SALVATION (The Gospel of The Grace of God)
The Ruin and Frailty of Fallen Man
Man is not sufficient to do the job. Empires go up, and then they come down; man isn’t here for long. Poor, puny man doesn’t have enough sense to trust God! Sluggards don’t like to work, and when you're without God, you are a failure. You think you’re so smart, but a man without Jesus Christ is a complete failure. If you are not properly related to God through Jesus Christ, you cannot succeed in God's Sight and will profit nothing.
A profane and impure man will tell filthy jokes. Listen to a man talk off-guard—words will reveal his character! You can’t depend on people; beware of man. If your word is no good, you’re no good. Dependability is the greatest ability, and a man’s word is his word. There's a bankruptcy of character in America; the Truth has fallen in the streets!
God knows your motives; He knows your thoughts and intents. You can’t get away from God, and you can’t get your thoughts away from Him: "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he" (Proverbs 23:7). You usually end up doing what you think. It’s so easy to deceive yourself and sell yourself on a vain idea. Human achievements are vain. You’ll never understand the whole vocabulary of God: "Canst thou by searching find out God?" (Job 11:7). You can’t absolutely know anyone in this world, and you can’t even know your own self. But God inhabits Eternity; God knows everything in the universe, and God sees all the thoughts of your heart.
This is the truth, that every atheist will have to learn the hard way: you'll never win the Sin game! God keeps His word, and He will not fail to punish your Sin: "The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). "Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap" (Galatians 6:7). Sin always brings punishment with it. "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall" (Proverbs 16:18)—pride goeth before eternal destruction, and a haughty spirit before a damning fall off into hell!
The False Refuge of External Religion
Money and influence runs churches today—an ecclesiastical machine that takes over the conscience! Most churches are so busy putting on a program, that they don’t have time to pray or do personal work/soul winning. They put the emphasis on other things beside Jesus Christ; Christ doesn’t have the preeminence, and Jesus is crowded out. Church membership is kept merely for respectability and community connections. High-browed PhDs and spectacular, wonderful, attractive ritualism hide God! You can hide God behind religion and selfish ambition; you can get your show so big you won’t see God—looking at the buildings, and not THE CROSS!
Watch out for religious pious talk! People say, "The Lord is leading me," or "I’m doing this for the glory of God," to escape from something that was too much of a routine or to indulge in conditions they created, that God didn’t approve. Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaketh (Matthew 12:34). Don’t slander God!
We are good in the sight of God only when we trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, not our own righteousness. You can’t do right until God makes you RIGHT! You must get back to God, or go on to eternal ruin. Do you know God? Is He your Father? Are you converted and born again by the Holy Ghost? Poor, miserable heathen—you need a God you can’t hide from or get away from!
The Finished Work of God Incarnate
Remember what the Son of God endured on THE CROSS for all your Salvation! Man had sinned, and man must make reparation to the broken divine law. God would not accept an angel or a prophet as a Substitute. The Law of God has been broken, and God’s justice must be vindicated!
Jesus was God manifest in the flesh (1 Timothy 3:16). He descended to the manger of Bethlehem as a little Jewish baby; He nestled in a virgin woman’s bosom. The incarnate God, the Eternal One, dwelt among dying men, veiled in mortal flesh, that He may save men from their sins. This is the greatest fact ever sounded in human ears! He came from the Sunlight of Glory—where they do not need the light of the sun—to visit us sinners who sat in darkness and in the valley of the shadow of death.
Jesus was so poor, that He didn't have anywhere to lay His head at night. He was so despised, that even His own received Him not, but hid, as it were, their faces from Him. Reviled, with human depravity running wild, mean men spat on Him, humiliated Him, and nailed Him to a Cross! He left the throne of Heaven for the Cross of Calvary; He left the adoration of angels for the mockery of barbarians and religionists. He endured death itself in the most cruel circumstances of shame and pain—scourging and crucifixion! Surely it is the SIN of sins if you Reject the Savior Who made such a stoop in order to save you!
The Call to Personal Faith
Jesus will never turn a deaf ear to a sinner’s cry. The Bible shines like a lamp in the darkness of this age; the Bible is a book of promises and warnings. You have the Gospel, and the Gospel saves by the power of God!
Come now to the Cross; fling yourself down at JESUS' feet! He is willing to receive the vilest sinner living today—even you: "For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved" (John 3:17). "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10).
We come as poor, weak, frail, sinful people dealing with an Almighty God, crying: "Have mercy on us!" Look up, trust God, and yield yourself to JESUS. We are not worthy of anything, but we Rest in the Lord Jesus Christ!
DISCIPLESHIP (The Walk of Absolute Surrender)
Standing Firm in a Hostile World
Happy shalt thou be! It’s wonderful to be a Christian! Live a Christian life sensibly—with decency and consistency. But take a stand for the Right! Show off Jesus Christ, not yourself!
If you go along with God, it’s the only way. Trust God first, and then do the best you can to please Him out of gratitude for His love toward you. A wise heart will keep your mouth shut! Humility is the garment that all real Christians wear.
Jesus was unpopular, and you’ll be unpopular. Take your place of reproach without the camp, and exalt Christ! The world hates people that are going God’s way. You can’t move for God without friction! Always persuade sinners to repent and receive Jesus Christ. Any man who is out-and-out for Jesus Christ will be misunderstood, lied about, slandered, and persecuted. The amount of persecution you get will depend upon the value of your testimony and the impact of your influence! You’ll get shot at by the devil’s fiery darts.
If you don’t have any resistance, you’re not out-and-out for God! Stand up with a holy boldness while you are under attack! Wicked tongues will set traps for you. But God is for you, and the devil is against you. Keep going God’s way—don’t stop! Let me make this plain: all your trouble comes from above; the devil is not in hell yet! He is the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:2), and you need Divine Protection from God above.
Faithful Perseverance and Daily Fellowship
Do the job at hand; don’t leave it unfinished! Do your life job for the glory of God. Don’t play with sin, and don’t get near the devil’s traps! If you keep reaching for the devil’s bait, you’re going to get caught.
Tap the divine resources of God! Look up to God—you can match wits with the devil and his crowd when you lean on the Lord! "Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my Salvation: my God will hear me" (Micah 7:7). Wisdom comes from God. Hold on to God, trust Him, and be faithful to JESUS. Don’t waver or faint; God’s grace is sufficient! Keep in direct contact with God through the Mediator!
Prayer moves God! Men ought always to pray, and not to faint. Pray to God! "He that feareth God shall come forth of them all" (Ecclesiastes 7:18).
Keep your eyes on Calvary, live in fellowship with the Holy Spirit, don’t get discouraged, and walk humbly in the presence of God. Lord God, I want Your will in my life! Go through with God! The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord (Psalm 37:23). You’ll get where God sends you if you are going God’s way faithfully and sincerely. Be faithful to the Gospel which has been entrusted to you!
Keep faithful and true to the Lord Jesus in the good times and the bad times! God, keep us faithful to You!
