Divine command is to "Go ye therefore and teach all nations" (Matt. 28:19), yet this commission does not, in this place, specify of what this teaching is to consist. But if the teaching is commanded, there must be a body of truth to be taught. Therefore, the church must have a message, though the failure of many churches relative to this duty has led many people to suppose that the church is nothing more than some sort of exclusive club which exists for no other purpose than to entertain its adherents. Because of the watered down Christianity of the present day, it is unknown even by many who are nominally Christians that there is a message of help and hope which has been committed to the churches.

To know our own depravity and helplessness; and, by faith in Christ, to know "experimentally" the suitable and the efficacious cure, is doubtless the genuine secret of true piety. But wherever wickedness and profaneness have spread very generally, the knowledge of these doctrines is usually lost. Amidst a thousand disputes even on religious subjects, these are too often erased out of man’s creed,-the very doctrines which alone can be the means of freeing them from vice and folly. —Joseph Milner, The History of the Church of Christ, Vol. I, p. 2.

There is a great contrast between the message of this world, and the message which has come from the other world, and which has been committed to the Lord’s churches. Professing Christendom says, "We are all trying to get to the same place, though we may go different ways," but the message which was divinely committed to the Lord’s churches testifies that there is but one way, and that one is the strait and narrow way. The ways of the world exalt man’s doings and man’s elections, and leaves man with much cause to glory in himself: But God’s message humbles the proud spirit of man by showing that the election is all of God, the redemptive work is accomplished only by God, and proclaims all glory to be due to God alone. Little wonder, then, that this message is not popular with the world.

Thus the genuine gospel will always appear like an insult on the taste of the public. Wherever it comes, if it be not received, it awakens disgust and provokes abhorrence. Nor can it be otherwise. For its principal design is to mortify the pride of man, and to display the glory of grace; to throw all human excellence down to the dust, and to elevate, even to thrones of glory, the needy and the wretched; to show that every thing which exalteth itself against the knowledge of Christ, is an abomination in the sight of God; and that He who is despised of men and abhorred by the nations, is Jehovah’s eternal delight. —Abraham Booth, The Reign of Grace, pp. 42-43.

But this command as given in Matthew 28:19 is expanded in Mark 16:15, where the Great Commission is also recorded, to show that the message is the Gospel. "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Clearly, then, this message is the Gospel, but what is the Gospel? In Romans 10:15 it is called the "glad tidings of good things." While in 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 it is said to be the news that "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures; and that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the Scriptures." Again, in Romans 1:16, it is called, "The power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

In preaching the Gospel, therefore, churches present a message to the world of salvation from sin through the finished work of Christ—of eternal life to be had only in Christ, and only upon His terms. Jesus Himself said, "I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me" (John 14:6). And Peter preached the same thing when he said, "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12).

The case that stands against the world and the majority of professing Christendom is, as it was against Israel of old, that "They being ignorant of God’s righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth" (Rom. 10:3-4). But while the majority have resorted to works for salvation in a greater or lesser degree, there still remains a remnant which teaches salvation by grace alone (Rom. 11:5-6), and these stand as a testimony against the "law-righteousness" of the self-righteous.

Those who trust in their own righteousness to save them, do so in the face of the Scripture which declares that "all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23). Alexander Carson asks:

How, then, can any man look for life by the keeping of a law that he hath broken? Instead of saving him, it will condemn him as a transgressor. The law, instead of contributing to save sinners, stands in the way of their salvation. If they are saved, it must be either at the expense of law, which would be unjust, or by providing some other way of satisfying the claims of law, for which the law does not itself provide...If they are saved, notwithstanding such things, it is not by law that they are saved, but against law. It must be by such things being overlooked or forgiven. But this is contrary to these Scriptures, that show that the whole law must be perfectly kept that any may enter into life by it. —The Doctrine of the Atonement, pp. 45, 47-48.

There will be found some in any denomination who trust in their own righteousness to save them, just as doubtless there will be found some in every denomination that look solely to Christ for salvation. Nevertheless, no religious group is entitled to bear the name of "Christian Church" if it bears a different message than that of the Gospel, and that church which Christ owns as truly "My Church" will bear this as one of its distinctives. It is the custom of the world to constantly seek to change, revise and innovate religious practices, but true churches will be characterized by seeking to "walk in the old paths" (Jer. 6:16), both in doctrine and practice.

Since the church is to be God’s witness in this age, and is to make disciples (the literal meaning of "teach" in Matthew 28:19) of all nations, it is supremely important that she bear a true message to this darkened and doomed world. She should allow neither philosophy, nor the traditions of men, nor passing views and interpretations to deter her from presenting the truth "as it is in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 4:21).

The message of the church is not to be confused with the doctrine of the church, which will be dealt with in a later chapter. The message of the church is primarily for those outside the church, while the doctrine of the church will have primary reference to those within the church.

But before we get to the Gospel as it is to be preached in this dispensation, it will be necessary to consider some preliminary things about it so as to view it in its proper setting. We would note, therefore—

It is the view of a great many people that all "religion" originates in human thinking and planning, and is therefore in a constant state of change. This belief is taught in the foremost colleges of our nation, as is evidenced by the following quotation by a professor of Sanskrit and comparative philology at Yale University four decades ago:

Every religion is a product of human evolution and has been conditioned by social environment. Since man has developed from a state even lower than savagery and was once intellectually a mere animal, it is reasonable to attribute to him in this state no more religious consciousness than is possessed by an animal. —E. Washburn Hopkins, Origin and Evolution of Religion, p. 1.

Such views show an abysmal ignorance of the Scriptures, for while there are multitudes whose religion is the product of evolution of thought and practice, yet there remain those today who still preach and teach the same unchanged Gospel which Paul did. And Paul’s Gospel was no different than that which was preached to Abraham, for it is written, "And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, In thee shall all nations be blessed" (Gal. 3:8). Any "gospel" that changes is simply "another gospel" (Gal. 1:6).

"Religion" may and does evolve, change, wax and wane, for it is the product of man, but the Gospel message is ever the same, for it has come from the throne of God, and is, like Him, unchanging and unchangeable. We may even go one step further back in the tracing of the Gospel message, and note that it was the same even in the Garden of Eden. For there, after the fall of the first pair, God symbolically preached the Gospel to them in the shedding of the blood of innocent beasts in order for a covering to be had for the nakedness of Adam and Eve (Gen. 3:21). This was nothing less than the pictorial representation of the Gospel as in Romans 4:1-13.

But though we have found the Gospel presented in the very beginning of human history, yet to find the prerequisites of this Gospel we must go back beyond all time. The salvation that men have in this present life is due to grace, as it is written, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9). Yet this grace antedates all time as Paul declares. "Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (2 Tim. 1:9). This grace in salvation, if it was given us "before times eternal," as the inspired Greek reads, it must then be what the old theologians called Prevenient grace—grace that is antecedent to all human existence, as the word "prevenient" means.

Our English word "prevent" appears in Matthew 17:25 and 1 Thessalonians 4:15, and several times in the Old Testament. The Greek and Hebrew words so rendered generally mean to act in anticipation of something else, to go before something or to precede. And though these words are not used specifically of God’s grace, yet the old theologians recognized that Scripture clearly indicates that God’s grace was working prior to creation and so, prior to any human actions, and so they denominated this antecedent grace "prevenient" or "preventing" grace. That is, grace that goes before all human activity, and so, is grace that is wholly uncaused by anything in man.

Grace reigned not only in the past eternity in contriving the plan, but also in time in executing it, and will continue to REIGN till consummated. It is from everlasting to everlasting. Hence grace REIGNED in our redemption, regeneration, justification, sanctification, and will REIGN in our preservation, resurrection and ultimate glorification. If REIGNING grace REIGNS, then it is PURPOSING, and that makes it easily PREVENIENT. —J. B. Moody, The Exceeding Riches of the Manifold Grace of God, p. 166.

However not all theologians had the right view of this prevenient grace, just as many of them do not have scriptural views of salvation. Arminian theologians commonly used this term, but they made it to be a common or universal grace that is given to all mankind, thereby enabling every person to respond to the Gospel apart from any other quickening or enabling by the Lord. Though God has graciously given many good things to all mankind (Matt. 5:35), there is simply no scriptural evidence of any such universal grace in the sense that is held by Arminians. Millard J. Erickson explains the Arminian view of prevenient grace.

In the eighteenth century, John Wesley popularized Arminianism., In fact, for many years he edited a magazine called The Arminian. While holding to the freedom of the will, Wesley went beyond Arminius by emphasizing the idea of prevenient or universal grace. This grace, which God, grants to all men, is the basis of any human good which is found in the world. This prevenient grace also makes it possible for any person to accept the offer of salvation in Jesus Christ...As generally understood, prevenient grace is grace that is given by God to all men indiscriminately. It is seen in God’s sending the sunshine and the rain upon all. It is also the basis of all the goodness found in men everywhere. Beyond that, it is universally given to counteract the effect of sin ...It is here that many Arminians, recognizing human inability as taught in the Scripture, introduce the concept of prevenient grace, which is believed to have a universal effect nullifying the Noetic results of sin, thus making belief possible. The problem is that there is no clear and adequate basis in Scripture for this concept of a universal enablement. The theory, appealing though it is in many ways, simply is not taught in the Bible. —Christian Theology, pp. 914, 920, 925.

This perversion of the idea of prevenient grace, which could as well be termed antecedent grace, should not surprise us, for every doctrinal truth that has ever been put forth has been perverted by someone. And when anyone has as his primary agenda the glorifying of the flesh, which we are all tempted to do, he is going to hate and resist everything that gives all the glory to God alone. And that is what a scriptural view of God’s grace always does. But there were many of the older theological writers who had a scriptural view of this prevenient grace, for it is pretty hard not to see the proofs of this in Scripture, as well as in our own experience.

The old theologians talked of "prevenient grace"—grace that lays hold of us before we know it, and prepares us for the emergencies of the future. Each one of us can now perceive that things before our conversion had a meaning which did not occur to us at the time. —A. H. Strong, Chapel Talks, p. 148.

