Tag Archives: gospel

Dec 15 2011

God came to me.


I’ve recently been thinking through what I believe about God, about His scheme of redemption, and how in the person of Jesus He brings sinners like me to himself. In two recent posts, here and here, I tried to display a snapshot of man’s sinfulness and his hopeless and helpless condition without God. In this post I want to show what I believe is the clear teaching of Scripture about how a person  is awakened to the grace and mercy of God in Christ.

It is very common to hear someone serve up the idea that salvation is a cooperative effort, “God’s part” and “man’s part“. For many years I have contended that this idea is not true, and cannot be true. Two verses come to mind that are convincing.

The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
1 Corinthians 2:14

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.
Romans 8:7

A person in his natural state of being is so alienated from God, and the things of God because of sin, that he does not and cannot receive the things of God. Look closely at these verses.

1. A natural man “does not accept the things of the Spirit of God“.

Left to his own devices and his own resources a person without God will not accept the truth of God. This is true every time, in every case. Why? Because the things of God are “foolishness” to him. The story of the passion of Christ makes no sense to him. I have spoken to many people who upon being told of God’s love expressed in the work of Jesus’ death for sinners, and that he now makes sinners pure without their participation, reject it outright. They want no part of it! Man always wants to get credit for his goodness.

2. A natural man “does not submit to God’s law“.

It isn’t that a person without God is neutral, that he just has no interest. Oh no, the truth is he is in rebellion against God. He is “hostile” toward God. He doesn’t “accept” the things of God, and doesn’t “submit” to God’s law because he is against God in his heart.

3. A natural man “is not able to understand” the things of God. And, he “cannot submit” to God’s law.

Here in these two verses is the picture of men and women apart from God who have NO ability on their own to receive the truth about God, to understand, or to submit to Him. You might say to yourself, “If these verses are literally true then how could anyone ever be saved”? It’s a legitimate question and there is an answer, but first one more passage to affirm the utter hopelessness of people without God.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience—among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
Ephesians 2:1-3

Here the Apostle Paul is speaking to folks who are now God’s very own children. He is reminding them of their past and the awful condition of that ugly past. They were “dead” to the things of God, they lived in “trespasses” and “sins“, they were on a course like the rest of the world, following Satan (“the prince of the power of the air”), they lived only to please themselves, and were “children of wrath” like everyone else.

This is indeed a pretty sad state. Here is a people who are dead in sin, dead to the things of God, following the devil, against God, not willing to accept or submit to God, and in fact cannot possibly do so. How then can a person come to Christ and be saved? Thank God the passage above did not end with verse 3.

But God, being rich in mercy,because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.
Ephesians 2:4-5

Yes, people are helpless and hopeless. Yes, they are dead to God, are his enemy, and can’t do anything about it. They have absolutely NO ability to come to God. But God! 

God came to where we were. Right in the middle of our rebellion, our spiritual death, our selfish, ungodly lives and “made us alive together with Christ“! My salvation and yours was by God’s initiative, not mine or yours.

You see, this is precisely what grace is! God loves sinners and he provided a remedy for their sins and then comes to gather them to himself. Paul continues….

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10

But for God’s work in us and for us, shining the light of the truth of the gospel into our dark souls we should all perish in our ungodly condition. But He does come to us! The Holy Spirit stirs the heart to faith and repentance and the light of the gospel dispels the darkness of sin and unbelief and God gives LIFE to the lifeless!

“Nothing in my hand I bring, only to the cross I cling” goes the old song. I can claim no worth, no merit, no work. I can only give glory and praise to a loving God who makes the dead live and love! Oh how wonderful is the story of Jesus and his love for sinners like me. Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord! He alone can save the lost sinner.

May God’s truth grip our hearts and minds so that He alone has the glory he deserves.

Royce Ogle

 

 

Nov 13 2011

We contributed the need


 

 

This post is by my cherished friend and mentor Edward Fudge.

God created human beings to enjoy sweet fellowship with himself. But instead of obeying God, we have broken his laws, ignored his wishes, displeased him and gone astray. As surely as human life is God’s gift, just that surely the consequence of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). How can a just and merciful God pronounce sinners “not guilty” and treat them as if they have done exactly what he desired? If he shows mercy, he will not be just. If he does justice, he will not show mercy. Humanly speaking, grace seems an impossible dream. God resolved this dilemma in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. God himself took on human nature and became a baby boy in the womb of the Virgin Mary.

In Jesus, the offended came to the offenders. In a human body, created for that purpose, Jesus gave God the perfect human obedience he had always wanted but had never before received (Heb. 10:5-10). By doing that, Jesus showed God’s law to be both great and glorious (Isaiah 42:21). In one of his last prayers, Jesus could say, “I have finished the work that you gave me to do” (John 17:4). Jesus then offered that faithful life “for sin,” in his body on the cross, fulfilling the Isaiah prophecy of one who would “make his life an offering for sin” (53:10).

On the cross like a great lightning rod suspended between heaven and earth, Jesus absorbed all the consequences of human sin — consequences culminating in his death. At the same time, Jesus gave God the Father the only life ever lived in perfect loving obedience to him. Jesus could therefore shout from the cross, “it is finished!” and with the satisfaction of an accomplished work, die satisfied (John 19:30; Isa. 53:11). God’s grace did not come cheap, although for its recipients it is absolutely free.

