lord of Glory. He said, I'll
tell you what you're going to do. Repent and be baptized, every
one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sin.
That's no invitation, that's a commandment. That's a commandment. Abel wasn't invited to bring
a blood offering. He was commanded to bring a blood
offering. It wasn't optional whether or not he came to God
with a blood sacrifice or like Cain came. That was the only
way. God had respect to Abel and his
offering because it was one God commanded. Noah wasn't invited
to build an ark. He was commanded to build an
ark. And I'll tell you this, he wasn't invited to enter the
ark, he was told to enter the ark. Now you listen to the scripture
in Genesis, I believe it's chapter 7. When the ark was completed
and the flood was approaching, God said, Noah, come into the
ark. Come into the ark. Now listen
to the next verse, 16. It says, so they went in as God
commanded. Huh? They went in as God suggested,
or invited, or pled with them, or begged them. Also, God doesn't
beg. God's no beggar. Not the God
of the Bible. Not the God of the universe.
They went in as God commanded. Noah was commanded to enter that
ark, and Israel was not invited to kill a Passover lamb. They
were commanded upon the first day of the month Upon the certain
month, you shall do this. You shall put the blood on the
door. You shall go in your houses and
close the door. You shall wait under the blood. And when I see the blood, I'll
pass over you." That was God's commandment. And failure to obey
or respond to the commandment of God brought death and condemnation. Moses wasn't invited to build
a tabernacle. He was commanded to build the
tabernacle. And Aaron and the high priest
were not invited to offer an atonement. They were commanded
to bring an atonement. And I'll tell you this, in our
generation has been thrown a curve. They've been hoodwinked. They've
been conned. They've been misled by phony
false prophets and preachers so long that we swallowed it
hook, line, and sinker and support men in their error. It is more
than an invitation, and they talk about the gospel invitation. I'll tell you this, it's a gospel
commandment. It's a commandment. And you and
I are faced, oh, with a whole lot more than a mere invitation.
We're faced with the Word of God, which commands us to repent
and believe the gospel. And to fail to obey the commandment
of God is to incur the eternal condemnation and wrath of an
infinite, unchangeable God. Now let me ask you some questions.
Why is the gospel a command and more than an invitation? Why
is it a command and more than an invitation? Well, first of
all, it's a command in that it is according to God's character. According to God's character
as a sovereign king. Now listen, a righteous judge
doesn't negotiate with a criminal. If you have a judge sitting on
his bench, And he has authority, has a law with him and behind
him, and he's expected to act in justice and righteousness.
You don't find him negotiating with criminals. Now, I'll tell
you what you do. He talks to a criminal in front
of his bench. Now, I'll tell you what I'm going
to do. I'm going to do this if you'll meet me halfway. The judge
doesn't talk that way at all. He says, I'll tell you what we're
going to do. You're going to serve ten years. And if you behave
yourself, I'll let you off. at the end of five years. But
if you don't do so and so, you'll put in life. You see what the
judge, judge not negotiating with that criminal. He's handing
down his ruling. And a great master does not beg
slaves to obey him. And a mighty king does not bargain
with his subjects. And a holy God does not suggest
that sinners repent and believe the gospel and walk before him
in holiness. He doesn't suggest it at all.
He doesn't invite them to. He commands it. And I'll tell
you this. You come with me to Sinai's mountain when the nation
of Israel stood out in front of that mountain while God spoke. And it says that mountain flashed
with lightning and thunder and smoke. And the awesome, awful
presence of God was manifested. And Israel backed away from that
mountain. And I don't find God saying,
now these have ten suggestions for you gentlemen that I wish
to present to you and invite you to hear my word. He said,
these are my commandments. Walk before me in holiness. and
live, disobey my word and die. That's a commandment. And that's
the only way God speaks to fallen men. He speaks with authority. He speaks by way of commandment.
