Now
my friends, I come to say that the Old Gospel of God's Grace is opposed to this
"new gospel" of part grace and part man. The Old Gospel,
which is the true Gospel of God, safeguarded some values which
this "new gospel" loses. Will you hear me carefully now? The
"new gospel" that we have today by a certain universal redemption and
universal divine saving purpose compels itself to cheapen grace and to cheapen
the cross of Christ, by denying that the Father and the Son are sovereign in
salvation. This "new gospel" assures us that after God in Christ
has done all that They can or will do, it depends
finally on each man's own choice whether God's purpose to save him is realized
or not.
Now
my friends, this popular position has two unhappy
results this preaching that God has done His part and now He
helplessly stands by while you decide whether or not his purpose shall be
realized:
In the first place, this position compels us to misunderstand
the significance of the gracious invitations of Christ in the Gospel. When we
hear the invitations of these preachers who pervert the Gospel, they are not the expressions of the tender patience of
a mighty Sovereignthey are the pathetic pleas of
human desire. And so the enthroned Lord of glory under
present-day preaching is suddenly changed into a weak, futile figure, knocking
at the human heart which He is powerless to open. My friends, this is a shameful dishonor to the Sovereign Christ of the
New Testament.
In the second place, this "new gospel" as it is
preached forces us to deny our dependence upon God;
when it comes to vital decisions, it takes us out of
God's hands. It tells us that after all, we are the master of our fate, and the
captain of our souls. And it so undermines the very foundation of our
relationship with our Maker. No wonder the converts of today are so often both
irreverent and irreligious.
The
Old Gospel speaks very differently in expounding man's need of Christ; the Old
Gospel stresses something almost ignored today. That something is that sinners
cannot obey the Gospel any more than they can obey the law, apart from renewal
of heart. On the other hand, declaring Christ's power to save, the Old
Gospel proclaims Him as the Author and chief agent of conversion. It
preaches Him as coming by His Spirit as the Gospel goes forth to renew men's
hearts and draw them to Himself. Thus, the Old Gospel, while stressing that
faith is man's duty, stresses also that faith is not in man's power. God
must give what He commands. Ephesians 2:8 says, "For by
grace are ye saved through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God."
Hebrews 12:2a says: "Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith..."
Thus
the Old Gospel announces not merely that men must come to Christ for salvation,
but the Old Gospel also announces that men cannot come unless God draws them. John
John 14:6 says, "Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no
man cometh unto the Father but by Me."
John
Thus,
my friends, the Old Gospel does what desperately needs to be done; it
labors to overthrow self-confidence, it labors to convince sinners that
salvation is altogether out of their hands, and to shut sinners up to a
self-despairing dependence on the glorious grace of a Sovereign Saviour, not
only for their righteousness, but for their faith, too. Thus the Old
Gospel doesn't talk about deciding for Christ, as we hear today. For
this business of deciding for Christ suggests voting a person into office. It
suggests an act in which the candidate plays no part, beyond offering himself
for election. Everything is settled by the voter's independent choice. I wish
people would believe me when I tell you that we do
not vote God's Son into office as our Saviour! Nor does our Saviour
remain passive while preachers campaign on His behalf.
My
friends, coming to Christ, resting on Christ and turning from
sin in full surrender to Christ is far different from deciding for
Christ as your Saviour. Those who pervert the Gospel beg people to accept Jesus
as their Saviour, and they will be saved. That is a lie out of Hell, because
it is not in the Bible. If a person does not surrender to Jesus Christ as your
Lord to rule and reign over you Why! You are not
saved! We also hear these words spoken by preachers who
pervert the Gospel: "Now sinners, God has done His part the Devil wants
you, and Christ wants you, and you have the deciding vote."
But, my friends, that is a lie out of Hell! Christ didn't just
offer Himself for office. He is working now, He is
on a throne now ruling and reigning as Prophet, Priest, and King. He does
not stand by while we try to get people to decide for Him as the Gospel is
proclaimed.