In the work that accomplished salvation, there is no such thing as “God’s part” and “our part.” It was wholly God’s work to reconcile, justify and redeem, and he did that in Jesus, once for all. Our work comes after God has finished his work, and it is totally a response to God’s work — of grateful obedience and praise. Not until we have accepted the “it is finished!” concerning Jesus’ work are we ready to hear “It is beginning” concerning our own work. And God’s saving work is what he did in Jesus, not something he does in us. It was outside of us, for us.

 

 

Sep 8 2011

Eternal life is not a what, it is a Who


The ultimate claim of Christianity is the immortality of it’s adherents. I think that many of our well-meaning friends over emphasize that if you come into a relationship with Christ you can have a better life now, at the expense of the message of the resurrection life of Jesus.

If you follow those faithful followers of Jesus after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus the hope of shared resurrection was a constant theme in their preaching. Man’s greatest enemy had been decisively defeated. There was clear proof. Jesus’ closest associates had seen him, eaten meals with him, and had seen him ascend into the clouds. And, on one occasion over 500 people saw him very much alive at one time. And then there’s Paul the Apostle, perhaps Jesus’s greatest spokesman, who didn’t fit the mold of the others, but also saw Jesus face to face long after his resurrection.

The Gospel of John gives the account of Jesus’ conversation with the Jewish leader Nicodemus. What Jesus offered one of the most holy men in Israel was simply “eternal life”. He said it in no uncertain terms. The choices were, trust in me and live forever, or don’t trust me ….you are already condemned.

Then there’s the narrative of Jesus showing up later than expected after the sickness and death of his friend Lazarus. John 11 tells about Jesus’ words to the sister of the dead man saying “I am the resurrection and the life” and that “everyone who lives and believes in me, even though he dies yet will he live” and then asks “Do you believe this?”

Wow! “I am the resurrection and the life“! The implications of this, if true, are staggering. Well, it is true. You see, what God offers through the gospel about Jesus is Jesus himself. Eternal life is not just one of several benefits afforded like forgiveness, peace, community, hope, etc. Eternal life is a PERSON! I have said this to people in classes and small groups and they don’t seem to grasp the weight of it. It is true anyway.

The opening words of 1st John are very straight forward and hard to miss if read carefully and thoughtfully.

1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life— 2 the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us— 3 that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ. 4 And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.
1st John 1:1-4

John’s testimony is that Jesus is himself eternal life! He has always been “the life” or “eternal life” and he was “made manifest” (the incarnation) and he is now proclaiming “the eternal life, which was with the Father (before Jesus’ human birth) and was “made manifest“. When you are looking at Jesus you are staring eternal life in the face. So when a sinner repents and puts his trust in Christ what God gives him is not a “something” but rather a “somebody”, namely the man Christ Jesus our Lord.

In the 5th chapter of 1st John it is confirmed and I think even more clear.

10 Whoever believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself. Whoever does not believe God has made him a liar, because he has not believed in the testimony that God has borne concerning his Son. 11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.
1st John 5:10-12

The record is crystal clear. Jesus is eternal life. People who are living life dictated by the appetites and desires of their bodies and are swimming along with the culture toward certain destruction do not need religion. They don’t need a life coach or new resolve or even better morals. What they desperately need is Jesus who is eternal life and our blessed hope. What the good news offers is a person, A man who lived a life pleasing to the Father that you and I could never live, A man who willingly died being punished for our common sins, as a substitute for us, so we would never have to face the wrath of God.

In short, the good news is very good news! There is a way out! Jesus loves you, He died for you, and if you will put your whole trust in Him, He will give you himself with all that he is. He will come to be your constant companion and friend by the Holy Spirit, and as a promise that you never need worry if you will finally be with him forever when this earthly life is done. Sins gone, eternal life now, a free gift to you by the God who loves you. What a deal!

The Bible describes those who are not Christians as spiritually “dead”. A dead man needs only one thing, life! Here it is, His name is Jesus, trust Him now.

Apr 12 2011

An Observation about Preachers


I have great respect for preachers, missionaries, teachers and anyone else who is involved in the great work of helping people know God more fully. For many years some of my dearest friends were and have been preachers and pastors. Beautiful indeed are the feet of those who tell the good news about Jesus. (Romans 10:15)

Please don’t claim to be a “gospel preacher” if you don’t make a habit of actually preaching the gospel. Today I looked at the web homes of a guy whose claim is that he is a gospel preacher in the Lord’s Church. I looked at the “tag cloud” ( that is the subjects written about on a blog) on one of his blog sites and not one topic on “Jesus”, not one on “Christ”. Oh there were plenty on such topics as “baptism”, “denominations”, “the church” and others. You would think that a fellow who claims to be a “gospel preacher” could cram at least one post in on Jesus and the gospel.

You can preach good things for 40 years but don’t call yourself a “gospel preacher” or “minister of the gospel” if you don’t preach about Christ and what He accomplished for sinners by his holy living, sacrificial dying, and victorious resurrection. It is wrong to claim you are who you are not and do so in the name of the Lord Jesus.

Get familiar with the person of the gospel and major in him and his accomplishments for sinners and you will have plenty to talk about. I fear there will be many men who will be very disappointed to learn too late that God is not pleased with a phony.

Royce Ogle
Monroe, LA