Posted on 01/06/2004 6:08:05 PM PST by P-Marlowe
18. Our Glorious Gospel |
When Jesus began His public ministry, He went into the synagogue in His hometown of Nazareth. He was handed the Scriptures. He turned to the Book of Isaiah and read this portion to them:
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (Isaiah 61:1-2a).
After reading it, Jesus closed the book and said, "This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears" (Luke 4:16-21).
Jesus closed the book after the reading, but Isaiah's prophecy doesn't stop there. Let's read on.
And the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, that garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that He might be glorified (v. 2b-3).
The glorious "good tidings" that we proclaim to you today is God's glorious message to man. In a world filled with so much misery, strife, and trouble, it's good to hear some good news for a change.
Message for the Meek
Reading the newspapers or watching the news on TV gives a sad commentary upon man's existence. Oh, how ready we are for some good news! The Gospel is good news, but who is it for?
In reading from Isaiah, Jesus declared, "The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach good tidings," the Gospel "unto the meek." The Gospel is for the meek, those who are conscious of their inadequacies and needs and are reaching out for help. The best way to understand the word "meek" is to separate it: me...ek. When I realize how "eeky" I am, I know what meek is all about. The Gospel is for those who recognize their need for something more, who are dissatisfied with their current status, who desire a better life.
Many people today are very satisfied with their lives. They're satisfied with their possessions and situations. The Gospel isn't for them. Other people today are extremely proud of themselves. The Gospel isn't for them, either.
The Gospel Message
What does the Gospel do? First, it is meant "to bind up the brokenhearted." We've seen Valentine's Day cards that show broken hearts. Sometimes the heart is broken through the middle and sometimes it is totally fractured. Our hearts often break because of unreciprocated love. We have a deep love for another, but it's not received and accepted. This causes our hearts to break. I wonder how many times God's heart is broken over us.
Our hearts often break over our own failures and weaknesses. We promise ourselves that we'll do certain things, but we don't seem to be capable of achieving them. So, we experience heartbreak over our inadequacies. Our desire to be what we apparently can't be and to achieve what apparently is beyond our capacity causes personal heartbreak.
The Gospel has come to bind up the brokenhearted, to let us know that we can be what God would have us to be. The good news is that we can achieve, attain, and experience a love that flows and flows and doesn't quit. The second thing that the Gospel does is "to proclaim liberty to the captives." Paul spoke of those who had fallen in the snares of the devil and had been taken captive by the devil against their will (II Timothy 2:26). Many people today have fallen into the snare of the devil and have been taken captive by the devil against their own will. In another passage Paul referred to those "who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage" (Hebrews 2:15).
We often use the term "free moral agent," but it's almost a misnomer. To say that a man is a free moral agent when he cannot help but do the things he does is a contradiction. If some compelling force is driving you to do things even when you don't want to do them, you're not free. You're a captive.
Sin often comes to you with a sugar-coated covering. You taste it and "Wow!" you plunge right into it. After the sugar is gone, you taste the bitter portion and try to spit it out. But now it's lodged in your throat and you can't get rid of it. If you're controlled by a cigarette habit or if you've got to have a drink, don't tell me you're a free moral agent. You're a captive - and the bitterness is just pouring into your system.
The Gospel of Jesus Christ has come to set free those who are captive. He can break every snare and deliver men from all the bondage of corruption that has held them in its power.
The third thing the Gospel does is "the opening of the prison to them that are bound." Today the Gospel will open the prison that you find yourself in.
When we were in Ecuador, the missionaries told us that if we get involved in a car accident, even if it's not our fault, the best thing to do is to go immediately to the airport and catch the next plane out of the country. When you're involved in an accident down there, guilty or innocent, you'll land in jail. You have to stay in jail until you can prove you're innocent, but you may not get a court date for five years. And in Ecuador they don't feed the prisoners. Someone on the outside has to feed you or you'll starve to death. And that's one of the nicer things about the jails.
I've also heard about the Mexican jails. If you get thrown in, your influence in the United States doesn't mean anything to the judge. They say the best thing is to stay out, because once you're in, you're really in. I don't know how true that is, but I don't want to experiment to find out.