Consideration of the different aspects of God’s prevenient grace will reveal to us the prerequisites for the Gospel message. All these different aspects of grace, accomplished antecedently to all human existence, are necessary before the Gospel message could be preached. What then are these aspects of prevenient grace which are necessary to the Gospel?

The very fact that there was a covenant of grace in timeless eternity past is another evidence of prevenient grace, for if God made provision for the redemption of man before there ever was a man, then He was working antecedently in grace. Reference to those "whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 17:8), implies the opposite truth, namely, that there are some whose name are so recorded before time. See also the other references to this same eternal enrollment of the saints in Exodus 32:32-33; Psalm 69:28; Luke 10:20; Philippians 4:3; Hebrews 12:23; Revelation 3:5, et al: The statement in Revelation 17:8, together with that concerning "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world"(Rev. 13:8), both give evidence of this prevenient grace...Indeed, every reference to the eternal purposes and decrees of God is a proof of the prevenient grace of God, inasmuch as these are directed manward for his welfare. —Davis W. Huckabee, Chapter One of Manuscript on Studies On Strong Doctrine, p. 5.

To preach the Gospel is also to "preach Christ" (1 Cor. 1:23; 2 Cor. 4:5), but to do so involves the recognition that the Son of God was foreordained before the foundation of the world to be slain upon the cross (1 Pet. 1:18-20), for the redemption of the chosen people of God. Several Scriptures set this forth. "For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done" (Acts 4:27-28). "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifested in these last times for you" (1 Pet. 1:18-20). "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8).

It is evident from all this that the cross was no "unfortunate accident," nor was Jesus’ death a "senseless waste of life," as some have characterized it. The cross was part of one great :master plan to accomplish the redemption of man, as is declared in Luke 24:46-47: "Thus is it written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." Had God not decreed this, there would have been no grounds upon which to preach the Gospel, and it would have been as empty and worthless a message as all the human "gospels" and plans of salvation.

Another instance of prevenient grace, which also enters in as a prerequisite to the preaching of the Gospel, and which is involved in the covenant of redemption, is election. "God hath from the beginning chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth: Whereunto he called you by our gospel" (2 Thess. 2:13-14). And again it is recorded: "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love" (Eph. 1:4).

The doctrine of election has been the subject of much twisting and wrestling in order to make it mean something other than its natural meaning, for the biblical doctrine of election leaves no room for anyone to glory in himself, but gives all the glory to God where it belongs. But there is no passage so clear and simple but that it can be forced to mean something other than its true meaning, if one is determined not to believe its manifest meaning. Why do men take such an attitude toward such a blessed doctrine. Abraham Booth says in answer to this:

But what is the reason of this tragical outcry against it? If I be not greatly deceived, it is as follows: This doctrine lays the axe at the root of all our boasted moral excellence. This doctrine, in its native consequences, demolishes every subterfuge of human pride; as it leaves not the shadow of a difference between one man and another, why the Deity should regard and save this person rather than that; but teaches all who know and all who embrace it, to rest in that memorable maxim; EVEN SO, FATHER, FOR SO IT SEEMED GOOD IN THY SIGHT; resolving the whole into divine grace and divine sovereignty. —The Reign of Grace, p. 56.

The proud heart of man would like to think that he was elected by God because he had first elected God to be his God. But Jesus emphatically denied this when he said, "Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you" (John 15:16). Or, if proud man does not take this stand, he more often believes that he was elected because of some foreseen merit in him, such as foreseen works, or foreseen faith. But the Scripture has anticipated this objection, and answered it. "For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that calleth" (Rom. 9:11). Here, as in Ephesians 1, this election is based solely on the purpose of God. In both places it has no applicability to any merit whatsoever. And in both places, the election is individual, though here it does eventuate in the national election through Jacob.

Reference to "the children being not yet born," and to the "purpose of God" standing, makes it clear that no foreseen merit or faith can possibly enter into the matter. Many present day believers have been taught that election is based upon foreseen faith, but this finds no support either in Scripture, nor in Baptist antiquity. Indeed, many of the ancient Baptist confessions of faith disallow this as a condition of election, and only among the Socinians, and possibly among that part of the English General Baptists which became Unitarians, is this belief found. Cf. W. J. McGlothlin’s Baptist Confessions of Faith for proof of this.

Nor will the grammar of the inspired Greek texts allow this idea of election being based upon foreseen faith. In every instance where God is said to have elected or chosen anyone, the Greek verb is in the middle voice, which indicates that God was motivated from within Himself in doing the choosing. The middle voice in Greek is always reflexive and indicates that the one doing the acting does so for reasons within himself. This denies any ideas of "conditional election." God could not, therefore, have chosen anyone because of something foreseen in man.

This error is based upon a misreading or misinterpretation of such texts as Romans 8:29a; 1 Peter 1:2, where reference is made to God’s "foreknowledge." The erroneous interpretation reads it "whom God foresaw" would believe in Christ, and bases God’s election upon this supposed "foreseeing" of man’s faith. It is to be granted that God knows all things (Acts 15:18), for God is not restricted as to either time nor space, and so, He views all things as one great eternal present—a fact that is utterly unfathomable to us who are so confined to time and space. When God looked down upon man, what did He "see" regarding man? That some would naturally believe in Him? In one of the few places in Scripture where God is said to look down on man we read: "The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Ps. 14:2-3). The same truth is stated in Psalm 53:2-3. What God "foresaw" in man was, that unless He took the initiative and chose man, then brought to bear all the necessary grace to regenerate man while he was yet spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1), and incapable of doing any spiritual good, NO ONE WOULD EVER COME TO CHRIST IN FAITH.

However, this is all academic, for Scripture nowhere indicates that God is influenced in His elective purpose by any of man’s doings. Foreknowledge is not foresight, and cannot be forced to mean this. "Foreknow" and "foreknowledge" are both derived from the Greek words pro, meaning beforehand, and ginosko, to know. There is no debate as to what the "fore" refers to, for we have already noted several Scriptures that point us back to "the beginning" "before times eternal" and other such statements. But what about the word "know"? There are numerous Greek words all translated by the same English word "know," though each of these has varying shades of meaning. The one used in "foreknow" means to know by experience, or to experience something. It is most instructive to note that in the first appearances of this word in the Septuagint (Greek version of the Old Testament), Genesis 4:1, and in the New Testament, Matthew 1:25, it is used of entering into a relationship. A physical relationship, to be sure, but nevertheless it shows that this can be the meaning of the word "know." Often physical things are used to picture the spiritual. In Matthew 7:23 the word "know" is used in a way that will help our understanding of the word "foreknow." "Then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity." It is evident that our Lord cannot mean that He knew not of these individuals’ existence, for this would be to overthrow His divine omniscience. Neither can it mean that He knew not of their sinful deeds and acts, for His indictment of them is based upon His full knowledge of their iniquitous works. What then? The meaning must be, "I never knew you as my own-in a relationship with me—I never knew you in my electing love—I never foreordained you to be mine." When we join this word "know" with the word "fore" and apply it to God’s elective purpose it simply refers to God entering into a covenant relationship in Christ with certain favored ones who are thereby "chosen unto salvation," and that wholly apart from anything in them. A second illustrative usage of "know" is found in 1 Thessalonians 5:12-13, and much of what is said above will apply here as well. From the parallel clauses here, it is clear that "know" has the meaning of to hold in high regard, to acknowledge as occupying a certain office. "Foreknow" in Romans 8:29 therefore is equivalent to God’s electing love. Indeed, the same Greek word is translated "foreordained" in 1 Peter 1:20.

Confirmatory of this is a parallel passage which sheds light upon Paul’s statement in Romans 8:29. The same Spirit inspired both Paul and Peter, and so both will harmonize. Yea, they will supplement each other. Peter was moved to say that we are "Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience [notice that it is not because of our believing obedience, but in order to result in it] and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." According to the common misinterpretation of Romans 8:29, Peter should have said that we are "believers according to the foreknowledge of God the Father." But this he does not say. Scripture declares that election produces faith, and not faith the election. Saving faith is not a product of human nature, but rather is a gift of God, and so, it could have no effect upon God to move Him to elect any individual. But this shall be considered at greater length later in this chapter.

It is often objected by the opponents of the Bible doctrine of election "Why should we preach the Gospel if God has chosen some wholly apart from anything in them?" To which several replies may be given. (1) God has commanded us to preach the Gospel, and this is sufficient reason to do so, even if we knew that none would ever respond to it. (2) We do not see with God’s eyes, and consequently we do not know which ones are the elect, and so we must preach to all to whom we have opportunity. The elect have been found in some very unlikely places. (3) God has ordained that the elect will be manifested by their response to the Gospel message. (4) The preaching of the Gospel to the non-elect has this purpose, that it indicts them for their rejection of Christ, and leaves them without excuse before God. No man has ever rejected Christ because he was of the non-elect, for no man can know this in the present life. The only reason any man rejects Christ is because of his wicked and willful heart, and this is manifested by his rejection of the Gospel. (5) God has not only ordained the end, but also the means to accomplish this end, which is by the preaching of the Gospel. Though God has promised to supply the physical needs of His people, no one supposes that we are thereby justified in refusing to labor for that end, for the planting, tilling and harvesting are the means of attaining the end that God has promised.

But who, notwithstanding this, ever took it into his head to adopt the principle, and thus to apply it, in the affairs of the present life? None, surely, but a fool, or a madman. While we have our sober senses in exercise, however firmly we may believe the existence of eternal decrees; or however clearly we may discern the interposition of providence, on ten thousand different occasions; we never suppose that those everlasting purposes or those providential interpositions, were designed to supersede the use of means, or had, as to the concerns of time, any such tendency. Why, then, should we strive to separate the end from the means, in things of infinitely greater importance? —Abraham Booth, The Reign of Grace, p. 86.

Another of the prerequisites to the Gospel message is predestination, and this too is a matter of prevenient grace. "For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren" (Rom. 8:29). This doctrine has also suffered much violence.

"Predestinate" is formed of a compound Greek word formed of pro, beforehand, and horizo, to mark out definitely, to determine, hence to foreordain. The proper understanding of this truth will be affected by whether one rightly understands the word "foreknow," which we have already considered. Let it be carefully noted, however, that election and predestination are not the same thing. Basically, election has to do with the persons whom God chooses, while predestination has to do with God working out all things to fulfill His purposes. They are, however, closely related.

