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
Sovereign--they 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
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 stand 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."