LOOKING UNTO JESUS (complete)

BY ADOLPHE MONOD

"Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:2)

Three words only — but in three words is the whole secret of life.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS in the Scriptures,

to learn there what He is, what He has done, what He gives, what He demands; to find in His character our model, in His requirements our instruction, in His precepts our law, in His promises our support, in His person and in His work a full satisfaction to all the wants of our soul.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS crucified,

to find in His blood our ransom, our pardon, our peace.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS risen again,

to find in Him the righteousness which alone justified us, and permits us, all unworthy as we are, to approach with assurance in His name, Him Who is His Father and our Father, His God and our God.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS glorified,

to find in Him our heavenly Advocate, appearing even now for us before the presence of God, and supplying the im­perfection of our prayers, by the efficacy of those which the Father hears always.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS revealed by the Holy Spirit,

to find in His abiding communion the purification of our defiled hearts, the enlightening of our dark­ened minds, the transformation of our rebellious wills; to be enabled to triumph over all the assaults of the world and of the evil one, withstanding their power by Jesus our strength, baffling their wiles by Jesus our wisdom; sustained by the sympathy of Jesus who was spared no temptation, and by the succour of Jesus Who yielded to none.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS to receive from Him,

the task and the cross of each day, with grace suffi­cient to bear the cross, and to fulfill the task: patient with His patience, active with His activity, loving with His love, asking not, "what can I?" but what can He?" and waiting upon His strength which is made perfect in weakness.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS in order that the brightness of His face may be the light of our darkness;

that our joy may be holy, and our sorrow calm; that He may humble us and He raise us up; that He may afflict and that He may comfort us; that He may make us poor, and that He may make us rich; that He may teach us to pray and He answers our prayers; that even while leaving us in the world, He may separate us from it, our life being hid with Him in God, and our conduct bearing witness to Him before men.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS Who having re-entered His Father's house,

is preparing there a place for us, in order that this blessed hope may encourage us to live without repining, and may prepare us to die without regret, when the day shall come to en­counter that last enemy, which He has conquered for us, which we shall conquer through Him.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS, Who gives repentance as well as remission of sins, to receive from Him hearts that are conscious of their misery and come to de­plore it at His feet.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS, that He Who is the Author of our faith,

as He is its Finisher may keep us in that faith unto the end.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS, and to nothing else,

as our text expresses it in a single untranslatable word, which enjoins us at once to fix our eyes on Him and to turn them away from all beside.

UNTO JESUS, and not to ourselves,

to our thoughts, our desire, our purposes.

UNTO JESUS, and not to the world,

to its lusts, its examples, its maxims, its judgments.

UNTO JESUS, and not to Satan,

whether he seeks to frighten us by his rage, or to seduce us by his flattery. Oh, how should we rid ourselves of useless questions, of disquieting scruples, of dangerous parleyings with the evil one, of dissipa­tion of spirit, of vain fancies, of bitter disappoint­ments, of painful struggles, of lamentable falls, by looking straight unto Jesus and following Him wherever He leads, too anxious not to lose sight of the path which He marks for us, to cast even a glance to those in which He does not think fit to lead us!

UNTO JESUS, and not at our creeds,
no matter how evangelical they may be. The faith which saves, which sanctifies, and which comforts, is not giving assent to the doctrine of salvation; it is being united to the person of the Saviour. It is not enough to know about Jesus Christ, it is necessary to have Jesus Christ. To this one may add that no one truly knows Him, if he does not first possess Him. According to the profound saying of the beloved disciple, it is in the Life there is Light, and it is in Jesus there is Life (John 1:4).

UNTO JESUS. and not to our meditations and our prayers, to our pious conversations, or to our edi­fying reading, neither to the holy assemblies we frequent, nor even to our partaking of the Supper of the Lord. Let us faithfully use all these means of grace, but without confounding them with grace itself, and without turning off our looks from Him, who alone can render them efficacious, by com­municating Himself to us by their means.

UNTO JESUS, and not to our position in the Chris­tian Church,

to the name which we bear, to the doctrine which we profess, to the idea which others form of our piety, or to that which we form of it ourselves. Many of those who have prophesied in the name of Jesus will hear Him one day say to them, "I never knew you," but He will confess be­fore His Father and before His angels, even the most humble of those who have looked unto Him.