Now, then, the question is: What does foreknowledge mean? Foreknowledge is used by Peter, and "to foreknow" is used by Paul, referring to God. My reason for putting that question is, that when I was a young preacher, a Baptist preacher who was a good man, but Arminian in his theory preached a sermon on election; and he said "election is according to foreknowledge; God foreknew that certain men would repent and believe, and having before seen they would repent and believe, he elected them." When he got through I told him that the New Testament use of foreknowledge was just about equivalent to predestination, and that any Greek scholar would tell him so, and that election was not based upon any foreseen goodness in man or any foreseen repentance or faith in man, but that repentance and faith proceed from election, and not election from them. So that what Paul means by foreknowledge is just about the same as predestination; that in eternity God determined and elected according to that predestination. —B. H. Carroll, An Interpretation of the English Bible, Vol. 16, pp. 188-189.

And apart from any other considerations, this Divine foreknowledge cannot be a foreknowledge of faith, for faith is a "what," not a "whom." Notice in Romans 8:29 that it is "Whom He did foreknow," not what He did foreknow. The foreknowledge is of persons, not of actions, for the personal pronoun is used. And, as we have seen the foreknowledge of God refers to Him entering into a covenant relationship with the elect in the Person of their predestined Redeemer, Who represented them in this covenant transaction. Hence they were "chosen...in Him before the foundation of the world," that they should become holy and unblamable before Him in love (Eph. 1:4).

Ephesians 1:4-5 sheds further light upon the meaning of "foreknow," for whereas in Romans 8:29 predestination is shown to be an outgrowth of God’s foreknowledge, here it is shown to be the outgrowth of God’s electing love. These two passages parallel each other, and unless we concede that the Bible contradicts itself, then these two explain one another. This would also be in harmony with the statement of Peter cited above, which declares that a man is not of the number of the elect through any works or faith of his, own, but purely through the sovereign electing love of the Father, who acts "according to the good pleasure of his will, to the praise of the glory of his grace" (vv. 5-6).

We have dealt at some length with these matters of prevenient grace for one must see that one of the prerequisites of the acceptance of the Gospel message is the preparation of man to hear and believe it. If the natural man is "dead in trespasses and sins" (Eph. 2:1), then it is impossible for him spiritually even to hear the Gospel, much less to respond to it until God has worked in him "to will and to do of his good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). No amount of empowering of the Gospel message will avail to bring man to repentance and faith unless God also works at the other end to fit man to hear and believe the Gospel. Therefore, we again see God’s prevenient grace working in preparation for the Gospel. "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins...even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)...For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:1, 5, 10).

Can a dead man do anything? This writer used to say "Absolutely nothing!" But then a spiritual lady member of the church remarked that the dead can become more corrupt as death has its natural course. Doubtless it is because no one can do anything good by nature that this figure of deadness is used of the unsaved person—to show his total inability to bring himself into a state of life. But many apparently believe that a man can regenerate himself, for they say that he is made alive in Christ Jesus as soon as he believes the Gospel. But the question is, can a man spiritually dead do anything spiritual, and that is what faith is, a spiritual act? The answer is, of course, that he cannot, but must be first made alive, and this is exactly what the Ephesian texts declare.

But if this be the case, then there is absolutely nothing in a man to cause him to be saved. If he is saved, he must be saved wholly by the loving favor of God, and not by any works or faith of his own. And is this not the meaning of Ephesians 2:5, when the Apostle, after saying that God enlivens even while man is still dead in sin, denominates this a matter of grace? If man is saved by faith, and if faith is some inherent ability in the natural man, then God does not save man. Man saves himself by his own act, and to him is the glory due. On the other hand, if man is dead in sin and utterly incapacitated from doing any good thing spiritually, and if faith is itself the gift of God, then salvation is indeed of grace. It is all of God, and to Him is all the glory due. And this is exactly what the case is, humiliating though it may be to the proud carnal nature of man.

This enlivening is declared in Scripture to be the work of the Holy Spirit. Both physically and spiritually the Spirit "quickens" —makes alive, as the word means in both English and Greek. Of Christ’s physical nature we are told, "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit" (1 Pet. 3:18). We recognize that many hold that "spirit" here refers to Jesus’ spiritual nature, but this part of Him never died, but at the moment of death He commended His personal spirit unto the Father (Luke 23:46). In any case, we have this truth confirmed in other places, such as Romans 1:4: "And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead." "But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you" (Rom. 8:11). It is therefore the Spirit of God who shall quicken the dead bodies of the saints even as He quickened Christ’s body in the garden tomb.

But not only does the Spirit quicken mortal bodies, He also quickens mortal spirits and makes them to live even while they are yet dead in trespasses and sins. This is nothing less than regeneration, or the new birth, which is also called being born of the Spirit (John 3). The work of the Holy Spirit is a necessary requisite to the preaching of the Gospel message else the call of the Gospel would be ineffectual. Thus, a twofold call of the Gospel must be recognized, for whereas Paul speaks of men being called to salvation though the Gospel (2 Thess. 2:14), yet we know that the general call is not always effectual. Nay, it is more commonly not attended by results. But in Romans 8:30 He refers to another call which is coextensive with justification. If all who experience this are justified, and this is what is declared here, then this must be a different call than the general call of the Gospel. This is what is referred to as the effectual call. John Gill, after referring to a call which comes by the light of nature, goes on to say:

And besides this, there is a more special and particular call of men, and not so general, and is either external or internal. The external call is by the ministry of the word; by the ministry of the prophets under the Old Testament; and of John the Baptist, the forerunner of Christ, and of Christ himself in human nature, and of his apostles under the New; and of all succeeding ministers in all ages. The internal call is by the Spirit and grace of God to the hearts and consciences of men. These two sometimes go together, but not always. —Body of Divinity, Book VI, Chap. 12, p. 538.

This internal or effectual call is always by means of the Gospel, but not by the Gospel alone, for the Gospel is powerless of itself to regenerate any sinner. The Gospel must be empowered by the Holy Spirit, and the sinner must also be made receptive to the Word for regeneration to take place.

Now it is certain that God often blesses the preaching of the Gospel to the conversion of sinners even where men do not recognize this agency of the Spirit in the matter. But only when men recognize the absolute necessity of the attending agency of the Spirit in preaching the Gospel will it redound to their profit and reward. Sad to say multitudes preach the Gospel in the strength and wisdom of the flesh, and therefore have no scruples about introducing all sorts of human tricks and gimmicks to get "decisions" in response to their preaching. This not only dishonors God, but it fills churches with unregenerate church members.

The facts that lie back of the Gospel were decreed in eternity by the Father, accomplished in time by Christ, and applied by the Holy Spirit as the Gospel is preached, and when this all takes place, atonement is made, and not before. Men are want to speak of the atonement abstractly, but it cannot be biblically done, for the meaning of "atonement" is reconciliation, and an atonement which does not atone or reconcile is no atonement in any proper sense of the word. Break the word up into three parts and it will tell you what it means. The suffix on the end— "-ment"—refers to a state or condition. "At one" is that state, and so, it always means reconciliation, or the state of being at one with God. The old theologians all recognized this truth, and so, held to the "limited atonement," i.e., that the benefits of Christ’s death were only applied to the elect. But it is common today for men to speak of a general or universal atonement. But consider for a moment. If "atone" means to "reconcile," as it always does in the New Testament, and "to cover over," as it means in the Old Testament, then can a man be reconciled to God—can his sins be covered over, and he yet be lost? Or, on the other hand, can a man be saved without his sins being covered and he being reconciled to God? If the answer to these two queries is negative, then it is evident that the atonement must be co-extensive with salvation, and so, limited to the elect alone. It is impossible to conceive of an atonement which does not atone, or a covering which does not cover, which are contradictions in terms.

But there are many who plead for the atonement of Christ, who, in effect, deny it, as well as its open opposers. They suppose that it is a conditional atonement, of efficacy only to those who comply with certain terms. It is evident, however, that a conditional atonement is no atonement in the proper sense of the word; for an atonement must expiate the sins atoned for, just as a payment cancels a debt. Where, then there has been an actual atonement made, the sins atoned for never can be punished again, more than a debt once paid can be charged a second time. It would be unjust in God to charge the debt to the account of man that was fully paid by man’s surety. It may be alleged that one man may pay another’s debts upon certain conditions; and that if those conditions are not fulfilled, the debt will be still chargeable upon the debtor. But it is evident that, in such a case, the surety either does not actually pay the debt till the conditions are fulfilled, or if he has conditionally paid it, he is refunded before it is chargeable upon the debtor. In every case, the debt is not really paid. But Jesus has paid the debt. He has already made atonement; and if they for whom he died are not absolved, the debt is charged a second time. He can never be refunded. His blood has been shed; and there is no possibility that what he suffered can be now either more or less. They, then, who suspend the efficacy of the atonement of Christ upon conditions to be complied with by man, in effect deny that atonement has been truly made. —Alexander Carson, The Doctrine of the Atonement, pp. 94-95.

Did Christ undertake to save all the lost and perishing under the curse of God’s broken law, —angels and men? Universalists alone affirm that he did, and that he ultimately will save all, without the loss of one; because all, both angels and men, were given him by the Father. If his atonement was limited, and to Adam’s race only, did it include all, or only a part, of the human family? All denominations, with the above exception, hold and teach that only a part, and comparatively a small part, of Adam’s race will be saved; and if not, then must it not be because they were not included in the Covenant of Redemption, and given to Christ to save?

It is quite impossible to bring an unprejudiced mind and a balanced reason to the examination of these questions. All Bible readers have taken position; and the verdict of the world is made up: and how difficult to reverse or modify it. They involve the sovereignty of God in the bestowment of his favors. All men are by nature Arminians; and the sovereignty of God is a doctrine hateful to the natural and depraved heart. False teachers have taken the advantage of this natural feeling, and have for ages inflamed the prejudices of Christian men and women against any exercise of sovereignty on the part of God in this covenant, either as to his "determinate counsels," his electing love, or his distinguishing grace. —J. R. Graves, The Seven Dispensations, pp. 95-96.