Let's say that you're in jail in Mexico. You've tried every way to get out. You've written to the Mexican government, the American consulate, the UN. You've done everything, and you've finally concluded that you're not going to get out. So now you want to escape. Someone comes along and says, "I have a friend who can get you out."
"How can your friend get me out? Man, I've tried everything."
"He can."
"What makes you so sure?"
"He's freed thousands of others." Really! What do I have to do?"
"Just trust him." "But how's he going to do it?"
"I don't know. He has his own ways. But I know he can."
"But if I don't know how he does it, I'm not sure I want to trust him."
"It's your choice, friend. Either rot in jail or take a chance."
We find ourselves in the prison of our own lust and sin. The good news comes that there's One who can deliver us, set us free, open the doors of the prison and liberate us. But we've got to put our trust in Him completely. We've got to commit ourselves totally into His hands, trusting that He can do what He has promised. We can be assured that He's already delivered thousands out of that same jail. He has set multitudes free from the bondage of sin. He can set you free today from your prison, if you'll give Him a chance.
There is an urgency in this Gospel of Jesus Christ. "...To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." Though the Lord is offering you this freedom today, His offer is subject to withdrawal at any time. You see, Jesus Christ is under no obligation to save you at all. He doesn't owe you anything. His offer comes to you strictly because He is so good and loving that He hates to see you in a mess. So He offers to set you free.
However, this offer will be withdrawn - just when, we don't know. God told Noah, "My spirit shall not always strive with man" (Genesis 6:3). If you reject His offer today, you can't be sure whether the offer will be good tomorrow. "Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation" (II Corinthians 6:2). "Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near" (Isaiah 55:6). "Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth, while the evil days come not, nor the years draw nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in them" (Ecclesiastes 12:1).
We proclaim to you "the acceptable year of the Lord." "Now is the accepted time." Now is the time for you to receive this glorious Gospel. Now is the time for you to be set free.
There is coming a "day of vengeance of our God" (Isaiah 61:2). His offer will then be withdrawn and men shall experience nothing but what they justly deserve for their sins: the "day of vengeance of our God."
The Gospel Power
What will the Gospel do for you? Verse 3 reads: "to give unto them beauty for ashes..." I love the power of the Gospel! I've seen the effects of the Gospel, and I've seen it bring beauty for ashes. Some people are burned out, wasted, and destroyed. I've seen the Spirit of God take those burned-out lives and remake, remold, and reshape them into new and beautiful men and women.
I think of Mike MacIntosh, the pastor of our church in San Diego. When Mike first came to church, he was totally burned-out. He had taken so much acid and speed that he thought a bag was over his head and a .45 pistol was going off inside his brain. He would hear the explosion over and over. As I watched this handsome but totally burned-out young man, I wondered if he would ever recover from the damage done to his brain cells. I saw God take these ashes and begin to work with them - mold, shape, and change. I saw God restore Mike's wife and children. I saw God restore all that he had lost through his own folly.
Today, I see that beautiful young man standing before a glorious congregation in San Diego, with the glow of Jesus on his face and the love of Christ radiating from his life. I realize the power of the Gospel gives "beauty for ashes."
"The oil of joy for mourning" (Isaiah 61:3). Many people today find themselves in deep depression and sorrow of heart, grieved not only over themselves and their inadequacies, failures, and inabilities to cope, but with all of society. Our glorious Gospel gives "the oil of joy for mourning." It will lift your life from depression, sorrow, despair, and despondency to joy and hope.
The Gospel will also give you "the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness" (Isaiah 61:3). Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy leaden..." (Matthew 11:28). If the burden you're carrying is heavier than you can bear, if you feel pressed down by life and by your circumstances, our glorious Gospel will fill your heart and life with praises unto God. How glorious to see people who once wallowed in the dejection and hopelessness of this world now walk with a spring in their steps, a smile on their faces, and the garment of praise covering their lives. That's the elect of this glorious Gospel.