He
comes in the Spirit actively to draw men to Himself, and thus we preachers say
that He is a Saviour for sinners. The Father and the Spirit draw sinners to
Christ. Salvation is of the Lord. Thank God it is all in Christ. And to the
question, "What must I do to be saved?" And this is the question of
questions. The Old Gospel replies, "Believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ." And then, somebody says, "What does that mean?" The
Old Gospel replies, "It means knowing one's self to be a sinner and Christ
who died for sinners. It means to abandon all self-righteousness and
self-confidence,and cast yourself wholly upon Christ
for pardon and peace. It means exchanging one's natural enmity and rebellion
against God for a spirit of grateful submission to the will of Christ, through
the renewing of one's heart by the Holy Ghost. It means God taking a sinner
and making him a new creature in Christ."
The
next question, how am I to go about believing on
Christ and repenting? Brother Barnard, you say I have no natural ability to do
these things? I didn't say that God says that! If I have no ability to
do these things, how am I to go about believing on Christ and repenting? If you
say I must and I can't how can it come to pass? To that perplexing
question, and yet true one, the Old Gospel answers, "Listen, sinner
friend, look to Christ. Quit looking to yourself; quit listening to your old
bent and feeble will; look to Christ, seek the Lord, beg for mercy."
1 Samuel 2:8 says, "He raiseth up the poor out
of the dust, and lifteth up the beggar from the dunghill, to set them among
princes, and to make them inherit the throne of glory..."
Isaiah 45:22 says, "Look unto Me, and be ye saved, all the
ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else."
Isaiah 55:6 says, "Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He
is near."
Jeremiah 29:13 says, "And ye shall seek Me, and
find Me, when ye shall search for Me with all your heart."
Cry
to Christ, just as you are, cast yourself on His mercy, ask Him to give you
a new heart, working in you true repentance and faith. Ask Christ to take
away your evil heart of unbelief and to write His law in your heart. Draw near
to Him, watching, praying, reading, and hearing His Word. And continue to
seek the Lord til He speaks peace to you.
God Almighty has to perform a miracle in you and reveal Christ in
you, for you to have eternal life.
John 17:3 says, "And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true
God, and Jesus Christ, Whom Thou hast sent."
Luke
The
Holy Ghost has to baptize you into the body of Christ. 1 Corinthians 12:13a
says, "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body..."
Our
Lord Jesus Christ is not passively waiting, but is actively working to bring
His chosen people to faith. The preaching of the "new gospel" is
called bringing men to Christ, as if only men moved while Christ stands still. The
true Gospel is the coming of Christ to men. As the Gospel is preached, and
Christ is set before men's eyes, the mighty Saviour, Whom the Gospel proclaims
busy "Praise God" doing His work through the Word. Not standing
by, but visiting sinners with salvation, awakening them to faith and drawing
them in mercy to Himself. Thank God, we don't have to
use all these methods of the flesh to get somebody to decide to accept Christ! We
just have to proclaim Christ in the power of the Holy Ghost! We don't have
to look at those poor sinners and know that it all depends on them. But we
know that as we preach Christ, He is standing by, He is working, He is dealing with men. He is opening blind eyes and bless God, He is drawing sinners to Himself. Oh, how
glorious it is to proclaim Christ Who came into the
world to save sinners! Praise His Holy Name!
Luke
Galatians 1:6-9 says, "I marvel that ye are so soon removed from Him that
called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another,
but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the Gospel of Christ. But
though we, or an angel from Heaven, preach any other Gospel unto you than that
which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed. As we said before, so say
I now again, If any man preach any other gospel unto
you than that ye have received, let him be accursed."
"Blessed
Father, in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ, we thank Thee for revealing the
Gospel of Christ to us. Please reveal to Your children
the Gospel of Christ and have mercy on sinners. We beg in His blessed Name.
Amen!"