Endless debates have ensued over the question whether the atonement is limited or universal, but this is because men have generally refused to let Scripture terms settle the matter. Often they have taken Scripture terms but put a modern, unscriptural meaning upon them. Though Scripture never says that Christ is an atonement for the world, it does say that Christ is "The propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2). Though "atonement" and "propitiation" are not exactly the same, they are related. "Propitiation" refers to a sacrifice that is made to God in order to appease His wrath. This text would seem at face value to teach that Christ’s sacrifice is not only made for believers, but also for the "world" at large. But this is a case in point of putting a wrong meaning on a Biblical word.

"World" (Greek kosmos) is used in the New Testament in at least thirteen different ways, and only rarely does it refer to all mankind. Among the Jews this word was generally used of the Gentiles, as contrasted with the Jews. This usage is seen in Romans 11:11-15 where "world" and "Gentiles" are used interchangeably, and in contrast to Israel. That "world" in 1 John 2:2 cannot have reference to a sacrifice made for unbelievers is made certain by the first appearance of "propitiation" in the New Testament, where this word is specifically limited to believers only. "Whom [Christ] God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God" (Rom. 3:25). Often the first appearance of a word or doctrine in Scripture is the most definitive one, and here we are told that Christ is a propitiation—a sacrifice to appease the wrath of God—only through faith.

Both "atonement" and "propitiation" have their roots in the Old Testament. The same Greek word appearing in Romans 3:25 is used in Hebrews 9:5, where it is translated "mercy seat." The mercy seat in the Tabernacle of old typified the Lord Jesus as the propitiatory sacrifice. In the Tabernacle the mercy seat offered potential pardon for every Israelite, yet not every one of them had his sins forgiven because of this. Atonement was individual and occurred only when one brought an offering whose blood was poured out at the foot of the brazen altar by the priest. And when one brought his offering, he had to lay his hand upon the head of his sacrifice, thereby personally claiming the benefits of its sacrifice for himself. "For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for our souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul" (Lev. 17:11). Atonement is the application of the benefits of the sacrifice, not merely the offering of the sacrifice itself. Let the reader take his Concordance and run the references to the word "atonement" in the Old Testament, and he will find that in all the more than eighty appearances of the word, it is never used abstractly of an unapplied sacrifice, but is always considered in immediate connection with the forgiveness of sins. "...And the priest shall make an atonement for them, and it shall be forgiven them" (Lev. 4:20f). The same statement in essence is made numerous times. Never once in Scripture is atonement ever spoken of except as applied, and the one for whom it was made forgiven of his sins.

No one can be "at one" with God, nor is God’s wrath toward anyone appeased except as that one is included in the Covenant of Redemption, the sacrifice of Christ made specifically for that one, and the benefits of the Cross applied to that one through the preaching of the Gospel. Much more could be said in proof of these things, but this must suffice for the time.

All of these things which we have thus far considered are necessary prerequisites to the preaching of the Gospel message, for unless God has wrought out and prepared the way in advance, no amount of preaching of any message would do any good. But these having been noted, we are now ready to get to the message proper of the New Testament Church, and therefore we notice—

It is evident to the most candid mind that today there is much that goes under the name of evangelical preaching which does not remotely resemble that which was preached by the Apostles in their day. And no marvel, for Paul spoke, in his day, of "another gospel," and of those who wished to "pervert the gospel of Christ" (Gal. 1:6-9). And again, he spoke of Satan’s ministers who are "transformed as the ministers of righteousness" (2 Cor. 11:13-15). The duty of both the writer and the reader is not to go on a witch-hunt for heresy mongers, but rather to be certain that the Gospel which we have received is not of this nature, but rather is indeed "the Gospel of Christ."

There is a great deal made in the present of preaching the "social gospel," which is nothing more than a purely human endeavor to dress up the "old Adam," who is, and must remain, "dead in trespasses and sins" until he hears the genuine Gospel and is regenerated by the Spirit of God. The social gospel can never be anything but a failure, for it is concerned only with earthly men, earthly ethics and earthly changes. Earthly man will continue to have earthly ethics and earthly conduct until he is divinely changed into a heavenly man. So long as no effort is put out in this direction, even the earthly conditions of mankind will not be appreciably or lastingly affected.

In the course of preaching the Gospel message it is very important that certain things be presented in no uncertain terms. The first of these is the fact of the sinner’s condemnation. The importance of this is evident when we remember that no man is willing to take a bitter medicine until he is convinced of his sickness, and the Gospel message is a bitter thing to the natural man. Therefore, the Gospel message necessarily requires the preaching of the condemnation of the Law of God.

It has been demonstrated that a sense of man’s guilt and danger must exist in the mind before there can be gratitude and love to the being who removes the guilt and rescues from the danger. It has likewise been noticed, as a self-evident principle, that before repentance there must be conviction of sin. A sense of guilt and error must necessarily precede reformation of life. A man can not conscientiously turn from a course of life and repent of past conduct unless he sees and feels the error and the evil of that course from which he turns. To suppose that a man would turn from a course of life which he neither thought nor felt to be wrong or dangerous is to suppose an absurdity. It follows, therefore, that the preacher’s first duty in endeavoring to reclaim men to holiness and to God would be, in all cases, to present such truths as are adapted to convict their hearers of their spiritual guilt and danger. As God has constituted the mind, repentance from sin and attainment to holiness would forever be impossible on any other conditions. —J. B. Walker, Philosophy of the Plan of Salvation, pp. 217-218.

Much of the religious world teaches that a man may be saved by the keeping of the Decalog, or Law of the Ten Commandments, but this is expressly denied by numerous passages. Indeed, every hope of heaven by human works is based on this, for the Law commands good works, and every supposed good work that is not commanded by the Law of God is not truly a good work at all, but is a presumptuous work. Scripture says: "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Rom. 3:28). "For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth" (Rom. 10:4). "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, the just shall live by faith" (Gal. 3:11). "And by him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses" (Gal. 3:24).

From these passages it is evident that justification is not, and cannot be, by the works of the Law. But some will perhaps say, "Oh, but these passages deal with the church age, and it is true that justification now is by faith and not by the Law, but in the Old Testament days...!" But how many plans of salvation does God have? Apparently several, according to some people, but let us look to God’s Word to see if there is, or ever was a Law given whereby man could have eternal life through the observance of it.

"Is the law then against the promises of God? God forbid: for if there had been a law given which could have given life, verily righteousness should have been by the law. But the Scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be given to them that believe" (Gal. 3:21-22).

Since all have sinned (1 Kings 8:46; Eccl. 7:20; Rom. 3:23), and since sin is the transgression of the law (1 John 3:4), and since to keep all the law but offend in one point only is to be guilty of all (James 2:10), how could anyone ever hope to be saved by the Law? No one can! If salvation is, or ever was, by the keeping of the Law, then the Bible is a hopeless maze of contradictions. But no where in Scripture has man ever been encouraged to hope for eternal life by keeping God’s Law.

"Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions...Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith" (Gal. 3:19, 24). "...that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful" (Rom. 7:13). The Law then was given to show man his sinfulness, and his need of a Saviour. Except a child be told "No!" concerning certain things, he will grow up not knowing that those things are wrong. The same is true of mankind. "Nay, 1 had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except that law had said, Thou shalt not covet" (Rom. 7:7). Someone has truly said that the hardest part in dealing with men is not to get them saved, but rather to get them lost. That is, to get them to see how truly lost and undone they are in God’s sight, so long as they continue in their rejection of Jesus Christ, and His redemptive work. But man is just vain and proud enough to think that he can think out and work out his own salvation, given enough time, but "there is more hope of a fool than of him" (Prov. 26:12).

Ignorance of the Scriptures is generally the reason for holding to this belief, and many are further forced to this view by their proud unwillingness to admit their spiritual blindness and helplessness. If the works of the law were ever sufficient to save a soul, they still are. On the other hand, if they are not now sufficient, then they never were. It is inconsistent to admit that we are presently saved by grace through faith, yet to contend that the Old Testament people were saved by the works of the Law. If men could be saved any other way than by grace, then Christ died in vain, as Paul says, "I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain" (Gal. 2:21). Who is he that has the audacity to say that righteousness can come by the Law? To do so is to count the blood of Jesus as worthless. Though Christ was crucified early in the First Century of the Christian era, yet He was still "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world" (Rev. 13:8). Thus, God’s sacrificial Lamb has always been the only hope of eternal life held out to sinful man.

"For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did: by the which we draw nigh unto God" (Heb. 7:19). "For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect" (Heb. 10:1). But this causes us to ask, What of those who lived in Old Testament days? What of their sins? "And for this cause he is the mediator of the new testament [covenant], that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first testament [covenant], they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance" (Heb. 9:15).

Why should it be thought an impossible thing for the Old Testament people to be saved by grace through faith in One Who was yet to come, when we know that we are saved by grace through faith in One Who has already come? It is true that many in Old Testament times looked for salvation by the Law, just as many do today, but this was never the purpose of the Law. It was meant only to correctly diagnose man’s trouble and to point him to the Great Physician.

That the law, the just and holy, and perfect law of God, was not given by Him with the expectation that any of the human race would be justified by it, but that on the contrary, it was given that by it the opposition of the mind of man to God’s will and his enmity to Him might be more fully proved in order to the condemnation of man, is clearly taught by the apostle Paul—Romans 7:5... Now the end that the law has in view in giving this testimony is, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. —Alexander Carson, The Doctrine of the Atonement, pp. 52, 63.

These ten commandments are right in themselves, and contain what every intelligent creature ought to do, what he is morally bound to do, and all men must say amen to the curse of any and every transgression. If all men are morally bound to do right, and this is the right rule, then all men naturally are under this law, and all are guilty because of innumerable and inexcusable transgressions; so guilty "that every mouth is stopped and all the world guilty before God"; even those from Adam to Moses who had not sinned after the similitude of Adam’s transgression, and who perished from the face of the earth before Sinai trembled and smoked under the burning feet of Jehovah. Every transgressor is condemned under this Covenant, and it contains no redemption, no way of repairing its infractions, only the added ordinances point to a better Covenant, one containing better promises, and that can make the worshippers perfect in righteousness and holiness. —J. B. Moody, The Exceeding Riches of the Manifold Grace of God, pp. 108-109.