The Gospel Glory
What is the purpose of the Gospel? That we "might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that he might be glorified" (Isaiah 61:3). God has done His work so that we might glorify Him. "To God be the glory, great things He hath done." As we see lives change - men and women set free and remade through the power of Jesus Christ, born again by the Spirit of God - we give glory to God for His work. These hopeless lives are now "trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord." The changes are God's work wrought in them, and there is no other explanation for it.
So often a man who has fought against alcoholism has been defeated by it. His life is burned out, and he's now an outcast. You see him in the street in his pitiful condition. He has cried out for help. His family has tried to help him. But finally everyone has given up, and we call him a bum. As the power of the Gospel touches the ashes of his life and begins to turn him around, it changes and sets him free. The Gospel liberates him from that prison and makes of him a glorious person, beautiful to behold, a tower of strength within the community.
Only the Gospel can do that, and only God can be glorified for it. That's the purpose of the Gospel.
The Gospel Truth
You ask, "Just what is the Gospel, the good news?" Just this: Though you have failed and sinned, God loves you. God loves you so much that He sent His Son to set you free from your prison. If you'll put your trust completely in Him, He'll free you today, change your life, and make you what God wants you to be.
We have a glorious Gospel, but there's only one difficulty. To be effective it has to be applied. A fellow once asked a minister, "If your Gospel is so great, why isn't everyone a Christian?" The pastor responded, "If soap is so good, why isn't everyone clean?" Does the fact of dirty people testify against the value of soap? No. It works, but you have to apply it.
Have you?
Invite them to one of your community services, and SHOW THEM the LOVE OF GOD at work in your church (if it is there :-).
That is how I was converted. I was led away from Mormonism by having the truth about the LDS Organization and beliefs revealed to me and I was led to Christ by the love and compassion of people who showed a genuine interest in and concern for my eternal destiny. I was not instantly led to Christ merely because someone proved my LDS beliefs were wrong. In fact the revelation of the errors and historical truths about Mormonism merely made me an atheist. It was the love of God, which was manifest in the people who were praying for me and proselytizing me, which brought me around to Christ.
And, BTW it was hearing and responding to the dreaded "Revelation 3:20" that brought me to my knees, a verse Calvinists insist does not apply to those who are not already saved. But then how do they explain the uncountable numbers of people (myself included) who are now Christians because they heard that verse and responded?
Yes, but it was a church body that was obviously filled to capacity with apostates and reprobates.
What Jesus expressed there was not something that applied only to those in the Church, but to all who hear the words of the prophecy (go back to Rev 1:3). Therefore, if you hear those words, then the words apply to you, whether you are already saved, or whether you are still in rebellion against God.
The words in the Book of Revelation are not only written to the seven Churches in Asia, but to all who hear them. So when Jesus says "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice..." That means YOU. No matter what your condition. If you hear those words, then those words were meant for you.
As you WELL KNOW they deny large parts of the KJV believing it is MIS translated. YOU ALSO know they believe the BOM is more true than the Bible. I can read an automobile manual but that will not make me a car.
I dont think you and I are far off here - except that I see Boettner rightly pointing out Scripture is silent on the offspring of those in alleged heresy who perish - though you are right to insist that someone accepting the creeds / trinity etc reach them - I dont think Marlowe was saying no to that - Im sure he is an influence in that regard
I do not think we hold that much of a difference either. Arminians tend to treat infants as if they deserve to be saved. I say that infants like all of us are saved by grace (Gods unmerited favor) not because they deserve it.
I do not see anything in scripture to support universal salvation of infants or an age of reason. Not seeing that, I hold a neutral stand . I do not know what God does in this case ,so I just trust his righteousness and justice to make a right judgment.
As far as the age of reason I find that very questionable as there is no scriptural support for that either ..So we need to teach our kids about the Lord from early on ..not demanding any specific action or prayer..but just to open their little hearts so that God can work. Believing they have to age 7 could stop that .
