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Morning Thoughts |
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Romans 1:17, "For
therein is the righteousness of
God revealed from faith to
faith: as it is written,
The just shall live by faith." This morning, one of the biggest differences between Primitive Baptists and other groups of people is our belief of the utility of the gospel. Many people preach a "form" of grace, predestination, election, etc. Others practice a cappella singing, foot washing, etc. But, not one thinks of the purpose of the gospel the way that we do. So, what is the purpose of the gospel? Paul here declares that the purpose of the gospel is a declaration of the goodness of God and a salvation from ignorance and blindness. Notice the language. The gospel does not dispense, create, or plant righteousness, but rather, it REVEALS righteousness. If you walked into a dark room and could not see anything in the room whatsoever, that does not change the fact that the room may have furniture and other assorted things in it. So, if you flip on a light switch, you see what is already contained in the room. Likewise, the gospel does not create anything, but reveals and brings to light the things that the Lord has already done. It tells the poor, undone sinner that God, through the person of His Son, has redeemed His people from the curse of the law. It tells the penitent what his duty and purpose is to the King of Zion. It tells the child of God what his final destination is and the blessing thereof. This is the revealing of the righteousness of God. Notice also that it is from "faith to faith." The gospel does not have any purpose or effect on one that does not possess faith. Faith (fruit of the Spirit) is planted within the child of God in regeneration, and that faith is spoken to when the gospel is proclaimed in power and demonstration of the Spirit. This is when the child of God can begin to EXERCISE the faith that they already possess. Many think that the gospel creates faith for use, but rather, the gospel causes faith to be exercised in one that already is in possession of it. That is the application of Romans 10:17. So, when the gospel minister preaches to the hearer, the faith within the preacher and the faith within the congregation begin to reverberate together. It is like a tuning fork vibrating, and causing the other tuning forks of the same note to vibrate also. When the message is preached in power, the child of God begins to feel something within them. While it is not guaranteed that they will follow after it as a faithful disciple, they still feel something beating deep within their soul. This is the assurance that the child of God has that they are one of His. He has not left us without a feeling of Him.
It is our duty
to follow after it when the
meeting is over. But, oh
what a joy it is to feel the
love of God flowing from
breast to breast and faith to
faith in His service!
While the Spirit may move
differently on different
occasions, it is still a feeling
that we get and know
that our God is working within
us. This is the
purpose of the gospel, and these
times of refreshing
are so very important to our
sustenance and
nourishment in this low ground
of sin and sorrow.
Someone once told me, "Why do
you go to church so
much? I only have to go a few
times a year." If that
is all you feel to need, then it
is a poor condition
indeed. I feel to need the
Lord's service more than I
get to attend, and I trust that
I am always willing to
"spend and be spent" in the
service of my Lord. He
has indeed done all for us, and
we should try to
diligently do our
all for Him.
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