The remedy is ineffectual until man is made to see the extremity of his disease, and this is why the Gospel message must also include the preaching of the condemnation of the Law of God. But to preach only the condemnation of the law without presenting a remedy would lead to despair. Therefore, there must also be included in the Gospel message the good news of a crucified Saviour. This is the very heart of the Gospel, and that church which omits, or in any way effaces this, so far fails to present the Gospel message which is committed to its trust.

This has been universally the message of all the preachers of the New Testament, beginning with our Lord Jesus Himself, of whom it is said, "And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom" (Matt. 4:23). The first church consistently preached this same message, as it is written, "And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach and preach Jesus Christ" (Acts 5:42). This was the message that the church had been commissioned to preach: "And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature" (Mark 16:15).

Paul often spoke of "my gospel," or "the gospel which I preach," using the word "gospel" more than any other New Testament writer, and he referred to it as the means whereby men are reconciled to God, and made partakers of eternal life. By the Gospel he means the record of the death of Christ for the remission of sins, His burial and resurrection for justification, as he himself explains in 1 Corinthians 15:1-4; Romans 4:25. It is alone by the sacrifice of Christ that men may be reconciled to God, and it is alone by the preaching of the Gospel message that men may know of this reconciliation which has been wrought by Christ, and it is alone by the preaching of the Gospel that the quickening Spirit makes men alive in Christ.

That the end of the mission of Christ was not merely to teach good precepts, but by death to recover sinners to God is fully expressed—2 Corinthians 5:18-21. "And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now, then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." Here it is asserted that God has reconciled believers to himself by Jesus Christ, and that in this grand plan of reconciliation, the sins of the reconciled enemies are not imputed to them. They obtain acceptance with God, not as innocent or just in themselves, but as not being charged with their sins which are charged upon Christ. —Alexander Carson, The Doctrine of the Atonement, pp. 78-79.

Hence the need for the preaching of a crucified Saviour, for neither human morality, nor human merit, nor yet human martyrdom can cleanse away the stain of sin which adheres to every fallen son of Adam. There is but one righteousness which is accepted, and only one sacrifice that will meet heaven’s rigid standards, and that is the suffering death of the Lamb of God, and His resurrection to life that He might impute His own perfect righteousness to sinners. We ought to dwell much on the redeeming blood of Christ, for this will be our song throughout all the endless ages of eternity. "And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof, for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth" (Rev. 5:9-10).

Many people fail to see the need for the preaching of a suffering Saviour. Sometimes even genuinely saved people are soft on this truth, as Peter was on one occasion. For when Jesus "began to teach them, that the Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and of the chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again" (Mark 8:31), Peter rebuked his Lord. Of course, Peter had a good motive—he wanted to spare his Lord from suffering. But this is the way that God has ordained to save His people, for "Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God" (1 Pet. 3:18). "...Whereunto he called you by our gospel, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ," (2 Thess. 2:14).

However men may delight in the preaching of morals or legal righteousness or good works, yet let them realize that God has only promised to save men through the instrumentality of the preaching of the Gospel, and this Gospel must include an atonement wrought by the suffering Saviour. "Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). But the Christ referred to here is not the mythical Christ of the rationalist, nor is it the mere martyred Christ of the modernist, nor yet is it the mere human Christ of the agnostic. The One through Whom alone man has salvation is the God-man who suffered and died in the stead of man, and rose again for his justification.

Again, in the course of preaching this Gospel message, the church must be careful not to give a false impression as to the means of obtaining, or the grounds upon which salvation may be obtained. Men are want to speak of the conditions of salvation, but this is, technically speaking, a misnomer, for, of all the supposed "conditions of salvation" there is not one that is not occasionally mentioned in Scripture without salvation taking place. To cite but one example: men say that "Calling upon the name of the Lord" is a condition of salvation, but we find the condition met without the end resulting. They shall call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me (Prov.1:28). J. B. Moody has well expressed this in saying:

Let me repeat and close by saying that salvation sustains an important relation to repentance, faith, confession, baptism, good works and "endurance to the end," but it is a relation too sacred and too spiritual to be called by the legal term condition to the end. Let us magnify the scriptural terms of "way" and "means" of salvation, and drop forever the unscriptural term and legal idea of conditions of salvation.! —The Exceeding Riches of the Manifold Grace of God, p. 216.

In preaching this Gospel message we must set forth the fact that salvation is "by grace," and if we carefully attend to the meaning of this phrase, and faithfully set this forth in the message, we will thereby immediately eradicate many false notions about salvation. What is the meaning of this word "grace"? The word in the Greek New Testament is charis of which Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon says: "Good-will, lovingkindness, favor. Moreover, the word charis contains the idea of kindness which bestows upon one what he has not deserved." It has been suggested that a correct but more concise definition would be "unmerited" or "demerited favor."

The primary and principal sense of the word, is free favor; unmerited kindness ...Grace in the writings of Paul, stands in direct opposition to works and worthiness-all works and worthiness of every kind, and of every degree ...As the word mercy, in its primary signification, has relation to some creature, either actually in a suffering state, or obnoxious to it; so grace in its proper and strict sense, always presupposes unworthiness in its object. Hence, whenever any thing valuable is communicated by the blessed God to any of Adam’s apostate offspring, the communication of it cannot be of grace, any further than the person on whom it is conferred is considered as unworthy. For, so far as any degree, of worth appears, the province of grace ceases, and that of equity takes place ...That grace, therefore, about which we treat, may be thus defined: It is the eternal and absolutely free favor of God, manifested in the vouchsafement of spiritual and eternal blessings to the guilty and unworthy." —Abraham Booth, The Reign of Grace, pp. 46, 47.

To many denominations today, "grace" is the favor which (they believe) God bestows upon them because of their good works. But if this were true, then grace would not be unmerited favor at all, and man’s salvation would not be "of the Lord," but would be either wholly or at least in part, of man. Can anything be plainer in this matter than Paul’s words in Romans 11:6? "And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace."

God’s grace and human works are at antipodes where salvation is concerned, and the one must give way before the other. Those who preach a message of salvation based upon anything else than the grace of God manifest that they do not preach the Lord’s message, but rather a flesh-glorifying, and so, a man-pleasing message. "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Eph. 2:8-9).

For divine grace disdains to be assisted in the performance of that work which peculiarly belongs to itself, by the poor, imperfect performances of men. Attempts to complete what grace begins, betray our pride and offend the Lord, but cannot promote our spiritual interest. Let the reader, therefore, carefully remember, that grace is either absolutely free, or it is not at all: and, that he who professes to look for salvation by grace, either believes in his heart to be saved entirely by it, or he acts inconsistently in affairs of the greatest importance. —Abraham Booth, The Reign of Grace, p. 48.

But this means that salvation is thereby apart from any works of man, a message that is distasteful to the natural pride of man, and so will find little acceptance among the generality of men. Nevertheless, this is exactly what is declared in Scripture. "...not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us..." (Tit. 3:5). "But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness" (Rom. 4:5). "Who has saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began" (2 Tim. 1:9). "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved)" (Eph. 2:5). "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags" (Isa. 64:6). "I will declare thy righteousness, and thy works; for they shall not profit thee" (Isa. 57:12).

A favorite passage which is cited to prove works for salvation is Philippians 2:12: "...work out your own salvation with fear and trembling." However, several things in this passage and its context refute this idea. (1) It is expressly written to those who are already saved persons, 1:1. (2) It deals with the manifestation of salvation, not with the means of it. This might be paraphrased "Work outwardly that salvation which has been wrought in you, so that the world may behold it." (3) Verse 13 puts the power of any accomplishment in the Lord Himself. (4) This outworking does not make them sons of God, but it does make them "blameless and harmless" and "without rebuke" in the eyes of the world.

The principle of man’s having no part in working for his salvation may be seen in the feasts of Leviticus 23 in which the warning is given ten times (vv. 3, 7, 8, 21, 25, 28, 30, 35, 36) to refrain from work on memorial or feast days. This was because these commemorated Christ’s work in the plan of redemption. The most solemn warning, of death itself, is given for that person who worked on the day of atonement, because that day commemorated Christ’s complete and final atoning work for the sins of Israel.

God would not allow that which pictured Christ’s redemptive work to be perverted so as to give an erroneous picture. "13y the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but his man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; from henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool. For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" (Heb. 10:10-14).

The Lord certainly expects His people to maintain good works after salvation, for it is written: "This is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good works" (Tit. 3:8); but first things must be first.

"...Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works" (James 2:17-18). It is to be observed in this passage, that everywhere works are mentioned, they are preceded by faith, for this deals with proving to men that one is saved. "...a man may say... shew me...I will shew thee..." God doesn’t need to be shown our faith by our works, for He can look into our hearts and see our faith. Yea, He is the source of any faith found in the heart. But it is not so with man. We must prove our faith to men. Thus the admonition of Matthew 5:16: "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven." "So" means in this manner, and points back to "on a candlestick" (v.15), which is a symbol of a church (Rev. 1:20). Good works by Christians are to be done in and through a New Testament church, which is the place where God is glorified (Eph. 3:21).

Reference is sometimes made to James 2:21-26 as proof of salvation by works, but both of the instances cited, Abraham and Rahab, only manifested that they were already saved by the works that they did. The crux of this whole passage is, Can that faith which produces no good works be the faith that saves a man? (See v. 14), where the inspired Greek text reads "Can that faith save him?" It has been well said that Faith alone saves, but not the faith which is alone.

If faith produce no works, I see
That faith is not a living tree:
Thus faith and works together grow;
No separate life they e’er can know;
They’re soul and body, hand and heart—
What God hath joined, let no man part.

—Hannah More

In the penitent thief upon the cross we have the most significant proof of salvation apart from any kind or degree of works. We cannot do better than quote the words of J. B. Moody in regard to this man who was totally devoid of any good works either before his conversion, or afterward for the rest of his short life.