God is just Rev..but we should not assume that the retarded are saved on the basis of their disability . Most (except the most profoundly retarded )toilet themselves and feed themselves. They will display preferences in food and clothing and TV shows.(I used to watch a boy that could name evrey program on a TV at any given time. )
Now that all said. A LDS that is retarded will have heard the basics of that doctrine, and that will be the jesus in which they will trust . Not the Jesus of the bible.
Do we as Christians have a responsibility to tell her about the Jesus of the Bible? This is not a child that has no way to hear the gospel , she is not in Iran or the jungles of Africa, as Boettner alludes to. She is in a place and time and even has a Christian family member that could expose her to the gospel.
we are both in agreement that it (salvation) is an act of Gods grace - albeit the mechanics vary
Rev we can never assume that God will give anyone a pass.That puts the responsibility squarely on us to at least expose the child to Christ, and then let God work .
Fatih comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God
BTW Boettner is a man (never name your son Lorraine (grin)
Oh, I understand well...and I think this is adequate proof of the way "some" Calvinists approach the whole issue...contentious, arrogant, narrow-spirited, etc., it was going on then and has been for years. Proof to the contrary would be in seeing it is stopped. My grandmother, a Baptist preachers daughter, said, "Proof of the pudding is in the eating." (Not proof-texting) LOL
The "proof of the pudding" is that we are still here discussing it with you. If we were as you stay we are, then we would have invoked the Freerepublic abuse policy long ago. After all, does not the Scripture say to "be at peace with all men"?
As for the question of Salvation for Mormons, retarded folks (of whom one is my best freind) and infants etc. I refer you to the words of our Lord Jesus Christ "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the last day." John 6:44.
Jesus is saying that absolutely no one can come to Him unless the Father (God) draws him. So the answer is that God is able to draw Mormons, retarded folks, infants, whomever the Father wishes to Jesus.
God drew Nicodemus, the woman at the well, all the disciples before they even knew him. And since this is an absolute statement from our Lord, I include Moses, David and the old testament saints.
The scriptures also indicate that God draw everyone from a dead state: "And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us" Romans 5:5-8
So you see, we come to you in the same spirit as Romans 5:5 in the Spirit of Love because we believe God is drawing you.
You need also to look at Judas, God drew him to Jesus didn't he? He was one of the 12 disciples wasn't he? Yet Jesus said of him "but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if he had not been born."
So you see that God can choose where men will ultimately go.
Therefore, the point is that God chooses and I suspect your issue is whether it is fair or not. If you are having an issue with these scriptures or whether Jesus said them, please take these scriptures and ask God to reveal what they mean to you.
You see, our reformed doctrine is based on what Jesus said. This is why we say "Unconditional Election". If you wish to show us that we are wrong, you will have to show us that the scriptures do not mean what we think they do. And to prove the point, we are willing, out of the Love of Christ to listen to you. We ask that you do so in the same manner with us.
Sincerely, SR
I actually know a guy named Laverne
Here is the issue Vern. The only way we have to measure our lives is by the word of God . The 10 commandments could be described as a proof text . We have to look at the weight of scripture to see the entire picture ..when there are several verses that display the same position , they are worthy of discussion not dismissal as a "straw man" or "proof texting"
All churches proof text in their belief statements (I invite you to re read the AOG statement ) They present a doctrinal stand and then give supporting texts.
Now if I wanted to dispute the doctrinal stand made by that proof text , I have a starting point in understanding their position .
In our discussion here you have not disputed one text..you have simply dismissed them as unimportant or" straw men" and substituting only your opinion.
vern that carries zero credibility next to the word of God.
I will be blunt and say I do not believe that you could write a position paper based on scripture because there is only one scripture that indicates salvation of an infant (Davids child) ., and that does not address if it is by "innocence" or grace.
I suspect that you well know that the bible stands fairly silent on that topic and what you express is a church tradition .
I would wager that you often preach an entire sermon on one proof text , so your position seems to be disingenuous .
For a long time I thought he was a woman ..but I could never understand how calvinists would put any stock in the work of a woman...and that is the rest of the story :>)
Does this mean that you're finally admitting the above?
Have you come over to the Bright Side of the Force? To the Bright and Morning Star?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.