UNTO JESUS, and not our brethren,

not even to the best and most beloved among them. In follow­ing a man we run a risk of going wrong; in following Jesus we are certain never to go wrong. Besides, by putting a man between Jesus and our­selves, it comes to pass that the man insensibly becomes more to us, and Jesus becomes less. Soon we no longer know how to find Jesus, when we cannot find the man, and so if man's help fails, our all fails. On the contrary, if Jesus keeps His place between us and our nearest friends, our at­tachment to man will be at once less direct and more sweet, less passionate and more pure, less indispensable and more useful, an instrument of rich blessings in the hands of God when He pleas­es to make use of it, and in its absence a blessing still, when He pleases to do without it.

UNTO JESUS, and not to the obstacles which meet us on our journey,

for as soon as we stop to consider them they startle us, they stagger us, they over­throw us, incapable as we are of understanding either the reason for which they are permitted, or the means by which we may overcome them. The apostle was engulfed as soon as he set himself to look at the billows, agitated by the tempest; so long as he looked unto Jesus, he walked upon the waves as upon a rock. The more difficult our task, the heavier our cross, the more needful it is that we should look only unto Jesus.

UNTO JESUS, and not to the temporal blessings which we enjoy.

To look first to these blessings is to expose ourselves to be so captivated by them that they hide from us the light of Him who gives them to us. To look first unto Jesus is to receive from Him all these benefits, chosen by His wisdom, bestowed by His love, a thousand times more pre­cious because we take them at His hand, to enjoy them in His fellowship and to use them to His glory.

UNTO JESUS, and not at our own strength.

Our strength is good only to glorify ourselves; to glori­fy God one must have the strength of God.

UNTO JESUS, and not to our own weakness.

By lamenting our weakness, have we ever become more strong? By looking unto Jesus, His strength will communicate itself to our hearts, and His praise will burst forth from our lips.

UNTO JESUS, and not to our sins.

The contempla­tion of sin only brings death; the contemplations of Jesus bring life. It was not looking to his wounds, but looking to the serpent of brass that healed the Israelite.

UNTO JESUS, and not to the law;

the law gives commands, and does not give strength to perform them. The law always condemns, and never par­dons; to place ourselves again under the law is to withdraw ourselves from grace. In proportion as we make our obedience the means of our salvation, we lose our peace, our strength, our joy, because we have forgotten that Jesus is "the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." As soon as the law has constrained us to seek Him, our only Savior, it is for Him only to require of us obedience; an obedience which extends to nothing less than our whole heart and our most secret thought, but which has ceased to be an iron yoke and an insupportable burden, to become an easy yoke and a light burden; an obedience which He makes at once pleasant and binding; an obedience which He at once bestows and prescribes, and which, rightly understood, is less a consequence of our salvation, than it is a part of that salvation itself, and like all the rest, a grace.

UNTO JESUS, and not to what we do for Him.

Too much taken up with our work, we may forget our Master; it is possible to have the hands full and the heart empty. Taken up with our Master, we cannot forget our work; if the heart is filled with His love, how can the hands not be active in His service?

UNTO JESUS, and not to the apparent success of our efforts.

Apparent success is not the measure of real success, and besides, God has not commanded us to succeed, but to work. It is of our work that He will require an account and not of our suc­cess; why then take thought about it before the time? It is for us to sow the seed; it is for God to gather the fruit: if not today, it will be tomorrow; if not by us, it will be by others. Even when suc­cess is granted, it is always dangerous to let our eyes rest upon it complacently; on the one hand we are tempted to attribute something of it to our­selves; on the other hand we thus accustom our­selves to give way to relaxing our zeal when we cease to perceive its effects, that is to say, at the very time when we ought to redouble our energy. To look to success is to walk by sight; to look to Jesus, and to persevere in following and serving Him in spite of all discouragements, is to walk by faith.

UNTO JESUS, and not to the spiritual gifts which we have received already,

or which we are re­ceiving now from Him. As for yesterday's grace, it passed away with yesterday's work; we can no longer use it, we ought no longer to dwell upon it. As for today's grace, given for the work of today, it is entrusted to us not to look at but to use; not to make it ring in our hands and count ourselves rich, but to spend, and to live poor, looking unto Jesus.

UNTO JESUS, and not to the degree of grief which our sins have caused us,

or to the degree of humil­iation which they produce in us. If only we are so humbled by them as to be no longer satisfied with ourselves, if only we are so grieved by them as to look unto Jesus that He may deliver us from them, it is all He demands of us, and it is moreover this look more than all besides, that will make our tears flow and our pride fall.

