797
THE KING’S BUSINESS
their trespasses unto them; (4) and hath committed unto us the ministry of recon ciliation.” 2 Cor. 5:19. Amazing statements. They seem incred ible. Their very incredibility certifies them. They are not inventions. No one could have dreamed them. They are a revelation. I. Incarnation. “God was in Christ.” Christ was “God manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16; John 1:1, 14). II. Reconciliation. The Offended, not the offender, seeks and satisfies for a reconciliation. The Strong “stoops to conquer.” Sins, pride and unbe lief are the barriers. God has done something to right things.- Man thinks he must do something. Hard to convince him that “peace is already made” (Eph. 2:14-16), and that “Nothing either great or small Remains for him to do.” III. Justification. God was in Christ in the world “not to condemn the world” (John 3 :17; Rom. 3: 25; 5 :18). This “not imputing” implies that there is nothing between the sinner and complete justification save only accepting the condition already established,- by believ ing and rejoicing in it (Rom. 4:5-8). “Just as I am; Thy love unknown Has broken every barrier down.” IV. Evangelisation. It is the order th a t: They who know it, tell it; and they who experience it, testify to it (Mark 16:15; Rom. 10:14, 15). “This is the message that I bring, A message angels fair would sing, ‘Oh, be ye reconciled,’ thus saith the Lord, my King, ‘Oh, be ye reconciled to God.’ ”—V. SUPERNATURAL SALVATION. "This is the Lord’s doings; it is marvel ous in our eyes.” —Ps. 118:23. It is the fashion to deny the supernatural, even in redemptive history. Eliminate the supernatural and you emasculate the Gospel. Christianity is supernatural in its origin, its
power, and its effect. Apart from the su pernatural there is no Christianity. I. W hat S alvation R equires . 1. Deliverance from Power and Practice of Sin. This is the chief good to the awakened mind. It cries, “Oh wretched man that I am! who.shall deliver me?” (Rom. 7:24). Two things are essential (1) A new birth, or new creation, (2) The work of the Holy Spirit. A supernatural effect and a super—| natural Person (John 3:3; 2 Cor. 5:17; Rom. 8:2, 4). 2. Deliverance from Guilt (Condemna tion)<. No change of nature can change the past. There is no salvation while a “fearful looking for of judgment” remains. No nat ural authority can say, “Thy sins are for given.” Therefore the supernatural rev elation , the Word of God is essential. 3. Assurance of Acceptance as of Par don. Without conscious good standing and fel lowship with a reconciled God, salvation is incomplete. Here (1) The infallible Word and (2) The Spirit are essential (Rom 4: 1-8; Eph. 1:3-6; Rom. 8:15, 16). No nat ural “gospel” could assure of justification or testify to sonship toward God. 4. Salvation Must Include the Redemp tion of Our Bodies. Deliverance from death and the grave is an essential of salvation. No natural religion can pledge or secure this. Christianity promises and demonstrates it (1 Cor. 15:20- 22; 1 Thess. 4:13-18). 5. Salvation Must Include Renewal of the World (Our Environment'), Social and Natural. Salvation must restore the Paradisaical conditions; a “new earth wherein dwelleth righteousness” (Rom. 8:18-24). II. T he F oundation and H ead S tone of A ll . The unspeakable wonder of the Incarna tion; the Virgin-born God-man is the su pernatural necessity of salvation. He alone could (1) Set the Seal of Truth to the Whole Revelation.
Made with FlippingBook - professional solution for displaying marketing and sales documents online