T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
October, là tz
M ANY H A V E supposed that they have preached the full gospel of the grace of God they have proclaimed the Saviour’s invitation, “ Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden” (Matt. 11:28), or when they have urged their hearers only to believe or to decide for Christ. But the gospel of the grace of God is for those who see their need of His grace. Personal sin, and per sonal helplessness, must be realized. How is this realization to be awak-' eried? Clearly Emphasized or Implied The example of our Lord and His apostles shows us the way. The first recorded word in St. Matthew’s ac count of the preaching of our Lord is “Repent.” It had been also the prom inent message of His forerunner. And it is the first recorded word of the in spired instruction of St. Peter to the convicted multitudes on the day of Pentecost. The c a l l to repentance wa s , of course, coupled with the call to faith. It is the combination of the two that is powerful and effective under the blessing of the convicting and con verting Spirit of. God. “Repent ye, and believe the gospel” (Mk. 1:15) was the preaching of our Lord. And Paul states for us the substance of his testimony as “ repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20 : 21 ). We have spoken of New Testament passages. But how constantly does the same call to repentance sound forth through the Old Testament prophets! How deep is the penitential- note which is s t r u c k in many of t h e Psalms! And how eloquent are the historical narratives of the Old Testa ment as to the need for repentance, in the individual and in the nation alike! Perhaps it may be felt by some tihat one or two l e a d i n g passages which set forth the gospel do not make this matter so prominent. But it would be difficult to find any where it is not either distinctly implied or [TTie call to repentance is even more needful today than it was when this searching.article ' was first printed, several years ago,- in The Life of Faith, London, England ,— E d ito r .] l\ VK
through our Lord Jesus Christ when
The Missing Note % ’ - . ' _■ •■"'l' p , . ' ■■ •.'v
s. HOOTON
By W.
tacitly assumed. Two leading exam ples may be taken. Paul said to the jailer at Philippi, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and fhou shalt be saved” (Acts 16:31).' Nothing about repent ance is included in that saying. But- the man was already awakened. His agonized cry was evidence of his deep conviction. Scripture narratives do not record everything in connection with the incidents n a r r a t e d , and Paul would not omit what he shows, only four chapters later (in a passage a l ready quoted) was the very substance of his testimony. Again, repentance is not definitely mentioned in John 3:16, which is usu ally taken as the essence of the gos pel. But that verse follows closely on the uncompromising •declaration, “ Ye must be born again” (John 3:7)—an inexorable necessity which involves complete change of heart with regard to sin. It is recognized by all sound inter preters that scripture must be com pared with scripture. Not every pas sage includes every aspect of truth which is essential to the full procla mation of truth; but there is no ques tion about the' necessity of proclaim ing the call to repentance along with the invitation to “receive” the Sav iour. Indeed, He can only be received by turning to Him, and away from sin. Repentance is n o t merely re gretting sin, but forsaking sin. Making the Good News Cheap The penalty of omitting this call to repentance is the creation of an im pression' that the gospel is not only free, but cheap. That is a fearful
thought, when we recall-at what price its message was purchased. But the danger is by no means a remote one, human nature being what it is. The writer, in the early days of his experience, was once speaking to a woman with regard to attendance at church when she suddenly said some thing like this: “Yes, but I could be saved he/e in this room if I liked.” “Saved if 1 liked”—is not* that what many people are thinking, even if they do not so bluntly express it? And are not we to ■blame for their fateful misunderstanding? Do we not dishonor our Master and degrade His kingly message if we run so great a risk of making it seem cheap, as well as free? Facing the Fact of Sin Thete is a real risk of creating the impression t h a t surrender saves — something we do, rather than what is done for us by Christ in the free grace of God, not to speak of the accom panying danger of overlooking the keeping power which alone can make any decision effective and perma nent: And this matter is, in reality, connected very closely with our sub ject of repentance. For a “ decision” which looks to the future does not always take full' account of past sin. Many have never fully faced the prob lem of sin—past sin and -its pardon, and the present power of sin. So, be cause t h e y are urged to “ decide,” many do decide, in all sincerity, and before long they wonder why they fail—or else other people wonder. Alexander Maclaren put the point
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