UNTO JESUS, and not to the liveliness of our joy,

or to the sensible fervor of our love; otherwise if only this love seem to cool, if only this joy chance to fail us—whether as the consequence of our sloth, or for the trial of our faith, immediately, our emotion being lost, we shall think we have lost our strength, and shall abandon ourselves to melan­choly depression, if not to culpable inactivity. Oh, rather let us remember that, if sometimes the emotion and its sweetness fail us, faith and its power remain to us; and that we may be able "always to abound in the work of the Lord," let us look without ceasing not to our hearts, which are always changing, but to Jesus Who is always the same!

UNTO JESUS, and not to our faith.

The last device of the Adversary when he cannot make us look elsewhere, is to turn off our eyes from our Savior to our faith, and thus to discourage us if it is weak, and to fill us with pride if it is strong, and both in the one case and in the other to enfeeble us: for it is not from faith that strength comes, but it is from the Savior by faith; it is not by looking unto our look, it is by looking unto Jesus.

UNTO JESUS; and it is from Him

and in Him that we learn to know, not only without danger but for the good of our souls, that which is good for us to know of the world and of ourselves, of our misery, of our dangers, of our resources, of our victories; seeing all things in their true light, because it is He Who makes us see them, and that only in the time and in the measure, in which this knowledge shall bring forth in us the fruits of humility and of wisdom, of gratitude and of courage, of watch­fulness and of prayer. All that is desirable for us to know, Jesus will teach us; all that we do not learn from Him, it is better for us not to know.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS, while we remain upon earth;

to Jesus from moment to moment, without suffering ourselves to be distracted either by the recollections of a past, which we should leave be­hind, or by the anticipations of a future.

UNTO JESUS NOW, if we have never looked to Him.

UNTO JESUS ANEW, if we have ceased to do so.

UNTO JESUS ALONE.

UNTO JESUS AGAIN.

UNTO JESUS ALWAYS,

with a look more and more earnest, more and more confident; "transformed into the image from glory to glory"; and thus waiting for the hour when He shall call us to pass from earth to heaven, and from time to eternity— the promised hour, the blessed hour, when at length "we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is."

This article was scanned from a tract which was previously published by W.J. Berry in the periodical Old Faith Contender from Elon College, NC. Brother Berry passed away in 1986. The Old Faith Contender is no longer published. As far as I can tell from searching, the article is out of print, except for two shorter versions I found. This excellent meditation was largely unavailable until now.

ADOLPHE MONOD (1802-1856), French Protestant divine, was born on the 21st of January 1802, in Copenhagen, where his father was pastor of the French church. He was educated at Paris and Geneva, and began his life-work in 1825 as founder and pastor of a Protestant church in Naples, whence he removed in 1827 to Lyons. Here his evangelical preaching, and especially a sermon on the duties of communicants ("Qui doit cornmunier"?), led to his deposition by the Catholic Minister of education and religion. Instead of leaving Lyons he began to preach in a hall and then in a chapel. In 1836 he took a professorship in the theological college of Montauban, removing in 1847 to Paris as preacher at the Oratoire. He died on the 6th of April, 1856. Monod was undoubtedly the foremost Protestant preacher of 19th-century France. He published three volumes of sermons in 1830, another, La Credulite de l'incredule in 1844, and two more in 1855. Two further volumes appeared after his death. His elder brother Frederic (1794-1863), who was influenced by Robert Haldane, was also a distinguished French pastor, who with Count Gasparin founded the Union of the Evangelical Churches of France; and Frederic's son Theodore (b. 1836) followed in his footsteps.

The excellent book, Adolpe Monod’s Farewell (original English printing by Banner of Truth), is out of print, but you can find used copies.

A revised edition published by Presbyterian and Reformed titled Living in the Hope of Glory by Adolphe Monod is available online from Amazon, Christian Book Distributors, and P& R Publishing (all online).

JOHNNY ONE NOTE

BY CHARLES WOODRUFF

That is exactly what we should not be as preachers of the gospel. If your “one note” is Jesus Christ and Him crucified, then that is easily forgiven, because He is God Almighty, the only Savior of sinners, and King of Kings and Lord of Lords. But I know some preachers who are hung up like a broken record, giving out one note only on some particular doctrine. Doctrine is important. It simply means teaching. It is not enough to go to church and sing, hear preaching, and have a good time rejoicing. We must know the “things surely believed among us” to be fortified, balanced Christians. Yet, I know some preachers who get hung on one doctrinal truth to the detriment of all others. One preacher, now passed away, could not get up to preach without preaching on the “post tribulation rapture.” I remember another who only preached his particular “landmark” (or Baptist Bride), view of the church. Another was always on Christian unity (with an almost ecumenical slant). I have heard some who always preached on the fullness (or baptism as he called it), of the Holy Spirit. Another on water baptism as a means of salvation (which is totally false). These doctrines, both false and true, are not an end in themselves. Even the so-called doctrines of grace can be a hobby horse. I remember one late friend that someone rightly said “he has made a god out of the doctrine of election!” I am afraid it was true of him. Predestination and election was all he ever preached. Predestination and election, rightly understood and taught, are Bible doctrines, but are not the only Bible doctrines. Brethren, let us endeavor to preach and teach “all the counsel of God”. Let us not be “Johnny one notes” for the sake of the testimony of the gospel. (cw)