Example is better than Precept, because better understood. Hence, the Bible abounds with this kind of teaching. In discussing this subject therefore, I have selected the most wonderful Example of Saving Grace. Not so noted, but more remarkable even than Paul’s conversion in two important features. Paul was a great moralist before his conversion, doing always as he verily believed God’s service. "As touching the righteousness that was in the law, he was blameless." But in this example I have chosen to illustrate Saving Grace, the very opposite is true. The law that would justify the one would crucify the other, as they themselves acknowledged. He was not only without legal righteousness, but full of iniquity. In morality before conversion they were the antipodes of each other.

Again, Paul’s life after conversion was full of gospel righteousness. He was "saved by grace, through faith, and not of works," as he said, but "unto good works, which God before ordained that he should walk in them," and which he did. Yet, both his legal righteous before conversion, and his gospel righteousness after conversion, are considered by many as procuring causes, or at least, contributing causes, to his salvation by grace. But this can’t be done for our subject, for he had neither. There were no good works of any kind before or after conversion to mix with his ‘salvation by grace,’ hence it is an eye opener, and ought to be a mouth stopper. —Exceeding Riches of the Manifold Grace of God, pp. 57-58.

Here we behold with wonder and contemplate with joy the conduct of the Lord Redeemer in making choice of one as his companion to glory, when he made his exit and left the world. Of one who had—not like Enoch, walked with God; not like Abraham, rejoiced to see the day of Christ, and longed for its commencement; nor like old Simeon, waited with ardent expectation for the consolation of Israel; but of one who, for aught appears to the contrary, had devoted all his time and all his talents to the service of Satan; of one, whom the sword of civil justice permitted not to live; and who, in the eye of the public, was less worthy of mercy than Barabas himself, who was guilty of sedition and murder; was a vile incendiary and a bloody ruffian... Here, also, we behold in a striking light, the sovereignty of grace. For the other thief, though not more unworthy, dies unrelenting, and is lost forever. Here the Almighty shows that he will have mercy on whom he will have mercy; for, one is taken and the other left...But why was this, if not to show, that as the best of men have no solid foundation of hope, except the blood of the cross; so the very worst and the vilest that ever deserved a gibbet, have no reason to sink in despair while they behold the Lord of life expire in such company; and especially when they remember that he took one of those villains with him to glory...For salvation is entirely by grace; and grace is unconditional favor. Grace, therefore, has no regard to any real or supposed difference among men. All whom it relieves are considered as on the same level; the most moral, the most profligate, being equally without help and hope in themselves. —Abraham Booth, The Reign of Grace, pp. 129-130, 132.

Here then, in the penitent thief on the cross, is undeniable proof that at least one man was saved by pure grace, for he had neither before nor after his conversion any good works to commend him to God, and if one man is saved this way, must not all be saved in the same way? Indeed, does not Acts 4:12 preclude any other person or plan of salvation? Verily so!

But we may broaden this subject and notice that not only is the church to preach a message of salvation though grace apart from works, but it is also to preach salvation apart from ordinances, whether divinely or humanly ordained. Many people believe that the Israelite was saved by the rite of circumcision, but this ordinance, though divinely given, was never a talisman to open heaven’s gates. All male Jews were compelled to be circumcised as infants, yet only a very small portion of them were ever saved, and the one who holds to a sacramental salvation through circumcision, must consign all female Jews to hell for not being circumcised, and admit all male Jews, however reprobate, to heaven because they have been circumcised.

But what saith the Scriptures? "Seeing it is one God, which shall justify the circumcision by faith, and uncircumcision through faith" (Rom. 3:30). "Cometh this blessedness then upon the circumcision only, or upon the uncircumcision also? For we say that faith was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How was it then reckoned? When in circumcision, or in uncircumcision? Not in circumcision, but in uncircumcision. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also: and the father of circumcision to them who are not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of that faith of our father Abraham, which he had being yet uncircumcised" (Rom. 4:9-12). If the "father of all who believe" (Rom. 4:11, 16), was saved while yet uncircumcised, how then can circumcision be requisite to salvation.

Not only does circumcision not save, but those who seek salvation by means of circumcision are hindered from salvation. "...If ye be circumcised [i.e., with a view to being saved by it], Christ shall profit you nothing" (Gal. 5:2). Salvation is either all of grace, or not at all by it.

This theory of salvation through circumcision was condemned once for all by the Jerusalem church in counsel, for certain men had come down from Judaea and taught the Gentile believers that "Except ye be circumcised after the manner of Moses, ye cannot be saved" (Acts 15:1). But the unanimous decision of Peter, Barnabas, Paul, James and all of the apostles and Elders, and the whole Jerusalem church was that circumcision was not necessary to salvation. "And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did us; and put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? But we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be saved, even as they" (Acts 15:8-11). Letters to this effect were then sent out to those churches which had been troubled by these who had sought to pervert the Gospel.

This principle, which was set forth by the first church through its divinely appointed and inspired leaders, is broad enough to cover any and every case of sacramentalism, and it leaves no hope to depraved and rebellious men of salvation except through the grace of God. Yet the majority of professing Christendom still clings to "the way of Cain" (Jude 11), the worship of the works of their own hands.

Even those ordinances of the tabernacle had no intrinsic value apart from their typical and prophetic significance. "Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience" (Heb. 9:9). "For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins," (Heb. 10:4). "And every priest standeth daily ministering and offering oftentimes the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins: but this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God" (Heb. 10:11-12).

We have no doubt that many in Old Testament times sought salvation by their own works, and to them these offerings lost all significance and became only empty rituals. But this certainly was not the case with all, for we find a great many who gave clear evidence of being saved solely by grace through faith in the coming Redeemer. Our Lord Himself testified "Search the Scriptures [The Old Testament Scriptures, for these were all that then existed] for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me" (John 5:39). However, we doubt if the ratio of mere ritualists to true saints was any greater in Old Testament days than it is in professing Christendom today. Look at the multiplicity of beliefs concerning salvation in the world now. What it all boils down to is this, the natural man, so long as his fleshly pride and will are not crucified, is going to believe just what he wants to believe, and he wants to believe that he can get to heaven by his own doings. Thus, he will justify his beliefs in his own mind by whatever sophistry or wresting of Scripture as is necessary.

We next pass to the ordinances of the church and consider how these are also thought by many to be the means of salvation. Almost all of Protestantism and Catholicism declare their belief in sacramental grace according to their creeds and denomination symbols and standards. And it matters not that sometimes they preach salvation by grace if they adhere to sacramentalism in belief and practice.

In all ages men have built their hopes of salvation either upon their own good works, or upon the grace of God; or upon some admixture of the two. The doctrine of St. Paul unquestionably is, that we are justified by faith alone, and not by the deeds of the law. That our salvation is "not of works, lest any man should boast;" but that it is by grace alone we are saved. Justification being a gratuitous thing, and good works the necessary results of a living faith; the effects, therefore, and not in any degree the meritorious cause of our salvation...Infant baptism has generally been held to involve a saving change from a state of darkness into one of grace, thus putting an act of man in the place of the free gift of God. In the Church of Rome this is, and has been ever, the doctrine avowed, and in the Church of England, since the Reformation, her formularies have retained the same language, though in contradiction to the spirit of her articles. —T. F. Curtis, The Progress of Baptist Principles, pp. 329, 332.

Let the reader check the creeds, symbols and standards of all the first and second generation offspring of the Reformation, and he will find this a truth, that theoretically they all subscribe to a belief in baptismal regeneration, whatever they may preach to the contrary. Both baptism and the Lord’s Supper have been held to be saving ordinances, but more emphasis is put upon baptism in this matter, and this is the whole basis of the practice of infant baptism, notwithstanding the assertions to the contrary. William Wall, who wrote one of the most extensive defenses of infant baptism ever written, acknowledges as much.

Most of the pedobaptists go no farther than St. Austin does; they hold that God, by His Spirit, does at the time of baptism, seal and apply to the infant that is there dedicated to Him, the promises of the covenant of which He is capable, viz., adoption, pardon of sin, translation from the state of nature to that of grace, etc. On which account the infant is said to be regenerated of for by] the Spirit. —History Of Infant Baptism, Vol. I, p. 147.

Such a belief, though widely accepted, is contrary to the whole system of grace as set forth in Scripture, and overthrows the Biblical teaching of justification by faith in the Lord Jesus. R. B. C. Howell well says:

Justification by faith, I have said, is a fundamental doctrine of the gospel. It is vital. It is "the faith once delivered to the saints." No system from which it is excluded, can ever be justly regarded as embodying the religion of Christ. It was taught by the apostles, and early ministers, constantly, forcibly, emphatically. It was cherished by the primitive churches as a priceless truth. How can we account for its abandonment by the professed followers of Jesus Christ? There is, I answer, an inherent tendency in human nature, renewed though it may be, to pass from the substance to the forms of religion. The transition is so easy that it can only be prevented by perpetual vigilance. —The Evils of Infant Baptism, pp. 102-103.

We have already covered this ground quite extensively in Chapter Five of this work, and so it is not necessary to go over it again. We request that the reader turn back and read our comments there. It is sufficient that the Scriptures declare that men are not saved by doing works of righteousness (Tit. 3:5), and that they declare that baptism is a work of righteousness which it is becoming that we observe (Matt. 3:13-15). It ought to be obvious to every honest enquirer that every place where the words "washing." "cleansing," "water," etc., appear is not of necessity a reference to baptism. Indeed, God’s Word teaches in many places a spiritual washing which takes place in the soul of man in salvation, and to which literal water cannot reach. The "washing of regeneration," sometimes supposed to refer to baptism, is such a case. "Regeneration" simply means "the new birth," and the washing of regeneration is the spiritual cleansing which takes place in the soul when it is born again. There is not a single reference to baptism which men hold to teach baptismal regeneration, but that is susceptible of another interpretation which would harmonize better with the rest of Scripture.

The whole matter turns upon the question of whether man is willing for God to get the glory for man’s salvation, or does man lay claim to that glory himself. To maintain a doctrine of sacramental salvation is for man to claim that he saves himself, or is saved by some other human’s action. But to recognize that salvation is all of grace, and therefore all of God, is for man to deny himself, crucify the flesh and all its proud assumption, and to trust alone in God’s bounty.

