The Lord Jesus Christ of the Scriptures HAS NEVER stood before any sinner
to be accepted or rejected by him. There is not one verse of Scripture
in God's Word that will bear out that teaching. On the contrary, every
sinner stands before the Lord Jesus Christ to be accepted or rejected by
the Lord God of Heaven. Now that is the right position, and the
testimony of every convicted sinner will bear that out. They will
tell you, "I stand fearful test God will not accept me, test God will
cast me into Hell. I don't know what He is going to do, but I come
throwing myself upon His mercy."
In view of the above described type of preaching, the common concept of
the church and the world is that the Gospel has failed, that Jesus is
just a myth and not a living reality. "Christ Jesus came into the world
to save His people from their sins." The Lord Jesus Christ did not come
into the world to be accepted or rejected by mankind, but to save His
people from thensins. Do you see the whole thing rests in the hands of God?
No man can receive Christ until Christ is offered to that individual, and
God never offers His Son to any sinner until the Holy Spirit raises that
sinner from death unto life, and brings him to the place where he would
rather have Christ than anything else-and where that sinner would never
reject Christ when He is offered to him. Now, brother, you put it down-God
never gives a sinner a chance to reject Christ! You may not believe that,
but it is so. A sinner can reject the truth about himself and the truth
about Christ, but he can never reject Christ Jesus Himself Men have rejected
the truth of the Gospel, despised His grace and laughed at the Gospel,
made fun of it as a delusion, and gone to Hell-but, brother, they will
never have a chance to reject an offered Christ!
Christ did not and shall not die in vain. Christ did not go to the cross of
Calvary and offer himself there as a Sin-Offering, as a Substitute for sinners,
in any uncertain way. He did not come and die for sinners and then leave the
success of His death and resurrection to the free will of the sinner. That
makes some of you so mad you could tear God in pieces if you could get to Him.
God is supreme, God is Sovereign- and God works everything according to His
own counsel, His own will.
Also, the Holy Spirit shall not strive in vain. Listen to the Word of God,
Isaiah 55:11, "So shall My word be that goeth forth out of My mouth. It
shall not return unto Me void,but it shall accomplish that which I please,
and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it." Back of God's Word is
the power of a resurrection God which accomplishes all that God pleases
andwillstoaccompfish- Let's notice Isaiah 53:10,"When He Thou shalt make
his soul an offering for sin, he shall see His seed, He shall prolong His
days, and the pleasure of th Lord shall prosper in His hand." Now let's
notice that 11th verse, will you? Listen: All shall see of the travail
of His soul and He shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall My righteous
Servant shall justify many for He shall bear their iniquities."
I notice those words: "He shall see- --the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper -- He shall see of the travall of his soul - He shall be satisfied-
He shall bear their iniquities- He shall justify many." Do not these
expressions from God's Holy Writ manifest the great grace of a gracious
God? Did it ever cross your mind that God does nothing by chance, God
takes nothing for granted, and that everything works according to God's
foreknowledge, God's counsel, God's will?
Let's look at another Scripture, John 6:37: "All that the Father giveth
Me shall come to Me; and him that cometh to Me I will in no wise cast out."
Did you notice those words, "SHALL COME"? How is a sinner going to come
to Christ? John 6:44 answers that question, "No man can come to Me, except
the Father which hath sent Me draw him and I will raise him up at the last
day." Every sinner that comes to Christ is drawn by God. He is drawn there
by the cords of everlasting love and mercy (Jeremiah 31:3). You know, I
love the "I wills" and "I shalls" of God's Word; they are my stay and my
hope!
Let me tell you this, with all the shallow preaching we have today and in
its flippant style and preaching the free will of man, the unsaved religionist
and the worldly wise shall not keep Heaven from being populated. Some shall
be called and some shall be saved, for Christ will not lose the merits of
His agonies on the cross, nor will He have poured out His blood in vain.
You can rest on that, friend.
"But unto them which are called." Notice that expression, UNTO THEM
WHICH ARE CALLED, whether it be a Jew or a Greek, or bond or free, or
male or female, Christ crucified is the power of God, and the wisdom
of God (I Corinthians 1:24). And God says In His Word, "Many are called,
but few are chosen." In Romans 8,30 we find, "Moreover whom he did
predestinate, them He also called." And in 2 Peter 1:10 we are urged to
make our calling and election sure. Then Paul writing to the Corinthians
said, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after
the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called." I wish you would go
through your concordance with your Bible and note those words, "called"
and "chosen." Take your Bible and look it up--read them, It will be a very
profitable study to you-it be an eye opener. Just sit down and study it.
Don't be so prejudiced against it, but openyour eyes and study it.
Now let me probe your heart with this closing question--you put your hand
upon your heart. Can you honestly say, "I have been called"? Can you?
Have you been called, my friend?
Please direct your comments to
Mike Krall.
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