CALVARY WAS A VICTORY

By CHARLES WOODRUFF

This world sees Christ as a fool, the Bible as a lie, God as a myth. None of this surprises us. Most in Hollywood see Christ as either unimportant or as a fool. The politicians see Him as a fool, because practically all of them are “Christians” when it comes time to run for office, no matter what positions inconsistent with the Christian faith they may take, or how grossly sinful their lives have been. Yet, our generation was not the first to see Calvary as a defeat. “Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it they would not have crucified the Lord of glory” (I Corinthians 2:8). Satan didn’t know (not being omniscient as God is), or he would have opposed the crucifixion. The prophecies were there telling of Christ’s death, burial and resurrection, but I doubt that Satan understood them. Calvary was a defeat for Satan, and the resurrection sealed it forever!

It was not a defeat for Christ. He conquered death, hell and the grave! In Him we conquer all that too, yes “we are more than conquerors through Him that loved us”(Romans 8:37). And He loved us before the foundation of the world! Yes on that hill outside Jerusalem called Golgotha (place of the skull), death came to Christ but could not hold Him. But, the death blow was given to Christ’s enemies, and God will manifest that as it pleases Him.

For us it is our victory over death (I Corinthians 15:1-7).

For us it is our victory over the world (Galatians 6 :14).

For us it is our victory over self (Galatians 2:20).

For us it our victory over the flesh (Galatians 5:24).

For us it is our victory over the devil (Colossians 2:15; cp with Ephesians 6:12). (cw)

THE ISSUE OF THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD TODAY

BY CHARLES WOODRUFF

Almost 30 years ago I wrote an article titled “Should We Make An Issue of the Sovereignty of God”? This was put into a tract, and has been reprinted a number of times, and has literally traveled the world. I have received testimonies that it seemed to help some grasp this truth. I have recently seen it on several websites. It is very humbling, because I am nobody but a sinner saved by grace. I was only about 35 when I wrote it, and now I am 66. You may ask, “Would I change anything if I wrote it today”? The answer is yes! No, I have not changed my core doctrinal view, not at all. If anything I believe stronger in God’s sovereignty today. But, the way I expressed some things as a young, zealous man who had some battles with opposers of this truth may have been said in more boldness than knowledge. So I have rewritten it. The first four paragraphs are the same, and much of the tract remains the same. After some further study, I have rethought about people doing evangelism just after their conversion, and found it necessary to restructure some thinking. So here is my revised version. I hope it speaks, and will be used of God as the former. For God’s Glory alone!-- Charles Woodruff

It might not be realized, but in the average church today, God’s Sovereignty is a very real issue indeed. Though many preachers never mention it, many don’t understand it,and many try to hush it up (to “avoid controversial subjects”), it is still a very real issue. The reason I say this is because most of our modern churches are the fruit of modern, or man-centered, evangelism. This is evangelism that is based on the sinner’s mental assent to a particular Bible verse or verses: a “decision” to follow Jesus. It is rarely (if ever) mentioned what God designs to do, and many wrongly exalt His love over and above all of His other attributes.

God’s holiness is practically unheard of in our day. Yet, holiness is the central attribute of God. The seraphims, in the presence of God, cry one to another, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts” (Isaiah 6:3). They do not cry, “Loving, loving, loving, is the Lord of hosts.” Certainly love is an attribute of God, but without holiness in view, it is a warped concept of love.

It is no wonder that churches are filled with so-called “Carnal Christians.” They have been taught that God is some kind of old grandpa in a heavenly rocking chair saying, “I know you have been naughty, but I love you, and if you will just accept my Son as your Savior, everything will be alright between us.” And where would this deity of modern evangelism be if he did not have his little helpers, the “soul winners” with a “Romans road map to heaven”, and their canned sales-talk “plan of salvation”? Of course, this “god” could not do without them!

I get tired of hearing preachers say, “We’re the only arms and legs God has.” This is entirely unscriptural! These preachers ought to know better than this. God made our arms and legs, and He is not in need of our hands, but we sure need His:

“The Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save . . .” (Isaiah 59:1).