What, therefore, should this message of the church set forth as concerns the means of this "salvation by grace?" It should set forth the fact that "salvation is by grace through faith" in Christ’s finished work of redemption. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; by whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand" (Rom. 5:1-2). "But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: for all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:21-23). The Philippian jailor "Brought them out, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved" (Acts 16:30-31). "And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved" (Acts 2:21). "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36). "Thy faith hath saved thee" (Luke 7:50). "And by him all that believe are justified from all things" (Acts 13:39).

Salvation is a glorious present possession which comes to every person when he repents and trusts in Christ, for the proper order is "repentance toward God, and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ" (Acts 20:21). But here someone will perhaps say, "O then you believe that faith saves you!" True, and yet we must here be careful, for it must be understood that faith is not meritorious—it doesn’t earn us anything—but it is rather appropriative. That is to say, faith itself does not make a person worthy of salvation, nor does it earn salvation, but conversely, it is the admitting of one’s guilt and hopelessly undone condition, and the casting of oneself wholly upon God’s mercy. Nor is this faith even the product of man; it is the gift of God.

Faith itself is a matter of the prevenient grace of God, for faith is given by God, and is not a product of man either in his natural, nor renewed state. "And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed," Acts 13:48. In its barest literality, this verse teaches that a person believes because he has been elected to salvation, and not that he is of the elect because he has believed, as so much of the religious world believes.

As to the much-controverted passage in Acts 13:48, "And as many as were ordained to eternal life believed," the only natural interpretation is that they believed because of their ordination to eternal life. The Arminian view is without foundation in the Word of God; for election is the source, the only source, whence spring faith, holiness, and good works. —J. M. Pendleton, Christian Doctrines, p. 108.

When I was a young fellow and had not imbibed the doctrine of predestination I wanted that to read, "And as many as believed were ordained to eternal life." Perhaps that is the way you want to interpret it. Dr. Broadus said, "Let the scripture mean what it wants to mean," and you let that passage stand—ordination to precede eternal life. Ordination to eternal life takes place in eternity. Paul, in Romans 8, gives us the order. Many modern people do not believe it. We seldom ever hear anybody preach a sermon on it. I heard a strong preacher once say, "I just can’t believe it." Romans 8:29 reads, "For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son...and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified." Justification comes at believing. So unless that passage reads "As many as were ordained to eternal life, believed," it would break Paul’s chain all to pieces. —B. H. Carroll, An Interpretation of the English Bible, Vol. 12, p. 253.

This was the verse that broke this writer’s Arminian back, and brought him to understand and to submit to the glorious doctrines of grace. Many commentators were consulted in order to find an alternative meaning to this verse. And many and various interpretations were found, some of which were very foolish and far-fetched, yet many commentators, even some who did not subscribe to the doctrines of grace, honestly acknowledged that the English translation expressed the Greek text correctly. Several eminently qualified Greek scholars declared that in no way could this ever mean that "as many as believed were ordained to eternal life," which man, in his self-sufficiency would like for it to read. The question is then, Must we seek for another meaning than that which is most obvious? If this passage stood alone in apparently teaching this, and if it contradicted other clear statements of the Word, we might be justified in seeking another than the literal meaning. On the other hand, if we find other passages which, taken in their most obvious sense and barest literality, teach the same thing, then we are not only not justified in seeking another interpretation, but we manifest the rankest unbelief of God’s Word, and do great harm to ourselves if we do.

Do we find the Scriptures teaching that every man has the inherent ability to believe God’s truth, or is faith the gift of God to specially chosen people only. The following passages leave no doubt in this matter: "Who [Apollos] when he was come, helped them much which had believed through grace" (Acts 18:27). "...according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith" (Rom. 12:3). "Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man?" (1 Cor. 3:5). The "every man" in the two preceding references is limited to those addressed "saints" in both instances. By no stretch of the imagination can it refer to all mankind being given "the ability to believe if they will but exercise their wills" as Arminians hold. "For unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for his sake" (Phil. 1:29). "Lydia...whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul" (Acts 16:14). In this verse, the word "that" expresses the purpose of this "open heart surgery" which the Lord performed. It was in order that she would attend to those thing being preached, and believe them. Romans 10:10 further shows the reason for this: "For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness." God opened her heart to instill faith in it.

"And God...put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith" (Acts 15:9). Here it is God Who is doing the purifying of the heart, and He does it by faith. The act is clearly God’s not man’s. "Lord, increase our faith" (Luke 17:5). If God can give more faith, cannot and must He not give initial faith? "But there are some of you that believe not...Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father" (John 6:64, 65). The word "therefore" connects the unbelief of these with the fact that it had not been given unto them of the Father to come unto Christ another evidence that faith is God’s gift to men. This is a hard saying, yet we are not at liberty to cast it out because we cannot understand it in our finite minds, nor because it crushes our carnal pride into the dust of the earth. "Ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you" (John 10:26). Again, this is hard to understand, but taken at face value, it simply means that if one is of the elect, then God will give faith to believe on Christ.

The reader cannot accuse the writer of "interpreting" these passages unnaturally, for they have all been set forth simply at face value, and yet each and all harmonize completely with Acts 13:48. In fact, the opposite is true. One must "interpret" these verses in order to come to any other conclusion. The only natural explanation of these numerous passages is that faith is God’s gift to man, given solely to the elect, and that this is but another evidence of God’s grace acting antecedently to all human action.

Faith in Christ and holy obedience are represented by the unerring Spirit as the fruits and effects of election: they cannot, therefore, be considered as the cause without absurdity in reason, and a contradiction to the Divine revelation...By which we are taught, that believing in him does not make us sheep, or give us a right to the character; but is an evidence that we were so considered in the sight of God, and given into the hands of the great Shepherd to be saved by him...Besides, if men were foreseen as possessed of faith and holiness, prior to their election, and independent on it: it is hard to conceive what occasion there was for their being elected. There could be no necessity for it to secure their final happiness. —Abraham Booth, The Reign of Grace, pp. 61-62, 63.

There is no natural ability in man where salvation is concerned, and the church is not to preach that there is. Multitudes are daily going out into a Christless eternity simply because false churches have preached a false gospel of "natural ability" in man. If man has a natural ability to believe then he has no reason to be concerned about salvation until death draws nigh, for the last moment of life will do as well as any other time, and he may enjoy life to its fullest before believing the Gospel. But if man has no such "natural ability," then what folly it is for him to reject a God-given opportunity when he may never again have such an opportunity. "Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me" (Prov. 1:28), is God’s answer to the procrastinators.

The Lord’s churches have a message to present, and it is a message of hope, yet they have no right to make that message any more extensive or broad than the Lord Himself has made it. To go beyond that message, or to compromise concerning that message is to be unfaithful to one’s charge, and to endanger the souls of those who look to the Lord’s churches to faithfully present God’s message. The duty of preaching the Gospel is great, and doubtless few churches are as faithful in this as they ought to be. Very few churches have men who have been as faithful in preaching "all the counsel of God" as Paul was, Acts 20:27.

Preaching the gospel, implies a declaration of the whole system of truth and duty, contained in divine revelation; as all these are implied in the gospel, and have relation to the covenant of grace. Though some truths are more essential and important than others, and the gospel may be said to be preached, while some are overlooked; yet it cannot be fully preached, unless the whole are brought into view; and must be in a degree defective, by opposing and rejecting any revealed truth. Therefore, to preach the gospel, is to declare all the counsel of God, as the Apostle Paul did. Every doctrine revealed in the Bible, and every duty prescribed, has a connection with the whole; and all make but one consistent system. The whole may be summed up and epitomized, in a more general and comprehensive way, by expressly mentioning only the leading and most essential truths contained in the gospel, while others, though not mentioned, are implied; and every particular truth, and branch of duty, may be particularly brought into view, and explained, as there is occasion, and opportunity offers; in which the longest life may be spent in teaching, and making advances in learning, and the knowledge of the truth. —Samuel Hopkins, System of Doctrine, Vol. II, p. 109.

Having considered the prerequisites to the Gospel message, and the actual preaching of this Gospel message, we may now go on to consider the encouragements to the fulfilling of this duty. We note therefore—

There are included in this Gospel message which is committed to the Lord’s churches some grand and glorious promises. The chiefest of which, so far as the individual himself is concerned, is the promise of a present salvation. In no case in all of the Bible is the assurance of salvation ever put in the future. The only times salvation is ever referred to the future is when it is in reference to the consummation of salvation, the redemption of the body at the resurrection. The salvation of the soul is a present reality. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life" (John 3:36).

Let the reader consider every instance of conversion in the New Testament, and he will find that in every case it was an instantaneous conversion. There are no "hang-fire" conversions in the Bible, but rather so soon as anyone trusted in Christ, he was instantaneously changed into a "new creation in Christ Jesus" (2 Cor. 5:17). That person who contents himself with the hope that he will ultimately be "saved in heaven," is sadly deceived, for no one will be saved after he gets to heaven. Salvation must take place upon earth or not at all. To the woman who was a sinner, Jesus spoke this comforting word: ‘My faith hath saved thee; go in peace" (Luke 7:50). The verb "saved" is in the perfect tense, which is a past action with continuing results. And "in" is literally "into," so that she was assured of being in a continuing state of salvation and could go into a state of peace. This interfaces with Romans 5:1.

Churches ought to emphasize this promise, lest any unrenewed person go out into a Christless eternity thinking that it was unimportant that he had no assurance of salvation. If any person does not have the assurance that his sins are forgiven him, he ought not to rest until he has determined why he lacks this assurance, and then makes sure that he has the assurance of present acceptance with God. To be unconcerned as to whether one is genuinely born again is the height of folly. And, while absence of assurance of salvation is not an infallible proof that one is not saved, yet it does give a strong presumption in direction.