Now, I'm telling you the truth. The gospel is not an invitation
only. It's a commandment in keeping
with the character of a holy God. And when you talk about
it being anything You compromise the character of God, and really
what you're doing, you're revealing the character of your God. And
he's less than the God of the Bible. He has no authority to
command men. Thou thoughtest thou was altogether
such a one as thyself. I'll tell you something else
about the gospel being a commandment. The gospel being a command gives
boldness to God's ambassadors. Listen to Christ when he sent
his disciples out to preach. In Matthew 28, 18, he said, now,
all authority, this is the crucified risen redeemer talking, he says,
all authority, power is given unto me in heaven and earth,
all authority, all power, all power over all flesh. Go ye therefore
and make disciples of all nations. I got all authority. We don't
go forth apologizing for God. We don't go forth begging men
to let go and let God. We don't go forth begging people
to let Jesus have his way. My friends, a true ambassador
of the Son of God goes forth into this world declaring the
crown rights of King Jesus, which he has by decree and design,
and which he purchased in his death. And we go forth crying
what the psalmist cried in Psalm 2, kiss the sun, lest to be angry."
Now, if some preachers of this day would get a hold of the truth
of the gospel, and the character of God, and the need of sinners,
and the crown rights of Christ, we'd have less mealy-mouthed,
pussy-footing preachers. And we'd have some men standing,
preaching with boldness and authority, and fearlessly, instead of occupying
a vocation, or a profession, and earning a living, and drawing
their breaths, and drawing their salaries, and scared to death
they're going to get fired, and pleasing men that go forth and
preach the gospel of Jesus Christ as it is a command. That's exactly
right. And you know I'm telling you
the truth. And the gospel comes thirdly as a command to encourage
humble seekers to hope for mercy. Now you listen carefully to this.
I'm saying the gospel is more than an invitation, it's a command,
in keeping with the character of God. And also to give his
ambassadors the courage and boldness which they must have, and then
to encourage the humble seeker. Listen to me, if I'm commanded
to believe on Christ, then I may. That's right, I can. If I'm commanded to believe on
Christ, if I'm commanded by God, to come to Christ and find in
Him full pardon and full forgiveness, then I'm at perfect liberty to
do so. You see what I'm saying? If I'm commanded to, the daddy
tells the son, son, take out, take that box and get some firewood. May I do that, father? May you
do it? I told you to do it. I told you
to do it. And with the commandment comes
permission. And not only permission, but
power. Listen to the Lord stand outside the grave of Lazarus
and say, Lazarus, come forward. Is that an invitation? That's
a command. And with the command of the king
comes permission and power. Listen to him tell the man on
the bed with the 38 years of sick of palsy, couldn't walk.
He said, take up your bed and walk. Is that an invitation?
Or is that a command? You know it's a command. And
with that command comes permission and power. Listen to him tell
the man with a withered hand. Stretch out your hand. Do it. You say he couldn't. He did.
He did. Because his Lord commanded him
to. And with the command came the power and the permission.
Does this sound like invitations? I'm telling you, God expects
men to believe. And God commands men to believe. And I go forth with the same
message. When I preach the gospel, I expect
you to believe it. And I command you to believe
it. In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to believe God's
Word. Now, what's the obedience required in the gospel? About
three or four things, and I close. Number one, to hear God's Word.
He said, this is my beloved Son, hearing. Is that an invitation? Hear Him. That's the Father speaking
from heaven. I suggest, if I may be so bold,
God says, that you listen to my Son. That is, if you don't
have anything better to do, I invite you. Not God. Your God, maybe,
but not God of the Bible. This is my Son. Hear ye Him. Ezekiel said, O ye dry bones,
hear the word of the Lord. Our God said, He that hath ears
to hear, let him hear. You're commanded to hear God's
word, you're commanded to repent, lay down your arms, put up your
shotgun, and bow to Christ. That's God's commandment. You're
commanded to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. You're commanded
to confess Christ publicly. You're commanded of God to love
one another. You're commanded of God to walk
in holiness and obedience on this earth, to bring glory and
praise to his name. He said, as your heavenly Father
is holy, be ye holy. As your heavenly Father is merciful,
Be ye merciful. Now I told you before I started
this message, I had a controversial message, but I want you to do
this. I want you to give as much time to the consideration of
this message as I've given to the preparation of it, and that's
a long time. And you give it some thought,
and see if I'm not telling you the truth. God commanded all
men everywhere to repent, and God commands all men everywhere
to believe. is gospel. Repent and believe
the gospel. That's what our Lord said. If
you want this message on a cassette tape, I'll be bringing a message
next week on Justified by Faith. Both these messages on the same
tape. You write to me. You'll have
the address right there before you in a moment. You send two
dollars contribution and we'll mail you the tape by return mail.
Till next week, may the Lord bless you, is my prayer. The same one.