God Almighty needs no one or any thing (Acts 17:25). Hear John the Baptist:

“And think not to say within yourselves, we have Abraham to our father: for I say unto you, that God is able of the stones to raise up children unto Abraham” (Matthew 3:9). Is this Sovereign God, this absolute Monarch of the universe, your God?

How we long for a modern John the Baptist to cry out against the sins of today’s religious people! See Isaiah 58:1 and Matthew 3:2. Instead of our pulpiteers preaching like John the Baptist, they are more concerned about splitting hairs over prophecy and “dispensational truth.” Yet, God says, “Cry aloud.” So many today are not experiencing true conversion and a conforming to the blessed image of Christ Jesus.

Meanwhile, churches figure out new ways to entice more to come (so they can have the world’s largest Sunday School). Getting more people to attend Sunday School has become an end in itself. Shouldn’t the true Gospel be taught to the ones already coming, thus “feeding the sheep” and praying God will ground them, and then be pleased to use these to tell others? This prepares them for true evangelism. Yet I heard one preacher say that the minute you are saved you are to be a “soul winner”, and go get somebody else saved. I will grant that you will want to see others saved, but we are only vessels. The Holy Spirit is the true soul winner.

If you really get saved, like the woman at the well (See John 4:29), you will tell others. However, her situation was rather unique. She already knew about Messiah, and was expecting Him to come one day. Now she had met Him and He was nearby. She was a zealous and valuable witness. She told others and brought them to Christ, but she could not “get them saved”. You see, only God can save. We are only “witnesses”. But most who get converted know little about the Bible at the start, and therefore need to be grounded before doing much witnessing. Usually they need first to “as newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the Word that ye may grow thereby” (1 Peter 2:2).

No one believes in the sovereignty of God any more than I do. But I also believe in the declaration of the gospel to all. The great commission was not just for the apostles, it was for all time until He comes again. “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:19-20). I say “Amen” to Christ’s Amen! It is clear to me He intended for those that were instructed by the original apostles to continue the work on and on until His second coming! Otherwise, a lot of good men like the Scottish Covenanters, Polycarp, John Hus, and all those listed in Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, died for nothing. The Greek word translated “witness” is “martus”, from which we also get the word “martyr”. These men and women were witnesses as well as martyrs. They endeavored to preach the gospel to all. It cost them their lives! God is absolutely Sovereign in all of His doings. He does the saving! He sends revival when it pleases Him! Saying this, He didn't leave His preachers without tasks. To be an effective witness, one that pleases God, you need power, which is only from the Holy Spirit (see Acts 1:8 and Romans 12:1).

Because so many in the religious world are playing a “numbers game”, there are many folks that simply become statistics on a church roll in these days. Too many profess Christ, but do not possess Christ! So many in our generation who profess to know Him are not also willing to live for Christ, much less die for Him! Too many who are joining our modern churches have not been instructed in Christian dress or Christian conduct. How many ever raise objections to receiving anyone into the membership of the average church? Quality has been sacrificed for quantity. Anyone should be welcomed in any true gospel-preaching church (to hear the gospel), but not be accepted as a member until they bring forth those fruits which support their professed repentance (Matthew 3:8).

Yes, the Sovereignty of God is already an issue. If more of our modern churches and preachers believed in God’s Sovereignty, their methods would drastically change. When men become convinced that salvation is 100% of the pure, sovereign grace of God, preaching takes on a new light. Men who believe this great truth don’t go around trying to help God, but beg His help for them and their hearers!

“Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto thy name give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth’s sake.” (Psalm 115:1).

Free Grace! Unmerited Mercy! Sovereign Love!

(Octavius Winslow, "The Soul After Conversion")

No truth shines with clearer luster in the Bible than that salvation, from first to last, is of God. God is sovereign in salvation!

He often selects . .. the poorest…the vilest…the most depraved…the most fallen…

as if utterly to explode all idea of human merit, and to reflect the free grace of His

heart in its richest luster.

O precious truth!

It stains the pride of human merit!

It lays the axe at the root of self!

It humbles and abases!

It empties and lays low!

It ascribes all the praise, honor and glory, might, majesty and dominion, of the new creation in the soul, to the Triune God!

No worthiness of the creature allures Him to the sinner's heart! What worthiness can be supposed to exist--what merit can there be in . . .

a guilty criminal,

an outlawed rebel,

a poor insolvent, one whose mind is enmity,

one whose heart is swelling with treason against God, His government, and His Son? One who owes millions, but has 'nothing to pay'? None whatever!