God’s churches ought to remember that while He has not guaranteed in every case to save the lost that hear the Gospel message, yet it has "pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe" (1 Cor. 1:21). A promise such as this should encourage every New Testament church to persevere in the propagation of this message. The key word here is "believe," which we have before noted to be required in every instance of salvation. But there are many spurious faiths that lull deceived souls into the sleep of death. Many of the Scriptures requiring faith demand faith in or on Christ. That involves a trust in Him, not a mere mental conviction about Jesus. And such a faith is only possible to those who have been born again. Many have been deceived into trusting in their supposed "faith" instead of trusting in the Saviour, and such think that by their faith they bring about the new birth. For this reason it is common to hear modern "hymns" which extol "my faith" more than the Saviour to whom faith is to be directed if it is a saving faith. And many, many misguided evangelists and "soul winners" declare that "if you will just believe in Jesus, then you’ll be born again." But that is to make man his own saviour, and to make his supposed faith a meritorious work. On the contrary, in every New Testament text where the new birth and faith are mentioned together, the new birth is prior to, and the cause of, the trust in the Saviour. This is to be seen in John 1:12-13, where "believe" is a present participle, while "born" is aorist tense, denoting a once for all act in past time. The same thing is true in 1 Peter 1:21-23, where "believe" is again a present participle, but "born" is a perfect passive participle, denoting a past act in which the subject had no part, but which has continuing results. These same tenses appear in 1 John 5:1 in the same context. These, as well as other such passages teach exactly what Jesus implied in John 11:26, that life must precede the activities of life, which is what faith is. A dead man cannot do anything but become more corrupt, and a spiritually dead man cannot perform any acceptable spiritual act.

The old, sounder theologians all held to these truths, and only in the Twentieth Century have too many ministers become ambitious to have a name as a "great power of God" who has many converts, and to pastor a church of "respectable size" instead of a smaller, truly spiritual church. This has led to much compromise regarding the Gospel, but the compromise has not resulted in receiving the promises.

Prophecy in Isaiah 53:10 foretells that God would see the seed of Christ as a result of His redemptive work. However, it is of the greatest importance that the proper procedure be followed in calling out the seed. Paul was moved in Galatians 4:2131 to use a most striking allegory to illustrate right and wrong methods of evangelism. God had promised a "seed" to Abraham and Sarah, and only the power of God could bring this about. They became impatient to obtain the seed, and thought to help God out of His dilemma, into which, they supposed, God had gotten Himself. They went to the Egyptian handmaiden [Egypt symbolizes the world] to accomplish the promise, and forever after to this day Ishmael has been the persecutor of Isaac. This has a spiritual counterpart in many churches today. It is a sad fact that is to be seen all about us that many well meaning people resort to worldly methods to get "converts," and most of these are spiritual Ishmaels—children of the flesh, and not true Isaacs—the children of the promise. The inevitable result is that these children of the flesh will continually be a hindrance to the true Isaacs, and will eventually corrupt the church until it becomes as worldly as they are.

God has given many and great promises to His churches, but He has never put the power of conversion into the hand of any man or group of men. It is always His work alone. Our duty is to preach the Gospel, and leave the result to God. But when we do so, the results become certain, for God does not fail in His purposes.

Therefore, the promise in this message to the individual is that by faith in Christ he not only has salvation, but he has an everlasting salvation. In salvation God pardons, He doesn’t just parole, only to send a man away into eternal fire at his first sin after salvation. The Scriptures abound with references to the eternal security of the saints. The great mistake of many persons is putting salvation on the basis of human works, and even many people who believe that one is saved by grace will turn around and inconsistently account man able and responsible to keep himself saved by his own works. Is not this a reflection upon the merits of Christ’s sacrifice?

"I give unto them eternal life: and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand" (John 10:28-29). This statement of the Lord Jesus cannot be controverted except by an outright denial of the Lord’s words, which, no doubt, some will do in order to hold to their own belief. Notice, however, that: First, those who are not His sheep are characterized by unbelief (v. 26). "But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep." Second, His sheep are manifest by their hearing His voice and following Him (v. 27). "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." Many people try to apply God’s promise to those not entitled to it.

I have no right to appropriate to myself the blessed and comforting words of the Saviour found in John 10:28, 29, unless I answer to the description of His "sheep" found in John 10:27; and I have no warrant for applying His promise to those who give no evidence of being conformed to the characters of those He there has in view. —A. W. Pink, Exposition of Hebrews, Vol. I, p. 178.

Third, to those who are so manifest, He gives eternal life (v. 28). Many so-called gifts today are anything but gifts, but a true gift cannot be obtained by any farm of bartering, but must be received apart from consideration of any kind. And true giving involves acceptance of the gift by the donee, otherwise it is only an offer and not a gift. Therefore, if Christ were to give eternal life to His sheep, and one of them were to lose his eternal life, there would be a contradiction of terms, for this would make it evident that either that individual never had eternal life, or else that the life which he had was not eternal. The words "have eternal life" (John 3:15-16, and in essence many other places) cannot by any means be harmonized with the teaching of falling from grace.

Fourth, not only does our Lord give eternal life, but He adds "and they shall never perish." This is much stronger in the inspired text, for literally the Greek reads "they shall never, ever perish." The Greek has a double negative for emphasis, and while in English this would be incorrect grammar, it is perfectly proper in Greek. The Lord did not qualify His statement by a list of "ifs". The only qualification is that they be "my sheep."

Fifth, "Neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand." "Any one" is perhaps a better rendering, for the one Greek word which embodies both English words "any" and "man" (hence the italics), is an inclusive term which leaves no one with the power to pluck a genuine saint out of the hand of the Lord. It includes every adversary from the devil down to the individual himself. "Shall not" is another clear statement which cannot be spiritualized, rationalized, nor dispensationalized to mean anything but what it says. "Out of my hand." Then the believer is not in his own hand, but in Christ’s! Whence then do men get the idea that they must labor to keep themselves saved? Our salvation from beginning to end is a matter of divine grace, not of human works. Our final salvation is not dependent upon our "enduring unto the end" as is so often quoted. The passage which is so often quoted in this regard (Matt. 24:13), deals: (1) With the elect Jews. (2) During the Great Tribulation period. (3) The end in question is not the end of life, but is the end of the Tribulation when Israel as a nation shall be born again (Rom. 11:24-27; Zech. 13:8-9). And (4) Those who fail to endure are not men who fall into sin, but rather are those who are killed by the devil’s forces.

Sixth, the final power in security is "my Father." The Father predestinated certain ones to be His Son’s "sheep" (Rom. 8:29). They were His by right of creation, and He gave them to be the Son’s by right of redemption. Jesus said, "My Father...is greater than all," and because of this, "No man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand." Then the saint is not only in Christ’s hand, but also in the hand of the Father. Here is double security! If a truly born again person could be lost, it would be because someone was more powerful than God, and so was able to take him from God, or else because God broke His word and cast him off. But who has the impiety to make either assertion? These things are both impossible from the very nature of God.

Failure to differentiate between the two natures in man has wrought a great deal of confusion in this matter. In regeneration, it is the soul that is born anew, not the body. It is the soul that is cleansed so that it cannot sin. The body of the saint still retains a fearful propensity to sin (1 John 1:8; Rom. 7:18), and will continue so until Christ returns to resurrect and glorify the sleeping bodies of the saints, and to renovate and glorify the living bodies of the saints (1 Thess. 4:13-18; 1 Cor. 15:51-55; Rom. 8:23). It was the soul that died when Adam sinned (Gen. 2;17), leaving every person spiritually dead (Eph. 2:1); and it is the soul which receives everlasting life in the Lord Jesus. The body is unchanged by salvation.

"I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, not things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Rom. 8:38-39). Again we find the Scriptures refuting the idea that a saved person can sin away his salvation. There is not one thing that assails the souls of men which does not fall into one of the above mentioned categories, and the inspired apostle tells us that not one of these, nor any other created thing, "shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus..." Why is this? Because the saint is not saved by his own merits, but by those of Christ. Therefore, being saved by Christ’s merits, he could not be lost because of his own demerits.

But we cannot forget that as God put the terms of salvation so high that we could not of ourselves make them; so He has put our title-deeds to salvation so high that we may not mar them, having hidden them "with Christ in God." As "holy Rutherford" says, "Unbelief may perhaps tear the copies of the covenant which Christ hath given you; but He still keeps the original in heaven with Himself. Your doubts and fears are no part of the covenant, neither can they change Christ." —A. J. Gordon, In Christ, p. 122.

Before any person can prove the doctrine of falling from grace, he must first prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that the person concerned was a genuine saint at one time. Then he must prove equally certainly that the same individual was finally and irreparably lost and went to hell. But there is not a single case on record in the Holy Writ in which both of these things can be shown concerning the same person. There are certainly cases where men can be shown to have lost their kingdoms and their lives because of sin, as King Saul did. And it can be proven that through sin a saint can lose the joy of his salvation, as King David did, but these things do not suffice to prove that God’s saints may be lost after they are saved.

Doubtless Judas Iscariot is the most oft cited example of a saint being finally lost, yet Judas’ case is cited in the teeth of the express statement of the Lord Himself, who declared that Judas was never a saved person. "Have not I chosen you twelve, and one of you is a devil? He spoke of Judas Iscariot the son of Simon: for he it was that should betray him, being one of the twelve" (John 6:70-71). "...ye are clean, but not all. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, Ye are not all clean" (John 13:10-11). Throughout Jesus speaks of Judas as being in this state, not of him being in danger of entering into this state. "While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition: that the scripture might be fulfilled" (John 17:12). This does not imply that Judas was once saved but fell away and was lost, for He is termed "the son of perdition," a Hebraism for one being characterized as of a perditious character, and therefore destined for that place. There should be a full stop after "lost." "But the son of perdition [is lost] that the Scripture might be fulfilled." This is proven by the repetition of this in 18:9, where it is shown that "lost" is the end of the sentence. The apostles declared that "He was numbered with us and had obtained part of this ministry. Now this man purchased a field with the reward of iniquity" (Acts 1:17-18). And in Acts 1:25 Judas is said to have gone to his own place, which is a reference to perdition, since he was known by the Saviour to be a son of perdition from the beginning. And John wrote, "They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have continued with us: but they went out, that they might be made manifest that they were not all of us" (1 John 2:19). This exactly accords with Judas’ case. There is not the least evidence that he was ever saved. Conversely, there is a great deal of evidence that he was a mere pretender.

Two passages in the book of Hebrews are relied upon primarily to prove that saved souls can be lost. The first of these is Hebrews 6:4-6. "For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost, and have tasted the good word of God, and the powers of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to renew them again unto repentance; seeing they crucify the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame.

But the writer here was not speaking of an actual case, but presented a hypothetical case to warn