And that the eternal Spirit should enter the heart of such a one . . .

convincing of sin;

subduing the hatred;

breaking down the rebellion;

leading to Jesus, and sealing pardon and peace upon the conscience;

oh! what but free grace, unmerited mercy, and

sovereign love could thus have constrained Him?

"Lord, what did You see in me," exclaims the converted soul, "that moved You with compassion, that drew You to my heart, and that constrained You to make me Your child? Nothing on my part, but poverty, wretchedness, and misery! Nothing onYour part, nothing but love, sovereignty, and

unmerited favor!"

O the riches of His grace!

NEW GOSPEL OR GRAND OLD GOSPEL?

By CHARLES WOODRUFF

A number of years ago, I purchased a record album by Porter Wagoner and the Blackwood Brothers Quartet titled The Grand Old Gospel. I am sure it was the mid 60’s. I can’t put my hands on it at this moment, but I do still have it. It has some pretty good country gospel music some of which I like, especially from those days. I think most of you readers know what a 33 and 1/3 RPM record album is --don’t you? I hope I am not that old! Of course, things change, and since Mr. Wagoner, a long time Grand Ole Opry star, died last year, much more of his work has been issued on CD. Its different than most of today’s country gospel music. Most all music has certainly changed, as many other things over the years. I have said recently how I dislike most contemporary music. Much of it is fleshly, worldly, unbiblical, and I believe it dishonors Christ. This could be said about some of the music of earlier years as well, but not as widespread as it is today.
Sadly, not only the contemporary gospel music is “off base” biblically, but the gospel being preached by many preachers has also changed. It is not “Thus saith the Lord” as we always used to hear, but a watered down substitute for gospel truth. Many churches are more interested in entertainment than truth. Often, the great plan is to have a “social club” where everyone is always happy. The problem is that God did not give us His word solely to make us happy. He gave His word to heal us. To teach us. To convict us of sin. Yes, even to make us sad at times. The medicine has been so diluted by many “ministers” that it cures nothing. There is a famine in our land for the pure word of God, as was foretold“Truth has fallen in the street and equity (uprightness) cannot enter”(Isaiah 59:14). “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD”(Amos 8:11). No wonder America is in such poor shape today. There is a new gospel today that has no power. Many professing Christians have “a form of godliness but deny the power thereof” (see 2 Timothy 3:5).

This is the main reason I placed the following introduction on my blogs:“He must increase, I must decrease” (John 3:30). “I am 66 years old, and my desire is to serve God the rest of my days, preaching the old evangelical gospel that Paul and Peter preached, that Calvin preached, that Whitefield preached, that Spurgeon preached, and that Isaac Watts wrote about in his hymns.” This old gospel is not being preached in very many churches today. It has been replaced by a modern imitation. Many would say that we who contend for “the faith that was once delivered to the saints” are “old fuddy-duddies” -- not “with it” -- “behind the times“, etc….
Does truth remain the same, or does truth change? “I am the LORD, I change not” (Malachi 3:6). “Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, and forever” (Hebrews 13:8). “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, saith the Lord, which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty” (Revelation 1:8). “Of His own will begat He us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:18). Yes beloved, all truth is God’s truth. Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by me” (John 14:6). I contend, based on the Bible, that what was truth 2000 years ago or 1,000,000 years ago is truth today. I must preach the truth, which is Jesus Christ. He is the truth.

WHERE DOES SUCH A BIG GOD HIDE

By Tommy McLeroy

Verily, thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.” (Isaiah 45:15).

The ancient Turks built their temples open at the top as a testimony to their belief that God could not be confined in them. Those structures were just too small. When King Solomon considered the glorious temple that he would build for God, he asked, “But will God indeed dwell on the earth? Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded.” (1 Kings 8:27). Then we hear God’s own sizing up of Himself in Isaiah’s prophecy: “Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? And where is the place of my rest?” (Isaiah 66:1). Standing before this truth of the bigness of God, with eyes bulging like a kid in a candy shop, Thomas Watson rejoiced, saying, “If God be infinite, filling heaven and earth, see what a full portion the saints have!” Jacob saw that he had the infinite God for his portion, and in Genesis 33:11 declared, “I have enough!” The saint’s cups runneth over with God!

The astronomer’s professional view and best calculation of space is that it is immeasurably endless. Many refer to the outer spaces as “the final frontier.” The Christian believes there is something beyond the stars-- their eternal home, and Someone bigger than all the stars, the One who created them. To them, God is their Final Frontier, and the Christian is a happy explorer on an eternal quest to chart the regions of Divinity. The ultimate adventure is to be a spiritual Galileo, peeking through the lens of God’s inspired written biography, the eyes bulging from their sockets as the Holy Spirit at the control of the focus, bit-by-bit, brings small pieces of truth, (tiny morsels that such an one as we struggling creatures can digest at a time), truths of an infinite God before their excited eyes. O how this explodes the adrenalin and demands a closer look with more careful consideration!

The recent death of the Crocodile Hunter comes to mind. The outstanding quality of his character that seemed to stand out most in the minds of them who observed him was his passionate enthusiasm as he encountered, and interacted with animals and nature. It has been said that he died doing the thing that he loved the most. Should not this be the description of every true believer as they experience their close encounters and examinations of the great God of the universe? Should it not be said of each one who explores Divinity, “His quest for God was so passionately displayed in his life until the day he died doing the thing that he loved the most!”

There are two extremes that many professing believers have fallen captive to: emotionalism that entertains rather than worships, and motionless-ism that lullabies rather than stirs. Genuine and honest God-quests that result in revelations of God in His Word by the Holy Spirit, moves the seeker to worship and not to slumber.

How Big Is God?

He is too big to be contained between the covers of the Bible. The Bible tells us some things but not everything about God. As we behold God, in the general sense, through His amazing creation which He wrought by His powerful spoken word, it is like watching those aforementioned stars without telescopic aid. We then turn to His written Word and behold Him by special revelation sufficient to save. Watching stars without a telescope answers a few questions we may have. Watching the stars with a telescope answers many more questions, but also brings a multitude of other stars into the picture generating even more questions. After the explorer has reached his journey’s end upon planet earth, his effort of exploration will continue in heaven throughout eternity, never reaching an end as the study of God goes on (Ephesians 2:7). The Christian is a perpetual student, the Holy Spirit is the expert Teacher, the Bible is the only reliable textbook, and God is the endless subject.

How Big Is God?

He is too big to be explained. In Romans 11:33, the Apostle Paul was examining and declaring God. Suddenly, this, the mightiest man of revelations who has ever lived, cried out, “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out.” Paul here realizes that he is in over his head, his feet are not touching bottom, he is treading water! This prince of all preachers understood that his task to proclaim God was above and beyond his ability. God has actually called men to do the impossible; but do it they must! How can men explain the unexplainable, tell the untellable, describe the indescribable? The wonder of it all is that though God cannot be sufficiently explained, yet He can be gloriously experienced and thoroughly enjoyed. Vance Havner used to say, “I can’t explain electricity, but I’m not going to sit around in the dark till I can.”

How Big Is God?

He is too big that one could find a place to hide from Him. “Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me.” (Psalms 119:7-11). God inhabits all places at all times, thus every soul walks corum deo- in the presence of God, before the face of God, under the eye of God.

These former observations having been considered, yet we must understand that, while no man can hide from the omnipresent One, God can yet hide from men. As a matter of fact, He remains invisible, inaudible, and undetectable until He chooses to make Himself known to any soul. “Verily thou art a God that hidest thyself, O God of Israel, the Saviour.” (Isaiah 45:15). God is hidden to the fallen sinner until He is pleased to reveal Himself to the saving of his soul. That revelation will never come apart from Jesus Christ, “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature.” (Colossians 1:15). “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” (John.1:18). The big, one and only, true and living God, can and will go unobserved and concealed from sight until the day of the sinner’s salvation, or his damnation, which ever comes first! Thereby will God be seen in the face of Jesus Christ, His only begotten Son, who is both Savior and Judge (Acts 4:12; 17:31).

HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOUR! -- W.F. BELL

"For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11). What glorious words these were, heralded by "the angel of the Lord" to those Judean shepherds some two thousand years ago! There are many today who can quote this verse about Christ's birth, yet how few there are who really know what it means. Do you really know the purpose for the Lord Jesus Christ coming into this world? Well, the text tells us in no uncertain terms just why Jesus was born -- He came as "a Saviour."

WHY WE NEED A SAVIOUR

Most people are totally unaware that they need Christ to save them. "Saved from what?,” many in the world boastfully ask. It is a good question, and needs answering clearly. We need to be saved because by nature, by choice, and by practice we are sinners in the sight of a holy God. Scripture repeatedly affirms this:

"They have all turned aside, they have together become corrupt; there is none who does good, no, not one" (Psalm 14:3). "Truly every man at his best state is altogether vanity" (Psalm 39:5). "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; and in sin my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5). "For there is not a just man on earth who does good and does not sin" (Ecclesiastes 7:20). "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9).

These inspired verses plainly declare man's total depravity (corruption) before the Most High God. Even though you may think you are essentially good, it is not so. "There is none righteous, no, not one; there is none who seeks after God. There is none who does good, no, not one" (Romans 3:10-12). We must believe God's verdict against the entire human race, confessing that we are by nature nothing but "wounds, and bruises, and putrifying sores" (Isaiah 1:6), and that we deserve only "wrath" and "the righteous judgment of God" (Romans 2:5). Eternal destruction awaits all the impenitent (Matthew 5:22; 25:41,46). And for this reason Christ Jesus came, for "Jesus" means "Saviour," for the work of Christ actually does "save his people from their sins" (Matthew 1:21), thus all of God's elect are saved from God's holy wrath (Romans 5:9).

HOW THE SAVIOUR SAVES US

You are not here being informed what you must do to save yourself. No such God-dishonoring advice will be given here! "Salvation is of the Lord" (Jonah 2:9), both in its origin and completion, in its conception and accomplishment. Men do not do their part to help Jesus save them. Our Lord Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of sinners! We do not in any sense add to His substitutionary work (2 Corinthians 5:21). If He does not save you, you will be eternally lost! But the blood of Christ shed at Calvary actually redeems every single one of those given to Him in covenant by His Father. "I have finished the work which you have given me to do," prayed our great Redeemer (John 17:4). And we are "redeemed" to God "with the precious blood of Christ" (I Peter 1:18-20; 3:18).

Yes, God the Father elected a people (Ephesians 1:4; 2 Thessalonians 2:13), God the Son redeemed that same number (John 10:14-16; 17:2, 9-10, 19-20), and God the Holy Spirit invincibly and effectually calls each one of them (and no more) to experientially partake of this salvation, by His quickening and regenerating power (John 3:3-8; 6:37, 44, 63, 65; Titus 3:5). We willingly and gladly repent of our sins and believe on Christ after regeneration, for then we have a nature capable of performing these spiritual acts, which the natural man does not have. Repentance and faith are both gifts or graces of the Holy Spirit (Acts 5:31; 11:18; Ephesians 2:8-10; Philippians 2:13). "And how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God" (I Thessalonians 1:9).

Man is fallen and sinful, but God is free and sovereign. No fallen creature can save himself or help save himself. "Salvation belongs unto the Lord. Your blessing is upon your people" (Psalm 3:8). Man does not earn salvation, but is simply the recipient of it, by sovereign love, sovereign mercy, and sovereign grace. "So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy" (Romans 9:16). That spells sovereignty! God is absolutely sovereign in salvation.

WHAT A SAVIOUR IS KING JESUS

The Lord of life and glory came to this earth as a Babe to Bethlehem's manger. He lived a perfect and sinless life, magnified and honored God's holy law in every detail, then died a substitutionary death for His sheep (Isaiah 53:6), was buried, rose again the third day (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), ascended back to heaven, and now intercedes for His own (Hebrews 7:25). At an appointed day and hour (known only to God, Matthew 24:36), "this same Jesus" (Acts 1:11) will return to this earth "with power and great glory" (Matthew 24:30), for He is even now "King of kings, and Lord of lords" (I Timothy 1:17; 6:15; 19:16).

Truly, the Bible only knows of one Saviour, the One announced to the shepherds long ago (Luke 2:11). Notice that this "Saviour" is "Christ the Lord." The Saviourhood of Christ is never to be separated from His Lordship. He saves because He has power to save (Isaiah 63:1), and because He is God (Titus 3:4, "God our Saviour," and 3:6, "Jesus Christ our Saviour"). No less than twenty-four times does the New Testament denominate Christ as "Saviour." If He saves, and He alone, then certainly He is to have all the praise! "Worthy is the Lamb" (Revelation 5:9-14), not "worthy is the will of man," or "worthy is the creature." Many sing, "Jesus Saves," but really don't believe it!

We were lost, but Christ finds us (Luke 15:3-7). We were dead, but King Jesus gives us life (John 5:21, Ephesians 2:1,5). We were blind, but the Lord gives us sight and light (2 Corinthians 4:4-6). "For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost" (Luke 19:10). Christ came not "to seek to save" or to save those who "seek" Him, but to actually "seek and save" His people, "lost" in Adam's fall. Oh poor sinners, trust Him, look to Him, and to Him only, for "None but Jesus, none but Jesus, can do helpless sinners good."

"Man of sorrows," what a name! For the Son of God who came! Ruined sinners to reclaim! Hallelujah! What a Saviour!